Starting in freelance in the UK, is that complex or not?
 

Hi my favourite club, I need your help.

More and more I wonder if I must stay or not in my current company. It's a small company (10 people) with a new IT department set up last year. We're 3 IT developers and I'm the team leader. Eveything could be perfect if I wasn't more and more bored with that job. My mates are very good guys but sometimes I'm fed up doing their stuff again and again. Then most of the time I disagree with my boss about the way a problem must be dealt with. Sure I'm not always right, but I have much more experience than her for the specific job she employed me (web systems development). So days after days, I can't find the motivation to go to the office. And more and more I think about working for me. So I always agree with the boss, and I'm always really responsible for the mistakes :)

Is that a difficult thing to start? Any advice of how to do it (or why not to do it) will be more than welcome.

Go for it. I have clients who have. Fairly easy as far as I am aware:

Register with an agency - Dibble?
If do all your work through them then will probably need limited company or be put in one of the agency's composite ones.

Thats all! Apart from earn lots and enjoy the work more.

Tonio, I guess you could say I 'freelance'. I contract using a management company. It's quite easy to setup and plenty of different companies do it.

If you want to know who I use etc just send me a u2u and I'll give you some contact information.

Can't comment on the IT side Tonio, but having only had about 12 months as an employee in the last 20 or so, being self employed and running your own business is infinitely preferable, especially if you are someone who can't stand to be ordered around by people who know less than you do.

I've also just set up a company, using an agent because for what it costs it's not worth doing it yourself. If you need any free advice on that, U2U me. Happy to tell you what I know about company formation, salary vs. dividends etc. People who know more about it than I do will be along shortly to warn you about IR34, no doubt. I think you're safe if you've got income from a number of sources i.e. not on a single contract but several customers paying you separately.

Anyway, my advice is Go For It. We'll start a new clique ;)

Well said Ruth - IR35 though:D

Ditto on company formation. I set up about 4 a month so any advice you need...

If thats the way you feel Tonio, give it a go, although it may seem a little daunting at first, its actually pretty straight forward, just find a good accountant and get some advice.

It it doesn't work out you can always work for someone else again.

Initially you'll have less security, and i can appreciate that a lot of peolple want the security that being employed by others brings, also the earnings at the beginning can be rather variable, and its not always as easy as people make out working for yourself (cash flow, bad debts, vat and tax man etc)

Having said all that i haven't been 'employed' since i was made redundant in 1980, and i wouldn't want to change back.

The days of jobs for life with the likes of the banks etc are long since gone, and i prefer being master of my own destiny.

Go for it.

I couldn't agree more with whats been said so far, I did it 15 years ago, still going and wouldn't change a thing.

Do some homework get a good accountant, be careful of IR 35 and the C660 bill the revenue are pushing at the moment.

If thats the way you feel then your only regret would be not giving it a go.

Good luck.

Tonio,

Give this website a look www.shout99.com lots of info for contractors.

Yes that is a good website for contractors.

Thanks so much your help guys and girl. I'll think about that during the next holidays... that may be my motion for 2006 :)