invoicing client direct

[bikeman]

One more thought, why don't agencies/clients insist on paying all their contractors via umbrellas rather than ltd co's if it saves them employers ni?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

One more thought, why don't agencies/clients insist on paying all their contractors via umbrellas rather than ltd co's if it saves them employers ni?

From a client/agent POV it makes no difference if you use your own Ltd or an umbrella.

[bikeman]

From a client/agent POV it makes no difference if you use your own Ltd or an umbrella.

So you also get tapped for the employer ni even if you work through a ltd co as a sole trader? I thought not having to pay employer ni was one of the advantages of going ltd co.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

So you also get tapped for the employer ni even if you work through a ltd co as a sole trader? I thought not having to pay employer ni was one of the advantages of going ltd co.

You've lost me. "Through a Ltd co as a sole trader" - this makes no sense.

[bikeman]

You've lost me. "Through a Ltd co as a sole trader" - this makes no sense.

Sorry what I meant was as a single employee ltd company, though I guess on reflection it doesn't matter if it is one employee or hundreds, the ltd co still has to pay employers ni - I think I've got it

[NotAllThere]

Sorry what I meant was as a single employee ltd company, though I guess on reflection it doesn't matter if it is one employee or hundreds, the ltd co still has to pay employers ni - I think I've got it

With a ltd co, you can take money out via wages - PAYE, ERNIC, EENIC. Or by dividends - still taxed, but no NI deductions. Furthermore, with a ltd. co, you can not pay it all out, but hold over to subsequent years, allowing you to cover lean periods. Kind of contracting 101.

[bikeman]

I decided to take the work via an umbrella company. I don't think the client has much experience of using contractors because they haven't supplied a contract, just a note re working place, hours and payment terms. They also don't have a timesheet system. I've yet to speak to the umbrella co about this but wonder how they will proceed.

[NotAllThere]

I've worked direct for a number of clients where there was no contract, no purchase order and no timesheets to fill in. I just invoiced and got paid 30 days later, as per my standard terms and conditions. I prefer to have at least a purchase order though.

[kaiser78]

Invoicing directing will be a total ball ache, unless you are happy to chase payments when the clientco is deliberately hold back from paying.
Don't do it.

[WTFH]

Invoicing directing will be a total ball ache, unless you are happy to chase payments when the clientco is deliberately hold back from paying.
Don't do it.

I've invoiced direct before, never had a problem. Once the IT manager had forgotten to approve my invoice in time, so when I didn't get it paid on time I asked him, he apologised and the AP department put the payment through on an emergency run.
One other time I had calculated the VAT incorrectly on an invoice, so they rejected it and emailed me to my personal email address. I replied from my ClientCo email with a corrected invoice, payment made immediately.

It helps if you get on well with the company, in particular the person who approves your invoices and the AP team.