VAT, the British Freelance Translator and the Rest of the EU

This is a bit of a sticky one.
In the UK, unless you have a high turnover (currently £79000 see UK tax website for more details, you don’t have to register for VAT. This has benefits for the freelancer:
– Your fee is as seen, no VAT to add, so cheaper for
your client
– less paperwork
However, as I’ve discovered not charging VAT can seem very strange when dealing with clients elsewhere in the EU. As freelance translators many of us are dealing with European clients or agencies all the time, and it doesn’t appear to be straightforward, not our clients fault, but just slightly unclear directives and rules.

Requirements of Coffee Shop Hotdesking

As I said in my previous post, coffee shops are my default location for hotdesking. Wherever I go, I think a coffee shop must fulfill the following requirements, otherwise productivity is lost:

1. Great coffee!

The picture here is the least I would be happy with. Of course you can only see how it looks, but I can tell you it tasted very smooth, a hint of nut and praline. The best part is I made it myself, with a bit of help from the Red Brick blend from the Square Mile Coffee Roasters. The mini lavender cupcakes are courtesy of my wife and daughter’s baking and icing exploits.

So if I go out, the coffee has a lot to live up to. A really well made flat white it has to be, or I just feel I’ve wasted my cash.

2. Free wifi.

That is easy to log onto, and is quick enough to browse, send receive emails and perhaps receive a voip call.

3. Table space enough for my laptop, the aforementioned coffee and a pen and paper.

If you’re jammed on a small table next to a group of people, you won’t feel comfortable. A good size table, a comfy seat and ideally no-one next to you is what you need.

4. Medium to low level noise.

Music is acceptable (though must be decent), chatter is too. But roadworks outside the door is not.

People like coffee shops with a “buzz”, but too much “buzz” is too much distraction.

A note on coffeehouse chains:

You see lots of people working in these, Starbucks and Costa Coffee seem to be the favourites, but they generally tick only 1or 2 out my 4 requirements. Very often the coffee is lacking, so bad value for money, and not all have wifi. For my preference if I use a chain I would use Starbucks as there’s always wifi and you can usually find a good space, plus if I fancy something fancy, the Starbucks Frappuccino is refreshing on a hot day! Beside that I’d like to try the new Costa Metro brand, they look kinda funky and potentially a good place to hotdesk!

My coffee shop recommendations to follow!

Where to hotdesk?

My desk is nice. I designed it myself. It has a concave curve, allowing me to swivel easily from my laptop to my reference works or to write notes. Please don’t misunderstand me, it’s really just a peice of MDF in the corner of a room, but I fashioned it myself and it’s very functional. Does that mean I always want to be at it? Should I always be at it?

I think not. For the sanity of the freelance translator, as they say, a change could do you good. So next question.. where? If I’m not going to be at my purpose built desk, with all my stuff within reach, should I go?

Well personally, I’m a coffee lover, so a good coffee shop is my default. I’ll put my coffee shop requirements and some recommended places in my next post.

After that, public libraries are often good places to go. They may have free wifi, and they’ll always have some desk space often with a plug handy. When you get bored you can always wander round, browse some books, travel guides or newspapers, or simply people watch. My local is Putney Library which I recommend.

Being in London, I sometimes make use of the many public spaces there are like the Royal Festival Hall, the National Theatre, and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). There’s often wifi, you can take coffee with you or buy it there, and you can usually find a quite corner, perhaps even one with a plug socket. Just check beforehand that there’s not a big event going.

And why not make the most of your memberships? By this I mean things like the National Trust. You’ll know what’s close to you, but they may have spaces where you could sit and work. I’m a member of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and I sometimes use a space at the top of the visitor centre at the London Wetlands Centre. It has great views, if you ask the right person you can get free wifi, and there’re plug sockets.

Finally why not beg, steal or borrow other people’s homes or workspaces? I regularly use a room at my mother in law’s house, but I’m considering asking other freelancers I know if I can come over and work at theirs for a morning. So lets network and share! Of course you might even be able to steal a desk at someone’s office every now and again if they don’t mind or don’t tell 😉

So where do you go? What works for you? Lets compile our ideas here.