

Ask HN: Use own name or form a company for development freelancing/consultancy? - KhalPanda

Would you favor using your own name if you&#x27;re offering software development as a consultant or on a freelance basis, or form a company under a different name?<p>I&#x27;m torn between using my own name:<p>- Feels more &#x27;personal&#x27;.<p>- Gets my real name &#x27;out there&#x27;.<p>- People may be put off using a single person and rather deal with the company with xx employees that can answer the phone 24&#x2F;7... and have some redundancy if one of their employees were hit by a bus.<p>And forming a company:<p>- Feels like people would assume I&#x27;m more than a single developer.<p>- May (or may not - IANAL) be beneficial for liability concerns.<p>- More paperwork.<p>Or option C, form a company with my real name.<p>Which route did others take that are in the same situation? What are your experiences&#x2F;how did it work out for you? I&#x27;m in the UK.
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tptacek
I don't understand why forming a company and using your own name are mutually
exclusive. You should incorporate; if you don't, some of your clients will
withhold taxes for you as if you were an employee. It'll also be harder to get
insurance. And, of course, you get protection from contract liability.
Incorporation is extremely inexpensive and does not really involve much
paperwork.

Call the company whatever you want.

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tagabek
Agreed. Incorporating took me all of 15 minutes online. Focus on what is
REALLY important - getting your first 3 paying clients.

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codegeek
Go with both. Personal branding is important in your situation but you also
want to take care of liabilities,taxes etc in a more professional way. One way
to do it is to market yourself individually through your website,blog whatever
using your own name. When you do have a client ready to hire you, just mention
to them that "for tax/liability purpose, I do contracts and payments via my
company <xyz>". I doubt that any client will have an issue writing a check to
a company vs. a person. In fact, in the US, it is preferable that way in some
cases where liability is an issue. I know that you are in the UK but I would
guess something similar there.

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stevejalim
I was a sole trader in the UK for a few years as a freelancer, but what tipped
the balance and made me use a limited company instead was mainly liability
protection: client projects/related risks were getting big enough to warrant
it, plus I wanted a separate legal entity for my own projects.

The additional paperwork isn't actually that bad if you have a decent
accountant who is used to working electronically (I can recommend a v good
one, FWIW).

<shameless> You might find this handy:
[https://leanpub.com/freelancedeveloperbook/](https://leanpub.com/freelancedeveloperbook/)
</shameless>

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mcv
Whether forming a company is beneficial depends on where you live and what the
tax/liability/other rules are in your jurisdiction.

I'm Dutch, and I started a one-man company because it's fairly trivial, and I
need a BTW (VAT) number to charge required VAT, ask it back from the tax
service, and enable my clients to ask the VAT they paid me back.

I'm still fully liable, because starting a BV
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besloten_vennootschap](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besloten_vennootschap))
costs more and comes with extra requirements. I may eventually become a BV
when it becomes advantageous for me to do so.

There's definitely paperwork, but that's unavoidable. Without a company, I'd
still have paperwork. I hired someone to handle the taxes for me, and his
costs are deductible because they're business costs for me.

My company's name is not my real name (there's a totally different company
that already uses my real name), but in the end, clients are interested in me,
and not in my company.

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rahimnathwani
Definitely set up a Limited Company. It costs less than 20 pounds to do it
online via the Companies House web site. As others have said, you don't want
to take on more risk or liability as an individual.

If your clients are mostly VAT-registered, your company should also register
for VAT, even if you are below the turnover threshold where you are obligated
to do so. Your clients will not care (as they will claim back the VAT), but
your company will benefit by being able to claim back VAT on things it buys
(like laptops). Even better, you could register for the VAT flat-rate scheme,
which would create some additional saving in terms of VAT even if you don't
have any VAT-able expenses.

This is not advice. You should get some professional advice from someone who
does this all day. Ping me if you want a recommendation: rahim @ encona dotcom

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rahimnathwani
Also see my related comment here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7275948](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7275948)

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BSousa
I did this recently and I went with a company name for two reasons. One, not
having a native English meant that it wouldn't sound normal for them to
spell/write my name, and second, I don't really like my name :P

Now if you should start a business or register as a sole trader, depends on
revenue, local legal liabilities, if in the future you plan to hire people,
etc. This advice should be given by an accountant that knows local tax and
your current situation.

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robbiea
Form a company with a generic consulting name, and brand yourself as yourself.
That's what I do now and it works fine for me. When you bill give them your
company billing information.

If your freelancing does get bigger than you can just step back to your
company name.

Sell You, Bill your company.

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amac
I do consulting under my own name,
[http://macgregorindustries.com](http://macgregorindustries.com), but with
naming as there's little science to it, use whatever feels right.

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mattwritescode
I personally would say, use your name if freelancing. If you are looking to
become a consultancy then look at using a company name.

