Running your business

This section briefly describes some of the main responsibilities involved in running your limited company.

Success in business means mastering the art of management. Of course most freelancers do not have staff or stocks, so they are spared the problems of man management and stock control. However they must still learn how to manage two main factors to succeed as a freelance worker.

Setting your prices is probably the single most important and difficult decision that you will make for your business. To succeed you must "Price for Profit".

If you have been invited to submit a proposal on a project you will need to detail how you would carry out work on the project in question.

The terms you agree with your client ahead of starting work are critical in terms of protecting your business. As every freelancer will tell you, document everything, the services you agree to carry out - the project's requirements, timescales and any other considerations to ensure successful project completion - at the start and any changes to that brief during the project.

The definition of negotiation is "to discuss with the goal of finding terms of agreement." In dealing with clients, suppliers or anyone else in the day to day running of a business, you will find yourself working towards agreeing terms in a whole host of different scenarios.

Once you have secured your first contract, agreed a rate and a start date, a contract needs to be signed...

As a freelancer, you may need to fill in timesheets or create invoices detailing the work you have done for your clients.

There are sadly a great number of potential customers in the market who can cost your business a great deal of time and money by not paying their debts. Here is Freelance UK's guide to controlling them and keeping your credit the right side of the line.

Understanding accountancy and finance is like driving a car - it fills most people with dread and fear...

Your accounts can only ever be as accurate as the books you keep. In this section we explain the books you will need - and those you won't!

Whilst the precise details of how a business can minimise its costs varies enormously according to the type of freelancing work it is involved with, there are nevertheless a number of techniques which can be used to good effect by all Freelancers.

As a freelancer, encountering a difficult client could be described as an occupational hazard that needs to be dealt with carefully and strategically...