New to contracting?
Going from a permanent job to a contracting role can be exciting and scary all at the same time. Many people take the leap because of the flexibility, the ability to get into the nitty gritty of an exciting project, or to earn more money for their skills. Whatever the reason, contracting is an exciting career progression. But when you are new to contracting, there are plenty of questions that often aren’t easy to find a straight answer to.
This is why I speak directly with all of my new and ongoing clients to ensure they are completely aware of: how they’ll get paid, superannuation, deductions, insurance needed, how to salary sacrifice and requirements at tax time.
The most common question from contractors moving from a permanent role is:
What is a payroll services company and do I need one?
Essentially a payroll services company is there to help you maximize your contracting payroll.
As a permanent employee, you have a Human Resources or Payroll Services team who breakup your pay according to your specifications—including putting into superannuation, withholding tax and paying into specified accounts.
As a contractor, every dollar you earn needs to be managed by you, or a payroll services provider.
Your payroll services provider becomes part of your team, ensuring your deductions are accounted for, paying into your superannuation account, managing any items under salary sacrifice and ensuring you receive regular payslips and a PAYG Summary at the end of the financial year. We save you the hassle of keeping track of your income and tax owing, so that how you are paid becomes relatively similar to how you were paid by your permanent employer.
In short, using a payroll services company means you have hassle-free control over your money.
The second question I get asked a lot is:
Can I still salary sacrifice my vehicle?
The answer is yes, you can!
Salary Sacrifice isn’t just for government employees or those in ‘big business’, it’s for contractors too. Salary Sacrifice simply means you remove all business-related expenses (including our fee) and eligible fringe benefit items from your gross wages, and you are taxed on the lesser amount. These expenses can include your car, laptop, even your superannuation.
Following this, many contractors ask:
How do I get a loan as a contractor?
Generally, major lenders view contract workers as potentially risky borrowers. They often consider contract work as unstable and rate the contractor as highrisk, as lenders fear contractors aren’t able to commit to their loan repayments.
The good news is banks do have loans for contractors and other self-employed people. To gain such a loan, you need demonstrate a regular income.
Your payroll services provider can help with this process by providing you with your payslips and a letter of employment.
Another common question is:
Why choose Booksorted?
Bookssorted are experts in payroll services and we make it easy for our clients to contract with government or private enterprise, and still be in control of their finances.
There are many payroll services companies out there who can manage your payroll, but at Bookssorted, we ensure we step above the rest. The most important thing to us is you, so we provide personal service. We are happy to speak with you over the phone, or chat via email or message.
The second reason is that we offer Australia’s best value payroll services rate at 1.75%.
In addition, we can pay you before your recruiter pays us. Many contractors are on monthly payment cycles with their recruiter. When you are used to being paid weekly or fortnightly, we know changing to monthly payments can cause some stress. We now offer contractors on monthly cycles the ability to be paid weekly or fortnightly (before your recruiter pays us). We are proud to be one of the first payroll companies in Australia to offer this service.
Further to the above, with us you can:
- Get full professional indemnity, public liability and workers compensation insurances.
- Salary sacrifice your motor vehicle.
- Access living away from home allowances (LAFHA).
- Top up your superannuation through salary sacrifice.
- Set up a holiday fund.
- Salary sacrifice your ATO approved expenses.
At Bookssorted, we have been working with IT contractors for over a decade, so contact us for more information, knowing you are safe in our hands.