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Starting your own catering business
Starting conditions
Business plan
Business plan
Do you want to make a great start in the hospitality industry? Then a strong business plan with a financial plan is indispensable. You identify opportunities and potential customers, and check the competition. What do they do well and not so well? And how will you approach this (differently)? Don't do this between the soup and the chips, but work out your business plan in detail. After all, you will go to the bank with this, and the more convincing your plan, the greater the chance that your financing application will be approved.
Don't need financial support? Then you still need to create a realistic business plan to increase your chances of succeeding in the hospitality industry!
Your obligations
Your obligations as a self-employed person
- First of all: your enterprise number
First of all, prepare your entry in the CBE register of the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. This secure register contains and centralises the data of all Belgian companies and all professional activities linked to a business.Please note that you may only carry out the professional activities, each with their own NACEBEL code, that you recorded when you registered. It is therefore important that you think carefully about all the activities you want to carry out in your company when you register, both now and in the future.
After registering you will receive your enterprise number which you must state on all your official documents. For a company (a BV, NV, CV, VoF or CommV), you must first file a deed of incorporation with the clerk's office of the Enterprise Court.
You can register as a self-employed person in the CBE through a recognised enterprise office such as Acerta. They will arrange all the administrative matters for you.
- Your VAT number: compulsory and indispensable
As a hotel or catering business, you are liable for VAT. This means that you have to charge VAT to your customers, and pay it to the government. But also so, as a self-employed person, you can recover the VAT amounts on your purchases via the quarterly VAT return.A VAT number is not the same as a company number, and must therefore be activated separately.
- Your membership of a social insurance fund
Before you can start as a self-employed person, you are legally obliged to join a recognised social insurance fund such as Acerta.Based on your status and income , they will calculate how much social security contributions you have to pay to the government every quarter. In exchange for your contribution, your social rights such as health insurance, child benefit, pension and informal care are guaranteed.
Each social insurance fund will charge you management costs for the management of your file. Good news: the percentage used by Acerta is the lowest in the industry! Thus, you can save a lot of money while running your business
- A business account: a (mandatory) recommendation
A new hospitality business involves a lot of investment: furniture, kitchen equipment and materials, crockery, table decoration and furnishings, hygiene products, food and ingredients, beverages, etc. You pay all this via your business account. Anyone setting up a company is also obliged to open a business account !If you have a sole proprietorship, you may pay for both private and professional matters with one account. But even in this case, a professional account is recommended. This way, the financial controller does not look into your private life, and your professional administration and bookkeeping remain clear
- Insurance: always a smart idea
- Do you have private family liability insurance? Great! But it does not cover damage arising from your professional activities. As a self-employed person, you are therefore obliged to take out professional liability insurance with civil liability insurance.
- Is there a business dispute with a supplier, or do you have unpaid invoices? Then you can rely on Acerta for legal assistance and advice at a favourable rate .
- Through your social security contributions, you are entitled to a statutory benefit in the event of long-term illness or disability. However, this is not sufficient to cover all ongoing costs. Protect yourself against loss of income through guaranteed income insurance: in addition to a payment from the health insurance fund, you will receive an extra monthly payment. Good to know: this insurance premium is fully deductible from your professional income!
- Retirement, a far-off event for the future? Maybe. But to maintain your standard of living during your retirement, it is best to start saving now. You can do this via a (Social) VSPSS (Voluntary Supplementary Pension Scheme for the Self-Employed). The experts at Acerta will be happy to advise you on these and other pension savings options.
- Are you starting with staff in the hall and/or kitchen? Then don't forget to take out work accident insurance as soon as you are hiring!
- Accounting and Financial Support
Finally, don't lose sight of the financial picture of your hospitality dream. Therefore, entrust your bookkeeping to an expert and call on the assistance of a tax expert. To each his own. Right? So you can focus on building the most popular business in town!Did you know that you can count on subsidies and funding from both your local authority and the government as a self-employed person? Worth checking out!