Starting your own cleaning business in the Netherlands: how to do it in 2026
Starting a cleaning business or going self-employed in the Netherlands? Step-by-step plan with KvK and SBI code, VAT (9% or 21%), insurance, start-up costs, hourly rate and first customers.
151 real Google reviewsWhere new cleaning businesses go wrong
Starting a cleaning business in the Netherlands is easy: no diploma, no licence, and you start with kit that fits in a car. That is exactly why competition is high and margins are thin. The businesses that survive their first year got five things right before they started.
What to arrange when you start a cleaning business
Cleaning needs no licence or diploma. You do need to be registered from your first invoice and know which VAT rate you charge.
Starting a cleaning business in 6 steps
In this order, so you spend nothing before you know who you work for.
Choose your target group
Private homes, offices, handover cleans or a specialism such as upholstery or windows. Each needs different kit, hours and VAT.
Work out your hourly rate
Add insurance, products, transport, phone, accountant and a reserve for tax and illness. Divide by the hours you can really invoice.
Register with the KvK
Book an appointment online, register with the right SBI code, and your VAT number follows.
Arrange insurance
Liability cover for damage at a customer's home. Consider disability insurance too, because cleaning is physical work.
Buy only what you need
A good vacuum, microfibre cloths per room, a mop system and concentrated products. Expensive machines only once there are jobs for them.
Find your first customers
A Google business profile with real photos, a simple website, reviews from the first job and fast replies to every request.
How to find customers for your cleaning business
What to know beforehand
In cleaning you earn on the hours you invoice, and lose on travel, cancellations and quotes that lead nowhere. The first months often go more on finding customers than on cleaning. If you clean well but mostly lack customers, you can start with jobs from a company that already has demand while you build your own base.
Zzp, sole trader or BV?
| Sole trader (zzp) | BV | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Zzp is not a legal form: most zzp'ers are sole traders (eenmanszaak) | A separate legal entity next to you |
| Setting up | Register with the KvK, done | Through a notary, with more cost and paperwork |
| Liability | You are personally liable | In principle limited to the BV |
| Tax | Income tax, with entrepreneur deductions if you meet the hours criterion | Corporation tax, plus salary or dividend for yourself |
| When it makes sense | At the start and while you work alone | When profit grows or you hire staff |
What it costs to start a cleaning business, and what hourly rate to charge
For a self-employed home cleaner, start-up costs are low: KvK registration, insurance, basic kit and products. It gets more expensive with upholstery cleaning, window cleaning at height or pressure washing, because professional machines quickly cost thousands. For your hourly rate, work back from your costs rather than forward from what others charge.
What kind of cleaning business to start
Each choice sets your kit, your customers and your VAT
Home cleaning
The easiest start, at 9% VAT. It is all about regulars in a small area.
Offices and practices
Regular contracts outside office hours, at 21% VAT. Customers expect insurance and punctual invoices.
Handover and move-out cleans
Short, intensive jobs with a hard deadline: the key handover.
Post-renovation cleaning
Physical work with building dust and paint residue. Good if you know builders.
Upholstery and carpet cleaning
An extraction machine and know-how. Less competition, shorter jobs.
Window and facade cleaning
Telescopic poles and purified water. Work at height needs training and the right insurance.
Send your application
Through this form only, no calls and no CV. We review complete applications and reply within 2 working days.
Do you run your own cleaning company or have a specialism, such as upholstery or windows? Work with us as a partner
Questions about starting a cleaning business
Do I need a licence or diploma to start a cleaning business in the Netherlands?
Which SBI code does a cleaning business use?
Which VAT rate do I charge as a cleaner?
Zzp or sole trader: what is the difference?
What does it cost to start a cleaning business?
Can I start without customers of my own?
Jobs straight away, without chasing customers
Registered with the KvK, or about to be? Become a Claro Clean partner: we bring the customer with an accepted quote, you do the work.