Reply to: Contractor Checklist.

[dmini]

Initial costs

£60 for setup of company, electronic delivery of stuff in 24 hours (print off the COI on proper paper - dead easy), and company nameplate (to put on registered office.
Accountant told me who to contact to start VAT registration, PAYE reg etc (not paying her a huge amount, would prefer to do basics myself, and cost nothing).
Designed company letterhead (needed for bank application - proof of business!), talked to bank, filled in documents, business manager visited my home (new business, cannot complete parts of documents easily)said he would send in letter with application, saying I was good business. All this completed between Tuesday 5pm & Friday 5pm.
Total cost £60. so far. Two weeks later, assured bank stuff should be through early next week, VAT stuff sticking a bit - had letter asking for more info (as it was a new co., and couldnt complete all details!). Was warned when I spoke to them it could take 5-8 weeks (as opposed to the 3 weeks on website)
SJD will do a contract check - I believe they only charge if it passes! They also have a lovely & free spreadsheet for managing your accounts (Thanks Simon!)
So, I spent £60, & money on ivory card for the COI, & 60p for parking in town. Total cost so far!
I'm hoping everything - including VAT will be sorted by the end of the week after next - when I have the first invoice off the new contract due.
That will take it to 4 1/2 weeks, from terminating my contract & starting setup processes for going limited.

[dmivs]

Hm... Could somebody summarize... How big would be initial spendings to became contractor for the UK with minimal pain?
How fast contract might be started from the moment of decision "Yes I would want be in"?

[The Master]

I had two very conflicting views from Qdos and Sara over my contract when I initially briefed them on my current working situation and IR35 position. In the end I decided to go with Qdos - probably because they told me what I wanted to hear.

For £250+VAT I'll tell you what you want to hear.

[Denny]

I've used Sarah @ Bauer and Cottrell give her a ring she is most knowledgable and could probably sort your contract out for you

I had two very conflicting views from Qdos and Sara over my contract when I initially briefed them on my current working situation and IR35 position. In the end I decided to go with Qdos - probably because they told me what I wanted to hear.

[carpenteri]

Was a while ago now, but from what I recall getting setup was less than £100. The only costs is the company formation - check the fees listed on the link to the company formation agents in my earlier post. VAT registration, employers pack from HMRC, banking setup is all zero cost if you do it yourself although if you get an accountant to do it they may charge a fee.

There WILL be other costs in the early days of your business though - eg insurance, equipment etc

Thanks for the info

Cheers

Ian

[Jay54]

agreed, i dont start a contract unless its checked out by sara

[autodial]

I've used Sarah @ Bauer and Cottrell give her a ring she is most knowledgable and could probably sort your contract out for you

[martinb]

Hi martinb,

If you don't mind asking, how much were your set up costs?

Cheers

Ian

Was a while ago now, but from what I recall getting setup was less than £100. The only costs is the company formation - check the fees listed on the link to the company formation agents in my earlier post. VAT registration, employers pack from HMRC, banking setup is all zero cost if you do it yourself although if you get an accountant to do it they may charge a fee.

There WILL be other costs in the early days of your business though - eg insurance, equipment etc

[XLMonkey]

Hi martinb,

If you don't mind asking, how much were your set up costs?

Cheers

Ian

I have a little XL spreadsheet that covers all the setup & running costs for contracting (also calculates net income based on your daily rate and other variables). PM me and I'll send it on through.

[carpenteri]

Hi martinb,

If you don't mind asking, how much were your set up costs?

Cheers

Ian

[Badgers Armpit]

After relaxing with a couple of mojito's, I've now spoken to a couple of accountants & have formed my Ltd this morning. I want to get the contract sorted out ASAP so I can resign "officially" & then sort the other stuff out at leisure!

Bauer & Cottrell seem to be liked on here for contract reviews, so will probably get them to look it over.

[martinb]

If it's your first contract, I'd advise you to use an umbrella like Parasol to get you started. Running your own limited company is the ideal solution, but you do need to put some groundwork in to get you up and running. Despite the abundance of helpful advice about, I don't think it's possible to jump from permie to contractor without a bit of wiggle room at the beginning. There's a lot to take in. Once you're enjoying the contractor lifestyle of surfing the net a lot, you'll spend more time here and get to know a bit more about the obligations of running a Ltd.

Don't agree with this. I went from permie to contractor using Ltd company. It's not difficult and the important stuff is very quick to setup. I had my limited company setup (via these guys http://www.hanovercompanyservices.com/), submitted VAT registration, requested new employers pack from HMRC and had banking sorted out virtually within a day. I had no problem getting a business bank account - went with HSBC who my personal account was with. Free banking for first year. Although there seem to be a number of recommendations here for Cater Allan, personally I would never go with a bank that doesn't have internet banking. It was only later I found an accountant.

It really is very simple and quick.

[castoff101]

Don’t forget that you do need to account for VAT on your invoices once you know that you need to register. I actually added the quote from the Customs & Excise website to the invoice and followed up with a proper VAT invoice once registered. The agency paid the full invoice (with the ‘VAT’) with no problems.

It took about six weeks to become registered ….

“You must start keeping records and charging VAT to your customers from the date you know you have to be registered.
You can charge VAT before you are registered but until you have a registration number you must not show VAT as a separate item on any invoice you issue. You can change your prices to include VAT and explain to any of your customers who are also registered that you will be sending them VAT invoices later. Once you have your registration number you should send the necessary invoices showing VAT within 30 days.”

[BillHicksRIP]

If it's your first contract, I'd advise you to use an umbrella like Parasol to get you started. Running your own limited company is the ideal solution, but you do need to put some groundwork in to get you up and running. Despite the abundance of helpful advice about, I don't think it's possible to jump from permie to contractor without a bit of wiggle room at the beginning. There's a lot to take in. Once you're enjoying the contractor lifestyle of surfing the net a lot, you'll spend more time here and get to know a bit more about the obligations of running a Ltd.

[DimPrawn]

My window cleaner charges £10 and it takes him all of 15 minutes. You work out who's the idiot.