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Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

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Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#121

Post by ownagefool »

sklogic wrote: post #112
codeshaman wrote: post #82

Great article, very thoughtful. But my biggest question is where do you find a client ? Is there a website (like a jobs website) for contract work, besides elance and the like ? Yeah, I can google it, but it's usually just a waste of time. Is there any serious place where an experienced developer can meet serious clients ? I mean clients willing to pay for quality work so I can make a living similar to a corporate jo…

I do not know anyone who started as a contractor. Everyone I know (myself included) moved to contracting after maturing for several years in the industry, building up a reputation and a network of contacts.

There are such a thing as junior contractors, they tend not to get amazing rates, but they'll still be doing a lot better than what they would on 13k a year, and they can quickly negotiate better rates.

I was perm for like 5-6 years, I think building your skills in perm roles is how it should be, but I'd probably have a lot more money if I'd just became a contractor.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#122

Post by ownagefool »

cjrp wrote: post #39
warrenmiller wrote: post #2

Crunch are aces.

I've found their webapp to be pretty good, but trying to get actual financial advice was a struggle since you have to go through your account manager rather than talk directly to a real accountant.

I use Maslins who provide freeagent. They respond emails within the hour usually.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#123

Post by acaloiar »

ownagefool wrote: post #111
acaloiar wrote: post #89

As others have noted, the 4 months of living expenses requirement can be quite excessive. I've seen similar advice in the past and can't help but recall my personal anecdote of starting a company with barely enough money for one month of expenses. What is far more vital to one's success as a solo contractor is not having savings, but having guaranteed future revenue generation – clients with signed contracts. As the…

Generally a client can end your contract pretty much at any time without recourse. If you're client doesn't have mutability of obligation clause, that allows this irregardless of notice period, you probably fall under ir35. So this advice is based on that, but obviously if you're good and marketable, you'll probably be OK. I myself really became a contractor after a relationship breakup when I was in about over £3000…

Agreed.

To shed some more light on my strategy:

* I planned to exit the company months in advance.

* Signed two clients

* I was a director of a small development team. I architected much of the company's critical infrastructure (most importantly, credit card/payment processing) and knew that I could leverage my knowledge to negotiate an advisory contract.

* Put in my notice

* Signed ex employer as my third client with weekly payment and a two month minimum. They obviously could have broken the minimum agreement, but kept me on until I severed the contract several months later. Weekly payment was key.

A little strategy can go a long way, but obviously it could have turned out much differently for me. And as noted, this is purely anecdotal. While four months buffer is generally wise, it is not de facto necessary.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#124

Post by ravibhatt »

jasonwocky wrote: post #105
ravibhatt wrote: post #57

Adding my two cents. I have been a contractor for almost 3 years now. My personal opinion: - Contracting pays a lot more than a perm role. - You do not deal with politics, which is a major plus for me. - You do not hear about you not getting your promised y% bonus because company did not do x% business. - You are not worried about 'changing the world', the way you would in a startup. - working 4-6 years your asses of…

Good list, but as a contractor in the US, the one thing that sticks out that I don't agree with (necessarily) is: -Getting 450 a day is always better than siting idle waiting for that 550-600 a day contract. I'm fine with making a tradeoff like that for very short term work, but I don't want to commit myself to long- or medium-term work at any sort of significant discount. If I'm confident I can get that 550 eventual…

yes, do not take a 1-2 year contract on a low rate. But mathematically:

Lets say:

Desired rate: 150 Available rate: 100 Sit idle for desired rate: 30 days (20 working days in a month)

let's say a contract is 2 months long.

with 100 day rate yo get: 100 x 40 = 4000 with 150 day rate you get: 150 x 20 = 3000 (well if you get 200 a day, you still make the same amount of money as you would working on 100 for 2 months instead of 1)

Unless you get a significantly long contract on your desired rate. And also, that long contract gets till the end. Most likely it will, but life is bitch. You never know what would happen, it is about risk assessment.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#125

Post by xedarius »

There are legal firms in the city who will review your contract for IR35 compliance. If you don't know what you're looking for I highly recommend using them. Do not be afraid of amending a contract and pushing back on the client.

Being IR35 compliant is one of the biggest benefits of being a contractor(at least that was true before they changed the dividends rule), so it's important to get this right.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#126

Post by drdaeman »

yetanotheracc wrote: post #30

What are the benefits of incorporating an Ltd vs being a sole trader?

This depends on a country (sure, I understand the original post is about UK)

Say, in Russia one'd generally would want to go sole trader route and not an Ltd one. Less initial paperwork, a bit more relaxed tax/accounting rules (with same rates), and significantly simpler to put earned money into your wallet.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#127

Post by ExpiredLink »

>> You should have savings to cover at least 4 months of your usual expenses.

12, better 24 months for peace of mind.

>> It may take several weeks to find your first contract.

More likely, several months. It depends on the match between your skills and market demand.

In general, most companies will not commission you directly. There's always a company between you and your end customer.

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#129

Post by jakub_g »

scalesolved wrote: post #85
eterm wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

230 work days aren't "conservative", that's 4.5 days/week. Given the legal minimum of 28 days holiday per year for permanent employees (28 includes bank holidays, often you'll find vacation quoted as 20 days which doesn't include the bank holidays), that's close to 100% "found work" rate.

Ten weeks holiday and still earning over 100k contracting a year at £500 a day. Obviously not everyone has a contract all the time but from my friends that do contract they almost always are working (and they are outside the market hungry center that is London)

Speaking about holidays, what's the employers' attitude towards days off say on a 3 or 6 months contract? Can you take a week or two off during a 3 month contract or you are generally expected to work the full contract time?

Re: Becoming a contractor programmer in the UK

#130

Post by JacobAldridge »

borplk wrote: post #101

Is there an Australian version of this somewhere? I wish people would replicate this for as many countries as possible.

The IR35 related laws in the UK make independent contracting much easier and therefore more common there than in Australia. As I understand it, many UK contractors would be considered employees under Australian law.

Having run my business in Australia and then the UK, I asked the founder of Crunch in the UK (Accounting support for contractors) if he planned to expand to Australia because I loved their service. While open to it at some point, iirc he said there just wasn't the volume of potential clients down under to justify the legislation and recruitment investment.

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