As a contractor, your take-home pay is generally higher than that of a permanent employee. Money is not the only positive aspect of a decision to work on a contracting basis. If the market conditions are good, you could find yourself in a position where you can choose where, when, and how long you work. Our take-home pay calculator can show you how much more you could take home as a contractor.
But with this level of freedom comes the responsibility to make sure that you find and complete enough contracts to maintain your required level of income. This is quite straightforward when there are lots of projects available which suit your skill set, experience level and location, however, this can become tougher in more challenging economic times when projects are not as readily available, and the competition for the best contracts is that much higher.
The decision to move to contract is often a conscious one, but sometimes it can happen as a result of redundancy. Either way, as soon as your decision has been made, there are a number of things that you will have to consider. The most vital of these is the need to manage your finances yourself.
The first step is to decide how you will operate, the two most common options being:
If you do choose to set up a limited company, we can provide you with information and expert advice, as well as providing an accountancy service which has been developed with contractors in mind.
This is the main challenge, and there are two routes to explore:
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Appointing an accountant can save you time and stress when starting up on your own. If you would like to speak to someone about any of the above information or any other queries you may have, arrange a callback and a member of the team will be in touch.
If you're already a client of ours, you can speak to your dedicated accountant directly.
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