Umbrella Company : Benefits


Enjoying a more relaxed approach to your work could be an attractive prospect for a lot of people, and will enable you to enjoy more free time, which you could either spend boosting the amount of work you take on or relaxing with your friends and family. When money is the issue, you cannot afford to be living in a fantasy world. You need to know what your bottom line is in order to exceed expectations, and the umbrella companies are the ones who can give these projections to you.

Finding an umbrella company to help in this area is easy and there are many companies available online. It is very simple to set up as a contractor through an umbrella company. All that required is for a contractor to choose and join an umbrella company that they feel would be right for them.

Using an umbrella company provides significant benefits to the independent contractor and the agency. The contractor no longer has to worry about setting up and managing a company. He gets all of the same benefits as a regular employee while maintaining his flexibility as a contract worker. Further, he is allotted benefits priced to the entire umbrella workforce, rather than to a one-person company. This ultimately provides the contractor with access to benefits he might not otherwise be able to afford.

The major appeal of umbrella companies to contractors is not only the amount of time they save by handling PAYE, NICs, VAT returns, payroll issues and company accounts. They also shield all contractors who work for them from the effects of IR35 legislation. They have the technical expertise and knowledge to deliver a more precise idea of what your most tax efficient way to receive your earnings.

IR35 legislation is a bit of a grey area and there are no hard and fast rules. The most important thing to remember is that IR35 is your responsibility and this view is held by HMRC. This is why it is advisable to invest in an IR35 expert so that you can be prepared for any higher rates of taxation you may be facing.

Payroll Service of an Umbrella Company


When it comes to picking the very best option as a contractor, first you have to work on your own requirements. If your clients like working with contractors who have total control of their administration, you want to start a limited company. On the other hand, if the clients are only attempting to find wonderful management, you can simply join an umbrella company. An umbrella company provides payroll services that are extraordinary. 

Wages have to be paid on time every time to maintain your employees' trust and productivity. For many small to medium sized businesses administering payroll can be a lengthy, time consuming chore, using up energy and resources that could be better spent on the company's core activities. The increasing complexity of taxation and employment legislation in the UK accompanied by ever-increasing penalties for non-compliance only adds to the pressure of doing the payroll.  Using an umbrella payroll service can increase the tax efficiency of your earnings, enabling you to get tax relief on some expenses, reducing your costs in the long run. This is a benefit you would not find if you were taken onto an agency payroll.

Expense claims and happy employees are two of the biggest things that you need in any business for a healthy bottom line, and by making sure that every last deduction is factored in, and that employee payments are fair and accurate, a well experienced team of accountants ensure both. An umbrella company with wonderful payroll processing will give you a better service as they understand the importance of maintaining a well-running, functional payroll system which is desirable by any business owner. At Cloud9Umbrella, we have a dedicated team of payroll specialists who can help eliminate the burden of administering your own payroll system by providing a comprehensive payroll service that covers all the essentials. We do not believe in one-size-fits-all packages; our team of UK based accountants and payroll experts can offer customised solutions geared specifically to your company. 

Our customised payroll service will include weekly or monthly payment schemes, handling PAYE, National Insurance contributions, statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay, and credits for student loans and working families. Our payroll specialists have plenty of experience in dealing with all aspects of the UK's pay-as-you-earn system and can ensure PAYE compliance, deal with PAYE investigations and even liaise with HMRC to clear up any issues that may crop up. Our pool of Accountants can ensure that any harm from possible future investigations regarding payroll irregularities are minimised.

Why join an Umbrella Company?


When you reach the end of an accounting period you need to "close the books." At a minimum, you will close your books annually because you have to file an income tax return every year. You may want financial statements monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. Even though there are many accounting software programs out there, without a skilled and qualified bookkeeper or accountant to interpret the information, small business owners are only seeing part of or a smaller financial prospect for their businesses. Without seeing the big picture they can’t make informed decisions to improve the financial health of their company. Information that isn’t interpreted accurately is not only incomplete but dangerous.

Accountancy is one area that should be handled by professionals. Any advice and support that an expert can offer is something that is hard to put value on. You can minimize your efforts and maximize your profits by hiring a reliable, fairly priced and established umbrella company. It is important for small businesses to have professional accountants who have expertise in keeping careful tabs on their proceeds and outflow. This will give you even more confidence. An umbrella company service is ideal for many contractors in today’s busy market place as umbrella services makes sure that you are meeting all the right tax obligations and will arrange for tax contributions to be taken out of your pay and handed straight over to HMRC. When choosing an umbrella company, it is essential to be well informed about the processes.
                                                                                        
Contracting can offer significant financial advantages, for many it is the chief benefit. There are both positive and negative reasons for selecting either the limited or the contractor umbrella companies to work under. However, once you start contracting and have experienced the flexibility, freedom and pay rates on offer, you'll never want to go back to normal employment again. There are a few things you should consider if you are looking for a contractor umbrella company. Below are the questions which you can ask once you've found the best umbrella company for you.

1) What weekly/monthly fees does the scheme charge?
2) How often does the company make payments?
3) How long has the scheme been operating?
4) Are there any joining/leaving fees?
5) Are there any other 'hidden costs'?
6) Does the scheme have an automated online service?
7) Are there any service guarantees?
8) Does the scheme offer any additional benefits?

An Umbrella Company can give you the assistance and support that you need to solve difficult issues of self-employment and allow you to focus on what you do best as a contractor.