Practice Management Software for Dutch Lawyers (2026)

Dutch advocaten who receive third-party money (settlements, deposits, escrow) must route those funds through a Stichting Derdengelden — a separate legal foundation that holds the funds outside the law firm's own assets. The rule has been mandatory since 1 January 2017 under article 6.21 Voda.

Key requirements:

• Separate legal entity (foundation) with its own bank account
• Funds never commingle with the firm's operating account
• If you do not receive third-party money, you must notify the local deken (dean) — you're exempt from setting up the foundation, but the disclosure is mandatory
• Letterhead must display the foundation's bank account number when relevant
• Annual reporting to the deken on derdengelden movements

The Dutch Bar updated its model statutes for Stichting Derdengelden after the WBTR (Law on governance and supervision of legal entities) came into force. EZ@Work's ledger supports a fully separated derdengelden account with reconciliation alerts when client funds linger longer than NOvA guidelines recommend.

Legal services provided by Dutch advocaten are subject to the standard 21% BTW (VAT) rate — there is no profession-specific exemption. Every invoice to a Dutch business or consumer must show BTW separately.

A compliant Dutch lawyer invoice (factuur) must include:

• Sequential invoice number (never reuse, never skip)
• Issue date and supply date
• Your firm's name, address, and BTW-nummer (NL + 9 digits + B + 2 digits)
• Client's name and BTW-nummer (if B2B)
• Description of legal services rendered
• Hours worked × hourly rate, or fixed fee
• Subtotal excluding BTW
• 21% BTW shown as a separate line
• Total including BTW
• Payment terms and IBAN

For cross-border B2B services within the EU, the reverse-charge mechanism (BTW verlegd) usually applies — you invoice 0% BTW and add "BTW verlegd" plus the client's VAT number. EZ@Work auto-detects EU clients and switches to reverse-charge automatically.

Every advocaat registered with the NOvA must earn a minimum of 20 PE-points (opleidingspunten) per calendar year to maintain their practising rights. The rules are set by article 4.4 Voda and tracked through the NOvA's PE-online portal.

Core requirements:

• 20 points minimum per calendar year
• At least 10 points must be in each registered legal area (rechtsgebied) — you can register 1 to 4 areas
• Points earned at NOvA-recognised training providers are auto-registered in PE-online
• Self-study, in-house training, and writing legal publications can earn limited points but require deken approval
• Failure to meet the annual minimum triggers a complaint to the Raad van Discipline and risk of suspension

EZ@Work's compliance dashboard tracks PE-points per advocaat against each registered legal area, with reminders at 75% of the deadline and a CSV export ready for PE-online upload.

To practise law in the Netherlands, every advocaat must be on the tableau maintained by the local bar (orde van advocaten) and centrally by the NOvA. Beyond initial admission, ongoing compliance includes:

• Annual bar contribution (jaarlijkse bijdrage) — paid to both NOvA and your local orde
• Professional indemnity insurance (beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering) — minimum cover set by Voda
• Annual financial statement on derdengelden activity to the deken
• Notification of any changes in practice form, partnership, or specialisation
• Mandatory participation in structured peer feedback (gestructureerd intercollegiaal overleg)

All communications with NOvA, the deken, and the Raad van Discipline are formal and discoverable. EZ@Work stores compliance correspondence in a tamper-evident audit log, time-stamped per advocaat, so disciplinary inquiries can be answered with one click.

Dutch advocaten are designated Wwft institutions (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme) for certain transactions: real estate, company formation, fund management, tax structuring, and any work involving the movement of client money.

Before taking on a Wwft-regulated mandate, you must:

• Identify the client and verify identity from a valid document (passport, ID card)
• Identify the UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) when the client is a legal entity, and verify the UBO via the KVK's UBO-register where accessible
• Document the purpose and nature of the relationship
• Apply enhanced due diligence for PEPs, high-risk countries, and complex structures
• Monitor the relationship and report unusual transactions to the FIU-Nederland
• Retain all CDD records for 5 years after the relationship ends

As of 1 January 2026, the Wwft prohibits cash payments of €3,000 or more for goods (down from €10,000). EZ@Work's client onboarding flow walks each new matter through Wwft questions, attaches verification documents to the matter file, and flags missing UBO checks before you can issue an invoice.

Most Dutch firms switch to EZ@Work from on-premise legacy tools, spreadsheet-based timekeeping, or one of the high-priced cloud suites. Common migration sources:

• BaseNet export → CSV import for matters, clients, time entries, invoices
• Cleverlaw / Advolux → SQL backup parser for matter ledgers and trust account history
• Excel timesheets → drag-and-drop import with column mapping
• Outlook / Google Calendar → bi-directional sync for hearings and deadlines

We preserve the original Stichting Derdengelden ledger entries with their historical posting dates, so your annual derdengelden statement to the deken remains continuous. Migration is included free on every paid plan; the average Dutch firm moves over in under two business days.