A big pile of little tasks.

[luckykaa]

I have a contract in Germany, starting on the 24th March  I now have too much to deal with and too many decisions to decide.

Issue 1: Payroll Management. One of the issues with freelancing is that you actually need to deal with tax. Permanent employment is dealt with by PAYE. A chunk of money is taken from your salary each month to pay tax and NI. Some contractors set up a limited company and work as employees of that. Alternatively you can just join an umbrella company which is a bit of a fudge of the tax system but is a nice low hassle way of doing things.

These solutions don't really fit the German tax system. Ideally I need to be classified as a freelancer. The umbrella company that I was with had a solution that seems to be incompatible with the client.

Issue 2: Car. I like my car!!! Could take it with me of course but that involves finding out what the rules are with taking it with me. Or I could sell it. Seems a shame since I've had it for just 2 months. Driving does allow me to take more luggage of course, and owning a car has been so nice.

Issue 3: Storage. I have heaps of stuff in a storage locker in Hollingbury. It's not all that easy to access though because it's crammed to the rafters and up a flight of steps. I asked about getting a larger one at ground level. They offered me a reduced rate because I'd been with them a long time. I could do that or I could go to a different storage centre for even less but don't get weekend access and would have to have my stuff moved.

Issue 4: Somewhere to live. Actually Berlin seems a lot more affordable than Amsterdam. Or even Brighton for that matter. Still, will probably AirB&B it for the first month. Sick of hotels.

I think that's all I really need to consider. Although am pondering whether to get a better PC. Does anyone know who makes laptops with 1080p or better screens? Might get myself a credit card to pay for it as well since if I get an Avios Amex card just for the frequent flyer points.

Comments

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

My own feeling is that since you really want to stay contracting, your own limited company and a useful accountant may be the way to go. However I don't know if that's possible with the German system.

Congratulations on the job!

Again, seems to me that you should keep the car and take it to Germany, you like it and will have fun with it.

[luckykaa.livejournal.com]

I was toying with the idea of a limited company but that's only a valid solution in Germany for the first 6 months. After that I need to be registered in Germany. If I already had a limited company that would be fine

But honestly the whole thing gives me a headache

[the-smut-fairy.livejournal.com]

Limited companies are easy. all_five_aces has one; at some point soon we're going to try doing all his accounts & stuff without paying anyone to do it, and I'm pretty sure we can.

[xanthipe]

Laptop - Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro if you want something light and portable, or the high-end Toshiba gaming platforms if you want something with All The Power. Warren has the former, I have the latter, both have excellent screens.

[luckykaa.livejournal.com]

That Yoga 2 Pro is gorgeous except I also want a blu-ray drive.

The Toshibas are nice though.

[xanthipe]

Mine is the Qosmio X70-A equivalent (slightly older model) - I've generally had a good run with Toshibas in terms of reliability and survivability, with the occasional hardware fix (one screen cable needing to be plugged back in after being dropped from about a metre and one hard-drive replacement after within-warranty failure).