Newbie - Sorry

[Drkarnivore]

Been reading this forum for a while and thought I would pitch in. Been thinking of contracting\freelancing for a while, then got made redundant, so having been given the push, I took the plunge. Finished my notice period on a Friday and was on day one of first contract on Monday. Having been a consultant for several years, it's actually not that different apart from sending my timesheets to a different person and invoicing for myself.

[cojak]

Welcome to CUK Drkarnivore!

No need to apologise - we were all newbies once.

[SimonMac]

Call your self a newbie!

Where are the stupid questions we can pick over and tear you apart for! How can I tell you to read the guides when you've not asked a question that is already answered there.

Sorry but you are NCOTBAN (Not cut out to be a newbie)

[northernladuk]

Being on site working isn't what contracting is about. Anyone that held a similar role as a permie could do that. That's the easy bit. Contracting is about the stuff in the background. Making sure you are on site with an IR35 checked contract that you've read and understood and have all the relevant insurances in place. It's about knowing how to run your small business and it's finances and understand IR35, 24 month rule, opt in/out and many other legislations and rules that affect us.

Until you've understood all that you are just a permie under a different remuneration method.

[Drkarnivore]

Being on site working isn't what contracting is about. Anyone that held a similar role as a permie could do that. That's the easy bit. Contracting is about the stuff in the background. Making sure you are on site with an IR35 checked contract that you've read and understood and have all the relevant insurances in place. It's about knowing how to run your small business and it's finances and understand IR35, 24 month rule, opt in/out and many other legislations and rules that affect us.

Until you've understood all that you are just a permie under a different remuneration method.

Thanks for that, difficult to get the job done when your not on site though eh, contracting or not. Not many permies could cope with the amount of travelling and different customers I've dealt with in the last 15 years (sometimes 4 customers in 4 cities/countries in the same week). That's what I actually enjoy about it. Made sure all the HMRC etc, side was considered before I even considered contracting as I have a few contacts who have f@@ked up in the past and wasn't making the same mistake. It also helps being a tightwad.

Don't think I'd ever fall foul of the 24 month rule, the game I'm in, 6 months is considered long!

I find it ironic that a lot of the tech programs running at HMRC are manned by contractors. I turned one down a couple of months ago.

[kyber]

I still feel like a newbie as I've only been contracting a couple of year after taking voluntary redundancy. The advice on this forum is incredible but you do have to watch out for the noise/signal ratio - there are a lot of people who think they know rather than know they know. Mostly I've had little to add to the forum, so I'm still marked as a nervous newbie, which feels just about right anyway. Good luck.