What to consider when starting freelance work?

[Craikeybaby]

Things aren’t looking great at my day job, so I have been plotting a move back in to web development. The main barrier being lack of work I can share.

In parallel I have been asked by a colleague if I can set up a website for a business venture he is setting up. I am happy with what is required technically (and that he won’t be a nightmare to work with) and it should help my main goal of getting a job in web development.

What I am unsure about are the business/responsibilities side of things. It is not a massive project and I expect that I could just do the work get paid and leave it like that.

Or should I be registering as self employed with HMRC etc, keeping records, getting a signed contract and indemnity insurance etc?

I expect that the reality Is somewhere in the middle, but keen to hear what PH thinks.

Obviously this will all be done outside of our day jobs. All communication has been on personal devices and my contract allows for work outside of our employer.

[Drl22]

Of course you should register yourself correctly, why shouldn’t you have to when everyone else does?

[wheelerc]

You can earn up to £1k before needing to register as self employed. If you earn the money now you will need to register before 5th October 2021 (I think, you might want to confirm that with .gov.uk or an accountant). I wouldn't bother with contracts or insurance if it's just a website for a friend, but worth it as/when you grow. I'd try to keep any important information (deadlines, payments, specifications etc) in emails in any case.

[Craikeybaby]

I didn’t know about the £1k threshold - I’ll be under that.

[Simpo Two]

With the £1,000 established on the tax front, put everything in writing and keep records of everything. Send whoever will be paying you a quote or estimate detailing the work, and your payment terms (usually 30 days). Get acceptance of that. Then do the work. Then send him an invoice which matches the quote/estimate and reiterates the terms and gives payment details. With luck he will pay you. That's about it.

The importance of having everything in writing and keeping records is that things can and do go wrong, no matter how pally you are to start with.

[KevinCamaroSS]

Don't forget to consider professional indemnity insurance, you never know when things go wrong.

[Simpo Two]

KevinCamaroSS said:

Don't forget to consider professional indemnity insurance, you never know when things go wrong.

I think for one job <£1K for a colleague he can probably overlook that. Just deliver what you're asked for, on time and on budget.

I had PI to start with, but after 2-3 years reckoned I was sufficiently professional and competent not to need it. But yes, it is a risk I guess if you feel you're likely to mess up. The more likely scenario at this level IMHO is small claims.

[Craikeybaby]

Simpo Two said:

With the £1,000 established on the tax front, put everything in writing and keep records of everything. Send whoever will be paying you a quote or estimate detailing the work, and your payment terms (usually 30 days). Get acceptance of that. Then do the work. Then send him an invoice which matches the quote/estimate and reiterates the terms and gives payment details. With luck he will pay you. That's about it.

The importance of having everything in writing and keeping records is that things can and do go wrong, no matter how pally you are to start with.

Thanks. Definitely will have everything in writing.

[DSLiverpool]

Is this a catalogue site or e-commerce?
Are you handling data ?
Both of the above mean you need some form of insurance.
Want constant work? Teach yourself Shopify, get decent, register on Storetasker - we did this in the early days.

[Canute]

Don't sell hours/time.

[itsnotarace]

Before you start, make sure you set out a statement of work to set out the project terms and conditions, responsbilities etc and get your friend to sign off on a completion clause that says something like

The project will be considered complete when the following conditions are true:

1. The client <Bob Smith> performs acceptance and quality assurance testing before the site goes live
2. The website as tested is published on the public internet and made live

Otherwise for every single subsequent amendment after that date, you will be obliged to help out

[KevinCamaroSS]

Simpo Two said:

KevinCamaroSS said:

Don't forget to consider professional indemnity insurance, you never know when things go wrong.

I think for one job <£1K for a colleague he can probably overlook that. Just deliver what you're asked for, on time and on budget.

Agreed that if this a one-off it should not be necessary, however, I read the OP as looking to make a permanent move away from a permanent role.

[Craikeybaby]

DSLiverpool said:

Is this a catalogue site or e-commerce?
Are you handling data ?
Both of the above mean you need some form of insurance.
Want constant work? Teach yourself Shopify, get decent, register on Storetasker - we did this in the early days.

It is a small e-commerce site. I did consider Shopify, but wanted to use it to demonstrate my Wordpress/AWS skills, rather Than learning something new.

[Craikeybaby]

KevinCamaroSS said:

Simpo Two said:

KevinCamaroSS said:

Don't forget to consider professional indemnity insurance, you never know when things go wrong.

I think for one job <£1K for a colleague he can probably overlook that. Just deliver what you're asked for, on time and on budget.

Agreed that if this a one-off it should not be necessary, however, I read the OP as looking to make a permanent move away from a permanent role.

It is more to help with showcasing my skills to help moving to another permanent role - at the moment I am finding that lack of anything other than personal sites to share is restricting me. Although if more freelance work comes along I won’t turn it down.

But taking DSLiverpool’s point above, I can see why insurance would be a good idea even for a one off project.

[DSLiverpool]

Craikeybaby said:

It is a small e-commerce site. I did consider Shopify, but wanted to use it to demonstrate my Wordpress/AWS skills, rather Than learning something new.

For e-commerce I’d spend that time learning Big Com / Shopify - the demand is there.