Reply to: Umbrella company questions

[ADRIANL]

It's a free market, and anyone can offer whatever service they like and contractors are free to take up any service, at their own risk. However, for what its worth, my observations are:
1. To the extent that this company can only operate at a loss it will necessarily be effectively insolvent- (even if supposedly supported by other reserves). On that basis it would not get accreditation from the AEMC or other reputable umbrella regulators due its inherent riskiness.
2. The company is a subsidiary of a recruitment agency - maybe enough said - and therefore you can see an angle.
3. Also as a subsidiary it will be easy to "let the company go" if it runs into trouble without affecting its supposedly profitable holding company.
4. Maybe recruiters should stick to recruiting and let professional accountants deal with tax and accounting.

[Hex]

So how do they make their money? I'd be very very suspicious of someone offering me a service like this for nothing unless I understood what they were getting from me that allowed them to do it free.

[mglover]

Free Umbrella Company

Hi All

Springboard Umbrella announced yesterday that it is offering it's full umbrella service for free.
www.springboardumbrella.co.uk

[PhilAtBFCA]

And it's certainly not cheaper to run a 1 man Ltd company band.

Hi,

Certainly not ?

Umbrella = £1200 a year according to your figures incl PI.

Ltd Co= From £540 a year + say £400 cost of PI = £940

Both of these before tax deductions.

You will earn more inside and outside of IR35 in a Limited Co if you are VAT registered.

Certainly not ?

But dont just go Ltd for the money, you really do need to want to run your own business, IMHO.

Phil

[Epiphone]

I have always recieved good service from Parasol to be fair.

I would strongly advise not using Bedouin as they are the most incompetent and rude company I have ever dealt with! not paying my wages on 2 occasions due to them 'forgetting' to invoice my agency. And on top of this when they did remember to pay me, instead of the 84% i was quoted i recieved 64% of my wage!!! still awaiting the refund....

Parasol must be great to work for. Say Hi to Rob Crossland won't you.

[Svalbaard]

Contractor umbrella are really good. No fuss, simple web interface and excellent response times to queries.

Only down side is that their fees do not include professional indemnity insurance which in addition bumps up the monthly costs to around £100.

It's horses for courses as to whether you go Ltd or go with an umbrella. In my case it's all about time, which is why I go with an umbrella. And it's certainly not cheaper to run a 1 man Ltd company band.

[watford]

Well Tarpon are P3 reincarnated and P3 went bust owing a lot of contractors an awful lot of money.

MyCo Ltd is arguably more tax efficient than a proper Umbrella in most instances, but there are perfectly valid and sensible reasons that some people chose to use an Umbrella. It's a classic case of making an informed choice.

Well I was P4 and it definitely wasn't brilliant , they took their money in the form of fees up front the sum was £1500 ,when i was told at the time they would done over the course of the year, and moved to parasol before P4 went and changed their name to tarpon who in my case were great and I now have a Limited Company of my own .

[NotAllThere]

[doboyle]

Fear Bedouin!!!

I have always recieved good service from Parasol to be fair.

I would strongly advise not using Bedouin as they are the most incompetent and rude company I have ever dealt with! not paying my wages on 2 occasions due to them 'forgetting' to invoice my agency. And on top of this when they did remember to pay me, instead of the 84% i was quoted i recieved 64% of my wage!!! still awaiting the refund....

[PhilAtBFCA]

ikina8

Always nice to see an old thread reincarnated. Some subjects just live on and on :-)

But you may find this video and spreadsheet useful, you can work out Umbrella net income , Ltd Co Inside and Outside Ir35 and also parterships and direct with the agency. There is also some information about why it may not necessarily be only a financial considerayion, there are other factors to take into account.

here is the link.

Phil

[TykeMerc]

Very old thread, for an age old problem it seems. Ive been reviewing this again recently and it seems your own Ltd Co in most instances out weighs umbrella Co's.

After hunting around I recently had an unpleasant Tarpon experience.

Definitely don't recommend them!

Well Tarpon are P3 reincarnated and P3 went bust owing a lot of contractors an awful lot of money.

MyCo Ltd is arguably more tax efficient than a proper Umbrella in most instances, but there are perfectly valid and sensible reasons that some people chose to use an Umbrella. It's a classic case of making an informed choice.

[ikina8]

Very old thread, for an age old problem it seems. Ive been reviewing this again recently and it seems your own Ltd Co in most instances out weighs umbrella Co's.

After hunting around I recently had an unpleasant Tarpon experience.

Definitely don't recommend them!

[DiscoStu]

Wow, this thread's four years old!

[LordF]

It costs £104.50 to purchase a tax investigation insurance scheme from Shout99. For £100 you can join the PCG and get comparable insurance thrown in for no extra charge. With PCG membership you also get

- Access to outside IR35 standard contracts
- Access to the PCG-Atsco Contract with Atsco agencies
- Free legal advice helpline
- Free tax helpline
- An online IR35 questionairre
- Discounted contract reviews
- Free IR35 manuals
- Discounted PI insurance
- A range of discounted services including home office insurance, hotels and travel, business software, training and office space

In addition to this, the PCG membership fees support a not-for-profit organisation (unlike Shout99) which represents contractors' interests by lobbying government, the Inland Revenue and others to improve the lot of its members. For example, PCG money has recently been used to pay for the Roger Tilbury case at the Special Commissioners - where the Inland Revenue were soundly defeated.

Why on Earth anybody would want to give £104.50 to Shout99 for tax investigation insurance while the PCG exists is beyond me.

You will find that most insurance policies for tax investigation will NOT cover you if you are in an umbrella scheme, but will cover you if you have your own limited company. As far as I know.

[Hevra]

You sir are a necromancer and I claim my 5 corpses.

Hevra