Invoicing in Dutch and English at the same time — practical tips

International clients often don't read Dutch — but the tax authorities still require a NL-compliant invoice. Here are practical solutions that won't double your workload.

When you invoice foreign clients, they often don't speak Dutch. Yet you still need to meet Dutch invoicing requirements.

Option 1: English only

Perfectly fine. No Dutch law requires an invoice to be in Dutch. Just make sure you include all mandatory elements from the invoicing requirements.

"Factuur" → "Invoice" (or both). "BTW" → "VAT".

Option 2: bilingual — NL + EN

Include every label in both languages ("Invoice / Factuur", "Total / Totaal"). It fits on an A4 and works for both Dutch and international clients.

Option 3: English invoice + Dutch attachment for the tax authorities

Your client receives the English invoice, while your administration keeps a Dutch version on file. Most modern accounting packages can generate both in parallel.

Things to watch out for

• VAT terminology: "VAT reverse charge" or "BTW verlegd" must appear in the language your client understands — otherwise they won't be able to process it in their own VAT return.
• Payment details: IBAN, BIC, reference number, currency — all in international format.
• Date format: use ISO (2026-04-24) to avoid any confusion.

In practice

Your accounting package usually has a "language per client" setting. Configure it per client and the next invoice will automatically come out in the right language. Minimal effort.

See also: invoicing foreign clients, UBL/PEPPOL.