Umbrella Companies Answer the Needs of Contractors

Consider All Your Options

An umbrella company does all paperwork for contractors. An umbrella company is your limited company. An umbrella company will invoice your recruitment agency collect your money, work out your taxes, and deal with HMRC.

• More and more people are turning to life as a contractor.

Some because they may have lost their full time job and have no choice, and others who make the conscious decision to change the way they work - and the rewards they get!

• Whatever the reason for deciding to become a contractor, the vast majority never look back and enjoy the lifestyle & freedom that freelance contracting brings with it.

Whilst contracting has many attractions you should consider all the angles first. For example, do you want to go through all the hassle, cost and pain of setting up and managing your own limited company?

Or would you prefer to make use of one of the umbrella companies out there who will take on all the administration and paperwork for you?

An umbrella company will do lots of the horrible things for you. Apart from acting as your limited company they will;

1. Invoice your recruitment agency once you have done your work,
2. Collect your money (so you don't have to open a business bank account),
3. Work out and pay all your taxes,
4. Deal with HMRC on your behalf.

Are You Qualified?

If you're not experienced in the ways of accountancy, contracts, company law, payroll, and general administration these issues can be quite frightening at best, and an ongoing nightmare at worst.

• It takes time to do these tasks properly, and you're expected to have in depth knowledge of various accounting and legal disciplines as well.

The last thing you want is to get the fundamentals wrong. Inexperience and lack of knowledge is not a defense any Court will accept should HMRC find you have not completed all the necessary forms on time and correctly.

A fair Bit

So what does an umbrella company do for a contractor? Well, actually quite a lot.

In return for a modest processing fee (usually paid weekly or monthly to coincide with your timesheets) a good umbrella company will take care of all your day to day paperwork. Things like:

1. Contracts
2. Record keeping
3. Invoicing
4. Credit control
5. Expenses
6. Payroll
7. Company law
8. PAYE
9. Employment law
10. IR35
11. The Working Time Directive and other EU laws

Do You Have The Time?

Do you really want to do these things yourself? Particularly at the end of your working day? There are some contractors who do, but the vast majority of freelancers are more than happy to pass this burden onto an umbrella company.

It means they can get on with their contract while knowing all the boring, but essential, bits are being done by someone else.

Mark Ridgeon says:

• "Using the services of an umbrella company makes great sense for any contractor.
• "Why would a contractor want to worry about dealing with HMRC, understanding complex tax laws and have to complete endless forms when a company like Excellium Umbrella will do it all for them?
• "In this day and age having to setup and run your own limited company just doesn't make any sense."