Blogs

What are your options when working inside IR35? While incoming IR35 reform does not necessarily mean that as a contractor you will be placed inside the rules by your engager,...

How could IR35 reform impact the oil and gas sector? While statistics tell us that Britain’s oil and gas sector accounts for around just 1% of the oil produced globally,...

Mistakes to avoid when preparing for IR35 reform. A sea change in the contracting world will hit the private sector next April. Under new rules for administering the IR35 legislation,...

Latest HMRC guidance on private sector IR35 reform disappoints Expectations that HMRC would make serious efforts to help recruitment agencies and end-clients implement incoming IR35 reform fell flat last week,...

Company Insurance Insurance for contractors is one of those necessities that we would rather do without. Whether you require business insurance as a contractual obligation or you want to take...

Personal Approach It doesn’t matter how many technological advancements occur in the world of accounting, whether it is automated bank reconciliation, virtual document hubs, mobile expense tracking or online accounting...

All contractors will at one time find themselves on the bench. This is the period between contracts when your latest assignment has finished, and your new contract has either yet...

Switching to a New Accountant With the hangover of New Year’s Eve now a faint and distant memory, you will have undoubtedly witnessed the barrage of social media posts pledging...

IR35 affects anyone operating via a Ltd company and is something that you should be aware of as a contractor. Anybody thinking of going Ltd or anyone picking up a...

Revenue set out strategy for becoming top organisation HMRC has recently published its corporate strategy to become a “world-class organisation” underpinned by the values of professionalism, integrity, respectfulness and innovation....

Pecuniary liability principle Under the pecuniary liability principle, where an employer settles a personal bill on behalf of an employee, whether Class 1 or Class 1A NIC are payable, depends...

When paying PAYE earlier might be beneficial There are special rules that determine when an employee is deemed to be paid for tax purposes. Basically, the legislation seeks to ensure...

HMRC penalties could be suspended – conditions apply Where a tax return contains an inaccuracy that was due to the taxpayer failing to take reasonable care, then that error is...

What are the new off-payroll rules? Up until now, contractors earning a rate of £220 per day or more or on contracts of more than six months have had to...

The purchase of a property through a business can be very tricky and there are numerous things to think about if deciding to do so. Specialist advice is recommended. If...

Childcare Vouchers if you are a Limited Company Director: How? Where? When? Are you a Limited Company Director looking to save money on childcare by setting up Childcare vouchers? How...

There has been a great deal of media coverage recently regarding the changes to Workplace Pensions. The new law is only applicable for Company’s with more than 1 Employee. If...

As a contractor, you will be asked to sign written contracts with either an agency or client. At first glance it can just look like pages of ‘legalese’ which make...

If you receive a letter which mentions IR35, you should immediately assume that you are in the early stages of an IR35 enquiry. Don’t panic though: with a bit of...

 What carries more weight in an IR35 enquiry: your written contract or the reality of the situation? Your actual working practices are more important than your written contract in the...

The simple answer here is no. In fact, contracting via an agency can sometimes cause problems in the event of an IR35 investigation. When dealing with an agency, there will...

We take a look at the latest developments with IR35, where we stand at the moment and what can be expected in the future. Is there a high risk of...

The IR35 legislation is riddled with grey areas, which naturally leads to misinformation and misunderstandings. Perhaps one of the biggest areas of confusion is surrounding personal service and substitution. Most...

An Agency operating a self billing system means they do not require an invoice to be submitted by the Contractor‘s Company and they will pay for services provided on submission...

We are currently working on preparing your (5th April) Year End Accounts and 13/14 Personal Tax Returns and in some cases, we haven’t received all the necessary information required to...

At FW Accounting we are specialist Accountants for Contractors and Freelancers, so we know all about the difficulties in obtaining the right Contractor Mortgage. It’s for this reason that we...

We’ve made a change to how your monthly service fees and tax reserve deductions are detailed on your business bank account; they now show as Powered by Integra Limited. This...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) general rule for claiming expenses is that they must be wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in performing your duties. If an expense has duality of...

When working as your own boss, the effects of falling ill can spiral out of control, and quickly. Most illnesses experienced are mere colds which pass after a couple of...

Who is behind IR35? Let’s take a look at who exactly is charged with enforcing the legislation, and see who is pulling the strings of IR35 enquiries and investigations. Last...

If your personal tax for Self Assessment in January was more than £1,000, HMRC require that you make your second payment on account by 31st July 2014 as they require...

We have recently added more of your company’s records to your client portal including your P60 for 2013/14 and some further useful factsheets. Your portal is a very valuable business...

HMRC have released new guidance on IR35 and, although nothing game-changing has been added, it brings to light the importance of ensuring compliant working practices. Amongst other topics, the guidance...

All the excitement of starting your company has led you to this point: getting business. You need clients, so what do you do? You join a networking event. But the...

Often seen as an outdated requirement, with many choosing to take an off-the-cuff approach, business plans are a dying aspect of entrepreneurship. We believe, however, that having a business plan...

IR35 Update   Since it was introduced back in the year 2000, the way that IR35 has operated and been enforced by HMRC has been unpredictable. When the legislation was...

Although there is no clear cut answer to this, what must be made aware is that the risk of IR35 is ever present for anyone working as a contractor. In...

With information of ‘the dangers of IR35’ common throughout blogs and articles at the moment, many contracting outlets fail to address some of the most important issues when it comes...

LinkedIn is an ever-growing business orientated networking platform, being used by many professionals as a part of their larger social media marketing plan. But how much time have you put...

As the UK’s Premier Oil & Gas and IR35 contractor accountants, we pride ourselves on delivering to you a fully integrated accounting and administrative support service. We are the only...

Whatever your speciality, when you become a contractor or freelancer, the biggest challenge is generating business for yourself. Contractors are excellent at what they do, but many have never done...

IR35, despite being a very important topic, is one rife with misinterpretation and miscommunication. FWA understand the genuine concern that IR35 is for contractors, and because of this have teamed...

It used to be your favourite day of the month or week when you were employed and received a pay cheque on schedule. It was never a concern, just a...

If you are a limited company director looking for a business car, why not consider a low emission car? Besides contributing to saving our planet by lowering your carbon foot...

The introduction of the IR35 legislation led many contractors to feel targeted and uncertain with whether they would be seen as a genuine business in the eyes of the Revenue....

Currently when you submit your timesheet to timeandexpense@fwaccounting.com from your preferred e-mail address, our automated processing system will recognise you by this address and allocates your timesheet/expenses to your Company...

We are very excited to share with you our newly redesigned website after several months in development! You’ll see things are looking much clearer and it’s all been designed with...

With Christmas fast approaching, we thought we would let you know about a little known tax loop hole regarding Christmas parties….. HM Revenue & Customs allow a tax exemption of...

As a contractor, it’s likely that you have left a job where you were provided with a range of benefits from your employer – such as a company pension scheme,...

At FW Accounting we welcome feedback on how we can make improvements for our clients and following some recent feedback we received regarding your monthly Business Snapshot, we are delighted...

We are currently busying away preparing your Company’s 2012/13 Year End Accounts (if your Company’s yearend is 5th April) and Personal Tax Returns and in some cases, we haven’t received...

IR35Buddy© is a free online portal for genuinely self-employed contractors to help them evidence their IR35 status. What sets IR35Buddy© apart from other contractor portals and websites is their unique...

Interview with Seb Maley of Qdos Consulting IR35 is a concept that still causes much confusion and concern within the contracting community. Understanding the ins and outs of the legislation...

Being offered a contractor role normally means more money. Sounds great – but do you really know what’s involved before taking the plunge?? Instead of seeing pound signs, make sure...

As well as being a contractor, you are also a director of a limited company, a company that you work for and represent. How do you promote that company and...

The Importance of Contractor Insurance Any professional working as a contractor must be aware of the potential misfortunes that their limited company can endure without the existence of proper contractor...

Are Mortgage Lenders easing their criteria towards Contractors? Since the dawn of the credit crunch, few have suffered as much under tighter lending rules as the contractor community. The outlook...

Saturday, July 6th marks the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster – still the worst offshore tragedy in UK history. Four massive explosions destroyed the Piper Alpha platform around...

[lead] The first and biggest review of the country’s offshore oil and gas industry in over 20 years has been launched this month by the UK government, in a bid...

Great news for Energy Contractors this week when a major high street mortgage lender extended their IT contractor lending policy to the Energy professionals. This exciting development for Energy contractors...

[lead]I would like to write about something I overheard this week. A couple of contractors were talking about recruitment agencies. I was taken aback by the disregard and disrespect that...

Following the release and issue of the recent 2013 budget, many professional individuals will be scratching their heads as to what has and hasn’t changed. Many will indeed be wondering...

Contractors beware… HMRC is planning to bring forward further guidance when and how IR35 rules will apply to office holders and directors providing their services through limited companies. There is...

[lead]At FW Accounting, our mission is to constantly improve our service offering to our clients. We are always asking; “how could it be better?” So how do we do this?...

[lead] …it would seem so…[/lead] A recent report from REC (the Recruitment and Employment Confederation) is a positive boost for contractors working in IT, engineering and other technical fields. The...

[lead]Shale gas fields can be exploited via a process known as hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as ‘fracking’. These fields have become commonplace in various countries around the world and...

I was lucky enough last week to attend a fantastic lecture on how to get the most out of LinkedIn from a Business Development point of view, by Mister LinkedIn...

Specialist contractor and freelancer accountancy firm FW Accounting has joined a campaign to help individuals working under the auspices of a UK Umbrella Company determine whether they could save up...

Time. So precious but there’s never enough of it. Well, apart from when we’re doing something that really, really drags like standing in a queue or waiting for the kettle...

Where I live in Aberdeen, THIS is the kind of weather that we have been dealing with this week. In fact I was lucky enough to be getting a tour...

After covering how to source leads proactively yourself, today we are looking at online resources, so you can make yourself visible to the clients that need you! Side Note: This...

Welcome Miles Duncan! Our very own Sales Director has kindly offered to do a series of 3 blog posts offering advice on how to generate leads and opportunities for Contractors...

  Don’t worry! We know it can be a scary prospect, you are making a jump into the great unknown…it’s a place where you won’t be reporting to your boss,...

[lead] No pay… No fun… No hope for progression within the business afterwards…? [/lead] This is the impression from many current articles, in regards to the working environments for Interns....

Reporters from FW Accounting managed to catch up with the Dark Knight recently and rather than ask the same old questions about his summer blockbuster, we thought the Caped Crusader...

It seems that everyone is talking about Social Media these days. The fastest growing group on Facebook is 55-65 year old women, so if your mother isn’t using it yet,...

Often our freelance clients find that, after taking the scary leap into being self-employed, the next challenge is building a good client list, preferably one with great clients who pay...

If you work for yourself you will be familiar with the phrase “I’m too busy to be ill!” You’ll know the feeling of dread when you start to cough and...

If you are a contractor or a freelancer, or if you are thinking about going it alone, read on. Your life could be about to get easier. The biggest obstacle...

Some thoughts on the wonderful world of networking from Eugene Clarke of TalkBuddy™ You’ve done it! You’ve started your first business and you’re ready to get out there and tell...

Being a contractor carries a number of obligations and legal responsibilities and it’s important to know what they are and what your clients expect from you. As with solicitors and...

Getting customers through the door faster! As an avid bargain hunter, and I mean to the extremes – my colleagues at FW Accounting have nick-named me ‘Discount’-  I love receiving...

In a previous blog, we talked about the essential ingredients of good Business Plan. In this post, we’re going to look at the financial projections that should go along with...

We all know times are tough, and the current economic situation is making the growth of new businesses and the innovation necessary to sustain that reputation much harder. Access to...

When marketers talk about web-based software and “the cloud” or “software-as-a-service” (SaaS), they always seem to bang on about two main things. Cost: It’s far cheaper than desktop software and...

Rangers case should be a warning to contractors and small businesses You’d have to be a hermit to have avoided the news about Rangers Football Club going into administration this...

Last time, I wrote about the importance of keeping physical records, now, we’re going to talk about relationships – specifically the relationship between you and your business supporter. Why is...

A number of our clients, and many self employed people, generally (whether operating through a Limited Company, or as a Sole Trader) have the common issue of completing work for...

Self employment is a great way for many people to take control of their careers and the rewards can be huge, but there is one sting in the tail of...

A very Happy New Year from all of us here at Freelance World! To kick-start 2012, this week’s blog is our Top Ten Tips for the new business year. These...

You might be wondering why we’re covering a topic as simple as keeping records. Firstly, let’s establish why you need to keep records, then explain the impact record-keeping has on...

Attracting top talent in the current climate is just as hard as it has been for the last 30 years.  Without a doubt the most compelling method of attraction is...

What can you get these days for £4? A few pints of milk or a drink at the pub? Perhaps a thimble full of petrol (if you’re lucky)? Well, not...

Should you write a Business Plan in these changing times? Some would say no, however having a plan for what you’re going to do has always been a good idea....

At this time of year it’s a good idea to stop and review what you have been doing with your business over the previous ten or eleven months and decide...

By law, a business has to register for Vat when their sales reach £73,000 or it’s likely that they will in a calendar year. But what is Vat? Basically it’s...

Being Mobile: It’s the new black ———————————- A while back, when I started in the workforce, cellphones were a fairly new thing. I got my first phone when I got...

These days, we seem to spend a lot of time worrying about things that, really, aren’t that important. The pace of modern life and the things we take for granted...

Running a business, whether that’s as a contractor or otherwise, it’s vital that you stay on top of the numbers. Knowing whether you’re making a profit and whether or not...