Reply to: New to contracting - umbrella advice please!

[questiontime]

You are not going to get a definitive answer ... The same brolly works well for one person but screws up another ..

as others have suggested, parasol(who run pcg's umbrella), orangegenie, contractorumbrella,giant are a few that get recommended often ..
as far as i have heard, parasol and cu take compliance seriously. unless your luck is very bad, with either of these two, you will be in good hands without much issues ... hope for a trouble-free service but do not be disappointed if you face glitches ..
Understand how the umbrella companies operate and keep your expectations reasonable too ...

good luck and btw, welcome to the real world

Hi,

I have just got a new job after 7 months unemployment following redundancy, and it is a contract. I have never contracted before, so am just learning what its all about! I have checked advice on the forum and I know this is probably a frequent question, so I apologise if it is tiresome to anyone, but I couldn't find recent advice for it. Basically, I am completely confused regarding what umbrella company to use - the more I check advice in various places, the more confused I get. Please could anyone give me some advice on what umbrella company would be the best for me to use. Also, if there is any advice you think would be helpful to a new contractor, that would be great.

Thanks!

[centurian]

Liz,

It sounds as if the fact that it's a contract is more by chance than by design, which is fine - you say it could end up being permanent - also fine if that is what you are looking for.

So if you're not into contracting for the long haul, then umbrella is definately the way to go as it's much quicker and easier to sort out.

One important thing to remember is that being a contractor is not the same as being an "agency temp". This is not a "temporary contract" - it's a business-to-business contractual arrangment. You have considerably fewer rights (i.e. didly squat - zero) plus the financial risks of agency/umbrella going bust where you will be treated as a supplier, not an employee.

Don't want to put you off - quite the opposite. Just be fully aware of what a contractor is.

HTH

[Olly]

Orange Genie never bit me....
Post up your short list and let the crowds guide you

Are you certain you won't to be PAYE? I mean reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllly certain?

P.S. When you decide please send me a PM. I'll recommend you and we'll split the introductory bonus...deal?

P.P.S. Going with one attached/affiliated to a well known accountancy seems like a plan. Especially because if you bitch about them on here when they stuff up they'll fix quick

P.P.P.S. "NONE" of them will be perfect!

[Lester]

YMYA.

I joined Parasol in January. Does what it says on the tin - I've been impressed.

[The Wikir Man]

I have had a look at a number of umbrellas (want to go down that route, as there is a very good chance of being made permanent after the contract ends). However, I don't want to take pot luck and perhaps have it come back to bite me! Can anyone recommend a reliable good umbrella company to use, as I am new to it all, so its a bit hit and miss so far. Thanks!

If you have no intention of having different clients (i.e. you only intend to do one contract through the umbrella), then you would not be able to claim travel expenses. This is because you would no longer be able to claim that you have a temporary place of work that you are travelling to - you are going to what is essentially your permanent place of work.

I've not used an umbrella (and only know one person who does) - I think I would be looking at ContractorUmbrella (which as someone else says, is the SJD run one).

[TykeMerc]

I had multiple good years of service from Orangegenie, but I binned them for repeated minor, but annoying cockups over several months which meant I was having to micromanage things more than with a MyCo Ltd. Their service levels improved dramatically, but I had already set up MyCo.
I had a poor experience of Giant so I would never go back to them.

Liz
If you're likely to go perm after a relatively short period on contract you've made a rational decision to go with an Umbrella. Assuming their service levels are back on track Orangegenie are worth a serious look.

[Zippy]

I used Parasol and they only screwed up once. My mate said the one operated by SJD were very good.

[cojak]

Any brolly recommendations for the OP?

[Zippy]

Nicely Nicely makes a valid point about the VAT - you don't any of it back on your expenses. With a ltd co you can take advantage of the flat rate scheme and make a few extra quid.
I've used one of the more expensive brollies in the past and I wouldn't say it was a great service. You will have to provide proof of ID etc before your account is activated and you do get the 'you can claim 15 quid a day without receipts' nonsense. You can't, so don't fall for it (you don't have to send the receipts to the brolly, but will have to keep them for HMRC)
Another handy bit of advice is to try to get weekly payment from the agency. It limits the amount you will be out of pocket if they or the brolly go out of business.

[Liz]

I have had a look at a number of umbrellas (want to go down that route, as there is a very good chance of being made permanent after the contract ends). However, I don't want to take pot luck and perhaps have it come back to bite me! Can anyone recommend a reliable good umbrella company to use, as I am new to it all, so its a bit hit and miss so far. Thanks!

[Nicely Nicely]

I have been LtdCo and now I'm with a brolly for reasons.

Go LtdCo. Contrary to what the brollies tell you, you can get a LtdCo set up, plus business bank account, then get money out of it many days faster than setting up a brolly account and getting money out of that.

Plus what the brollies tell you about expenses is bollocks. You get taxed to buggery or risk being taxed to buggery + penalties + interest in the future. You can claim for far more stuff through a LtdCo than through a brolly.

I shopped around for my brolly, got a big popular name and found their support is crap. Their web site looks fantastic and they make great promises, but once they have your money it is another matter.

Also, the paperwork for expenses for a brolly seems to be harder than when I had a LtdCo. And the paperwork in general they expect is not much better than what I had to do for the accountant. Except the brolly adds loads of rules about deadlines for their benefit.

And while I whinged about paying an accountant £1,500 a year, now I'm paying a brolly £1,500 a year.

Being in a brolly is not worth it, I can see no benefit to you going that way.

(I also tried to create a few threads on here about how I think brollies screw contractors over expenses and VAT but they never got through moderation for some reason. Probably because of who the advertisers are...)

[Liz]

Can anyone recommend a decent Umbrella to go with - I have seen details of a number of them (Parasol, ContractorUmbrella, Springboard, and a few more), but would rather get the views of whether they are decent companies than go in blind, and risk making a big (and potentially costly) mistake!

[TykeMerc]

Liz,

you have to have a ltd co or umbrella in place prior to signing the contract. The contract isn't with you personally. Most will advise you to set up your own ltd co but if you can't be arsed go with the cheapest umbrella, as the rules re expenses etc are all the same.

As Zippy said the contract is either with your own Ltd or an Umbrella as agents can't deal with you as a Sole Trader.

Their expenses rules are pretty much the same, but I wouldn't necessarily go with the cheapest as service levels are important, doubly so when you consider the Umbrella is getting paid the money and then paying it on via their payroll.
Unfortunately it's not unknown for an Umbrella to go bust and leave multiple contractors without their hard earned cash. I don't know just how many people ended up badly out of pocket when Prosperity4 ceased trading, but I understand it was in the thousands and apparently Tarpon is run by the much same group that ran P4...

[Zippy]

Liz,

you have to have a ltd co or umbrella in place prior to signing the contract. The contract isn't with you personally. Most will advise you to set up your own ltd co but if you can't be arsed go with the cheapest umbrella, as the rules re expenses etc are all the same.

[Liz]

I need join an umbrella company urgently, but have no idea on the best company to use - have read good and bad things on quite a few, so every time I think I know who to use, I then get unsure again!