Contractor through LTD company, paid in USD

GlasgowWest

Hi all,

I recently signed a 12 month day rating / contractor contract for a rotational job in the Middle East. I've also set up my own ltd company and am the only director.

I'm finding it all a bit daunting and still a bit clueless despite spending hours on google and asking some friends who have some experience of a similar situation.

Long story short: Due to the rush to get started I came abroad to start the contract and haven't managed to set up a bank account before I left. I am due to submit an invoice / time sheet at the end of September and naively thought I would be able to set an account up or at least know the account number on the phone. How wrong was I!

I get paid 30 days after submitting the invoice, and in USD. I assume this will just exchange automatically on entering a UK bank account.

1) Can I for the time being and for the purposes of the first invoice, use my personal current account and then transfer the whole lot over to a business account when I get home next? I believe I can and that this isn't a big deal provide I keep evidence of transfers but not certain.

2) Are there any implications being paid in USD?

3) I literally don't know the first thing about how I ultimately pay myself a salary or dividends and what level of payslips I need to create for myself etc. I have an accountant lined up but embarrassed by how little I know about this to ask him (he is family). Anyone got a dummies guide to this sort of thing?

4) Any particularly good suggestions to make this as tax efficient as possible?


Appreciate any info for someone as clueless as me!

Thanks a million.

Savvy_Sue

Swallow the embarrassment and talk to the accountant, fast ...

Annisele

All of those questions are things your accountant ought to be answering. If you're too embarrassed to talk to the one you've got, you need a different one!

I know you're after an idiots guide, but you're talking pretty specialist stuff there.

GlasgowWest

You two are quite right of course. I maybe don't mean "embarrassed" as such, more I just wish I knew the basics myself.

I've explained to accountant my situation and he knew it anyway through personal, family channels before I even spoke to him in a business/professional capacity. He reassured me he would take care of the necessary stuff and I'm fully confident in him guiding me through.

I think it's just the fear of the unknown and how new it is that makes me uneasy and it's easier to hide behind a computer screen and feel less of an idiot asking basic questions

johnmcga

Best thing is to speak to an accountant. They're very used to handling questions from total beginners and you've no reason to feel embarrassed — so just speak to them!

real1314

GlasgowWest wrote: »

Hi all,

I recently had some trouble with my teeth / started a job involving specific vehicles requiring maintenance / got selected into the pro-golf tour...

3) I literally don't know the first thing about how I ultimately get my teeth sorted / deal with mechanical repairs / select the right club or shot ..... ...I have a dentist / mechanic / caddy lined up but embarrassed by how little I know about this to ask him .......

There are always other people you need to use in life to deal with things that are not in your scope. They are there to take the pressure off you, so you can do YOUR job.

Just tell them what you want sorting. last one is weak, but maybe it's a yank golfer ;-)

paddyrg

If you're our in the Middle East, you may also want to keep some money kicking around in a local currency account - in some countries, debt is a criminal matter so having access to local currency fast may be useful if you suddenly need it. My experience in the region tell me it's not always rational, consistent or without institutional rank hypocrisy, so a little slush fund may help you out if things get sticky and the local cashpoint doesn't 'do' your uk bank, which can be quite common.

trailingspouse

This is how my OH and I work - only difference being that we are both directors (tax efficient).

We invoice the client(s) monthly, and pay ourselves a dividend 3-monthly. We also pay ourselves a salary of £10,000 pa each, or £833 per month less NI.

My advice is - talk to the accountant, and get them to spell it out for you step by step. What will they do for you, and what do you need to do for yourself (I do the VAT, RTI, invoicing, cashbook, calculate expenses, mileage). It's important to be organised - it doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to work for you. You will need to set aside regular time each week over and above the hours you are working for the client, when you do the paperwork - get those receipts sorted, reconcile the bank account every month, get the invoices sent and check that they've been paid (and chase them up if necessary). It can all be a bit time-consuming, particularly to begin with, but you'll get slicker, and running the business is just as important as doing the work for the client.