How To Solve Potential Problems When Working From Home

Google reviews
July 06, 2018
n

The prospect of working from home as a contractor or freelancer may sound like bliss. There are no co-workers, no commute, no rules…but it’s not all sunshine and roses. Many who switch to self-employment often experience frustration, discontent or a dip in productivity at one point or another. 

Rather than abandon the freelance dream, you can read on and discover a few ways to easily solve potential issues. 

Creeping isolation 

There’s probably no one at home with you during the day, which may at first make you more productive with minimum distractions. But after a while, you could begin to feel isolated. People need to socialise, and often company can give you the push you need to do the work.

Constantly being around others isn’t necessary, but you can take a break from home-working every now and then. This can be by networking, which will also help you to broaden your connections, potentially acquiring leads in the process.

Another idea is to go to a co-working space occasionally. If the costs are too high, perhaps find local freelancers who you can club with to co-work in a café.

Rising stress

As long as you’re at home, you’re always in the office. It can be difficult to switch off when everything you need to do is right there in front of you. But this has the potential to cause stress, which will ultimately affect your productivity as well as your happiness.

You can resolve this by setting clear working hours, and scheduling in breaks throughout the day. With this free time suddenly available, you may struggle to figure out a way in which to spend it. Undertaking a creative hobby is a great idea – it’s been proven to boost concentration and increase happiness. And, who knows, you may find something you absolutely love.

Increasing bills

As you’ll be at home for a longer amount of time, your bills are going to increase – internet and electricity in particular. This can cause frustration, especially if you didn’t take this into account when making the switch to self-employment.

Budgeting will help with the change, as will claiming expenses. There are a number of utility bills which can be claimed, such as gas, telephone, internet, electricity, water, and repairs. All of these, except telephone and internet, can be claimed via a flat rate, on the premise that you work from home for at least 25 hours per month. Also, depending on whether you’re a homeowner or renting, you can claim on mortgage interest or rent.

Trying to work out which expenses you can claim, as well the flat rates, can seem daunting to those who aren’t accountancy experts. This is where Bright Ideas Contractor & Freelancer can assist those working from home. We’ll take the calculations off your hands and explain all the tax and accountancy jargon to you in simple terms.

To book in a FREE consultation, contact us today on 0161 669 4221 or info@biaccountancy.com.

How To Solve Potential Problems When Home-Working

Resources

Recent Articles

Exporters must make declarations on a new system from March 30

Exporters must make declarations on a new system from March 30

Any trader making export declarations needs to move to a new HMRC system from March 30 this year. The CHIEF system is being fully replaced by the Customs Declaration System, and anyone who has been using the old system will now have to move across. There has been a...

End of tax year planning starts now – use up any allowances

End of tax year planning starts now – use up any allowances

Now is the time to start thinking about your end-of-year tax planning while there is still time to maximise the benefit of any allowances you haven’t used yet this tax year. The end of the current tax year is April 5, 2024, and there are various tax breaks you want to...

The cost of divorce – what to do if you decide to split up

The cost of divorce – what to do if you decide to split up

More people file for divorce in January than any other month of the year, probably because the stress of being together for an extended period over Christmas and New Year brings any cracks in a relationship bubbling to the surface. Or it could be that people want to...

Ready to join us?

Whether you’re a contractor, freelancer, or small business, Bright Ideas can help remove the burden of time-consuming and complex finances. We’ll draw on our years of knowledge and experience earned helping sole traders just like you.

When you choose us, you’ll be assigned a dedicated Account Manager who’ll provide one-on-one support that’s customised to your business. Communication is key, so we’ll always answer your questions or requests as soon as we can. In fact, we offer a same-day response guarantee for emails and calls received before 3pm.

Contact us to get started

Give us a call us or send an email today!

Looking to switch accountants?
We make the transition simple.

Does your current accountant give 1-to-1 support? Are they fast and thorough?
Slap-dash services hold businesses back, so try our experts instead.

Move to an accountancy service that goes the extra mile…

Start the conversation

Let’s make your finances Brighter

Call us Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm

0161 669 4221

Request a call back