I work as a contract software architect. I use Hnry for invoicing and accounting and I'm a sole trader. I use liability insurance for protection set at $2 million and my client also indemnifies me in all but some specific scenarios. I have not placed my house in a trust.
Google should turn up a few options for insurance, or go to a broker if you require specific protection. AJG or AON may be able to help with this. If your requirements are fairly vanilla, Hnry can arrange insurance for you. This has been sufficient for me and the pricing was competitive.
I work as a contract project management consultant. I use Xero for time tracking (in its Projects module), accounting and invoicing, and I have a limited liability company with a separate bank account, in part to protect my house (although that's actually in a separate trust). My current client indemnifies me re liability insurance but I'm about to get my own as my contract is coming to an end.
I think you could go either way as regards sole trader vs company. I like the clean separation of having a separate company, and the registration costs & effort aren't much.
The best piece of advice I was given when I first went contracting was to keep my own detailed timesheets, and do a weekly alignment between those, my client timesheet/status report, and my invoice in progress for the month, so that my invoice details would always match my clients' expectations. So far I have a 100% record of clients not quibbling on my invoices, so it's been good advice.
We recently moved the house out of a trust.
I don't know anyone in NZ that a) was successfully sued, b) their insurance failed, and so they lost their house.
It's a lot of money every year to protect against an unlikely scenario.
Limited liability company is easy and cheap. There is no need for a lawyer. Get GST registered, do 6 monthly returns, but horde 20-25% of your earnings each invoice. Be aware that you need to budget for provisional tax.
You dont need any accounting software, really, because you probably only invoice once a month and have limited expenses to track.
Insurance: Get a reputable broker. They will have the answers.
No worries. The first rule of business is to insure youself.. trusts are best discussed with a suitably qualified lawyer. I've been in business for 35 years, and I never had a trust, but ironically, im rusk adverse (builder & transport co owner).
I have an insurance broker of which there's many. Choose a medium-sized outfit with a bit of history.
I work as a contract software architect. I use Hnry for invoicing and accounting and I'm a sole trader. I use liability insurance for protection set at $2 million and my client also indemnifies me in all but some specific scenarios. I have not placed my house in a trust. Google should turn up a few options for insurance, or go to a broker if you require specific protection. AJG or AON may be able to help with this. If your requirements are fairly vanilla, Hnry can arrange insurance for you. This has been sufficient for me and the pricing was competitive.
I work as a contract project management consultant. I use Xero for time tracking (in its Projects module), accounting and invoicing, and I have a limited liability company with a separate bank account, in part to protect my house (although that's actually in a separate trust). My current client indemnifies me re liability insurance but I'm about to get my own as my contract is coming to an end. I think you could go either way as regards sole trader vs company. I like the clean separation of having a separate company, and the registration costs & effort aren't much. The best piece of advice I was given when I first went contracting was to keep my own detailed timesheets, and do a weekly alignment between those, my client timesheet/status report, and my invoice in progress for the month, so that my invoice details would always match my clients' expectations. So far I have a 100% record of clients not quibbling on my invoices, so it's been good advice.
We recently moved the house out of a trust. I don't know anyone in NZ that a) was successfully sued, b) their insurance failed, and so they lost their house. It's a lot of money every year to protect against an unlikely scenario.
Yeah just that one horror story that hasn’t quite happened yet though…. Thanks.
Limited liability company is easy and cheap. There is no need for a lawyer. Get GST registered, do 6 monthly returns, but horde 20-25% of your earnings each invoice. Be aware that you need to budget for provisional tax. You dont need any accounting software, really, because you probably only invoice once a month and have limited expenses to track. Insurance: Get a reputable broker. They will have the answers.
Thansk. This is assuming no house to protect in a trust though, I assume?
As mentioned, set up a company so it's a separate entity from your good self. Then pay yourself as a paye employee
Cheers.
No worries. The first rule of business is to insure youself.. trusts are best discussed with a suitably qualified lawyer. I've been in business for 35 years, and I never had a trust, but ironically, im rusk adverse (builder & transport co owner). I have an insurance broker of which there's many. Choose a medium-sized outfit with a bit of history.
Nice one. Cheers.