Permy, Contractor or Freelance? Alex Whittles

Transcription

1 Permy, Contractor or Freelance? Alex Whittles PurpleFrogSystems.com

2 Alex Whittles SQL Bits Committee SQLBits.com SQL Relay Committee SQLRelay.co.uk Birmingham SQL UG SQLMidlands.com Birmingham Azure UG AzureBirmingham.uk MSc in Business Intelligence, CEng, CITP, FBCS, FIOEE, MIET, MIOD Run BI Consultancy Business Intelligence Consultancy Data Modelling Data Warehousing OLAP Cubes ETL Systems Reporting Systems Managed Service

3 What will we look at? My history Expectations Marketing Cash flow Accounting When How

4 My Story So Far Application Developer Dev Team Lead Director of Software Contractor Contractor / Freelance Freelance Consultancy

5 Employers Expectations Permy Personality, attitude, ability to learn, teamwork Long term bet, investing in you and your long term ability You Contractor Existing experience in the technology or industry Ability to deliver - no training on the job. But you get time to figure it out. Tech level conversations. Freelance Instant delivery Technical expert Business knowledge and understanding Senior Management / CxO level conversation Project Your Expertise

6 Marketing Permy Recruitment agencies CV & Linked-In Stability, growth, reliability, personal & technical development Contractor Recruitment agencies CV & Linked-In Technical and industry experience, contract renewals Different CV focus Freelance Website Google Adwords Reputation / Word of Mouth Branding Existing Clients Blog Books Speaking

7 Cash Flow Permy Long Term Stability Holiday & sickness pay Pension Contractor Medium Term Stability No holiday or sickness pay Pay your own pension Need to build a cash buffer >= 6 months income Freelance Short Term - VERY spikey Essential to build a cash buffer >= 12 months income Mitigate with part time contract(s) or regular customers Recurring revenue

8 Accounting Permy n/a Contractor One invoice at a time can manage in Excel/Word Self Assessments Ltd Company Real Time PAYE End of year accounts Quarterly VAT returns, if VAT registered - [Flat Rate Scheme]

9 VAT Normal VAT Registration Add 20% onto invoices Deduct VAT on purchases You pay the balance to HMRC Flat Rate Scheme Simplified Add 20% onto invoices You pay 14.5% to HMRC Winner! Income Spend VAT (20%) Total paid to HMRC 50 profit Income Spend VAT (20%) Total paid to HMRC (14.5% of 120) profit

10 VAT Normal VAT Registration Add 20% onto invoices Deduct VAT on purchases You pay the balance to HMRC Flat Rate Scheme Simplified Add 20% onto invoices You pay 14.5% to HMRC Winner! Income Spend VAT (20%) Total 0 20 paid to HMRC 100 profit Income Spend VAT (20%) Total paid to HMRC (14.5% of 120) profit

11 Accounting Permy n/a Contractor One invoice at a time can manage in Excel/Word Self Assessments Ltd Company Real Time PAYE End of year accounts Quarterly VAT returns, if VAT registered - [Flat Rate Scheme] Freelance Multiple invoices, different payment terms Get Software! Xero / QuickBooks Online FSB includes tax investigation insurance Get a GOOD accountant

12 LTD Company? Tax efficiency of company dividends Not any more Personal financial protection Not from malpractice The company is it s own legal entity

13 Other options Sole trader You are the company single legal entity Cannot be VAT registered No liability protection Umbrella Company You re employed as permanent staff They invoice on your behalf They pay you PAYE

14 IR35?... Tax Legislation Catching perm operating as contractors Evolves get current advice Public sector contracts (from 2017) Moves responsibility from contractor to employer An end to public sector contracting as we know it? Mitigate: Advertise Risk Substitution Sub-contract Multiple contracts No benefits

15 When to change Are you happy? Income Vs Stress Work Life balance define your goals Why do you want to change? Where do you live? Are you good enough?

16 Do you need to change? Discuss with current employer Negotiate (whether new or existing job) Don t always take the first offer Are you the best candidate/employee? Define your ideal/minimum requirements Risk/reward

17 So what next? Enjoy your job Figure out your goals Increase your profile Network Change can be good for the right reasons Start now

18 Permy, Contractor or