Been approached about some possible contract work. As you can imagine the pay is good, but obviously a downside to that is either sorting out myself as a limited company or paying someone else to look after my tax etc. for me…

So I'm thinking, seeing as the job I've been approached about is working on a clients site 5 days a week, 300 miles from where I live, for the cost of £25 or thereabouts a week I'd rather let someone else do it to be fair…

Who has used one in the past? Who did you use? Would you recommend it, or is it really just better in the long run to do it all myself?

A limited company costs a few quid to set up (can be done online in 10 minutes). An accountant will cost a grand or less.

Can't see the point of an umbrella company unless it's just going to be a few months work.

Umbrella companies are just an extra fee to come off your income. Own ltd co is the way to go. This is my area of expertise. PM me if you want some information. If I can't help you I can put you in touch with someone who can.

EDIT: If its a short term contract or if the contract rate isn't especially high, your own limited company could probably be more hassle than its worth.

I used Parasol, didn't go ltd. as it was originally only a very short contract. Not had any problems, seem pretty good.

An accountant will cost a grand or less.

LOL, precisely why I'm considering an Umbrella company

Can't see the point of an umbrella company unless it's just going to be a few months work.

Probably only 3 months work, though well paid, so tis why I was thinking Umbrella company if I go through with it…

algarvebairn, would love to drop you a message if that's ok, can you give me your email address though as I can't see it in your profile… Mine is in my profile if you just wanna drop me a message, or post it on here and I'll reply then. Cheers

SilentSparky, Parasol was in the top few I just googled, I'll have a better look at their website.

If its only 3 months, stick with umbrella. You'll get some good info if you go to forums.contractoruk.com and there is a stick in the accountancy section about the various choices. Then feel free to come back to me. I'll update my profile with email address.

My wife just did this as a stop gap between jobs (redundancy!) for three months.

She used Paymatters. They seemed ok, the fees were reasonable and they were quite responsive though actually getting paid took a bit longer than they said it would. I was recommended them by someone else on here who also seemed pretty happy with them.

http://www.paymatters.co.uk/why-an-umbrella-company.html

I also found Parasol easy to use and hassle-free.

i used greenlantern35. its easy, their fees are miniscule compared to what you'll probably be earning and they take all responsibility for your tax dealings.

I used to use Giant and had no complaints. They did what they said they'd do when they said that they'd do it.

My only niggle is that I didn't download all my payslips when I left (I assumed I'd still be able to access them on their site) so if I ever need to refer back to them I'll be a bit stuck.