Custom software for SBI codes and business register data
An SBI code may look like a statistical label, but it works like a switch. Insurers use it to calculate premiums and can refuse a claim if the code does not match what you actually do in practice. Subsidies and permits also depend on it. And the code changes more often than people think.
What the Trade Register requires of you
A business is assigned one SBI code for its main activity, its principal line of business, and may also receive codes for secondary activities. If what you do changes, you must report this to the Chamber of Commerce within one week. If that week has already passed, report it as soon as possible.
That may seem like a formality until you see what the code is attached to. Insurers use it to set premiums, and if a claim doesn't match the activities listed under your code, the insurer can refuse to pay out. It's also checked for subsidies and permits, and an incorrect code can delay an application.
On top of that, the classification itself has been revised. Over the weekend of 6 and 7 September 2025, the Chamber of Commerce converted all SBI codes in the trade register to the new version. This was largely automated, based on a conversion table from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
The conversion didn't go smoothly everywhere. Afterwards, it emerged that seven codes were missing from the table, meaning around sixty-five thousand codes in the trade register had not been converted to the correct new code. At the end of January, the Chamber of Commerce carried out a correction exercise. So if you haven't checked your own registration since then, you can't be sure what it says.
How we build this
The crux is the difference between what is registered and what you actually do. Software can make that difference visible; closing the gap is up to you.
What is currently registered for your own entries and for your relations, including main and secondary activities.
What the business actually does, based on your own data on turnover, assignments or activities.
Where registration and practice diverge, and what the consequences may be for cover or applications.
A change should be reported within a week. The system monitors that deadline and keeps a record of what has been reported.
What the software actually does
The comparison between registration and practice carries the whole. What else you need depends on how many registrations you monitor: only your own, or those of your relations as well.
Monitoring your own registrations
All branches and legal entities you have, with their main and secondary activities side by side.
Keeping relations up to date
Clients, suppliers or members whose code determines what you may or must do.
Alert on change
If something changes in the register, you see it rather than discovering it when an application is made.
Difference from practice
Your own data on what is actually being done, set against what is registered.
One-week deadline monitored
A change should be reported within a week. The system records when something was identified and passed on.
History per registration
Which code applied when, because in a claim or an application the code at the time counts, not the one in place now.
Who we build for
Who works with this differs by organisation. Four situations.
Businesses with multiple sites
Each branch has its own registration, and these drift apart as activities shift.
Insurance advisers
They see what an incorrect code costs when a claim is made and want that problem resolved before the claim.
Trade associations
Membership and contributions often depend on activity, which is derived from the registration.
Compliance and risk management
They check relations against activity and don't want to work with data that is months old.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
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The classification is revised, codes disappear and are added, and what a code means shifts. Code lists, check rules and alerts should be configurable rather than hard-coded.
Why Appfront
The code does more than count
Premiums, cover, subsidies and permits all hang on it. We therefore treat it as a fact with consequences, not as a label.
A week is short
Changes must be reported within a week. You only meet that deadline if you notice that something has changed.
The revision did not go smoothly everywhere
Around sixty-five thousand codes were wrong after the conversion. Checking is not excessive caution.
We do not change your registration
Reporting remains your responsibility and goes through the Chamber of Commerce. We make sure you know when it is needed.
Security and privacy
Commercial register details are public, but combining them with your own data on turnover, policies or membership is not. That combination is exactly what this system does. We set access by role, show an adviser only their own client relationships, and log every view. Integrations connect to your existing software through secure interfaces.
For this subject, the reliability of the moment is the key point. In the event of a claim or a rejected application, what counts is the code that stood at the time, not the one that stands now. We record the status per period in an unalterable way, with timestamp and person, and any correction appears as a visible correction alongside the original entry. How we handle security ourselves is set out in our information security policy.
Frequently asked questions about SBI codes and the trade register
Within one week. If what your business does changes, you pass that on to the Chamber of Commerce within a week. If that week has passed, you report it as soon as possible.
Then it affects more than statistics. Insurers calculate your premium based on the code and may refuse to pay out for damage that does not match the activities under that code. Subsidy applications can also be delayed, and permits are checked against it.
On the weekend of 6 and 7 September 2025, the Chamber of Commerce converted all SBI codes in the trade register to the new classification, largely automatically. It then emerged that seven codes were missing from the conversion scheme and that around sixty-five thousand codes had not been converted to the correct new code; a correction operation followed at the end of January.
Yes. You receive one code for the main activity, your most important business, and you can also receive codes for secondary activities. Which of these counts as the main activity is not optional: it is checked.
Because your own obligations sometimes depend on them. For insurance, for membership of a trade association or when vetting a client, the activity is decisive, and it changes without anyone calling you.
No, it is part of it. We describe the technical retrieval of data on our page about the KvK API integration. This page covers what you then do with that data.
Does your own SBI code still match what you do?
Look up your own registration and compare the registered activity with your turnover from last year. If they don't match, that is the conversation you don't want to have with your insurer after a claim. We build this as a standalone application or as part of a broader custom software development project.