Boosting income by part time self employed work

wozmand

Hi,

I am currently a full time public sector employee, I am looking at trying to start doing a little bit of consultancy/advice work part time/casually as a way of increasing my salary. At this stage I don’t foresee there being a large amount of interest in the work that I will be doing (offering some sales advice to companies) however I guess there is potential to earn up to £5,000 in a 12 month period if things go well.

Can anyone offer any advice in terms of start-up, would I be best registering as a sole trader with HMRC? If so are there any start-up costs which I need to be aware of, or are the only costs related to any profits which are detailed annually via a self-assessment tax return?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark.

CKhalvashi

Anything relating to advice to companies, it's probably best to go Ltd IME (cost is £15).

Insurance costs will be whatever an insurer decides to charge.

There's also the opportunity to gain referral commissions from third party companies, as well as fees.

How you'd split these commissions, is of course, up to you.

I do see some demand in what you're planning, however.

siross

I've been thinking about doing exactly the same.

I currently work in public sector procurement and could offer valuable advice to both private and public companies on a part time consultancy business.

How would this work in practice, would I have to tell my employer what my plans are?

the_matrix

Be careful Some contracts have clauses that you can't sell advice relating to the type of work you do.

PlutoinCapricorn

Many consultants operate as sole traders - I do myself. It is a lot simpler than creating a company. However, my clients are happy to deal with me that way, but some are not. I am nowhere the point where I pay 40% tax, but if consultancy work pushes someone into that band, it might be best to have a company.

There are several problems which an employer might be afraid of when their employee does consultancy in addition to a full-time job: being tired and unable to concentrate, conflict of interest and possibly using the PAYE company's facilities during normal working hours.