Working for companies in other countries, job security and more
Posted by Paul Silver
On the 11th September 2024, nine freelancers met in the Battle of Trafalgar in Brighton to talk all things self employment and tech. This is some of what we talked about:
- Power problems and laptop problems
- Debugging very old PHP code
- Brighton Fibre connection debugged with a very strong torch
- Memorising (pointless) things
- Strange cheeses
- Kitten pictures and cat stories
- Trolly problem(s)
- “Drupal likes murder, that’s what I’m hearing”
- Client projects dragging on into other projects due to slow client feedback
- Working for companies in other countries
- Working in other countries
- Die with Zero by Bill Perkins
- Feeling you’ve started to understand finances too late in your life
- Getting a mortgage as a freelancer
- The security of a full time job is an illusion
Highlights
Working for companies in other countries
If you are a UK based freelancer, you can work for companies in other countries as well as those in the UK. Bear in mind that as they’re in another country, it will be much harder to pursue them if they don’t pay, so get a deposit, or indeed your whole fee up front – this can be split into batches if it’s a long project.
You can be paid straight into a UK bank account by a client outside the UK via the IBAN number in your account. Or, some banks will open a deposit account in their currency, e.g. if you’re being paid in US Dollars. Or, you can use a service like Wise to take the payment, then pay it out to your normal bank account.
You can send them your invoice in Pounds or their local currency, if you do the latter make sure you note down what the exchange rate was on the day you sent the invoice, and remember you’ll probably be charged by your bank for changing the money into Pounds unless you use one of the methods above.
If you’re VAT registered, you probably will not be charging the client VAT, talk to your accountant before invoicing the client to make sure you put the right details on the invoice.
Several members along at the meeting have successfully worked for clients in America and various European countries. It’s straightforward, just bear in mind the risks.
The security of a full time job is an illusion
This came up as it’s hard to get a mortgage as a freelancer. You will need at least two years of signed accounts (i.e. from an accountant) as well as a deposit, and even then many lenders won’t want you to have a mortgage with them. I have known freelancers take on a full time job so they can get a mortgage. It can also be hard to rent property as a freelancer, as many letting agencies do not want to deal with freelancers.
This is understandable at one level – freelancers, especially early in their freelancing career, can have variable income. But for freelancers who have been doing it for many years, freelancing can be more safe than a full time job. This is generally because they have their income spread across more than one client, so if one goes they have a reduced income, but not no income at all.
I started in freelancing this time because I lost my job shortly before the company I worked for shut down. Most of my previous employers have closed their doors too. Freelancing can be more secure than a full time job, if you have a little luck and put a decent level of work into your marketing. I’ve lasted much longer in business than three of my previous employers did.