First Timer Advice

[Raoul Duke]

Hi,

I am currently permanently employed as a .Net developer and I am thinking of becoming a contractor. I am currently researching this and I have some questions.

1. Should I start a limited company or sign up with an umbrella company?
2. Who should I get to do my taxes and accounts etc...? How much does this cost?
3. What kind of rate could I expect to achieve? - I have browsed adverts and there is a huge range eg. between £150 - £500. I am degree educated, 4+ years of commercial .Net development for a software house and financial company.

Cheers,

Raoul

[minstrel]

Have you done your research yet as you'll find all the answers to these questions about 1000 times on other posts?

But briefly:

1. Limited Company is generally more tax efficient.

2. SJD and Nixon Williams are generally recommended on this forum. Expect to pay around £1000.

3. Depends how good you are. Go for the £500/day roles and if you don't get them then work your way down until you get something.

[r0bly0ns]

Upton Accountnts also get quite a lot of recomendations on here as well (including from me )

[Bright Spark]

average rate for .NET developer is about 400p/d based on
survery from IT Jobswatch , best rates are in the City working for Front Office, or
if you are more of an architect and understand complex structure of systems
together with design patterns and industry practices
rather than just pure knowledge of the Framework and C# language.