You have a passion for teaching- you like knowing things, and you love helping others learn and grow. So how exactly do you go about becoming a freelance teacher and begin to turn something you love into something you can make a living from?
What do I need to do to get started?
Like any freelancer or self-employed person, it's always a sound idea to register a company so you can keep track of your business and simplify paying tax as much as possible. There are two choices in the United Kingdom: Sole Trader, or Limited Company (Ltd).
There are some differences between the two such as what you'll pay in tax, how much responsibility you as an individual take on, and the amount of paperwork you'll do (to name a few). No doubt one particular choice will suit you better. Before you decide which type of company you'd like to set up it would be worth asking around for some advice on the pros and cons of the two.
Some form of public liability insurance would also be another aspect to consider, especially when working with the public.
What does my invoice need to include?
When doing your first invoice(s)
- Invoice number - these need to be sequential with no gaps in between invoices so that the numbering is entirely consistent.
- Title - naturally, you have to state what the document is, so as long as the word "invoice" is in there somewhere you're good to go.
- Company information - any information about your company (address, name, phone number etc)
- customer information - your customers address, name, and any other relevant information
- Date of invoice- the date that you've sent the invoice to the customer
- Expiration date of invoice - how long you expect to get paid within before the invoice is marked as overdue)
- A description of product or service(s) you're providing, he total amount of hours or products, and how much each costs.
If you're using invoicing software such as Debitoor then all of this will be taken care of for you, so that your invoices are never out of order, and you can save yourself some typing by adding reoccurring products to invoices (e.g. for each subject you teach).
You also have the peace of mind in knowing that you can track your expenses and income with tools in Debitoor so that you'll always be on top of things, being able to see at a glance exactly how you're doing and where you can improve.
