Money Matters

A one-day course to help you get to grips with and manage your finances efficiently

WORKING FREELANCE means taking responsibility for our financial affairs with or without help from accountants and book-keepers.

Whether we like it or not – and let’s face it many of us would rather dance with the devil, we need to get our heads around a number of key financial issues if we’re going to stay buoyant. These range from planning our objectives to paying the right amount of tax, as well as ensuring that we don’t lose our hard-earned cash through ignorance. This course will help you do just that.

It includes:

Budgeting and money management

• Personal and business financial issues
• Short- and long-term aims and objectives
• Covering overheads
• Project direct/variable costs
• Survival budgeting
• Break-even analysis
• Practical trading and cash flow forecasting
• Profit and loss calculation
• Pricing and costing
• Agent and agency commissions, credit and debt control.

Legal Entities and Business Vehicles

• Evaluating and explaining business status such as employment, self-employment and owner-management
• Key Contract differentials for performers and stage management
• The pros and cons
• Income streams
• Trading names
• “IR35″/agency tax status issues
• Other liabilities.

Working with HMRC

• Business registration
• Tax explained, including Capital Gains Tax, Income and Corporation taxes plus VAT
• Allowable business expenses
• Personal, investment and capital allowances, tax credits, pension premiums, vehicle benefits and mileage allowances
• National Insurance Contributions: Classes (1,2,3 and 4) and main social security benefits
• Tax returns, bands, rates and dates: how to calculate, minimise and when to make payments.

Business Administration

• Books and record-keeping – what, why and for how long

Business and Network Development

• The 80/20 rule
• Staying in control of your business
• Maximising the potential of valuable support.

Who should attend

Those freelances working in the creative industries who wish to get a better insight into how to manage their finances effectively.

Learning outcomes

• A clearer understanding of what financial issues you need to cover when working for yourself
• A clearer understanding of how to use management information to achieve your objectives.

*We are currently setting up this year’s course programme, so if you would like to attend the above course, please register your interest at info@feutraining.org. If we receive sufficient demand, we will set up the course soon.