Business Operations

Collaborating with Other Freelancers

Updated: 2026-05-27 Holdwise editorial team Collaboration Freelancers ZZP

When you work with other freelancers, called ZZP'ers in the Netherlands, agree on roles and money in writing before you start. Together you can take on bigger projects, offer more skills and grow faster than alone. Informal collaborations fail often, usually for reasons you can predict. At Holdwise, we updated this answer on 27 May 2026 and change it when the rules change.

Why collaborate at all

Some projects need more people or more skills than one person has. When you work together, you can take on work that would otherwise be too big, share the marketing work or specialise further. If the collaboration works well, both businesses grow faster than each could alone.

When it works

Skills complement each other well.
Both partners have a similar work standard and reliability.
Roles and responsibilities are clear from the start.
Money and credit are agreed upfront, in writing.

When it fails

Vague verbal agreements about who does what and gets what.
Mismatched work standards or reliability.
Unequal effort with equal pay.
Unclear ownership of the client relationship.

Structure the deal clearly

Before you start, agree who owns the client relationship and who sends the invoices. Also agree how you divide the work and the income, and what happens if one partner leaves. If you confirm these points in a short email, you avoid most disputes later.

Two common models

Subcontracting: one of you keeps the client relationship, and the other works as a paid subcontractor. The roles are clear, and there is little admin.
Joint delivery: both of you have a relationship with the client and share the work. For marketing this is clearer, but the admin is more complex.

Choose the right model for the situation. Avoid a mix of the two models, unless you have full confidence in each other and communicate very well.

Start small to build confidence

Test any collaboration on one small project before committing to bigger ones. You learn quickly whether your working styles match. A bad first project together is far cheaper than a bad second one.

You set the salary once. The payroll has to be done every month. See what we take over each month on payroll and administration for a Dutch BV.

Free advice

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Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

Should I form a general partnership (VOF) with my collaborator? +

A lighter form is usually better. In a general partnership (VOF), each partner is fully liable for the debts of the partnership (joint and several liability). That is heavy for a casual collaboration. Most freelance collaborations work better as subcontracting or joint delivery, where each of you keeps your own legal form.

How do we split the income? +

Usually by effort, by the value each partner adds and by who owns the client. Agree on the split in writing before you start, even if only in an email. In freelance collaborations, most damage comes from arguments about money later on.

Who owns the client? +

Usually the partner who brought in the client and signed the contract, unless you agree otherwise. Agree on this explicitly and early. You then avoid tension when the work ends.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 2026-05-27