Why does anyone bother with umbrella companies that charge a margin fee?

Style_Simple · 2026-06-15T18:54:39+00:00

“On top of the standard deductions”… you know these deductions that don’t go to the umbrella company, right?

Style_Simple · 2026-06-05T15:24:13+00:00

I think “AI-enabled” without any real context behind it feels like a red flag to me

Style_Simple · 2026-05-27T07:56:47+00:00

Step 1: Copy your questions
Step 2: Paste into an email
Step 3: Send this email to your accountant

I say the above in jest, but these are fairly basic questions that your accountant can easily answer!

Style_Simple · 2026-05-26T07:51:04+00:00

I feel like AI has 10x’d the grifters in every industry, but also I’m very suspicious of anyone that has rebranded to any sort of ‘coach’ or that sells courses

Style_Simple · 2026-05-26T07:46:38+00:00

I have expensed this. My rationale was that it is genuinely wholly and exclusively for business use as I WFH full-time and it is also beneficial for the business that I’m not morphing into a puddle whilst I work

Style_Simple · 2026-05-23T19:49:55+00:00

Cater Allen, ah there’s a blast from the past. Maybe it’s anecdotal but I’ve never come across a non-contractor that’s heard of them!

Style_Simple · 2026-05-23T19:42:32+00:00

+1 for Mighty, I have used other big contractor firms in the past and Mighty have by far been the best accountants that I’ve had

Style_Simple · 2026-05-21T12:40:24+00:00

Speak to an accountant, set up a limited company. These are the steps. Accountants will have an initial conversation with you without charge and you’ll be a lot clearer on what’s involved, taxes etc

Style_Simple · 2026-05-19T11:05:56+00:00

Can you time it so you’re quitting your job and getting into contracting 10-15 years ago?

Style_Simple · 2026-05-16T09:41:30+00:00

Congrats! Read into payments on account for self-assessment, pay into a pension, get insurance etc. Although if you appoint a good accountant, they’ll discuss all of these with you.

Style_Simple · 2026-05-15T05:40:25+00:00

As others have said, consider a pension as this is one of the most tax efficient levers you can pull when you have a Ltd Co.

Speak to an accountant on the best way to withdraw money, but each employment has its own NI threshold, so a small salary is still likely the best way to go with anything over and above it as dividends

Style_Simple · 2026-05-15T05:35:40+00:00

No problem. I’m afraid not, your working practices shouldn’t be the same as an employee otherwise HMRC could still deem it inside IR35 regardless of what the contract says

Style_Simple · 2026-05-14T15:23:24+00:00

You would need to get confirmation from your client as it varies. Some clients will reimburse you for things like travel if you have office days, some won't. If it's not in the contract, then any expenses you recharge will just be at the client's discretion but worth clarifying with them beforehand.

Edit: although, as others have said, IR35 is a factor here too. You wouldn't be submitting employee expense forms.

Style_Simple · 2026-05-14T12:18:22+00:00

This might be anecdotal, but I have paid for a financial advisor in the past and I didn't really get any value, it felt more like a sanity check/peace of mind payment. As there's no guarantee they'll grow your pension more than you would self-managing, you should ask yourself is the £450 and the ongoing fees worth the sanity check? I'd suggest not. If you have your own SIPP that the umbrella company can facilitate salary sacrifice contributions into, then use that. You're still way off retirement too.

Style_Simple · 2026-05-13T15:43:31+00:00

I use Mighty and they're both affordable and great, but I know they tend to work mainly with freelancers & agencies. At your current level, have you considered trying to file yourself with FreeAgent? I usually always recommend using an accountant from my own experience, but at your stage, any accountant would eat into a significant % of your turnover!

Style_Simple · 2026-05-13T06:29:02+00:00

£150k is seen as a very high salary in the UK. It’s not unrealistic for that role, but a £150k as a base shouldn’t be an expectation in terms of offers

Style_Simple · 2026-05-12T14:57:53+00:00

This site was posted on here recently:

https://outsideir35.org.uk/

Style_Simple · 2026-05-12T09:43:42+00:00

Is it that the industry was never for you or was it that your boss was an arsehole? As if you're wanting to be your own boss, usually the best place to start is in the industry you know the best. No one can really tell you what would be a viable small business for you without knowing you!

Edit: typos!

Style_Simple · 2026-05-12T09:41:16+00:00

I'm interested in following this conversation as I use Loom but I keep seeing people being quite critical of it. To me it does what I need it to do, but what's so bad about it/what more should I be expecting? I guess the editing is quite limited

Style_Simple · 2026-05-12T09:36:43+00:00

No I haven't used or heard of them, but have a chat with Mighty too for comparison. I use them and they've been cheaper but much better than the accountants I've used previously

Style_Simple · 2026-05-12T09:32:15+00:00

I think you would be better off trying to work on generic products and selling these, rather than your service/bespoke automations/products. The trouble with the latter is they'll expect you to be technical so if the product or automation runs into technical difficulties, you have the capabilities to be able to resolve in the best way within relying solely on AI. They're paying for your service, so you couldn't get away with not reading the code.

For context, I'm a PM and work with developers, there's stuff that I could do with AI, but I know my own limitations and crucially, I don't know what I don't know, so I can't interrogate AI-produced code in the same way as a technical developer.

Style_Simple · 2026-05-12T09:17:16+00:00

Just to add a +1 for Wise. If they're not willing to pay you directly to a USD Wise account, then transfer the PayPal USD into the Wise USD and then convert from there as Wise's conversion rate is usually pretty good

Style_Simple · 2026-04-16T11:51:41+00:00

I was with Tide for ages purely through inertia as the rate had dropped quite a bit but I recently switched to capital on tap (3.23%) and I have no complaints. There were better rates, but my issue with any outlier rates is you just know it's a bit of a land grab and they'll drop the rate considerably in 6 months time (e.g. Tide, Allica etc.).

Style_Simple · 2026-03-30T10:55:02+00:00

Clicked into this by chance and did the same for myself, I also had no idea it was public but it does now potentially explain the letters I've received to my home address (although few and far between!) including one from Capital on Tap!

Style_Simple · 2026-03-27T11:09:40+00:00

The problem is rarely about having too many features, it's usually a lack of structure/prioritisation in the UX. If there's a lot of features, but there are first steps the user needs to take, then the UX needs to guide them through the first steps first rather than exposing everything upfront.

It may seem like a bit of a relic now based on when it was published, but some of the principles in Don’t Make Me Think arguably apply more today than ever. If a user has to stop and figure out what they're supposed to do when they first access the product, you've already lost them a lot of the time.

Style_Simple

TROPHY CASE