For all the advantages of working for yourself – the flexibility, the freedom to make your own choices, being your own boss – the unpredictability of income is one of the major disadvantages. Income can be irregular and there can be periods of time where there is more money going out than coming in. So making sure you get paid your due, on time, can be one of the hardest aspects of being self-employed.
On top of that, you’re legally obliged to record and file all documentation of your income and outgoings for 6 years – or be fined.
So it’s important that you have everything in place to make it as easy and simple as possible for your customers to pay you what they owe you. It’s also important to know what you can do if things go wrong.