Icon Accounting - Accounting company in Ireland

Have you been contracting for some time, are now considering a career as an independent professional, and want to learn about how you can set yourself up for success? Why not invest in your future and establish your own business. Understand the process of setting up your own personal limited company, along with some of the benefits which you can enjoy if you do decide to make the switch! Have you been contracting for some time, are now considering a career as an independent professional , and want to learn about how you can set yourself up for success? Why not invest in your future and establish your own business. The question is… is it the right move for you now? As with every decision, it’s important to know the facts, the figures, and the opportunities before making your next career move. Keep reading to understand the process of setting up your own personal limited company further, along with some of the benefits which you can enjoy if you do decide to make the switch! ...

In general, a person beginning to experience burnout might feel they’ve little or no control over their work situation, they will probably find themselves working longer hours, and may not be able to find any work-life balance. As an Independent Professional Contractor, you need to stay aware of the signs of burnout as early as possible and this blog will give you seven ways to avoid it altogether! We are all prone to occasional stress at work, especially when we are working on a busy project or when we have a tight deadline to hit. Burnout is different, it usually results from more long-term issues, like having overly demanding expectations, working in a highly pressurized environment, or overworking yourself to please as many clients at once.  In general, a person beginning to experience burnout might feel they’ve little or no control over their work situation, they will probably find themselves working longer hours, and may not be able to find any work-life balance. This le...

In this blog piece, Robert Whelan from Rockwell discusses the Umbrella Plan and encourages every Independent Professional to prepare for the worst case scenario whilst living their best life, and as a result of doing so, the worst case scenario may be much less daunting! “Nobody plans to get sick!” I heard this phrase for the first time in a presentation by an oncologist in the Royal College of Surgeons nearly 20 years ago. He was speaking to a group of financial services professionals and trying to impress upon us the fact that people get sick but end up with two problems without proper financial planning. Why two problems? Well, it is bad enough that you have a medical condition to deal with but when you consider that you may be unable to work and therefore be unable to make your loan repayments and support your family you now have a second problem – money. For most people, the decision to become an Independent Contractor is one of the most financially rewarding of their entire caree...

 With the Icon Accounting App maturing and becoming increasingly popular for clientele, Shauna McEntee from our business development team highlights four key reasons why you should prioritise downloading the app for the ultimate experience. Simplistically convenient – it just makes sense! Whether you are looking to upload expenses, download documents or even submit your timesheet – the Icon Accounting App has been designed and streamlined to not only replicate the powerful iConnect Portal available via desktop or webpage, but to further enhance the experience offered to our clientele. A dashboard for everything relating to your contract at your fingertips, on-the-go, everywhere, anywhere. Additional Features We understand that working as an Independent Professional can be an extremely busy place at times throughout the contract life cycle. That is why, we are continuing to rollout additional features. These additional features will not only provide a more...

Without a doubt, iPerks has added value to so many of our clientele. The only ones that haven’t benefitted are those that are yet to utilise it! To give a quick insight in to iPerks for those that may not be aware of it, it provides additional value to Independent Professionals by focusing on three core facets – bespoke wellness, everyday savings and my personal favourite, up-skilling, and continuous learning. Bespoke Wellness: We’re just about through Covid-19 but that doesn’t mean our focus on wellness, both mentally and physically should dwindle. If Covid-19 and lockdowns taught us anything, it was that both our physical wellness and mental well-being should never become an afterthought and remain front and central in our list of priorities. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to mental well-being, some of us simply need relaxation, whether that be logging off social media platforms, getting away for a few days holiday or spending time with family and f...

It goes without saying that everyone reading this will have had the unfortunate experience of having an unexpected expense crop up. It happens all the time. The issue arises if we don’t have the necessary funds in place to pay for that expense. What do the banks hope you do in this situation? Put it on your credit card of course! Now this is fine if it’s a last resort. But surely there’s an easier way? It goes without saying that everyone reading this will have had the unfortunate experience of having an unexpected expense crop up. It happens all the time. The issue arises if we don’t have the necessary funds in place to pay for that expense. What do the banks hope you do in this situation? Put it on your credit card of course! Now this is fine if it’s a last resort. But surely there’s an easier way? That’s why we all need to have an Emergency Fund. You should have ideally 6 months take home pay in cash, but 3 months is the minimum. Here's why: Your emergency fund cove...

With the demand for roles so high in the current climate, our team is always getting asked for more clarity on options for candidates who currently have visa restrictions in place. If you’re wondering, can I contact you if I have a stamp in place? The answer is yes, but it does depend on what stamp and/or permission you have, as well as your Visa type. Before coming to work in Ireland for more than 90 days, you must apply for the relevant work permits with the Department of Justice, the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, or the Department of Foreign Affairs. Once this permission has been received, at that point you must then apply for a long stay Visa (D)  before traveling to Ireland. There are various permissions that you could receive depending on your personal circumstances and skills, such as a critical skill, working holiday authorization, or intra-company transfer permission. Under a Stamp 4 Visa, individuals can work as self-employed persons, and set up under a...

Capital Gains Tax is something that you may come across as an individual or as a business, in this blog piece, Cristina explains what it is, how it works, and even what exemptions are available. In its simplest terms, Capital Gains Tax is a tax that arises on the realized profits from the sale of assets (Selling Price – Purchase Price = Profit Taxable for CGT). The rule applies to individuals, companies, trusts, partnerships, and essentially any other entity type that disposes of an asset. If you are currently contracting through an umbrella solution, it is extremely unlikely that you will come across CGT, at least not because of your contract work. There are other individual activities that can also create a CGT liability which we will examine in more detail There is also a growing trend of independent professionals making the switch to their own Private Limited Company in line with the signs of positivity that we are seeing from the sector, if you are considering making the switch, y...

Time Management has always been amongst the most important skills for workers, but never more so than in the last 12 months as effectively managing our time has undoubtedly become more significant. Between juggling work demands, teams’ meetings, home life, home-schooling, a zoom social life, and everything in between - in a time when we have had more time at home than ever, our schedules seem to be fuller than ever before! As a self-employed contractor, one of the most important skills to master and invest in is your time management. Finding ways to focus & segment your time to ensure deadlines are met is a crucial ingredient to your success. If you are new to contracting, this is where we can assist. With a fully dedicated account manager to introduce you to the contracting world as well as a digital and user-friendly portal that streamlines the invoicing, payments, and storage of business documents. We have rounded up some helpful tips to help you to achieve your...

Employers are ever more aware of the importance of creating a positive and healthy workplace for staff members.  The benefits of having a happy workforce mean that staff members are more likely to stay with the company, maintain a positive mindset while in and out of the workplace and speak more highly of the company outside their working day!  Also, clients and customers will reap the benefits from dealing with a happy employee!  It’s a win, win situation! Icon Accounting strives to create a positive work environment and below are areas that we focus on in particular.  A positive environment is something that cannot be created overnight and needs constant care and attention.  Once an employer embarks on increasing and maintaining a happy and positive working environment they may wonder why they did not do this sooner! 😊  Transparency and Open Communication  Feeling valued at work are one of the main factors that will change how you feel and motivate ...