Dave Chaplin, CEO of Contractor Calculator, started working in the City of London in 1994 and became a contractor in 1997. He has consulted for blue-chip firms including Cable & Wireless, Merrill Lynch, HSBC, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. After eight years contracting, Dave left contracting to focus full time on ContractorCalculator.
Time for re-armament as the clash of online accountants and their critics begins
Has contractor accountancy changed all that much since spreadsheets came into common usage? Online accountancy will drive real change for the better.
Two weeks ago | Fri, 05 Mar 2010
IT contractors are first to admit: public sector IT is profitable, but results poor
It doesn’t matter how compliant a system you have, if you build the wrong stuff that doesn’t address the problem, it’s still a waste of money.
Last month | Mon, 01 Feb 2010
Dial-a-Husky: why contractors beat employees when snow and ice hit the roads
Recent bad weather saw many employees not bothering to go into work. But for contractors, being ‘snowbound’ is never an option. Clients, take note!
Last January | Fri, 22 Jan 2010
Contracting 2010 – things can only get better
A contractor-neutral budget, delays to the AWD and some first tiny green shoots mean some contractors may be looking forward to a prosperous New Year.
Last December | Wed, 23 Dec 2009
As in contracting, market forces will solve the British Airways crisis, but at a cost
Market forces mean contractors can’t hold clients to ransom. British Airways cabin crew will learn the same, but at what cost to BA, and the economy?
Last December | Fri, 18 Dec 2009
It’s contracting, Jim, but not as we know it. May the flexiforce be with you…
Enter the ‘flexiforce’. Or is it return of the freelancer? The debate rages over the future of freelancing, and, erm, what we should be called.
Last November | Fri, 27 Nov 2009
Just because contractors are paranoid, doesn’t mean the government isn’t against us!
IR35, Section 660, the Agency Workers Directive and now False Self-Employment in Construction – how much more can non-employees be expected to endure?
Last November | Fri, 06 Nov 2009
The silver lining that is IR35
Without IR35, contractors would not have had many of the positive things we now take for granted in the contracting world.
Last November | Thu, 05 Nov 2009
Could proposed Agency Workers Regulations kick IR35 into touch?
Paradigm shifts in legislation like those proposed by the AWD could make us all look harder than usual at what we do, with often surprising results.
Last October | Tue, 20 Oct 2009
Bob the contractor: ‘Can they do this? Yes they can!’
As contractor disputes with agents and clients increase, contractors keep asking, ‘Can they do this?’. Sadly, the answer is usually, ‘Yes they can!’.
Last October | Wed, 14 Oct 2009
Contractors must be ready to move on if they want rates to move up
When the economy dips, clients expect the same from contractors’ rates. But when things pick up, the story’s different. How do you get the going rate?
Last September | Fri, 18 Sep 2009
IR35 Poker: Is taxman bluffing to force contractors under investigation to cave in?
HMRC plays Texas Hold’em with taxpayers’ money by bluffing a strong hand with high stakes up front in the hope that its true hand is never revealed.
Last August | Fri, 21 Aug 2009
Verbal contracts are not worth the paper they are not written on
As the recession continues and contractors are keen to win new contracts and achieve renewals, it’s more important than ever to get things in writing.
Last August | Fri, 14 Aug 2009
Clients to become champions of IR35-friendly contracts?
The Stringer ruling is the latest in a run of contractor cases placing greater onus on clients to grasp the IR35 nettle. At last!
Last August | Thu, 06 Aug 2009
All contractors under employment status threat in latest construction sector attack
Draconian proposals to force employment status on construction contractors could be the beginning of a full-on attack on all contractors.
Last July | Tue, 28 Jul 2009
Staying outside of IR35 might just have got a bit easier following the Tilson ruling
The Tilson ruling may have opened the floodgates to permtractors seeking employment rights. A side effect might make it easier to stay outside IR35.
Last July | Tue, 21 Jul 2009
Contractor treatments to stop the rot
You get what you pay for, so clients’ penny pinching now will cost them dear in the long run. Treatment is required now to stop the rot setting in.
Last July | Mon, 13 Jul 2009
What’s it to be – contractor or employee?
Following the Alstom v Tilson ruling granting employment rights to a contractor, will permtractors rush to secure their employee benefits?
Last July | Mon, 06 Jul 2009
Contractors and the shocking truth about the Agency Workers Directive
The government, not Europe, proposes using the Agency Workers Directive as a mighty stick to beat contractors with. But YOU can do something about it.
Last June | Mon, 29 Jun 2009
Protectionist policies are not healthy for a flexible free contracting market
Putting barriers in place that prevent the free movement of highly skilled workers damages the very market the barriers are designed to protect.
Last June | Tue, 23 Jun 2009
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