Running a franchise is not difficult if you have a reasonable grasp of figures. Being self-employed has tax benefits, but you carry all the risks personally.Make sure you re not being scammed. If you are free to offer your services when you want and to anyone you want, you are self-employed. If someone else controls what you do and when you do it, you are their employee. If someone employs you but tries to make you believe you are self-employed, it s often because they want to pay you less than the minimum wage.
It isn t difficult to be self employed, but you do need an Accountant even if only for the first year, otherwise you will miss out on allowances. Your Accountant will help you with tax, NI etc. The book-keeping is not difficult if you keep on top of it. You don t need meticulous record keeping skills , you just need common sense!
Get the contract checked out ,something does not sound right.Too many open ended questions.If he well not let you take a copy for your Councilor to review. Then I smell bad fish.
Just hire an accountant to do your tax returns, they will save you more money than they cost to hire!!!
For loans and mortgages banks like to see at least three years of records on which to base their decision, expect it to be more in the current climate. If your income is from just one customer you would not strictly be self employed, but contracted, it makes little difference but can be an issue with HMRC.You do need to keep good records, but if you are making ��30+k I would use an accountant and get the best deal on your income tax and expenses, it WILL save you money and time and makes things far simpler. After the first year its all pretty easy and being S.E. means you can do the same work for other organisations and make proper money. It sounds like you have nothing to lose so go for it and see if it suits.
My husband has been self employed for almost 20 years. His record keeping is atrocious - receipts are kept in a shoebox. His filing system is a mess until I sort it out then he messes it up again. He says he knows where everything is! His turnover is about ��75,000 a year.He keeps having offers for credit cards, loans etc thrown at him. He has taken some up too. My son has been SE for almost 2 years (since he left Uni) but he got a mortgage OK this year! He now looks after my husband s paperwork too.It really pays to find a good accountant who will help you out when it comes to tax business, though.Good luck!
Hi, I m self employed and there will never be a time when I go and work for somebody else ever again! It is so worth it.To answer your queries here are the advantages of self employment - you re your own boss, you work the hours you choose, the more you put in, the more you get out (hopefully!), satisfaction in a job well done, expansion on your terms.....you get my drift. The disadvantages for being self employed - if you re not strict with yourself the whole thing can fall apart, no lying in til you fancy getting up etc, you re the one responsible for the entire business, if you work alone you may miss the office environment (I don t!).....For book keeping etc, yes, you do have to keep decent records. For my business I keep a diary for appointments, an exercise book for quick jotting down of each customer s bills and a folder for any invoices. Each evening I log my invoices (incoming and outgoing) which takes me all of 15 minutes. It s just a part of my day.Where future finance issues are concerned, such as getting credit, etc, it s true that this is tougher than if you were employed BUT not impossible. It s the same as if you were newly employed by a firm - credit companies will still want you to show a good trackrecord of employment i.e. having worked there for a while, and the same goes for self employment. Most places will accept books of 2 years + as proof of income. As for paying NI and tax, mine is simple - I fill out an easy self assessment online every year, tax and NI is calculated and I get a bill every 3 months prompting me to pay my NI, and I pay my tax contribution in Jan/Feb every year.If you have the dedication to working for yourself then don t look back and go for it! Good luck x
