Back from holiday: how to work through your summer post pile without making mistakes

Back from holiday to a pile of post on your desk? Here's how to clear everything in an hour without missing deadlines or paying fake invoices.

Summer is winding down, the first colleagues are back from holiday, and there's a stack of post on your desk. Tucked in between the flyers and delivery notes you'll often find a registered letter, an insurance update, or a payment reminder you missed in July. Before you quickly flick through it all and toss it aside: it pays to sit down and take your time. Post handled carelessly in August can become a real problem in September or October.

Why August post deserves extra attention

In July and August, many businesses run at half capacity. Stand-ins don't always know what's important, post sits unread, and senders know it. Fraudsters deliberately send fake invoices and "urgent" letters in summer, banking on reduced scrutiny. At the same time, legitimate authorities (the Tax Authority, Chamber of Commerce, insurers) do send important correspondence with response deadlines during this very period.

The combination is a headache: miss a genuine letter and you miss a deadline. Pay a fake one and you're out of pocket. Both happen to SMB owners every autumn without fail.

Sort first, read second

Make three piles before you open anything:

1. Recognised sender, familiar logo — your bank, insurer, or a supplier you've worked with for years.
2. Official authority — Tax Authority, Chamber of Commerce, local council, UWV, RDW.
3. Unknown or vague — companies you don't recognise, or letters heavy on design but light on concrete details.

Start with pile 2. These are the letters with deadlines. Then pile 1. Pile 3 comes last, and that's where most of the risk of fake invoices and misleading offers tends to hide.

What to check on every invoice

For every invoice that comes out of your summer pile — whether it arrived on paper or digitally — run through the same checklist:

• Do I know this supplier? Search your accounting records or email to see whether you've paid them before.
• Does the amount match a quote, order, or contract?
• Is the IBAN the same as last time? A changed account number is the most common trick in the book.
• Is the VAT number correct? A valid Dutch or European VAT number doesn't guarantee the business is trustworthy, but an invalid one is an immediate red flag.

Two quick checks take under thirty seconds with our IBAN check and VAT check. Paste the number in and you'll instantly know whether the format is valid and whether the VAT number is active in the VIES register.

Spot them: the classic August fake letters

A few recurring examples that surface every autumn:

• "Domain name renewal" from a company where you never registered your domain. Usually worded urgently, with an amount around €100.
• "Business register listing" that looks like the Chamber of Commerce but isn't. The real Chamber of Commerce never sends an invoice for a "listing".
• Fake invoices for office supplies that were supposedly "ordered previously". Always ask for the original order confirmation with a name and date.
• "We've updated your details — please confirm" — often a trick to get you to log in to a fake website.

Not sure? Call the company using a phone number you look up yourself — not the number printed on the letter. It's one simple step, and it can save you hundreds of euros.

Official letters: watch the response deadline

Letters from the Tax Authority, UWV, or Chamber of Commerce almost always carry a deadline — typically 4 or 6 weeks. If you open such a letter at the end of August and the date at the top reads 15 July, you may only have a few days left to respond or lodge an objection.

A simple habit that helps: set these letters aside immediately with a sticky note showing the deadline, and add the date straight to your calendar with a reminder a week in advance. That way nothing slips through, even when things get busy again.

Digital post: don't forget MijnOverheid and the Chamber of Commerce message box

More and more correspondence never arrives on paper at all. While you were away, messages likely came in through:

• MijnOverheid (Tax Authority, RDW, SVB)
• KvK Berichtenbox
• Your business banking environment
• Portals from your pension provider or insurer

These platforms rarely send reminder emails. Take a few minutes this week to log in to each portal and work through your inbox. It's also a good moment to check that your two-factor authentication is still set up correctly — some apps were updated over the summer or require you to log in again.

What to do if you missed something

Realise you've missed a deadline? Don't sit on it. Most authorities are understanding if you get in touch promptly yourself. Requesting an extension after the fact is almost always possible, provided you have a good reason and don't wait until the reminder arrives.

For invoices you paid incorrectly: contact your bank. With clearly misleading invoices, a reversal is sometimes possible, and in other cases you can report the fraud to the police and the Fraudehelpdesk.

In short

Set aside one hour for your summer post pile. Sort it, check the IBAN and VAT number, note any response deadlines, and log in to your digital inboxes. That one hour will save you a lot of hassle come autumn.

Not sure about an IBAN or VAT number on a letter? Use our IBAN check or VAT check — both free, no registration required.