How Much Should I Charge For Typing?

AnxiousMum

new_home_worker wrote: »

Thanks to the ideas in the messages above. I too have decided to start word processing from home for various reasons after working in Administration for nearly 20 years.

Besides wondering how to charge and what to charge there are other things to take into consideration eg;
1. Do I pick up the material to be word processed or do I let the client deliver it to me?
2. Do I set up a Business Bank account or do I do it as a side line?
3. Do the charges include ink etc?
4. Do I charge VAT as I will have to pay VAT when purchasing the printer ink, paper etc?

I am trying to design some business cards - where do I start distributing and how do I choose my target market?

These and many more questions are going through my head.

regards

N

Because you would be self employed, you would need to put these through your books as expenses of doing business, and again, make sure that it is built into the cost of your services. It might be that you don't have to print off anything, as the QS may just require you to email the finished documents to him for printing onto his letterhead etc. If printing, you need to price out your printing - ie 50p for a black ink page, 75p for a colour ink page etc.

You might also want to consider a 'minimum' charge. Would you really be prepared to put everything aside to type out a short 200 word letter for 50p?

suited-aces

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

Oh dear
Are you seriously suggesting registering for VAT:rotfl:

Get lost. OP's just throwing questions about. I'm lucky enough to have an accounting degree, but not everyone has reason to know the ins and outs of VAT.

suited-aces

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

Oh dear
Are you seriously suggesting registering for VAT:rotfl:

And actually little weirdo, there is no minimum threshold for voluntary registration, so if the poster was providing services to vat registered business, they would simply pay her vat and reclaim it themselves, meaning she would be able to reclaim her own related vat payment with no detrimental effect on on her business. The question is just would it be worth her time?

Sorry if I've spoiled your little joke.

Weirdlittleman

suited-aces wrote: »

And actually little weirdo, there is no minimum threshold for voluntary registration, so if the poster was providing services to vat registered business, they would simply pay her vat and reclaim it themselves, meaning she would be able to reclaim her own related vat payment with no detrimental effect on on her business. The question is just would it be worth her time?

Sorry if I've spoiled your little joke.

Which is undoubtadly a no.
Are you seriously suggesting she should even be considering registering for VAT.

Owain_Moneysaver

zoeleigh wrote: »

I seen an ad for typing from home and phone the bloke, quantity surveyor working from home himself, and he asked what rate I charge.

I would ask for some samples of work first. Straightforward letters or prose doesn't have much layout work, but a quantity surveyor may be working with quite complex bills of materials, costings etc, which are very layout-intensive. I used to be able to churn stuff like that out rapidly (back in WordPerfect days, which was keyboard-driven) even though my typing speed's abysmal, because I knew the software inside out and just went typity-typity-typity on the function keys hardly thinking about it.

On the other hand if there are lots of standardised documents like fee notes and contracts once you've set up the template you can crank them out in no time.

Will you be working from manuscript or audio? Depending on how good his writing or dictation is, either could be a blessing or a curse. If audio, you can get transcription software so he can email audio files to you and you email the work back - if there's a bit you couldn't hear he can click on the text and go straight to the original audio for that part. The foot pedals plug into the USB socket on your computer.

If you are sitting at home doing his typing you could also be able to offer phone answering / messaging services - you can get a broadband phone (VoIP) line from someone like sipgate. You might also be able to offer book-keeping services.

suited-aces

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

Which is undoubtadly a no.
Are you seriously suggesting she should even be considering registering for VAT.

No I'm not, I'm just recongising that people have a lot of questions when starting a business, and idiots like you who riducle them are too common.

paulwf

Weirdlittleman wrote: »

Which is undoubtadly a no.
Are you seriously suggesting she should even be considering registering for VAT.

As you are going to have to keep records of all expenses and invoices raised anyway generating a quarterly VAT and filing online should take less than an hour.

So, as long as you spend more than £100 a quarter on expenses that incur VAT it might be worth doing. The only real hassle is remembering not to spend the VAT you've charged to clients as the HMRC will want it