How to Become a Freelance Graphic Designer

You may also find our pages on Finding work as a freelancer graphic designer and Rates of pay for freelance graphic designer helpful.

Most graphic designers tend to work for design or marketing agencies, although some other types of company will employ designers directly if they have a sufficient requirement. Somewhere along the way these designers almost always find themselves doing the odd ‘little project’ on the side for friends and family, and this can often head to a situation where they might think about freelancing for the first time, as an alternative to being employed.

The benefits of becoming a freelance graphic designer are easy to see. Not only do you get to choose your own working hours, and your own clients, but you also have the opportunity to earn far more than you might do as an employee, if you are prepared to put in the hours. In fact our freelancer take home pay calculator shows you how much you can expect to take home as a freelancer.

But leaving the employed world can be a daunting prospect and so many graphic designers opt to try freelancing as a sideline in the short term, and then move into full time freelancing further down the line when they are more sure of the business opportunity. 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.

As a freelance graphic designer you might find yourself working directly for a number of different end client companies. But it’s also quite likely that you might end up with clients who are design or marketing agencies - companies who typically employ graphic designers as well, but who might also need additional capacity or specialist skills from time to time.

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. 

You may also find the following pages helpful:

• How to Become a Jewellery Designer
• How to Become a Fashion Designer 
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