Difficult words in financial problems explained
- Gé Sletterink
- 16 Jun 2023
- Edited 16 Jun 2023
- 7 min
- In trouble
- Finance
Bijzonder uitstel van betaling, rentabiliteit, solvabiliteit... If you are busy saving your business, you do not want to come up against a lot of difficult Dutch jargon terms. But every form and every bit of advice is laced with them. This glossary tells you just what these financial terms mean.
Glossary
|
Belastingdienst |
You file your VAT returns and your income or corporate income tax returns with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. |
|
Bijstand voor Zelfstandigen (Bbz) |
If you have financial problems with your business, you can apply for Bbz, financial support for self-employed professionals, from the municipality where you live. You can get a loan or benefit. |
|
Bureau Krediet Registratie (BKR) |
The Credit Registration Bureau BKR registers all credits starting from €250 that you use for longer than a month. This includes business loans for which you are personally liable. BKR also records your payment history on those credits. Good payment behaviour can work in your favour when you are applying for a loan. |
|
Businessmodel |
Business model: a description of how your business makes money and how you organise that. |
|
Business model canvas |
With the business model canvas, you incorporate nine building blocks of your business into a single overview. It helps you focus and gives you opportunities to adjust. |
|
Bijzonder uitstel van betaling coronacrisis |
A special deferral of paying taxes for entrepreneurs affected by the corona crisis. Since October 2022, the tax arrears have to be in instalments. |
|
Cashflow |
Cash flow is the difference between the income and expenses your business has over a given period. |
|
Credit rating |
Provides an assessment of your creditworthiness: how likely are you to repay your loan according to the terms? |
|
Current ratio |
This key figure indicates whether you can pay your current liabilities (current account + creditors) from the assets you now have (inventory + debtors + liquid assets). There are several industry current ratio calculators available online. |
|
Defaultpercentage |
The default percentage indicates the probability that a company will be unable to meet some or all of its obligations within 12 months. It gives an indication of risk for financiers who are considering lending to a company. |
|
Doorstart |
A restart: after bankruptcy, you make a new start with the parts of the business that are still profitable. |
|
Eigen vermogen |
Equity is the difference between the debts and assets of your company. Your equity rises as you earn profits and falls as you suffer losses. |
| Exploitatiebegroting / resultatenbegroting | In the operating budget, you indicate what costs and revenues you expect in a given period. It shows whether your business can expect to turn a profit. |
|
Failliet | A company (or individual) can be declared bankrupt by the court if the payment obligations can not be met. Bankrupt literally means you have ceased to make your payments, whether because you are unwilling or unable to meet your payment obligations. |
|
Faillissement aanvragen | As a business owner, you can file for bankruptcy yourself, but a creditor can also ask the courts to declare your business bankrupt if it fails to pay. |
|
Finale kwijting
| If you are in financial trouble, you can see whether, after you have paid part of the debt, your creditors will forgive you the remainder. That way you will no longer have to pay that part, you will get final discharge for it. |
|
Hoofdelijk aansprakelijk
| Business owners can be personally liable for business debts. This applies to eenmanszaken, vofs, and maatschappen. In a bv, for example, this is not automatically the case, but if you co-sign for a loan as a director privately, you also become personally liable (also referred to as: jointly and severally liable). |
|
Incasso | With a direct debit, you give permission to have an amount debited from your bank account once or regularly. |
|
Investeringsbegroting
| The investment budget can show you which assets you will need in the coming years and how much money you will need to that end. There is a difference between assets that have been in the business for more than a year (such as premises) and less than a year (such as stock). |
|
Inkomensvoorziening oudere en gedeeltelijk arbeidsongeschikte gewezen zelfstandigen (IOAZ) | The , Income provision for older and partially disabled self-employed persons is an income supplement for business owners aged 55 and above who are retiring. Income is supplemented up to a level equivalent to what social assistance would bring in. You apply for this benefit from the municipality where you live before you quit your business. |
|
Kredietlimiet | For a business loan, the credit limit is the maximum amount you can dispose of (be in the red for) on your current account. |
|
Liquiditeit
| Liquidity indicates the extent to which a company can meet its current payment obligations. If the sum of current assets (inventory and accounts receivable) and cash exceeds short-term liabilities, a company is liquid. |
|
Liquiditeitsbegroting
| The liquidity budget is an overview of your income and expenses, so you can see how much money you will have left at the end of a period.You can use this to check whether you still have enough left to pay your bills. |
|
Minnelijk traject | How to reach a mutually agreed amicable settlement with your creditors to pay off your debts. A debt counsellor can help you with this. |
|
Naheffingsaanslag | The Belastingdienst imposes an additional assessment if you have filed a tax return late or not at all. They estimate how much VAT you have to pay, and add a penalty to that amount. |
|
Omzetdaling | A decline in turnover: the total amount you earn from selling your company’s products or services goes down. |
|
Ontslagvergunning UWV | An employer needs permission to dismiss employees from the Employee Insurance Agency if they have to lay off their employees in response to major problems or changes in the company. |
|
Overbruggingskrediet | A bridging loan can help you to get through a period when the business is going through a bit of a financial downturn. |
|
Problematische schulden | You have problematic debts, that have grown so high that you can no longer pay the bills and it is not certain that your business will survive. |
|
Rentabiliteit | Profitability is a measure of your company’s ability to turn a profit. Here you compare the profit to the average total invested capital (equity + debt). |
|
Saneringskrediet
| A rehabilitation loan is a form of debt settlement. You borrow an amount from a municipal or other credit bank to pay your other creditors in part or in full with it. You then repay the credit bank in instalments. |
| Schuldeiser | You owe a creditor money. |
| Schuldenaar | A debtor owes someone else money. |
|
Schuldhulpverlening | If you are in debt, debt assistance through a debt assistance agency can help you resolve problems. You apply for debt relief at the municipality where you live. |
|
Wet schuldsanering natuurlijke personen (Wsnp) | The Wsnp (Debt Restructuring for natural persons Act) is an arrangement where the court appoints a receiver to manage your financial affairs and try to pay off creditors as much as possible. In many cases, you have to stop your business. In no more than 5 years, you should try to get as much money as possible available for creditors. |
|
Solvabiliteit | Solvency is the ratio of your equity to your total assets. The number indicates whether your company can pay its long-term debts. It is also called buffering capacity. |
|
Transitievergoeding | The transition is the allowance your employee is entitled to if you do not renew their contract or if you dismiss them. The amount of that allowance is one-third of the monthly salary for each year in which the employee worked. |
|
Uitstel betaling belasting | If you cannot pay the tax on time or at all, you can get a tax payment deferral (in Dutch). You request it from the Belastingdienst. |
|
Uitstel btw-aangifte | You can apply for a deferral on your VAT return (in Dutch) if there are special circumstances such as a fire or severe flooding at your place of business. |
|
Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV) | The Employee Insurance Agency UWV is a Dutch government organisation. It deals with insurance for employees, such as unemployment insurance under the Unemployment Act (Werkeloosheidswet) and disability insurance (Wet op de Arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering, WAO). |
|
Vroegsignalering | Early warning: recognise situations (in Dutch) that could lead to money problems, so you can head them off in time. |
|
Waardepropositie | In your value proposition, you explain why a customer should choose your company and not a competitor. You convince the customer to buy the product from you. |
|
Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord (WHOA) | The Court Approval of a Private Composition (Prevention of Insolvency) Act (WHOA) allows a business owner to go to court to enforce an agreement they have with their creditors. This does not require the consent of all creditors. The law applies to business owners who are at risk of bankruptcy but who still have profitable business activities. |
|
Wsnp-bewindvoerder | A Wsnp-administrator under the Dutch Act on Debt Restructuring for Natural Persons checks whether you are complying with the rules of the . |
|
Zekerheidsrecht | 'Zekerheden' are guarantees in the form of money, goods (such as inventory), or rights. A loan may involve providing collateral as surety. Under the terms of security law, the lender has the right to claim your collateral, such as a business premises with a mortgage, if you fail to meet your obligations to repay and pay interest. |
