Our Keen Page - this is a phone advice service where we help consultants and clients understand the legal and tax issues involved in our industry, with the understanding that we're not lawyers or CPA's, just experienced consultants who have already faced these issues before.
Yahoo has created a useful facility for any group to use, it works like an email list with optional BBS, and has sections for files, links, databases, chat room, calendar, etc. Naturally it's paid for by the ads there, but it's a handy way for businesses, clubs, and other groups of people to organize their common interests for free and without having to set up a more complicated web site to duplicate this functionality (which we will probably do eventually for our own use). You can join Yahoo groups via email but to get the full access to the group's web site and other features you'll need to set up a Yahoo profile - the Yahoo pages will guide you through this process, it's free, and you can control what kind of advertising you receive and what info is available to others. You can always unsubscribe from any Yahoo group via email, and you can unsubscribe or modify your preferences from the group's web site. You can limit email to daily digests or even get no email at all if you prefer to just look at the messages on the web site like a BBS. Not all groups are configured to allow attachments. Each group's home page describes its parameters.
My Yahoo Groups - here's where you can conveniently link to your own list of Yahoo Groups you've subscribed to; it makes a good starting point.
RMPCP Applicants - this is the group we use to manage and partly automate our application process. Subscribe to this group to automatically receive more information about RMPCP and how to join, including a brief questionnaire to answer and email back so we can better help you. Then we will manually approve your subscription, which will automatically send you forms to sign and fax back in order to join RMPCP.
RMPCP PEO - this is for our optional internal W-2 umbrella that provides our full corporate benefit package. Subscribe to get some initial information, we'll make sure you've also subscribed to the RMPCP-Applicants group above and manually approve your subscription to this RMPCP-PEO group, which will send you more information and forms to sign and fax back to get our benefits after you join RMPCP.
For convenience, if you send email to Apply at rmpcp dot com, you'll automatically subscribe to both groups above so you'll get some information from both. You can always unsubscribe later.
RMPCP Reqs - this optional group broadcasts Requirements we receive for contract/consulting work. Presently there's no filtering by skill set or other criteria; we may implement that later on. Here are the Terms of Service for joining RMPCP-Reqs.
RMPCP Member Discussions - this is our official company BBS for RMPCP members only. Members are strongly encouraged to join this group, because official company announcements are posted here. It's also useful for members to discuss questions about how to get the best value from their RMPCP membership, questions about consulting in general, and other related topics.
RMPCP Project Team 1 - this is for RMPCP use only and is posted here only for our own convenience. It is for those of us working together on designated RMPCP projects to share files, discussion, and other useful information about the project.
ICCA D/FW Chapter - this Yahoo Group is for members of the Dallas / Fort Worth chapter of the Independent Computer Consultants Association. See below for more info on the ICCA.
Programmer Co-ops - this group is for discussion about setting up and running cooperatives for programmers (and, to some extent, other IT professionals). Note that RMPCP itself is partly a co-op for consultants. Most of our members aren't interested in helping run RMPCP, they just want our services, which is fine, but if enough members become interested, we may set up a co-op for them. This would not replace RMPCP but would help us provide additional services.
RMPCP is a proud member of the
Independent Computer Consultants Association, the professional/trade group for the independents and small group consulting practices. The ICCA's
Code of Ethics promotes professionalism in our industry. Consultants and clients alike can benefit from the ICCA's
extensive research into
Section 1706, the
20 Questions, and other tax issues relating to the use of
Independent Contractors. Consultants who want to be treated with the professional respect they deserve should work with or through ICCA member firms such as RMPCP. Brokers and clients who want the best consultants should use ICCA member firms such as RMPCP. The ICCA also has its own
BBS with many sections open to non-members.
The
Programmer's Guild seeks to help computer programming mature as a respected profession. Personally I like the ICCA better but the PG is also for employees as well as contractors.
These BBS's are useful places to learn more about our industry and to interact with other consultants who can often answer questions. They often have useful FAQ's as well (see below). Consultants can get informal advice which can better prepare them to get the best value from lawyers, accountants, and other expert advisors as appropriate. All of these boards serve similar purposes; they each have their own style and some may prefer one over others. We're not taking sides here, they're all useful - check them all and decide which you like best.
RealRates BBS - this is the discussion board associated with Janet Ruhl's RealRates.com site mentioned below. It concentrates on providing useful information to computer consultants, especially beginners, and is moderated - you could say this board is rated "G". Many of the regular participants from Compuserve's old Consult forum moved here.
Open IT Forum - this board also provides useful information as well as a wider range of discussions of interest to computer consultants, both new and experienced. Some of these discussions go into more detail about problems facing our industry, sometimes rather bluntly, in order to be as helpful as possible - you could say this board is rated "PG" (and definitely not "PC"). Many of the regulars from RealRates who prefer an unmoderated board have moved here, including many of the most experienced consultants.
ICCA BBS - this is the BBS of the ICCA mentioned above, it was created here on the ICCA's improved web site after Compuserve no longer hosted the Consult forum which the ICCA originally sponsored. Many sections are open to non-members.
alt.computer.consultants.moderated is a UseNet group for discussing issues concering computer consultants. It's much better than the unmoderated group which had been taken over by flamers and spammers.
us.issues.occupations.computer-programmers is a UseNet group for discussing issues concering computer programmers and similar technical professionals, whether employees, contractors, or consultants. It seems to focus on the H-1B visa program and its abuses, and is unmoderated.
Janet Ruhl's
RealRates site hosts rate and salary surveys which should be more objective than those sponsored by some brokers and clients and magazines who seem to have a vested interest in artificially pushing down rates. It also has FAQ's and other useful info for consultants, as well as a place to post
contracts and
consultant profiles.
See our
comments on James Ziegler's Contract Workers' Bill of Rights and his other useful information as above.
The
Software Contractor's Guild is a contract matching site which is somewhat useful even though its skill set keywords have grown completely out of control.
We've been advised not to give business away to our competition by providing links to them, but we want to provide the best possible service to the consulting community, and we want our fellow consultants to be as fully informed as possible. Some of our consultants joined us because of the advantages we offer compared to other umbrellas they've used before. So here goes - we dare other umbrellas to beat our service and prices. If you think they can, let us know! Keep in mind that the others are bigger than we are, yet our unique advantages allow us to attract consultants away from them!
Below are listed the PassThroughs we've heard about. Remember, not all of them are true Umbrellas; check them out thoroughly to see which ones may meet your requirements. Most are W-2 only and operate in several states. This list is NOT an endorsement and is presented strictly as a service for our fellow consultants, and some of the entries could become out of date. Sample fees below are approximate and based on each umbrella's web site and/or other information available, are for the most typical plan(s) offered by each umbrella, and are not guaranteed; they are provided only to facilitate comparing umbrellas - but remember, many criteria are more important than price. Most umbrellas quote their fees excluding applicable payroll taxes (mostly Social Security and unemployment), so we have normalized the price below to show the umbrella's cut (off the top), including applicable Social Security and Federal unemployment taxes (both employer and employee halves). To keep this chart simple, rate caps, state taxes, optional benefits, and expense deductions are not included, amounts are rounded to the nearest whole $ or %, and monthly rates charged by some umbrellas are converted to hourly rates.
25% + $0/hr. Chancellor & Chancellor W-2
13% + $4/hr. Chancellor & Chancellor subcontract
(* unknown *) Consultant Billing Inc.
19% + $0/hr. Contractor's Resources
19% + $0/hr. I Am Independent W-2
14% + $1/hr. I Am Independent subcontract
19% + $0/hr. Independent Professional Services - by Michael O'Connor who originated the W-2 umbrella concept
20% + $0/hr. Professional Association of Contract Employees - by James R. Ziegler who developed the Acid Test
(* unknown *) Pro Unlimited
24% + $0/hr. Rock Bottom Staffing
26% + $0/hr. Top Echelon
15% + $2/hr. YurCor
14% + $0/hr. Without umbrella - if you're 1099 (self-employed)
15% + $0/hr. Without umbrella - if you're W-2 or incorporated
15% + $0/hr. RMP Consulting Partners LLC Plan D assuming no bonuses
14% + $1/hr. RMP Consulting Partners LLC Plan D with optional W-2 umbrella for full corporate benefits
10% + $0/hr. RMP Consulting Partners LLC Plan D projection if we had just 15 billing consultants
As you can see, our services could cost you less than not using an umbrella at all! See our Umbrellas page for more information.
Here are links to FAQ's about consulting and related issues on various sites.
Open IT FAQ's - this is a collection of links to various discussion threads there that evolved into useful FAQ's as well as some that were deliberately written as FAQ's. This collection is well-written and growing rapidly, and covers a variety of topics of interest to consultants, so this would probably be the best one to check first. I've repeated some of the links below for convenience, see the link above for the full list.
The Contract Employees Handbook
Do's and Dont's of Contracting (Working With Agencies)
Top Ten Dirty Tricks Used By Recruiters
Non-compete clauses in contracts
References - who, when, and why?
Certifications, are they worth it?
W-2 versus 1099
Self-employed (1099) cannot be treated as employees (W-2) of the same company
Fair staffing firm markups on W-2 and 1099 contracts
How Social Security taxes are taken out and why you need to ask for more for 1099/corp than W-2
How the tax rules on retirement plan contributions discriminate against the self-employed, and what to do about it - how to maximize your contributions and minimize your taxes
When to pay estimated taxes as an S-Corp
IRS Definition of Consulting and why your C-Corp normally should not zero out its profit each year
Getting Clients To Pay Up
What is a Factor
Getting Started with Sales and Marketing
Getting Past The Gatekeeper
What is a fair referral fee?
A Data Point On Volunteer Work
Why your own corp. can't use per diems - and other details about
per diems - with excerpts from IRS publications, pointing out where they contradict each other. This is one reason why even incorporated consultants find umbrellas useful.
Billing for Travel, Travel Expenses and Per Diem
Per Diem paid hourly is Not Per Diem
Umbrella pros and cons - this is a long and frank discussion about the pros and cons of umbrellas and why it's so important to shop around. Not every aspect is covered, of course, and everyone's needs are unique.
RMPCP Umbrella FAQ's - this is our own FAQ's page about Umbrellas in general and ours in particular.