[Bristol Pete]

Hi folks,

More New Year advice required.

Despite securing the new job, I have another prospective employment opportunity that I would like to think about

Since securing the job at La Poste (credit control zzzzzz) Blueyonder/Telewest have also offered me a job as an 'installation engineer' as the demand for thier service outstrips the work force due to the desire for 'teleport' , 'tvdrive' , 'hi-def' , broadband upgrades as well as standard phone installation. Having been interviewed and provisionally offered the job I am going out on a days work with them on Thursday to see if there is compatability on both sides. Services on offer here -

http://www.blueyonder.co.uk/blueyond...teleport_about

http://www.telewest.co.uk/websales/service.do?id=1

http://www.telewest.co.uk/html/tv_dr...Tabs/hdtv.html

and with the new high def service hopefully going live, there is plenty of work on.....

However, I need a van. Nothing massive, but would need to be something like a small transit so I can carry equipment, gear and a ladder

Any ideas as to how much a van is likely to cost over a month or does it tend to vary quite a bit per van spec? Anyone out there lease a van?

I can do the job standing on my head but that leap from having the job secured to effectively becoming self employed scares me, it also really appeals as does actually doing this job, rather than going back to 9-5 and not really caring or being passionate about my work. I think I just gotta take a chance. Whilst job security is paramount to me usually, the fact that I hope to be back in OZ by the end of the year negates any concern about 'the long term' and could in fact suit both parties and I see this as a transferable skill. For reference there is a 4 week training period.

Any advice on self employment, van leasing etc is readily accepted and greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Pete.

[booyaka]

No expert but hired a few vans over the years for various house moves etc, and general it would be in the ball park of £50 for a weekend for a ford transit size but if looking longer you should be able to hire for a month for about £200/£300 or so dependant on lease terms etc.

Best bet is to call a few local places and then play them off against each other, keep calling them back and advising them that so and so gave you the van hire price for x or y and see what they offer.

In terms of self employment, can't really offer any advice there for you sorry!

[The Dude]

My mate runs a 'removal man' business and often short-term leases a Renault Traffic for somewhere around £200 per month... It's a transit sized thing with sliding door etc..

If vans are anything like cars, the cost will all boil down to primarily which van you go for, and then how many miles you intend to do etc...


with regards to work status, I'd say just go for it if you get the chance..
I gave up on 'permanent' jobs years back, and have never looked back.

If I wanted job security, I'd be working as an undertaker.

[mason]

Hi Cap

Regarding the self employment- there are a few ways that you can do it:

1. you can set up your own trading entity, sole trader, and therefore you are responsible for your own tax an NI payments etc. You therefore own your own business in effect and all the runnings are yours.

You would pay your NI by monthly D/D and you would (or your accountant) would complete an annual tax return.

2. you could apply for a CIS 4 card from the IR. This would then term you as self employed and your contractor would deduct your tax before they pay you your invoice, leaving you only to keep your NI payments up to date.

You would (or your accountant) still have to submit an annual tax return- but when you are CIS 4, you tend not to have anymore tax to pay as it is all deducted at source.

As for leasing a van- you have to decide what you want from the van. Do you want to be responsible for all repairs etc but own the van or do you want an all in lease package where you dont have to worry about anything other than monthly payments and then hading the thing back.

If you need any further help PM me.

Hope this is helpful

Cheers

G

[Bristol Pete]

Hi Cap

Regarding the self employment- there are a few ways that you can do it:

1. you can set up your own trading entity, sole trader, and therefore you are responsible for your own tax an NI payments etc. You therefore own your own business in effect and all the runnings are yours.

You would pay your NI by monthly D/D and you would (or your accountant) would complete an annual tax return.

2. you could apply for a CIS 4 card from the IR. This would then term you as self employed and your contractor would deduct your tax before they pay you your invoice, leaving you only to keep your NI payments up to date.

You would (or your accountant) still have to submit an annual tax return- but when you are CIS 4, you tend not to have anymore tax to pay as it is all deducted at source.

As for leasing a van- you have to decide what you want from the van. Do you want to be responsible for all repairs etc but own the van or do you want an all in lease package where you dont have to worry about anything other than monthly payments and then hading the thing back.

If you need any further help PM me.

Hope this is helpful

Cheers

G

Excellent. Thanks for that. I think that the CIS card option is the way forward for me.

One thing however. I spoke one of the guys in my band who is self empoyed. He said that you need to be careful if you are self employed like this (option 2) as the Inland Revenue can view this as full time employment if there is continual work with the same source.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again,

Pete.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by mason

you could apply for a CIS 4 card from the IR. This would then term you as self employed and your contractor would deduct your tax before they pay you your invoice, leaving you only to keep your NI payments up to date.

Surely the CIS card is only applicable to the construction industry

[mason]

Originally Posted by Ian J

Surely the CIS card is only applicable to the construction industry

Yeah Ian- your spot on but some engineering segments are covered. I will check if telecommunications is covered under this umberella.

[mason]

Originally Posted by Captain Benefit

Excellent. Thanks for that. I think that the CIS card option is the way forward for me.

One thing however. I spoke one of the guys in my band who is self empoyed. He said that you need to be careful if you are self employed like this (option 2) as the Inland Revenue can view this as full time employment if there is continual work with the same source.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again,

Pete.

A Ltd company could also be an option- various tax benefits could be utilised this way. A ltd company would therefore be more apealing giving the tax savings that could be made.

i.e. give yourself a salary via your company and the rest of your income would be made up with dividends.

[Ian J]

If this period of self employment is likely to be short term I don't see any point in using a limited company as the financial benefits are mainly apparent at higher income levels and the extra costs involved outweigh the usefulness at lower income levels.

Finance for a vehicle will probably be easiest to find via a broker that specialises in these things or else the supplying dealer may be able to put you in touch with someone but be warned, the newly self employed, single man living in rented accomodation may not come out too well in the credit scoring programmes that a lot of lenders use

[Mac Man]

Hi Cap

If you go full time and become a limited company a commercial vehicle is fully offsetable against tax and VAT - there are no company car charges to pay. If you had a car as opposed to a van it would be treated as a company car and you would pay a fair chunk of tax on it. As a sole trader the van would also be more advantageous from a tax point of view. leasing/contarct hire is also more advantageous from a tax point of view, as opposed to buying outright, as you claim all the costs against tax. If you buy for cash i think you only get a % of the value of the van against tax.

In terms of costs the lease company I use, for example, is doing a Toyota Hiace (Transit sized van) for £170 a month plus VAT.

When leasing vehicles I generally ask various lease companys what's the best deal they have on at the time, rather than asking for a specific make or model. Many manufacturers will do deals on models they have an over supply on.

To get finance (lease or contract hire) you need to be self employed or a limited company in mose cases.

But as Ian points out, since you have no trading history, it might be a bit tricky getting finance in the 1st place.

[Bristol Pete]

Thanks for the input guys. I will look into this.

Pete.