How to Become a Freelance PA or Administrator

The idea of working with a freelancer for admin support or PA services is a relatively new one. Traditionally this was a service which companies simply had to have in house, but with the advent of remote working technologies, email, video calling, online collaboration for diary management and so on – it’s now entirely possible to have a ‘virtual’ or freelance admin support resource.

This type of service is especially useful for companies which are not really large enough to warrant a full time admin staff member or for senior managers who do not need a full time PA. In the same way as a marketing freelancer might work with multiple clients simultaneously, so a freelance administrator or freelance personal assistant can do exactly the same thing. It’s quite normal in a business environment to have admin staff who are located in separate offices or even separate buildings from the people that they support, so what does it matter if the freelance equivalent is actually hundreds of miles away? The support service can be just as good.

Many PA's and Administrators start off doing a little freelance work in their spare time whilst still holding onto a full time job. If you’re doing this or thinking of doing this it’s probably a good idea to have a chat with an accountant as there may be tax implications you should be considering and maybe also allowances you aren’t taking advantage of.

There are numerous benefits to freelancing, for example the freedom and flexibility to work for as many different types of client as you like as well as the obvious benefit of increasing your take home pay. In fact our freelancer take home pay calculator shows you how much you can expect to take home as a freelancer.

Having made the decision to give it a go, whether full or part time, and whether to set up as a sole trader or limited company, you’re going to need a wide range of tax and accountancy advice and support in the early days when setting up as a freelancer.

The most daunting thing about going freelancing for most people is the thought of having to engage with an accountant. At first glance it’s easy, you go down to your local high street accountant who quotes you anything from £250 to £600 plus VAT to do your end of year accounts for you. This sounds great, however what happens if you want to speak to your accountant for advice throughout the year on things like:

• Expenses
• Tax allowances
• Take home pay
• How much you should put aside for your tax bill
• Whether you should register for the Flat Rate VAT scheme
• If going limited would be beneficial
• What’s the most tax efficient way to run your business.

Each time you pick up the phone it is likely you will get charged. In fact, every time your accountant sends you a letter you may charged - and you may even get charged if you call to query your invoice! So by the end of the year you could easily be looking at a bill of over £1,000. 

For more information please visit our page on Benefits of an Accountant.

Easy Accountancy charges a fixed fee of only £30 VAT a month

We don’t want our clients to be scared to contact us and potentially lose out on valuable tax saving advice, that's why we only charge a fixed fee of £30 VAT a month. It’s important when you first start out freelancing that you run your business in the best way possible. As a start up you’ll probably have loads of questions, and will really appreciate the fact you can call your accountant as many times as you, like without the fear of racking up large bills.