Becoming an Engineering Contractor

There is a sustained demand for Engineers in the UK and contractor pay reached a seven year high at the end of 2016. When combined, these two pieces of pertinent information mean that the time has never been better to form your own Limited Company and become an Engineering Contractor. This may sound complicated, but in reality, forming your own limited company with the support of an experienced specialist accountant is incredibly easy, straight-forward and financially efficient.

The path towards becoming an Engineering Contractor is a relatively simple one and depending on your level of experience, you could more than double your current income. Engineering Contractors make, on average, £45 per hour, although more experienced professionals can command much higher rates. Aside from the important lucrative financial rewards, there are many other benefits of becoming an Engineering Contractor. These include:

– Freedom and Flexibility. When you are working as a contractor through your own Limited Company, you set your own schedule. This means that you can choose where you work, when you work, and when you take a break or a holiday without having to adhere to anyone else’s schedule.
– The Ability to Choose Your Projects. When work is abundant, contractors have the ability to choose their projects based both on its financial rewards and its fit to their unique skillset. This means that you could be in the position where you only have to work on projects you find interesting and rewarding.
– Increased Responsibility. When you are a contractor, you are responsible for securing your own projects and setting your own work load, which can be difficult during challenging economic times, but which also means that you are not dependent on anyone else for the success of your business.

There are many reasons a highly-qualified engineer might choose to move into Contract Engineering Roles; either as a conscious decision to increase work life balance, as the result of redundancy, or because of a lack of permanent full time roles in your area. Whatever drives your decision to become an Engineering Contractor, it is more than possible to turn Contract Engineering into a hugely successful and financially lucrative career.

Setting Up a Limited Company as an Engineering Contractor

Confident about the world of engineering but less clear about running your own business? You are not alone! That is why so many contracting engineers choose to hire experienced contractor accountants, such as ourselves, to take care of their financial arrangements. The good news is that whilst setting up a Limited Company does require a small amount of paperwork, that paperwork usually only equates to 15 to 20 minutes work each month.

Why Choose a Limited Company and a Specialist Accountant

One of the easiest and most tax efficient ways to work as an independent Engineering Contractor is to establish your own limited company. This is an easy and straightforward process that will help you take home much more of your income than if you were working under an umbrella company. Working through a limited company is much more tax efficient, giving you the ability to access a wider range of expenses based tax breaks and also allowing you to retain complete control of your financial affairs – no one is responsible for making key decisions about your company, but you.

When establishing a limited company, it is essential that you secure the services of a specialist contractor-centric accountancy firm, just like our own. Dolan Accountancy is ideally placed to provide both new and established contractors with a wide wealth of advice and crucial information about everything you need to know to create a successful limited company. We are also proud to provide some of the highest standards of limited company accountancy services available in the UK, offering a unique guarantee and a range of low cost and fixed price accountancy services to suit limited companies of all sizes. We know contractors; we have built our business around servicing their needs and ensuring they keep hold of as much of their hard earned money as possible. There is no one better place to provide the services you need, than Dolan Accountancy.

To find out more about the services we can offer and how we can help you, why not get in touch today on 01442 795 100.