What the latest data tells us about service sector confidence
According to CBS data for early 2026, entrepreneur confidence in the Netherlands has climbed to -1.8 — the highest reading since early 2022. That's still technically negative, but the direction matters. Order intake is up, investment intentions are cautiously positive, and sectors like professional services, IT, and communications are leading the recovery.
Here's the catch: margins are quietly eroding. Rising personnel costs and supplier prices are hitting nearly every small business, yet around half of companies cannot pass these increases on to clients. For firms with 5 to 25 employees in consulting, IT, creative services, or engineering, the result is a frustrating paradox — more work, but thinner returns.
The numbers bear this out. The profitability balance for zakelijke dienstverlening (business services) sits at just +1% in early 2026, according to COEN Q1 2026 data. Over two thirds of companies were profitable in 2025, but margins have been compressed by cost pressures that owners feel acutely — and that many are struggling to address systematically.
Why does this matter specifically for small teams? Because firms with 5 to 25 people don't have the overhead buffer that larger organisations use to absorb cost spikes. Every percentage point of margin lost is felt immediately, and recovery requires deliberate action rather than just waiting for conditions to improve.
Why are margins falling even as revenue grows?
The core issue is a cost-revenue timing mismatch. Costs — particularly salaries and freelance rates — have risen sharply over the past 18 months. But many service contracts were priced 12 to 24 months ago, often with no indexation clause. So revenue is growing in volume, but not fast enough to outpace cost inflation.
The main pressure points, based on KVK regional business data, are:
- Personnel costs: The biggest constraint named by founders across professional services. Salaries, social contributions, and the cost of retaining specialists are all rising.
- Talent shortages: Staff shortages are cited as the primary growth bottleneck. You can win more clients, but you can't serve them without the people.
- SaaS and tooling costs: Overlapping subscriptions and underused platforms quietly eat into operating margins.
- Pricing inertia: Many founders are reluctant to raise rates mid-contract, or lack the commercial language to justify increases to clients.
A consultancy in Utrecht with 15 staff reported 8% revenue growth in Q1 2026 — but saw margins drop 12% because of salary increases that weren't offset by pricing adjustments. After repricing new engagements and introducing a cost indexation clause for renewals, they recovered that margin and won 20% more tenders on the basis of clearer value articulation.
An IT services firm in Antwerp with 10 employees took a different route: they hired four freelancers through flexible platforms to handle peak demand without adding headcount, allowing them to break even on margins while still capturing growth.
How can small service firms protect profitability in 2026?
The good news: this is a solvable problem. The firms navigating it well share three habits.
1. Audit your pricing — now, not at renewal
Don't wait for contract renewal to address margin pressure. Run a project-level margin analysis this quarter and identify where you're consistently underpriced. A 5 to 10% rate increase on new contracts, anchored to demonstrable value (faster delivery, better outcomes, specialist expertise), is commercially defensible — especially in a market where clients are also seeing their own costs rise.
Practical steps:
- Add a cost indexation clause to all new contracts (link to CPI or sector wage index)
- Conduct quarterly pricing reviews, even informally, with your top 5 clients
- Train your team to pitch in ROI terms: "our work saved your team X hours / generated €Y"
2. Build flexible capacity rather than fixed headcount
Hiring full-time staff in a tight labour market is expensive and slow. The smarter move for most small service firms right now is a hybrid team model: a small core of permanent staff supported by vetted freelancers or nearshore specialists for surge capacity.
Tools worth considering:
- Float for cashflow forecasting — firms using it report up to 30% better margin visibility
- PayFit for payroll optimisation across Belgium and the Netherlands
- Billit for automated cost allocation and e-invoicing
3. Cut costs with zero-based budgeting
Instead of trimming around the edges, zero-based budgeting means you justify every expense from scratch each month. Most small service firms find they can eliminate 10 to 15% of costs this way — primarily through overlapping software subscriptions, underused services, and inefficient vendor arrangements.
Run a monthly cashflow forecast (weekly during periods of margin pressure) to catch problems early, not after the quarter closes.
The bottom line: grow smarter, not just faster
Ondernemersvertrouwen in 2026 is heading in the right direction — and for small professional service firms in Belgium and the Netherlands, that's genuinely encouraging. But the risk is mistaking revenue growth for business health.
The firms that will come out ahead aren't necessarily the ones growing fastest. They're the ones defending margins actively: repricing intentionally, building flexible teams, and running lean operations without sacrificing quality.
If your website isn't reflecting the value you now deliver — and helping you win better-fit clients at the right price point — that's worth fixing too. Luniq helps professional service firms build websites that position them clearly and generate qualified leads. If you're navigating growth pressure in 2026, that's exactly the moment to make sure your online presence is working as hard as your team is.
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