Handy info!
Also thinking of going self employed very soon!
164480:
do not use nova,& yes go & see a accountant.andy.
Could you let us know the pitfalls for using Nova?
demonbiker:
Handy info!Also thinking of going self employed very soon!
Have you done it ?
Not yet!
still thinking about it 
Although i might be leaving my current job to go back on agencyâŚwrong time of year to make the jump tho!
Would you be prepared to work as an employee of a company on a zero hours contract?
If the answer is NO then donât go self employed.
So how would a person like me, who wants to work a couple of days a week, maybe 3 at the most, surely its not worth setting up as a self employed. Some are saying that agencies like S/E drivers, for what I can make of this is either you work for a company directly as S/E or work for an agency as a S/E or even P.A.Y E.
Surely if an agency is offering work at ÂŁâ â per hour, they are not going to pay ÂŁâ â â just because you are self employed are they ?
Are you saying that most agencies prefer not to use Paye. Because I am of retirement age, I do not have to pay N.I anymore, but the year before last the I.R wrote top say I owed them ÂŁ80, which I ignored, but this year, they gave me a rebate, not much, but it helps towards the utility companies xmas bonus. 
thetastytrucker:
demonbiker:
Handy info!Also thinking of going self employed very soon!
Have you done it ?
Done it now, gone limited company not vat registered - so see how it pans out, most agencies pay an extra ÂŁ1ph for limited co as it save them holiday pay and doing wage slips etc.
paul b:
hmm, iâve been self employed for 28 of the last 30 years and i canât honestly say your better off, everyone automatically assumes you earn more money, this is incorrect, you can demand a better rate for being self employed but that dosnât mean more money in your pocket!
different people have different veiws on what that rate should be, some say an extra ÂŁ1 per hour, some say more, personally if on an hourly rate and to cover the fact that your loosing holiday pay and any other benefits you mightâve got from paye and also to cover the costs of being self employed i.e accountants fees etc, you need probably 25% more on that hourly rate, weather you can get that is a different thing, afterall there is a reason why agencies like self employed drivers.
a lot think the benefits are in being able to claim for this that and the other as a self employed driver, what a lot donât realise is you can claim for the vast majority of those things, like travelling expenses, night out costs etc on paye and get a tax rebate.
someones mentioned getting a good accountant, youâll find that there are two types of âgoodâ accountant, theres the fella who will claim for everything but do it all to the letter so your accounts are untouchable, then theres the bloke who knows all the tricks and will get you the lowest possible tax bill, but be aware should it come on top with the taxman with the dreaded investigation this second fella who up to this point, was your best mate and would talk to you anytime day or night will strangely stop answering his phone and leave you with a lot of questions you havnât got any answers to!
i wouldnât say donât do it but i would say think carefully about what rate is on offer before you do.
as pointed out v well above working for only a quid per hr extra is no use, what your doing is saving the agency money! the extra quid you think your getting wont go far, just say for example the agency are paying ÂŁ8 per hr it will cost in real terms iro ÂŁ10 per hr to employ you, so by working for ÂŁ9 you are saving them a quid per hr!
i understand why the agency want to work like this as it means the have all the plus points without the mither
I went s/e in1996 but donât only do hourly rate work
alix776:
If you want any kind of life donât do your books your self let an accountant do it and your books will be less likeybto be investigatedThink about it youâll be doing full hrs drving then come home atvweekend and start doing your books when do you have time for family
Iâm sorry that is complete rubbish weather you do your own accounts or pay an accountant it makes no difference to weather hmrc will look at you
A thing people need to rememenber is itâs your signature on the tax return and itâs your tax bill not the accountants
Accounts are not hard to do as long as you keep receipts invoices filed and in order where people go wrong is they donât keep on top of it basicly I have 24 ring binders one for receipts in one for receipts out and just file stuff in order when it comes in as for claiming for its all on line whAt you can claim for some people think accountants will save you a fortune if your running a massive Multi billion pound compAny I donât doubt Tht but for small fry like us there not hardly gona save you anything time you paid them
demonbiker:
Done it now, gone limited company not vat registered.
VAT registration is probably your next move, the 1st couple of online VAT returns you do seem daunting, but once you get the hang of it its rather simple
Doing the HMRC VAT training course run by the business education Unit is probably a good idea.
demonbiker:
most agencies pay an extra ÂŁ1ph for limited co as it save them holiday pay and doing wage slips etc.
before anyone else points it out, the extra ÂŁ1 p/hr won`t make up for the loss of other benefits that you had as a PAYE driver
monarch of the highway:
Accounts are not hard to do as long as you keep receipts invoices filed and in order where people go wrong is they donât keep on top of it basicly I have 24 ring binders one for receipts in one for receipts out and just file stuff in order when it comes in as for claiming for its all on line whAt you can claim for some people think accountants will save you a fortune if your running a massive Multi billion pound company
I find an A4 day to a page desktop diary is much simpler, stick each bill, receipt to the relevant page that the bill or receipt is dated, along with a matching spread sheet, the accountant can check the entries.
Hi to all,
I know there have been threads about this before but im looking for new responses not old outdated threads offering old advice from people that dont even use this forum anymore so no talk about using the search feature please.
Anyway being as ive just gone back to agency work its become apparent that i can earn way more if im self employed, but being the knuckle dragging truck driver that i am i have no clue about the best way to become self employed.
So im looking for advice and pointers from self employed drivers about where to go and what to do for the best.
First off am i right in thinking that i need to make myself into a limited company ?
Is it best to use firms like Nova or Portstaff or is it just best to book an appointment with my local Accountant and discuss the matter with him ?
Only really need advice on those 2 points really for starters, but any nuggetts of info that you have will be very much greatly accepted.
Thanks to all 
do not use nova,& yes go & see a accountant.
andy.
rockape2620:
First off am i right in thinking that i need to make myself into a limited company?
no you dont, you can be a sole trader or a partnership or a limited company the difference is if it all goes â â â â â skywards and youre a sole trader you are liable for all the debts that have been run up (if youre a self employed driver in reality there shouldnt be many) but if you are a limited company it does as it says on the tin, it limits your liability for the debts but there is certain criteria that must be met to be a limited company
rockape2620:
Is it best to use firms like Nova or Portstaff or is it just best to book an appointment with my local Accountant and discuss the matter with him ?
in all honesty if your going to be a self employed driver it might be worth having a good old natter with an accountant as they will be able to advise you what you can and cant claim back off the tax that you may have to pay.
accountants are like gadgets, you get what you pay for and if you get a decent one you may not even have to pay tax, the one thing i would suggest is keeping every single receipt, even your weekly shopping receipt, you will be amazed at what you can claim back. boot polish, shaving foam, razor blades, washing powder, anything that is used for your job, i think i am right in saying you can even claim a meal allowance from your own company.
just be careful that if you invoice a company for more than a certain amount (i think its 50%) of your trade for the financial year you would fall into the category of being employed by them and it all gets a bit messy with the tax man.
one thing i would do is save approximately 30% of your earnings in an account to pay your tax just in caseâŚ
best of luck with it all and have fun
hmm, iâve been self employed for 28 of the last 30 years and i canât honestly say your better off, everyone automatically assumes you earn more money, this is incorrect, you can demand a better rate for being self employed but that dosnât mean more money in your pocket!
different people have different veiws on what that rate should be, some say an extra ÂŁ1 per hour, some say more, personally if on an hourly rate and to cover the fact that your loosing holiday pay and any other benefits you mightâve got from paye and also to cover the costs of being self employed i.e accountants fees etc, you need probably 25% more on that hourly rate, weather you can get that is a different thing, afterall there is a reason why agencies like self employed drivers.
a lot think the benefits are in being able to claim for this that and the other as a self employed driver, what a lot donât realise is you can claim for the vast majority of those things, like travelling expenses, night out costs etc on paye and get a tax rebate.
someones mentioned getting a good accountant, youâll find that there are two types of âgoodâ accountant, theres the fella who will claim for everything but do it all to the letter so your accounts are untouchable, then theres the bloke who knows all the tricks and will get you the lowest possible tax bill, but be aware should it come on top with the taxman with the dreaded investigation this second fella who up to this point, was your best mate and would talk to you anytime day or night will strangely stop answering his phone and leave you with a lot of questions you havnât got any answers to!
i wouldnât say donât do it but i would say think carefully about what rate is on offer before you do.
I donât know where you got the idea youâll earn loads more being self-employed! Iâve been doing it for a few years and itâs certainly not the case for me. The main difference is Iâm able to keep more of what I earn compared with PAYE.
44 Tonne Ton:
I donât know where you got the idea youâll earn loads more being self-employed! Iâve been doing it for a few years and itâs certainly not the case for me. The main difference is Iâm able to keep more of what I earn compared with PAYE.
Thanks for all of the replies guys its certainly food for thought, and thats why i want to do it 44 Tonne Ton so i get to keep more of what i earn, rather than the tax man taking massive chunks of my hard earned wages, im going to speak to an accountant on Monday and take it from there.
I was self employed when I operated my own vehicles, it didnât seem too difficult to sort my own VAT and Tax affairs without paying professional fees. I am not saying you shouldnât use an accountant but if you do the legwork & paperwork, you can simply pay the accountant to make up the year end accounts with one small payment if necessary.
However I fail to see how an umbrella company can help you to trouser more money as the extra goes straight to the umbrella company in registration and weekly fees doesnât it?
I am interested how it works.
Iâve been going for 2 years now self employed I changed over to a limited company last year personally this is the way to go you can work for one company or many
if you stay a sole trader you car servicing insurance can be put through your accounts including fuel
this isnât the case with a limited company you can only business mileage you hammer this up to apoint
I you can only claim mileage unless your car could be classed as a commercial veihcle
it wonât be worth putting your car through the company as youâll get hammered on you personal allowance for your car on a limited company you can claim 40 ppm for the first 10,000 miles the 20 ppm there after
Which ever way you go register for VAT at the low rate scheme where you only pay back a protion of the VAT you collect in via your invoices always put this away
Also put 100 quid a week away for you tax and ni
Oh and get a good accountant that will make you books untouchable yes you will pay for it but it will save you more that they cost