Contracting - plc or umbrella company

empirix

Hey all,

Recently got offered an IT contract, so today the agency that are responsible said to me would i like to set up my own PLC or work under an umbrella company.
Now the girl tried very hard to push the umbrella company(who she says her agency has good relations with 6 of em), she said if i went with the PLC option i would be waiting up to 8 weeks for my first pay check, whilst under the umbrella group i would get paid more or less straight away.

She also said there would be expenses involved setting up my own PLC.

Can anybody in the know, please shed some light on this, personally i am thinking herself and her agency has something to gain if i go with the umbrealla group idea

Any info appreciated

Cheers

Peace

I wouldn't trust a recruitment agency with kindergarden paper scissors TBH. They are always out to make a profit. Managment in those companies put their employees under a lot of pressure to bring in cash. I don't know how they would make money by getting you so sign in under the umbrella company but you'll bet they aren't doing on a good samaritan basis.

I would personally setup my own company. The fees it costs you to set up the company are tax deductable. If you get a good accountant the company shouldn't take that long to get registered. Also if you commit to haveing your accounts dealt with by the accountant they usually setup the company for free (or so i've heard). Once you have your VAT number you can start sending the invoices. I've never been through the process but thats the way I'd go.

Congrats on the contract.

eth0_

That's bullsh*t. If you're doing your taxes yourself, you should get your gross pay a day or two after the agency receives it.

Don't trust agencies one bit. They'll always try and sell one management company over the others because they're getting a cut of the profits there as well as on your hourly rate!

Kazujo

How long is the contract for? Will you continue on the contract root after this one?

I worked contract for about 6 months and used an umbrella company very easy to setup (and to cancel when the time came)

If you are planning on doing it long term it would probably be worth setting up your own company.

Be wary of umbrella companies attached to agencies, a few friends of mine had fierce trouble with a particular combination.

Ag marbh

If the agency is CPL forget about any of the umbrella companies they trust. Absolute cowboys, do it all yourself.

jd

empirix wrote:

.

She also said there would be expenses involved setting up my own PLC.



Cheers

I doubt she said a PLC (Public Limited Company)
#jd

empirix

Jeez maybe she didn't, i dunno, thought she said that.

I s there anybody on contacts here, could you point me in the right direction etc, even better pm me some names of accountants etc

Anything at all that would help me, really appreciated

cheers

eth0_

I'm using CXC as my management company, but they charge 5% of my gross (which is written off against tax.. apparently) per month. And they outsource the actual accounting to another company! Think their site is cxcglobal.com

Call around accountants in your area and see what rates they charge.

MrPudding

I am using OSK. They seem very professional. Quite expensive but again tax deductable. They charge a fixed rate.

MrP

Kobie

Go the Ltd company route. You end up with more money that way. You need to get an accountant to do it for you & they take care of everything. Some of them will actually do all the setup for free if you sign up with them for a year. I've used 3-Sixty on Fitzwilliam Street and had no problems.

If you're a Ltd. company you can buy business related things through the company - laptop, books, etc, and since you're registered for VAT you can claim back VAT on all your purchases.

It's a much better way to do things, you're your own boss, and there's one less cretin with a finger in your pie.

*Edit*
Should also add that it'll take a few weeks to get the company set up & registered, so perhaps that's what she meant by delay. After that however, when you get paid, you get paid - you don't have to arse about on the phone to your management company wondering whee your money is.