Starting your own restaurant, café or hotel? Then a lot comes at you in a short space of time. You look for a suitable location, arrange permits, fit out your premises, put a team together and make sure everything is ready for your first guests.

Depending on your hospitality concept, you’ll also face various rules and permits. Think of an operating licence, an Alcohol Act licence, a terrace permit and the HACCP rules.

Among all those preparations, your administration may not be the first thing on your mind. Yet the financial choices you make before opening can make a big difference later on.

These five tips will help you lay a solid financial foundation for your hospitality business from the start.

1. Choose a POS system that suits your venue

Your POS system records far more than just what a guest pays. A well-configured system gives you insight into your turnover, product groups, payment methods and VAT.

So don’t only look at ease of use, but also at the options for connecting your POS system to your bookkeeping, payment provider, reservation system or other software you use.

Pay particular attention to how the VAT rates are set up. In 2026, hospitality in the Netherlands is in principle subject to 9% VAT on food and non-alcoholic drinks and 21% on alcoholic drinks.

Do you run a hotel? Then an important change has applied since 1 January 2026. The VAT rate on accommodation has risen from 9% to 21%. Separately offered services, such as breakfast, may still fall under a different rate.

An error in your POS configuration carries through into hundreds or thousands of transactions. It is therefore wise to check the settings carefully from the start.

2. Think about your VAT return period

Even before the first guest walks in, you have probably already invested considerably. Think of the refurbishment, kitchen equipment, furniture, stock, advisory fees and other costs around the opening.

Are you an entrepreneur for VAT purposes and do you meet the conditions? Then in many cases you can deduct the VAT on business costs as input tax. That can also apply to costs you incurred during the start-up phase of your business.

Most entrepreneurs file VAT returns quarterly. Do you expect to reclaim a lot of VAT during the start-up phase? Then a monthly VAT return can be attractive for your liquidity.

You can ask the Dutch Tax Administration in writing to change your return period to monthly. Bear in mind that the Tax Administration decides on this and that the change takes effect at the start of a new return period.

So discuss in advance with your hospitality accountant what makes sense in your situation. Reclaiming VAT sooner can be good for your cash flow, but filing monthly also means your administration has to be in order every month.

3. Track your start-up costs from day one

A common mistake among starters is that the administration only begins in earnest once the doors open. For the Tax Administration, your business can begin financially rather earlier.

Business costs you incur with the clear intention of starting a company can be deductible under certain conditions. The VAT on certain business costs from the start-up phase can also be deducted as input tax under certain conditions.

So keep your invoices and receipts from the very beginning, and make sure it is clear which expenses are business expenses.

Think of advisory fees, certain permits, marketing, software and the costs of fitting out your premises.

Not every expense may be deducted from profit in full straight away. Larger investments that last several years, for instance, often have to be depreciated over several years. Restrictions also apply to some types of cost.

Good hospitality bookkeeping therefore doesn’t start on opening day, but at the moment you start investing seriously in your business.

4. Arrange your staff and payroll in good time

For many restaurants, cafés and hotels, staff are essential from day one. That means thinking ahead about contracts, rotas, labour costs and payroll administration.

Are you taking on staff for the first time? Then you have to register as an employer with the Tax Administration. You then receive a payroll tax number, among other things, which you need in order to file payroll tax returns.

According to the Tax Administration, you usually receive your payroll tax number within about a week of registering. Even so, don’t leave arranging your hospitality payroll administration until the day before opening.

Also look beyond gross pay alone. Staff bring employer’s contributions, holiday pay, pension obligations where applicable, sick leave and other costs with them.

So draw up a realistic staffing budget in advance. How many people do you need at different turnover levels? What happens to your staff costs during quiet months? And how much room do you have if turnover in the first months comes in lower than expected?

In hospitality especially, good staff planning can make a big difference to your margin.

5. Make sure you understand your numbers from month one

A full venue doesn’t automatically mean a healthy business.

In hospitality, margins are crucial. Your turnover can look perfectly fine while rising purchasing costs, excessive staff costs or waste mean that little is left at the bottom line.

So you don’t want to find out how your business is doing only when the annual accounts arrive.

Make sure the bookkeeping for your restaurant, café or hotel is updated monthly and that you have reports you can actually use.

Look regularly at your turnover, gross margin, purchasing percentage, staff costs, fixed costs, cash flow and result, for example.

The numbers are most valuable when you use them to make decisions. Perhaps a dish needs recalculating, certain hours are structurally over-scheduled, or the purchase price is rising without your selling price moving with it.

With up-to-date numbers, you can adjust course sooner.

A good start begins with good numbers

Starting a hospitality business calls for many decisions at once. Your administration doesn’t have to add to the headache.

With a good POS system, a suitable VAT structure, complete records of your start-up costs, well-organised payroll administration and monthly insight into your numbers, you lay a much stronger foundation for your business.

IBEO is a hospitality accounting firm specialising in accounting and bookkeeping for restaurants, hotels and cafés. As your hospitality accountant, we help you not only keep your administration in order, but above all understand what your numbers mean for your business.

Are you opening a restaurant, hotel or café soon and want your financial administration set up properly from the start? Get in touch with us.