Reply to: Umbrella and limited company comparison

[RogeredByAnOmnibus]

> work2live.co.uk, am I allowed to say that?

No - sorry red card for that one - next thing you know somebody will be putting up a shedload of links and then where would we be ?

Mark
www.************.co.uk
www.kwikbreaks.co.uk
www.*********.co.uk
www.*******.co.uk
(and others)

Can I give a reality check on the quality of Work2Live's service then as an ex of their service? They're very poor, inefficient and I believe they cost me money. Worst of all they were expensive. The total cost of their service was around four times what I'm payng my management company to sort my limited company's accounts and they are a perfect example of why you shouldn't use an umbrella company and should have your own ltd Co.

When I started with W2L my payments were messed up W2l blamed the agency, the agency blamed W2L with me in the middle with no money.

As a ltd company the same thing happened; I wasn't paid. The big difference is that without the middle-man I knew exactly who was to blame and I could sort it.

They also refused to involve me in the invoicing process - "To protect my employee status" with the net result that I didn't know whether any timesheet that I'd submitted had been paid or not. When things went wrong I was completely in the hands of someone else and some months I got no pay.

There were a host of other problems with their service to tedious to go into - suffice it to say - Don't use Work2Live

If people are doing their job I'll praise them to high heavens (my management company are absolutely fantastic but I don't want to offend the moderator by giving their name (contact me if you want it - as I don't thing I've dealt with a service that I've been more happy with in my life, privately or professionally). The reverse is also the case; when I get rubbish service I'll tell as many people as possible.

Re: None of these

Hi Famosamos,

I agree with you that it is not necessarily as simple as that but from a general perspective my points are valid. Perhaps I should have quantified 'better' by adding a 'financially' before it

Re: None of these

ContBrolly - not sure it is quite as simple as that as a previous poster points out. Some people are not entirely motivated by "return" nor "career" - they just want to do a good job get paid and enjoy their life. Not sure this is a crime yet.

Re: None of these

pjtester - I agree that an umbrella company is a hassle-free option and probably the best route if your are caught by IR35 but a Limited Company, at the moment, is definitely the better bet for contracts outside IR35 and 'career contractors'. Although what will happen after the budget - who knows?

Me too

pjtester, agree - me too.

However, looking forward to March 17th. Incorporate again or stay with Brolly?

None of these

I'm none of these, just a long-time contractor who's experienced both methods. I'm caught by IR35 and therefore restricted from operated a 'proper business'.

If I wasn't caught by IR35 I would definately opt for a Ltd company.

"I challenge anyone to demonstrate that you'd be better off with a Ltd company if you take into account risk and lost leisure-time."

So do you work for a brolly or the IR?

Or are you an NL spin-meister?

Either way, your attitude clearly displays that you aren't someone who runs a proper business.

Stirlingtimes,

Reduce risk. Enjoy your leisure-time. Choose a brolly.

Even if you use a 'good' accountant who does 'everything' you'll still need to provide all details of income and payments to them in the format they want. That can take along time if you've got loads of receipts.

If the year-end accounts or VAT returns the accountant produces are incorrect or late it's your company who pays the unexpected tax bill or fine. Cash flow issues and associated bank charges are down to you to manage. VAT inspections can occupy more of your time.

Brolly's take all this hassle away.

If you're caught by IR35 use a brolly and don't pretend you're a proper small business. As an IR35 victim you're in limbo between being an employee and a small business - brollys are the sensible option.

I challenge anyone to demonstrate that you'd be better off with a Ltd company if you take into account risk and lost leisure-time.

re

Of course, all this may change with the advent of IR591 where tax and NI is payable on all dividends, whereas before, only tax was payable.

We shall see I guess.

Re: Hmmmm

Hey, a really great way to avoid IR35 at last - become an employee.

Wonder why nobody thought of that before?

Re: brolly vs ltd

The major downside is that you are not really in control of your money or how your affairs are being run. You trust them to pay you your dues - legally, you are just their employee and any money they invoice your client/agent for your work is theirs, not yours.

Any reputable umbrella company will hold the contractors' money in trust so that they cannot use it. The only dedcutions from this should be for tax and NI and the umbrella companies fees. Therefore, there should be no risk to the contractors' funds

Re: Hmmmm

> work2live.co.uk, am I allowed to say that?

No - sorry red card for that one - next thing you know somebody will be putting up a shedload of links and then where would we be ?

Mark
www.************.co.uk
www.kwikbreaks.co.uk
www.*********.co.uk
www.*******.co.uk
(and others)

Hmmmm

No mention of costs on your site; something to hide? More than P4??

Re: brolly vs ltd

I agree entirely that's why i just hung up my contracting boots after 15 years and setup my own lifestyle breed of management company- by freelancers for freelancers!! work2live.co.uk, am I allowed to say that? Sorry it's just that I'm very keen to help like-minded individuals overcome all the cr*p thats peddled by some 'ir35 solutions'. I'm sick of being ripped off and that's why i doing something about it [gets off soap box].

Re: brolly vs ltd

I think that the future may hold an interesting balance. I predict a situation where true entrepreneurs will find a way to work within the tax system sucessfully and the balance of temp staff (contractors in the many forms) will be with some form of "employed" service company. Not sure the "big" accountancy providers in this context will survive as the downturn in prices they can charge for this make it simply not profitable for them.