Contracting - help

empirix

Howdy all,

Decided to go ITcontractinG, So i secured my first contract, unbelievably quickly, but i need somebody/company to handle my finances, i hear you can go through an umbrella group or set up your own company.

If anybody has any advice here and/or can recommend an umbrella group etc its very much appreciated as i need to get this sorted asap


cheers

eth0_

I would advise you NOT to use CXC.
I think a lot of agencies recommend them (I have a feeling they are rewarded for this).

They f*ck things up a lot. Apparently they outsource the actual accounting side of things. They charge 5% of your gross to do this!
I started a new contract in June, they claimed I never sent my timesheet in (even though I have confirmation reports showing it was received), so I had to wait another week to get paid. Even on the day I was due ot be paid, I had to chase them about it, despite having my timesheet they didn't know how many days i'd worked (even thought it was clear as day to anyone) and didn't know what to charge for overtime. I don't think i'd have been paid at all had I not chased all this up myself.

So I wouldn't recommend them. I'm trying to find a new umbrella company atm.

empirix

cheers Etho,

Was actually thinking about em, accept i used them in OZ and they f*****d things up too, thats why i was reluctant, hopefully some posts will be made tomorrow recommending somebody etc

TempestSabre

I used 360 who were expensive, but I had no problems dealing with them at all.

First payment is always delayed so expect that. http://www.360.ie/

empirix

Cheers temp.

Anybody else any info here please.

I remember there was a good thread on this a while back but i am damned if i can find it.

Lads/lassies all info appreciated

cheers

eth0_

TempestSabre wrote:

I used 360 who were expensive, but I had no problems dealing with them at all.

First payment is always delayed so expect that. http://www.360.ie/

How expensive is 'expensive'? CXC take 5% of your gross, do these guys charge a flat fee?

empirix

i'll let you know later on, i am getting a quote emailed to me etc with a typical weekly salary worked out

MrPudding

I used OSK when I was working in Ireland. Very good. They do not do the invoicing for you (10 minutes work) but are very good for everything else. They work on a fixed fee.

Their website has a really good "guide to contracting in Ireland."

MrP

empirix

Etho - just to get back to you on this, the quote i got from 360 was by far the worst yet, not their actual price(which was hidden, just put it part of expenses) but overall, nearly 500 euro difference between them and two other quotes, its a no go for me anyway

TempestSabre

TempestSabre wrote:

I used 360 who were expensive, but I had no problems dealing with them at all.

First payment is always delayed so expect that. http://www.360.ie/

I wasn't kidding...:D

ChRoMe

If your going out on your own do it properlly. Go to the CRO and get yourself a off the shelf company or go as sole trader and do it that way. Of course you'll need a accountant but for doing stuff like your invoicing and some parts of your tax you should be more than capable of doing that yourself.

Why give someone else your hard earned money?

CiaranC

You think accountants work for free?

ChRoMe

Ciaran thats a lame attempt at trying to be smart. quit it.

of course I know accountants dont work for free. But by the sounds of the other posters on the thread they are talking about paying somebody to do their invoicing and other things which can be easily handled by the OP.

I believe you will get a far better service if you have your own accountant that you specifically hire rather than having your stuff processed by some finance drone in a large company. People here talking about expecting not to get paid the first week along with other stories about problems with money.

I think by spending a little extra time the OP could make it easier on himself.

TempestSabre

ChRoMe wrote:

If your going out on your own do it properlly. Go to the CRO and get yourself a off the shelf company or go as sole trader and do it that way. Of course you'll need a accountant but for doing stuff like your invoicing and some parts of your tax you should be more than capable of doing that yourself.

Why give someone else your hard earned money?

Because a lot of contracts insist you need to be Limited Company to do the contract. So you can either set one up (don't think you can do off the shelf anymore) and have all the work that goes with that, and the expenses of an accountant, or you can go under aa limited company umbrella. Which is cheaper and simpler in the short term. For long term contacts setting up the limited company makes better sense.