How to compare umbrella companies - a contractor's guide (Feature)

UKFF Mod · 04-08-2009, 09:01 AM

There are literally hundreds of umbrella companies on the market, each offering their own 'unique' and 'compliant' service. The problem for most newbie contractors is how to decide which one to choose from with such a minefield of gloss and clever marketing to contend with.

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If you have any comments to make about this article feel free to start the debate below!

The SMG · 04-08-2009, 09:03 AM

I have to say, that's probably the best article i've ever read on this website

lurch · 04-08-2009, 11:30 AM

Good article! I'm going to have to figure out if we match up to it now though.

monstro · 04-08-2009, 11:31 AM

I have to say, it winds me up seeing the quote (and I paraphrase) anything less than £30 a week and you may get sh*t service.

To be honest I work for a company that is under £15 a week and we have had a BIG upsurge in people coming over and staying from the larger umbrellas who charge these sorts of fees but have awful customer service and a cavalier attitude towards expenses that could land you the contractor in the cr*pper if the tax man were to look closely. In fact the amount of times I have been told that our service, despite not being as flash as the big brollies is infinitely more efficient and personal than theirs, is too many to recall.

£30 a week is quite frankly a rip off. Strip away all the promotional BS they are giving you and look at the service at its very core. They're processing payroll, it is a question of pumping numbers into a computer and hey presto pressing a button and paying you. Now assuming you work 48 weeks in a year, does that sound like its worth nearly £1500 a year?

hugo@gabem · 04-08-2009, 12:04 PM

It's nice to see someone else working for an umbrella that has some pride about it, even if they are a competitor.

I was surprised by the £30 The SMG quoted as well, but we might be facing a perception problem, what if people expect to pay around that and assume companies that cost less can't match up? If that is the case maybe we need to rethink things a little?

I'd be really interested to hear everyone else's views on that particular area.

I thought it was a very good article though, it keeps things simple, covers the points and is genuinely helpful to people trying to choose.

I was very pleased to see something about free CHAPS payments in there.

The SMG · 04-08-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monstro

I have to say, it winds me up seeing the quote (and I paraphrase) anything less than £30 a week and you may get sh*t service.

To be honest I work for a company that is under £15 a week and we have had a BIG upsurge in people coming over and staying from the larger umbrellas who charge these sorts of fees but have awful customer service and a cavalier attitude towards expenses that could land you the contractor in the cr*pper if the tax man were to look closely. In fact the amount of times I have been told that our service, despite not being as flash as the big brollies is infinitely more efficient and personal than theirs, is too many to recall.

£30 a week is quite frankly a rip off. Strip away all the promotional BS they are giving you and look at the service at its very core. They're processing payroll, it is a question of pumping numbers into a computer and hey presto pressing a button and paying you. Now assuming you work 48 weeks in a year, does that sound like its worth nearly £1500 a year?

Steady Monstro, I did caveat that line with the word 'may'...

"Anything less and you may receive a crappy service"

More importantly, how the h3ll can you run a brolly with an admin fee of less than £15 a week? What, have you got 100,000 contractors or something?

G

JeffreyC · 04-08-2009, 01:08 PM

There are some contractors out there that should be paying £130 a week. I'm talking about the ones that phone 5 times a day, always asking the same questions over and over and over again. It's so time consuming and frankly annoying.

Then there's the reverse. The contractors that never phone, always submit their hours on time via the portal, always send back contract documentation and expenses in a neat and tidy way.

I reckon someone should set up an umbrella based on the time taken to service your payroll. Something similar to what solicitors do when you phone for advice...........start the clock ticking and all that.

lurch · 04-08-2009, 01:36 PM

It's all turned into a bit of an umbrella fest in here....

JeffreyC · 04-08-2009, 01:40 PM

yeah where's Rob Crossland when you need him?

monstro · 04-08-2009, 02:16 PM

SMG,

Simple, the overheads for running an umbrella company simply aren't that high. There are the usual costs such as insurance cover, but really the company I work for wouldn't do it if they didn't turn a profit.

As I said, when it comes down to it, you are simply crunching numbers. If you've got decent software it's a piece of cake. Charges of £25-£30 are simply pure profit, and I've seen the notion that paying more equals better customer service disproven by every one of the larger umbrellas every time

JeffreyC: Top idea.