Contents
Starting Business
Starting out as a self-employed person or starting your own company in Belgium begins with a visit to an enterprise counter. An enterprise counter (in Dutch ondernemingsloket or in French guichet d’entreprise), also known in English as a business counter or one-stop shop business service, is a central point of contact for businesses to handle various administrative formalities.
Registration Crossroads Bank for Enterprises
One-stop shop business services are authorized by the Belgian Federal Public Service that deals with economic affairs (FPS Economy, S.M.E.s, Self-employed and Energy) to undertake all the administrative formalities for registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (in English: CBE, or in French: BCE, or in Dutch: KBO) for self-employed persons.
As a self-employed worker, it is mandatory to go through a one-stop shop business service. The category ‘self-employed person’ includes entrepreneurs, tradespeople, self-employed professionals (such as lawyers or accountants), farmers and non-commercial self-employed persons.
Standard formalities of an Enterprise Counter
In Belgium these formalities are, as follows:
- When you initiate a self-employed activity in Belgium the one-stop shop business service will check that you have satisfied the conditions for setting up a business in Belgium and will arrange your registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE).
- Amendments to information supplied to the CBE (e.g. commercial objective, address, proof of ability to run a business, …)
- Cessation of activity or business unit in Flanders, Brussels or Wallonia
- Application for an itinerant traders or street traders card
Additional services Eunomia
One of the first enterprise counters in Belgium is Eunomia. It was founded in 2004. At enterprise counter Eunomia they offer the standard services. On top, they also assist you with following additional services:
- Applying for various licenses and permits you will need for Belgium
- Advice on what you need to do to demonstrate that you have the required managerial and entr
- epreneurial skills to run a business in Belgium
- Arranging for you to join a social insurance fund
- Help and advice on applying for a professional card (in Dutch: beroepskaart). We can also make the application for you, in cases where the Belgian law permits this.
- Registering and unregistering with the VAT authorities in Belgium
Collaboration Eunomia and Avixi
Enterprise counter Eunomia works in close collaboration with the social insurance fund Avixi. This means that the information submitted to the CBE for the purposes of compulsory registration and any subsequent amendments to that information can be passed on quickly and easily to your social insurance fund.
