Pondering pastures new and it might mean leaving the 'safety' of PAYE. What basics do I need to know?

do it – it's a no-brainer 😀
free c2w bikes, nights out, no NI, what's not to like ?

Register your self-employed status within, I seem to recall, 100 days or they fine ya.

EDIT: Might be 30 days. Possibly 50. Oh crap, however many days it is, register in that time. I was too lazy and got stung.

silly question, register with who? IR?

Oops, probs should have clarified:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm

self employed or running yourself through a limited company as a one man band? What line of business?
Limited company is most tax efficient.

Pretty cheap to set up on your own, get a website…reassures people you are kosher, speak to your local / regional development chappies, they usually have advisors who can tell you about tax implications of different ways of operating eg sole trader, ltd etc, get some funds behind you and invoice 50% on commission…people are slooow paying at the moment…and be prepared to put the hours in…says he at his desk at 9.30 on a friday evening….oh and block this chuffin website cos I waste far too much time on here!…good luck by the way…and Thomas Higgins and co are great for extracting money when people refuse to pay 😆

I took the plunge about 5 years ago, never looked back. Dont get sucked into spending money on advertising.

tlr…could you explain the free ctw scheme bike thing? im self employed and have no clue on how to get that!! and also no NI..? i still pay that too??

If you are a sole trader/partnership there is no c2w scheme.

Ohh and Ltd co. Is not always most efficient way of running a business (even though it is the most tax efficient) because being Ltd means more accountability which means more accountancy fees and more time for you. Also, a vehicle through the business is a tax liability when Ltd but tax deductable if sole trader/ partnership. Get proper advice based on your circumstances.

I've been a sole trader for some 8/9 years – I do management consultancy for charities, social enterprises and public sector organisations.

Still find difficulty in dividing time between work and leisure. I find it quite lonely – though this may be due to the sectors I work in and the nature of the work I do. Also perpetual worry where next project will come from – though never really had a gap between projects. Lots of effort to get work in as well as doing it (particularly with public sector rules for tendering). Sometimes not knowing what has happened to the work you have done – I found out 3 years after a report I wrote that a recommendation I had made to a local authority had been acted upon and was a finalist in some national awards. And I still find it difficult to price my services – or spend too long on a project that has a set budget.

Good points are ability to go for a ride on a slack day, no office politics or annoying colleagues, great commuting (5 seconds from bedroom to computer), ability to set lots of biking stuff(and other stuff) against tax, ability to have more than a few beers on a school night (though obviously not too often), ability to go shopping or pop out for a coffee as the mood takes you, ability to waste hours on STW and other websites (or maybe that should be in the negatives above), diversity of projects and clients.

what mastiles_fanylion says is true, there is no ctw scheme for sole trader or self employed but the tax man will still allow you to make a bike tax deductable . i know because I did it last year.

Philby, I understand your loneliness, and problems with separating work and leisure/homelife. I recently move out of my home office into a shared office space, load of new pals and much more productive at work, plus when i leave the office I forget about work and really enjoy my family and spare time…