Billing abroad

Nikiya

Hello! I do not know if this is the right forum but could not find a more specific one.
I am a free lancer and occasionally do jobs for Europe. I was told it was better to be paid via PayPal since banks charge per transfer. (we are talking of two to three digit amounts here). I tried PayPal but their conversion was unfavourable (a 5% less than automatic currency conversion sites).
This could be because conversion sites give you a media while the "selling and buying" prices of currency are slightly different. But in any case, I'd like to know what is the best way to bill without losing money in the process. Should I price in Euros or GBP? again, I convert using XE, Expedia, Reuters, etc. They all seem to throw similar figures. Many thanks!!

jonesMUFCforever

If you bill in pound sterling you will know what you will get - if you bill in any currency you are going to have to accept the ups and downs of currency markets.

(Whether your customers will agree to pay you in £ is another matter)

grumbler

Nikiya wrote: »

Hello! I do not know if this is the right forum but could not find a more specific one.
I am a free lancer and occasionally do jobs for Europe. I was told it was better to be paid via PayPal since banks charge per transfer.

So does PP.

(we are talking of two to three digit amounts here). I tried PayPal but their conversion was unfavourable (a 5% less than automatic currency conversion sites).

There was no point in trying: https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/cross-border-and-conversion-fees

This could be because conversion sites give you a media while the "selling and buying" prices of currency are slightly different. But in any case, I'd like to know what is the best way to bill without losing money in the process.

The best way is to get paid in £ to a UK account that doesn't charge for incoming transfers from EU. However, this will cost extra to you clients.
Alternative is to have a € account in EU and then take care of conversion yourself using, say, Transferwise or CurrencyFair:

https://www.fxcompared.com/money-transfer/France-UK?amount=500&aDir=0&bType=1&ref=filter

However, it can be not easy to get a € account in EU.
Clients can pay to your account with a currency broker, but it'll be one bank account for all broker's clients meaning that your unique reference is essential.

Should I price in Euros or GBP?

It's up to you. For stability it's better to have £ prices.

Ben8282

Just out of curiosity how do your UK clients pay you and how have your overseas clients paid you in the past?
It is important to use the method which will be the least inconvenient for your clients. I have a feeling that if they have to arrange and pay for international bank transfers for 2 finger amounts, they may well take their business elsewhere, not to mention their possible concern at the lack of any protection.
PayPal might be ok. Ideally you should try to see if you can arrange to accept credit cards.

eDicky

Nikiya wrote: »

I am a free lancer and occasionally do jobs for Europe.

Is it for private individuals or companies?

If it is a few people who are regular clients, ask them to sign up and use Revolut instead of PayPal, then instant transfers to your own Revolut account cost nothing, with conversion at the rates you see on XE.

Otherwise if you can open a euro bank account in Ireland or elsewhere (see relevant thread below), a person or company in Europe can send their euro payment by SEPA without fees. You can then transfer to your GBP UK account using for example TransferWise (0.5% fee, interbank rate) or Revolut (free).

Nikiya

Thanks everybody! The amount of work I do and the small sums involved do not justify opening accounts abroad. I will research Revolut though, thanks !!!!. Had never heard of it.