Umbrella Companies - Giant vs Paystream vs Advance

[eek]

Today (5th November) I tried calling six of the companies on the list, to get an illustration / quotation for use as an umbrella (because I'm greedy, and want to take home as much as possible :-))

In which case phone your accountant as they will probably have a system where the umbrella fee offsets your limited company's accountancy fee (some do) or at least offer a discount.

But it is a shame that the agency didn't make it clear to you that there would be virtually no difference in the end figure regardless of the umbrella you pick (except in circumstances like yours where your limited company still exists).

[dangerouswhensober]

Comment on Giant

I've just been offered a contract - subject to security screen and receipt of satisfactory references. The contract mandates the use of an umbrella company, to be chosen from a PSL of nine companies.

(I am already with one of the companies on the list - they are accountants to my little Ltd company).

Today (5th November) I tried calling six of the companies on the list, to get an illustration / quotation for use as an umbrella (because I'm greedy, and want to take home as much as possible :-))

Five companies answered immediately - although I had to go through a brief recorded message in each case.

One company didn't answer at all - except for a recorded message, just confirming that company name and saying that the call could be recorded - then an endless ringing. Just to give them a fair chance, I called this company twice - once this morning and once this afternoon.

That company was Giant.

I know that most contact these days is done by email or text - I do this with my existing accountants - but I fail to see how anyone could recommend a company which can't be contacted by telephone ?

I suggest the directors of Giant might want to take a look at their business processes ...

[lucyclarityumbrella]

The take home should be around the 58% range, shouldn't it?

Umbrellas may charge a few quid a month more than other umbrellas if they provide something extra in customer service (like 1 ring pickup), but it will essentially be the same as any other legitimate umbrella?

If you are at 40% tax payer then yes between 52 and 56% as average, obviously higher if only a 20%er. In all fairness the tax and NI figures even with margin differences are only going to be give or take a few pounds.

[eek]

You make good points, and I'd agree that outside any differences in margin, salary sacrifice options and perhaps expenses, then yes, it should be the same take home pay across all.
I'd still suggest it's worth checking the take home pay however, just to make sure, but they may be very similar.

That's when it may be worth considering what else you're looking for, as with the other points mentioned (e.g. service, set-up-process, efficiency etc.), as I would expect these to vary more from one company to another.

Best of luck!

Once again you are offering things (expenses) that are really outside your control and that few (if any) people using an umbrella company will be able to use....

[Grace at ADVANCE]

If the take home pay is the same, then maybe compare on other important aspects?

You make good points, and I'd agree that outside any differences in margin, salary sacrifice options and perhaps expenses, then yes, it should be the same take home pay across all.
I'd still suggest it's worth checking the take home pay however, just to make sure, but they may be very similar.

That's when it may be worth considering what else you're looking for, as with the other points mentioned (e.g. service, set-up-process, efficiency etc.), as I would expect these to vary more from one company to another.

Best of luck!

[eek]

I’m with Paystream and had no significant issues with them. I choose them because they allowed salary sacrifice into my SIPP. The others I looked at on my agency’s Umbrella list wouldn’t allow that.

As for take home I agree with eek and Cojak estimates. I pay 17.5% into my SIPP as salary sacrifice (so before both of the NI and PAYE deductions) and take home 50% of invoice


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Seems a very decent proposal

1/3 in tax
1/2 in your pocket
1/6 in your pension.

[Acme Thunderer]

I’m with Paystream and had no significant issues with them. I choose them because they allowed salary sacrifice into my SIPP. The others I looked at on my agency’s Umbrella list wouldn’t allow that.

As for take home I agree with eek and Cojak estimates. I pay 17.5% into my SIPP as salary sacrifice (so before both of the NI and PAYE deductions) and take home 50% of invoice


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[eek]

The take home should be around the 58% range, shouldn't it?

You may charge a few quid a month more than other umbrellas if you provide something extra in customer service, but it will essentially be the same as any other legitimate umbrella?

Yep assuming holiday pay is paid as the money is received your take home should be in the region of 56-59% of the gross invoice rate assuming no salary sacrifice deductions and no student loan repayments.

If you ignore Salary Sacrifice options the only difference in the monthly pay packet will be the variations on the umbrella's fee.

But I wouldn't make the assumption that a higher fee equals better service, it could be the higher fee is just a higher fee. For instance Parity have 2 different rates and I can't for the life of me work out what is the difference in service between the 2 rates (although it's worth noting that an agency will only be using 1 rate or the other and a contractor can't choose between them).

[cojak]

Sorry but the FCSA is a private members club which has actively avoided doing anything to resolve the issues within the overall umbrella industry. Also a one off annual audit isn't anything like a good enough compliance check (full disclosure of payment destinations on a monthly basis against remittance is really what agencies require and should be insisting upon).



Except for the umbrella fee it should be identical across all umbrella firms. The fact you aren't saying that tells me 2 things

1) you aren't being honest
2) Advance are no longer on this months call list..

And at that point I won't criticise your other points - on that answer alone I could never recommend you.

The take home should be around the 58% range, shouldn't it?

Umbrellas may charge a few quid a month more than other umbrellas if they provide something extra in customer service (like 1 ring pickup), but it will essentially be the same as any other legitimate umbrella?

[eek]

Hi,
I would recommend you give all three providers a quick call to sound them out, and see which option suits you best. All are FCSA accredited, which is always an important starting point. Some questions to think about are;

Sorry but the FCSA is a private members club which has actively avoided doing anything to resolve the issues within the overall umbrella industry. Also a one off annual audit isn't anything like a good enough compliance check (full disclosure of payment destinations on a monthly basis against remittance is really the minimum an agency requires and should be insisting upon).

- What will be my take-home pay? - very important to know what to expect, and what your best option is.

Except for the umbrella fee it should be identical across all umbrella firms. The fact you aren't saying that tells me 2 things

1) you aren't being honest
2) Advance are no longer on this months call list..

And at that point I won't criticise your other points - on that answer alone I could never recommend you.

[Grace at ADVANCE]

Give them a quick call to sound them out

Hi Everyone,

The recruitment agency has advised me I can only use three of their recommended umbrella companies as I fall within IR35:

• Giant
• Paystream
• Advance.Online

I have been reading reviews about these companies and many people have had negative experiences using them.

I will only be contracting for 3 months and I have no idea who to go to. This is my first time doing a contracting role.

Out of the three listed above, which would you recommend?

Thank you!

Hi,
I would recommend you give all three providers a quick call to sound them out, and see which option suits you best. All are FCSA accredited, which is always an important starting point. Some questions to think about are;
- What will be my take-home pay? - very important to know what to expect, and what your best option is.
- What's the service like? if they take ages to answer the phone now, that doesn't bode well for the future, if you want to call about your pay
- What's involved in setting up? Is it a lengthy process, or is it straightforward?
- What about expenses, how does that work, and will it benefit me?
- What's the margin? different companies will be able to offer different margins. It's worth knowing what they are

It may take you approx. 5-10 minutes to complete each of these calls, but it's well worth doing if it's going to impact the next 3 months.

Naturally, I'd suggest you work with ADVANCE every time! However, it's important that you choose a provider that suits you.

I hope this is helpful!

Grace

[northernladuk]

Can we move to umbrella section please so when we get asked the same question a hundred times more we got all the information in the same area.

[Fred Bloggs]

Agency payroll for three months, perhaps?

[eek]

3 months, just phone them up and ask which one has the lowest rate.

Also reviews will only reflect bad experiences or posts that have been incentivised to give them a good review.

[hishok]

Hi Everyone,

The recruitment agency has advised me I can only use three of their recommended umbrella companies as I fall within IR35:

• Giant
• Paystream
• Advance.Online

I have been reading reviews about these companies and many people have had negative experiences using them.

I will only be contracting for 3 months and I have no idea who to go to. This is my first time doing a contracting role.

Out of the three listed above, which would you recommend?

Thank you!