Morning all,

I just thought I'd drop in here for a bit of friendly advice (or unfriendly - I don't really mind )

I'm leaving the comfortable world of permy IT work, to take the icily refreshing plunge into the contracting market.

So far, my preparations have included:

Phoning a couple of accountants that have been recommended to me
Starting the process of setting up my own limited company.

What I want to know is : How important are the articles of association for the company? How detailed do they have to be? All I bunged down on the form I was sent for "Description of companies activities" was "Computer Software Development" - is there any benefit to being a bit more specific ?

Cheers peeps,
Bry

 

Wellcome!
I'm sure you'll get all the advice you need on here!
If not try the muppet forum....the IT guys tend to hang out
there. The best sort of Ltd Co is somebody elses!
john(contract aircraft engineer).

 

I know I'm not answering your question, but have you checked out the state of the IT contracting market at the moment? To say it is depressed at the moment would be an understatement. There doesn't seem to be enough jobs for established contractors at the moment, let alone newcomers.

With IR35, a world recession possibly round the corner, and general nervousness in the market (read cost cutting) at the moment, many contractors are not being renewed and having to take permie jobs, or are having to take 10-15% rate cuts. My father works at a bank in the city and, despite huge profits, they are cutting back on contract IT staff. They're even cutting back on the Xmas party with no free drinks this year!!!

I was looking to go into contracting again back in January and the market was bad enough then. It's got steadily worse since then and I'm resigned to staying permie for another year. Sorry to be all doom and gloom, but I wouldn't recommend anyone gives up a "relatively" safe permie job for a contract at the moment.

 

Following on from my last post, if you are the type who likes to thrash themselves with nettles for fun, and you are still going into contracting, I'll try and answer your question.

The easiest way to get a Ltd company is to buy an "off the shelf" company already set up. There are numerous accountants that specialise with contractors. Try here for some recommendations- http://contractor-resources.co.uk/co...e/accounts.htm

Oh, by the way, good luck!

[Edited by Jerome - 11/20/2001 9:23:40 AM]

 

Bryan - I would have to agree with Jerome. Rates in Ireland are falling considerably, but we still get loads of UK contractors who want to move over. Most contractors here have cut their rates by 30 - 35% over the past 14 months. NOw that contractors will have to pay tax like the rest of us, I would think that a permie job is probably a better option unless you have a very specialised skill set

 

You don't need to worry about an accountant for a few months, try to get a personal recommendation, where ru in the country?

You should spend this time thinking up a really good company name... what about Global World Domination Technologies Ltd., Cyberdyne systems (from T2)has already gone :-(

Seriously tho, it's a piece of **** this "running your own business" lark. Get a decent toy list together too.
Welcome to the game!

 

One thing you have forgotten to mention which does take some time is getting your company registered for VAT, this takes some time and certain companies/agencies will not start you untill you have your VAT number.

 

I'm in IT in the financial Services sector and we have a big drive to reduce costs, this is industry wide and is not only related to Sept 11th, but due to the customer trend of demanding better products for less. On the plus side this does not necessarily mean reducing our contractor headcount, although renewals will be reviewed more vigourously.

If you are bringing specialised(read in demand) skills to the table, e.g. OO, VB6, VC6, CRM(Siebel, SAP, Remedy) there will always be an opportunity. It is recognised that our permy population can not neccessarily bring skills+experience in emerging technologies. If you need someone who can code VB5, PL\1, Cobol, C we have them 10 a penny.

Question you need to ask yourself is, metaphorically are you cattle class or business class?

 

Matt W,

Remedy ??!! Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgghhhh, dont mention that name !! It's the biggest pile of buraeucracy (sp?) gathering, time-wasting, needlessly complicated pap I've ever had the misfortune to work with/on.

.......erm, please dont tell me you developed it or I'm going to feel rather silly

 

No but I do work with it.

I have to disagree though, the tool is brilliant for building workflow applications quickly, however some of the apps Remedy have produced are a little OTT, and have IMO suffered from over engineering through the various releases.

 

Anyway - we're getting away from the topic. Contracting was n't it.


Bad.. bad...idea...money grabbing baskets.....mutter....mutter


Edited - Spelling doh!

[Edited by MattW - 20/11/2001 14:40:53]

 

Got to go with Norm here - biggest pile of cr@p known to man....

Thanks

Gavin

 

Ok Ok - It's crap.

There I said it.

Still more fun than Cobol though

 

Thanks for all the comments chaps - no-one's actually answered the question though.

I'm fully aware that the market is in a right state at the moment - but I *know* that my skills are in demand at the moment - and I'm not jumping until I've secured my first contract anyway.

On the whole - it would seem like it doesn't matter all that much about the articles then ? I *am* buying an off the shelf job - but I'm not doing it through the accountant I'm hoping to use, so I just wanted to know if that was a bad idea or not. I've had a quick word with one of the contractors here already, and he said it doesn't matter much - so I guess that's my question answered.

Anyway - cheers again - all you doomsayers!

Bry

 

Bry,
I am very interested in your experience of finding work as a contractor. What skills do you have?
KF.

 

All you need to start (and get paid) are:

Company bank account
Registered company no.
VAT no. (though you can claim this afterwards)

That's it.

I would get an accountant though....... and a projector and a company surround system (you're writing a plug-in for real audio right?) and flying lessons (you're writing an interface for GPS systems)......... etc etc....

btw it's not all doom and gloom - I just got a £4 increase, that's a whole Mc.Donalds job........!

mwahahahaha ack ack



[Edited by father_jack - 20/11/2001 15:58:02]

 

OK - as my last comment wasn't particularly helpful...

I have had four accountants in five years of contracting and I would recommend that you go for someone local and avoid the "accounting factories" like the plague.

Having someone within easy reach that you drop stuff through their letterbox and speak directly to the accountant in person outweighs any dubious "specialist" skills the factories have....

Just my 2p,

Thanks

Gavin

 

Make sure your contract allows you to work outside of IR35.
There are companies who can review the contract between you and your agency who will assist you in this and also get the contract structured so it works to your financial benefit.
You will be on far less money as a contractor than you were as a permanent employee if you do not get this sorted.
Also, check the market. In my industry things have gone from bad to worse since I was "released" from my contract in May. If your part of the IT industry looks to be going the same way, stay permanent till the tide turns.

 

I've spotted the flaw. You asked a bunch of IT people a question and you expected to get an answer to THAT question. Are you sure you have enough IT experience to go contracting?

As above, register a new company or buy an existing one. You will get a company number. Open a bank account - away you go. You can do the rest later. It isn't necessary to register for VAT unless you are certain that you will cross the threshold. It can take a while, so you are better to kick this off before you reach the it. I haven't been contracting for a while, so someone else might be able to tell you what the threshold is.

 

£54,000

Simon.

 

at a risk of possibly anwering the question...

Are you talking about the Memorandum of association ? If so be as vague as possible about the trading activities. By tying yourself down to a narrow field you restrict yourself from others. The phrase "Computer Software Programming and Associated Development" is nicely ambiguous enough to include hardware too ! Get my drift ?

I think the memorandum is harder to change than the articles, but the articles don't deal with trading activities, it's all about internal affairs like voting rights etc.

airhead

 

d'oh double post

[Edited by airhead - 11/22/2001 9:03:28 PM]

 

That was *indeed* the question I wanted answered. I think I've been vague enough - and I'm glad it seems to be the right thing to have done.

Many many thanks for all the input guys!

Bry

 

Bryanc What exactly are your skills?

 

I've been working in the Financial services sector for the past 6 years. I was originally employed by a company called Braid, which was bought by TSI Software, which became Mercator.

I'm skilled in using / customising all of the company's products, which include Messenger / FS Manager, Gemini, Nimbus, and Mercator itself.

A lot of companies in the financial sector use these products, but have no in house skill for customising them for their own needs. Mercator currently charge me at somewhere between £1250 and £1500 a day to do that for them, on projects which last months.

I reckon there's a few out there that'd be interested in saving themselves a few hundred quid a day for me to do it on site, just for them - with no resourcing issues to cater for (i.e. when Mercator don't have a developer handy).

I've just been for my first interview - and the client are umming and ahhing.... Wish me luck peeps.

Bry