How to Pick the Right Umbrella Company?
An umbrella company essentially acts as an agency. They invoice the client company on behalf of the contractor and charge the contractor a fee for doing so. This means that the contractor will end up taking less money away from the job than they might have intended. Due to the nature of the business, an umbrella company may well treat the contractor as an employee of the company and pay them in this way, subject the invoiced money to tax and NI contributions which might not otherwise have been paid.
For a freelance contractor, choosing an umbrella company can be daunting, especially with so many to choose from. It is important to know what fees they charge upfront, specific services they provide, if they offer Internet access, and what kind of reputation they have. The time you spend researching the company you choose can end up saving you a lot of money in the end.
When choosing an umbrella company to use for your freelance business, there are a number of things to keep in mind. Many companies use flashy advertising gimmicks which can be misleading and they may even make false promises, so it’s important to get as much information about the company as you can.
So, how do you compare umbrella companies? Well, the good news is that they all pretty much all do the same thing, with the only difference from one company to the next is the price they charge and their standard of customer service.
You should have a look around their website for things such as an online timesheet portal, whether or not they make same day payments to you and how long they have been operating for. There are websites which furnish business evaluations and you may be able to find one with reviews of your company. Check to see if the website doing the review functions on an independent basis, otherwise they may have been paid a fee by the umbrella company which can make their objectivity questionable.
Consumer forums are generally privately run and monitored and so are more likely to have more reliable information. One advantage of a consumer forum is that you are much more likely to get a quick answer to your questions as members often post responses faster than it would take the company to get back to you. As a final point, having gotten down to a choice between couples of companies, it is a good idea to call them and ask them a few specific questions.
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