If you are thinking about becoming self-employed, either as a freelancer or contractor you are in the right place.
Whether it is helping you to decide the best way of working, providing expert advice, helping you manage your business finances, or guiding you through the compliance maze, we are here to help you at every stage of your self-employment journey.
A good place to start is by taking a look at our free Choices guide to becoming self-employed. It is full of useful insights into running your own business, the different ways of self-employed working, and how we can help you stay on course when you become self-employed.
When you decide to become a freelancer, contractor or self-employed professional, there will be a long list of decisions to make and issues to consider to give yourself the best possible start. But don’t worry, we can give you all the objective, transparent advice you need to set you on your way.
One of the first things to decide when becoming self-employed is how you want to work. There are three main options, setting yourself up as a limited company, working as a sole trader, or joining an umbrella company. Each has its benefits and drawbacks, but we can help you choose the best option for your circumstances. Our working options section is a great start.
In theory it is cheaper to look after your day-to-day bookkeeping and compliance tasks yourself. But in reality, many self-employed professionals realise that the time, stress and uncertainty of trying to keep on top of everything, as well as doing their day job, costs much more than any initial cash saving. At the same time, the nature of self-employment - irregular income, multiple projects, flexible hours – mean that a traditional high street accountant is unlikely to meet your needs.
Whichever way of self-employed working you choose, there will be regulations and legislation you need to follow. From IR35 to claiming expenses or paying dividends, not to mention the often complex bureaucracy surrounding your tax obligations. Brookson take as much of the admin off your hands as we can by ensuring that you stay compliant and on top of all the deadlines and legislation that you need to be aware of - giving you the freedom to focus on your work.
When working as a self-employed professional, you'll need to secure your own work, known as assignments. There are a variety of different ways to source work and at Brookson we’re here to do everything we can to make the lives of self-employed professionals easier - and that includes helping you find your next assignment through our work finding services.
Working closely with an accountancy partner, like Brookson that you can trust, will give you the freedom to focus on your business, and the peace of mind of knowing that your administration and finances are compliant, up-to-date and in order.
Whether you are a contractor, freelancer or self-employed professional, we believe that you should always know how your business is performing.
We have a large team of experts who specialise in helping self-employed professionals to run their businesses. Specialists who work closely with you every step of the way, to help you work more efficiently and to make more of your earnings potential.
We have a great range of services, too. So if you choose to work as a limited company, a sole trader or through an umbrella company, we have the knowledge and expertise to help.
Connect is availible to all Brookson customers. It takes bookkeeping and accounting to a whole new level. Packed with intuitive features, it enables you to make decisions based on current information, not past performance. Depending on how you choose to work, you can drill down into transactions, submit expenses, track invoices, check your tax position, see how much you can withdraw - and it is all updated on a daily^ basis.
Connect is specifically designed to be mobile friendly, enabling you to log in from your smartphone, laptop or tablet and enjoy secure access to all your account details.
Dashboard
The dashboard in Connect presents an online summary of your current business position, updated daily to take the stress out of managing your finances, Dashboard’s single-screen snapshot alerts you to payment deadlines, monies due and invoices paid. Better still, it gives you a snapshot of precisely how much you can safely take from your account every day, reducing the danger of going accidentally overdrawn or not setting enough aside for the taxman.
Money manager
Money manager is the most efficient way of organising your finances. It provides you with the crucial ‘one number’ you always need to know – the amount you can withdraw from your business, after accounting for liabilities like tax and bills. You can check your business’ performance at a glance, see how much is in the bank or view your personal and business tax liabilities. There is also a personal tax tracker you can activate to monitor what your estimated Personal Tax bill will be at the end of the year and how much you should have set aside to date.
Expenses
Expenses in Connect take the hassle out of logging and claiming for your company expenses with our innovative ‘snap and run’ feature, you can capture receipts with your mobile device and log them online in just a few seconds, so your accounts are always up-to-date and your expenses are organised and easy to see at a glance.
Invoicing
Connect displays your paid and unpaid invoices, allowing you to build your own database of customers, raise and dispatch professional invoices to them in seconds. You can see at a glance which invoices have been paid, when they were paid and which are overdue.
IR35
The IR35 area enables you to organise your assignment assessments in one place. When you have a new assignment, you can submit your contract and details of your working practices to our specialist IR35 Legal Team for review at any time. And if you ever need to prove your employment status, you have the back up of an expert legal opinion and advisers on hand.
Planner
Planner enables you to plan and review your financial year armed with every piece of the data you need, all organised and displayed in one user-friendly application. If you ever worry about missing key financial events, such as tax deadlines or end of year accounts, this intelligent calendar is the personal assistant you always wish you’d had. It spots when payments have been made and missed by reviewing your bank statements daily. It also shows you clearly what is due to happen and when – keeping you in the picture and well-prepared for any milestones that are looming on the horizon.
Tax Planner
Tax planner in Connect saves you time and stress – as well as money. It brings together a library of information, videos and guides to help you plan ahead and consider how to optimise your net earning potential. And of course, because we go the extra mile for our customers, if you have any concerns over your tax planning, our friendly tax specialists are available to speak to you over the phone and ensure your money is working as hard as it can be.
Document Storage
Document storage holds your helpful paperwork, documents and key forms, including HMRC correspondence and your Monthly Management Accounts for a minimum of 7 years, accessible instantly and in full, automatically filed by us and easily retrievable by you, 24/7.
Knowledge Centre
The knowledge centre is like a 24/7 business advisor, packed with hundreds of pages of valuable information about running your business – tax, employment law, marketing guides, statutory obligations. It is frequently updated, easy to use and designed to support your business, whatever industry you operate in.
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