Freelance / Freelancing

Which payment method did you indicate to them, Will? I don't know anything about Italy, but payment systems on the Continent are very different from here and bank transfers to the UK attract high fees. The Continent, as far as I'm aware, doesn't use cheques any more at all. Could the delay be due to some such reason? I mean, you expect a large entity like a newspaper to have pretty good finance people who can deal with this sort of thing easily, but you never know.

Could an Italian forumenger comment with better info? Marcom?

^They asked for, and were provided with, my bank details. As well as my place of birth which I assume is a quirk of Italian beaurocracy. I expected them not to pay on time (30 days was what I specified) but it is nearly four months now. The main problem is that the e-mail address of the accounts woman who dealt with it is no longer valid; so she may well have left which makes chasing it up even trickier.

Will, the legislation that I mentioned ^ is actually EU wide. So you could resend your invoice, adding on additional interest charges and see if that gets a response.

5% discount if paid within 7 days of invoice.

5% penalty if paid after 30 days of invoice.

Not that it helps now but you should send through terms before you undertake any work, you dont need written agreement so long as when you sed them afaik.

Standard payment terms are usually 30 days, make sure you are sending the invoices to the right person in an organisation too, fin this out when you agree to do the work as it may sit on the wrog persons desk for weeks before it gets passed on.

I didn't undertake work as such; they bought a photo off me. And let me reiterate; what is making it hard to get any further at the moment is that everything was done by e-mail and the accounts e-mail address is no longer valid. I have tried contacting the picture desk who 'commissioned' the photo but have had no response. Maybe they think it's not their problem but I will persist.

@wiganwill

Have you thought about filing a claim at a small claims court? You don't generally need a solicitor, just fill out a form and a notice is then served by the court. Shouldn't cost you anything, and might scare them into action

^ I have thought about that but will wait a little longer before investigating the powers of British courts over Italian newspapers. It's only 150Euros but that would be very handy right now.

what do i need to make it official?

i have research and cant find anywhere that just specifies the steps clearly without getting side-tracked onto other unrelated topics.

i want to know what forms do i have to fill in, who i have to register with ect. ect. basically all the official/financial side. self assessment? national insurance contribution? self employed

i have a part-time job during the weekends, and will continue working there along side my freelance work which is 2days of work for a company.

any points or even links would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
joao

nevermind...

OoooooH !!!

Get yourself to the flounce thread. : P

Freelance, just start, then at some stage over the next few months go to an accountant and pay him to sort it all out for you.

Try here...

My accountant's great, I can forward you his details if you like... He can talk you through what would be best for you...

Really look into running a ltd company if you have any assets like a house or so that are worth protecting. Also could save you a lot of money.

i dont mind doing a bit of the paper work if it mean just keeping track of everything and filling in a few forms and accountant always seems like an expensive option although i have no experience dealing with them.

think i will have to call hmr&c and see the extent of paper work is involved, and take it from there

creating a company sounds good but over my head at the moment as it invloves lot more paper work and i dont have an assets.

I find the ltd company easier to deal with (i.e. less paperwork) than when I was self-employed... Once you get rolling it's a piece of piss...

do it properly, this is your livelihood.

1. become a limited company.
   
2. join an umbrella company, who will take care of all your tax stuff for you.find one with an inhouse accountancy firm. there's stuff that you will never ever be able to figure out or know.
   
3. don't ask for advice and then say "oh, i can't really be bothered with all that stuff..."
   

*along side my freelance work which is 2days of work for a company.

*If that's the same company that you'll be billing you'll run into problems as a Sole Trader - best go ltd [loads of agencies are now refusing to accept invoices from sole traders as of last year]

this is all good advice and i'm making mental notes.
anyone want to start a design agency? i have itchy feet.

OK, you guys do all the work and I'll go to the pub with clients...

hahaha.

i'm serious. ish.

em, i dont remember saying i cant be bothered with all that stuff, i just think starting a ltd company seems like the longer root to take. will research it and see where it leads.

"do it properly, this is you livehood" agreed!! that is why i am not rushing into into it and just checking out all th options, and by the sound of response i think i might have to consider an acounent to do it 'properly'

*"along side my freelance work which is 2days of work for a company."

*i will work in the design studio for 2 days a week and work in retails for 2-3days a week in a retail store

If you go limited as a designer you can join the VAT flat rate scheme... You charge your clients VAT and then only pay a portion of it back to the VAT man... e.g. When it was 15% VAT I got to keep 5.5% of the gross (115%), I make enough doing that to easily cover accountants fees etc... Sweet... Fucking... Deal...
If you're organised and you get a half decent accountant it'll take no time at all to set up...