Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK • Hacker News Board

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#11

Post by PovilasID » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 8:56 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

"Actually it's now super easy online using HMRC's site now” - You probably have Companies House in mind. HMRC deals with things like VAT and PAYE registrations. Companies House can be used for company incorporations. Furthermore, you can only use Model Articles on Companies House website. This means that you cannot set up multiple share classes during company incorporation (e.g. voting shares, profit sharing shares).

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#12

Post by kozhevnikov » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 8:59 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

    > change how dividend tax works

Is there a good summary you would recommend for accountancy-challenged developers? Should we get any leftovers in business bank account out through more dividends now and accrue higher personal income tax or wait and see?

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#13

Post by majc2 » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:01 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

Agree with all of this post.

The only thing I'd expand on is that there is a big difference between permy recruiters and contract recruiters. The best contract recruiters know that they will have roles to fill in 6 months time, so they're going to want to keep you on their 'roster'. The best contractors know that contract recruiter help you make more money.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#14

Post by majc2 » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:04 AM UTC

kozhevnikov wrote: post #12

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

> change how dividend tax works Is there a good summary you would recommend for accountancy-challenged developers? Should we get any leftovers in business bank account out through more dividends now and accrue higher personal income tax or wait and see?

It depends on what your strategy is and the specifics of your situation. http://www.contractoruk.com/money/ifas_guide_avoiding_new_di... has a generic guide about the new dividend tax.

IMHO, just get an accountant.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#15

Post by UK-AL » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:04 AM UTC

PovilasID wrote: post #11

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

"Actually it's now super easy online using HMRC's site now” - You probably have Companies House in mind. HMRC deals with things like VAT and PAYE registrations. Companies House can be used for company incorporations. Furthermore, you can only use Model Articles on Companies House website. This means that you cannot set up multiple share classes during company incorporation (e.g. voting shares, profit sharing shares).

I would expect contractors would not need those.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#16

Post by astannard » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:05 AM UTC

warrenmiller wrote: post #2

Crunch are aces.

inniAccounts are good too but I am very biased as I work for them.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#17

Post by colinramsay » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:07 AM UTC

This is the easy bit. Finding quality, well paid work, that's the hard bit. It renders all the rest of it a bit irrelevant.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#18

Post by awjr » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:12 AM UTC

CharlesFinley wrote: post #4

The old discussion is now closed. You should be aware that there is no obligation for limited companies to have a business bank account. However, it is usually a good idea to have one. Furthermore, you don't need to be a UK resident to open a business bank account but most banks will not deal with you due to higher costs and fraud concerns. P.S. your company does not require a UK-based bank account. You can open a bu…

You will find some agencies insist on a company bank account.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#19

Post by gadders » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:13 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

>> Sure. Most permanent jobs have a 4 week notice period, and you can find contractor roles happy for you to start in 4 weeks. Line one up before you quit, and there's no 2-3 week mad rushing around trying to find a contract.

One other thing to bear in mind - if you apply for a job in Banking the credit history, criminal records, references etc check will take 2-3 weeks anyway.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#20

Post by dspillett » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:16 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #8

> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of > your usual expenses. You will spend some money > establishing a company. It may take several weeks to > find your first contract. If you wanted to be extra safe, sure. I made the switch when I was heavily in debt, and it helped me get out of debt, so YMMV. > A service like www.formationsfactory.co.uk will make the > incorporation process easy. Actually it's su…

> Most permanent jobs have a 4 week notice period

Really? In experienced level dev jobs? Most of the people I know are on two months notice. Three months, which is what I'm tied to, doesn't seem uncommon for senior devs/DBAs/similar.