Can I start freelancing before I'm registered as self employed?

pault107

pault107

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1 April 2008 11:07

Hi

I'm new to these forums and they look great.

I have a question - I'm looking to start freelancing for the first time, is it possible to take a freelance assignment before being registered as self-employed/joining an umbrella company etc?

To cut a long story short - I have no money at the moment so I'm looking to take on an assignment as quick as possible, get paid for it and THEN sort out the admin.

Is this possible or do I need to sort out all of the admin before accepting any money?

If this isn't possible, what is the quickest/cheapest way of going legit? Self-employed? Umbrella?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

workinprogress 1 April 2008 11:34

workinprogress

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Hi pault107, yes you can start freelancing straight away, on the self employment form there is a start date which you can back date from. As long as you pay your taxes on all freelance activity their happy.

I would suggest you get everything in order first before starting. I duplicate all my invoices and banks account statements as soon as I started as you never know if and when Inland Revenue want to do an audit and you have to provide copies of everything. Remember to keep reciepts as well, I staple them to A4 sheets for each month for easy reference. I also have an accounts book which at the front has all the invoices sent out and then a monthly record of invoices paid, NI paid and expenses. Believe me it's vital that you keep track of everything from day one.

Good luck hope this was helpful.
pault107 1 April 2008 11:52

pault107

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That's the answer I was hoping for.

Great advice on the admin side too.

Thanks workinprogress, I appreciate your input.

Regards

Paul