THE CONTRACTING AWARDS WINNERS

The Contracting Awards are delighted to announce our winners for 2019. Thank you to our judges and to all of this years entrants.

Best Contractor Accountant (Over 2,500 clients)

And the winner is …PayStream

PayStream have been providing accountancy services to limited company contractors for over 15 years and are the only provider to be run by qualified accountants and lawyers. Both their Managing Director and Operations Director are ACA Chartered Accountants. PayStream is also a full member of the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA).

Their My PSC service allows contractors to cut down on the amount of work involved in running their own business by assisting with all administrative and accounting tasks required, leaving them free to concentrate on securing the most lucrative assignments.

As their staff all specialise in working with contractors, they can provide advice on issues such as IR35 compliance, as well as completing tax returns, VAT returns and all the statutory documentation required by HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House.

Judges said: “This entry really stood out showing added innovation, professionalism and very good compliance.”

Best Contractor Accountant (1,000 – 2,499 clients)

And the winner is …Orange Genie Accountancy

Orange Genie Accountancy exists to make the lives of Contractors and Freelancers easier, enabling them to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Their goal is to ensure that the flexible workforce is advised in the best possible way to secure the future success of both their businesses and the UK economy.

They deliver on this aspiration by fostering close relationships with their clients, and those relationships inform and enhance everything they do. They keep their client to staff ratio deliberately low, which gives staff the space and time to develop deep insights into clients’ needs and aspirations. Their accountants will also travel anywhere in the UK to meet their clients face to face. As a result of these closer relationships, the advice they give is more complete and more focused on each individual contractor.

Their commitment to excellence, to safeguarding their clients and looking after their interests is reflected in their long-standing membership of FCSA, where they have consistently achieved accreditation year after year since 2014. They regularly add their voice to the conversation on industry issues and are committed to driving improvements in compliance and best practice throughout the contracting industry.

Judges said: “The breadth of service is articulated well. They had an excellent range of add ons and perks, creating a positive user experience.”

Best Contractor Accountant (Under 1,000 clients)

And the winner is …Dolan Accountancy

Highly Commended was PaperRocket Accounting

Dolan Accountancy was born out of the desire to deliver excellent levels of service in a streamlined and technological focused way. Simon Dolan has re-entered the contractor market, this time improving on what he had gone before to truly build THE best contractor accountancy firm.

Their dramatic growth in only two years demonstrates how their combination of excellent service and technology appeals to contractors.

They shun the approach that it’s best to stick to what you know, constantly looking at ways to make their clients lives easier. They offer them the flexibility to move seamlessly to umbrella employment via Contractor Umbrella should their contract dictate this, so are ready to handle the potential challenges the new legislation may bring, whilst minimising the impact on our clients.

Dolan Accountancy support contractors and their limited company at every step of the way.

Judges said: “Proven success, a testament to underlying great service in short space of time. This is an impressive story and speed to scale.”

Best Umbrella Company (over 1,500 clients)

And the winner is …Walker Smith Contracting

Walker Smith Contracting embrace their vision to become the world's most trusted partner for everyone working flexibly. As an emerging umbrella with over 2,500 contractors paid weekly, their mission is to make a difference to their clients lives as opposed to offering a simple payroll solution.

They set out to create an “excellence in customer service culture” focusing on 4 core principals. Best of breed customer service, compliance excellence, adding value to the customer experience and creating tailored customer journeys.

Their compliance charter ensures every decision they make is done ethically within HMRC guidelines, having successfully secured the official Professional Passport stamp of approval.

Judges said: “This entry showed an organisation that is passionate about compliance and embracing their ambition to be the best. It really stood out as adding value through the contractor journey.”

Best Umbrella Company (under 1,499 clients)

And the winner is …Contractor Umbrella

Contractor Umbrella is the UK’s most trusted umbrella company as well as being one of the longest standing, established in 2002. Over 99% of their employees would recommend them.

Guaranteeing their employees peace of mind, absolute compliance and complete security, they are one of the longest standing and most respected umbrella companies in the UK.

The judges praised the exceptional customer service they provide, with dedicated Contract Managers and a money back guarantee to back up this exceptional service!

Judges said: “This entry showed excellent customer service and added value for their customers”

Best Contractor Recruitment Agency – IT

And the winner is …Trust in Soda Ltd

Highly Commended was Curo Talent

Trust in SODA is an award-winning digital recruitment company (over 90% contract) with international reach and an unrivalled reputation for specialist knowledge and results based around their core values of passion, collaboration and innovation.

SODA stands for Society of Digital Addicts. It’s what they are – passionate about what they do and building their business around trust. Trust their people, trust their network, Trust in Soda.

Gamechangers in digital recruitment – they focus on how they engage with clients and contractors, their knowledge culture, networking strength, learning & development standards, their commitment and innovative response to IT gender issues and their unique CSR approach involving their clients and staff.

Judges said: “We really liked the values underpinning what they do. The ethos of what a modern recruitment company looks like”

Best Contractor Recruitment Agency – Engineering

And the winner is …NRL

NRL focus on their core engineering sectors, successfully building long-term relationships with clients and contractors and delivering high quality labour solutions in line with their business values of integrity, accountability, professionalism, commerciality, openness and care.

Testament to this is their low client and staff turnover. Their top 10 client list have partnered with them for an average of 14.5 years.

Operating in highly regulated sectors such as nuclear, power and oil and gas, they have built a strong reputation for delivering fully compliant services to the highest standard. This is achieved by their in-house compliance teams and their comprehensive processes. They work with clients to ensure they understand their requirements, adhere to industry legislation and ensure temporary workers fully understand the safety procedures for their assignment.

Judges said: “A clear winner – they really stand out as a ‘poster boy’ for the future of agencies.”

Best Contractor Recruitment Agency – Other

And the winner is …The Curve Group

The Curve Group have supplied skilled contractors into Financial Services clients ranging from established Tier 1 Banks to disruptive Challenger Banks for 10+ years including the likes of HSBC, The Co-operative Bank, Gatehouse Bank, Nationwide, TSB, Secure Trust Bank, Allica and RBS.

Their entry took the judges through an exceptional case study that showed real problem solving, exceptional customer service and a passion for customer satisfaction in the Financial Services area particularly.

Their relentless focus on contractor care ensures that the contractors they place meet and exceed client’s expectations.

Judges said: “An Impressive, strong, fast moving entrant - clients clearly feel in safe hands with them.”

Best Contractor Innovation

And the winner is …Countingup

Highly Commended was GoSimpleTax

Countingup - the business account that does your books!

They make running a small business simple and more enjoyable. By having banking and accounting all in one place, customers get to focus more on growing their business or having the lifestyle they want.

With a focus on efficiency, reducing admin through a range of innovative features and striving to improve and expand their products, Countingup are keeping their customers incredibly happy! Their Trustpilot rating is excellent at 9.1/10, their App Store rating is 4.5/5 and their Play Store rating (226 reviews) is 4.2/5.

Judges said: “This is new innovation in the market - tech focussed but their compliance is inline as well. Really tailored for modern flexible working!”

Best International Contractor Provider

And the winner is …6CATS International

6CATS International is the expert supplier of compliant contractor management solutions to the world’s leading recruitment companies. They offer compliant solutions in more than 80 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as further afield. We have supported over 30,000 contractors in the past 10 years.

Recognising the importance of providing fully compliant, transparent and streamlined contractor workforce solutions, 6CATS International are dedicated to providing their clients with the highest levels of service, winning the Recruitment International Award for Best Customer Service in 2018, whilst offering complete compliance assurance.

Judges said: “They provided a very strong entry, showing how they are the go-to solution.”

Best Outsourced Contractor Organisation

And the winner is …Linx

Linx look at temporary and contingent labour differently. They understand that clients need the flexibility in their business that engaging contract workers provides, but that they want to manage supplier relationships so that they add value and drive efficiencies within their business.

Their approach is to consult with the client, undertaking a comprehensive discovery exercise to fully understand the temporary labour requirements, what limitations clients currently have with their supply chain and where efficiencies can be implemented. Combined with a technology focus that drives data insight, they transform the contingent labour supply chain to create a bespoke solution that meets the client’s market and commercial challenges.

Judges said: “Linx delivered complex benefits which were demonstrated successfully in the entry.”

Best Contractor Insurance Provider or Broker

And the winner is …Hiscox Insurance

For many years Hiscox has specialised in supporting those who have pursued careers in the contracting space and they’ve continuously strived to design their products and covers to meet these needs.

From developing 13 different Professional Indemnity wordings to cater to specific sector needs, the introduction of hibernation cover that allows contractors to halve their premiums, but remain covered for work already undertaken, whilst they are between contracts to save the hassle of cancelling down their insurances, the removal of joining fees, removal of mid-term adjustment fees and removal of cancellation fees, to the introduction of interest-free direct debits, and introduction of contractor run-off cover which provides on-going cover for work completed after a contractor ceases trading for 50% of the cost they paid before.

They also deliver a market leading claims service, achieving world-class NPS scores of +94. Time after time they receive customer feedback from those we have helped and who have had claims brought against them - “I have to say that we have been amazed at the support and service that we have received from Hiscox throughout this time.”

Judges said: “They offer the best service to contractors through exceptional innovations, excellent customer service, value for money and clear claim policies”.

Best Contractor Mortgage Provider or Broker

And the winner is …CMME Mortgages and Protection

CMME are dedicated to supporting UK contractors. Since our launch in 2004, they have helped over 50,000 self-employed professionals secure the mortgage they deserve.

Their success is rooted in superior customer service, product choice and innovation, underpinned by deep expertise and smart technology. Their clients benefit from an experienced and dedicated adviser who is with them from initial enquiry to completion, taking time to understand their specific needs and positioning their application in the best possible light.

They get results! Many clients tell them they have been turned down elsewhere before approaching them. But because they specialise in complex and non-standard cases, over 93% of mortgage applications handled by CMME are successful.

Judges said: “They really demonstrated their commitment to the contracting market, a clear winner.”

Best Banking Provider

And the winner is …Tide

Tide is the UK’s leading digital business banking provider, developed exclusively for sole traders and small and medium sized businesses. Tide now has over 85,000 members, equalling 1.5% of the SME market. And growing rapidly.

Traditional banks have long overlooked the small business sector in favour of both consumers (low margins made up for in scale) and big businesses (fewer of them but more stable and higher margins). It can take weeks to process an application for a new business current account with these banks, and as a result some 52% of sole traders and SMEs say high street banks are just not business friendly. Tide was created to change this.

Tide is a banking service that has been developed with small business owners as the focus - every feature is designed and optimized around their needs. They constantly speak to their members, many of whom are contractors and freelancers, to make sure they keep them at the heart of all they do.

Judges said: “Truly leading the leading the pack in excellent customer service.”

Best Legal, Compliance or Tax Adviser

And the winner is …WTT

WTT has a passion for working with contractors. Their 2,500 contractor clients rely on WTT to provide clear, unbiased advice on historic enquiries and proposed seismic changes in their industry.

In the last year they focussed on navigating contractors through issues created by The Loan Charge, helping to understand their obligations, the consequences of their choices and next steps.

WTT prides itself on their deliberate policy to provide free, honest, insightful and perceptive advice to all contractors via their blog, national press articles, where they are quoted alongside the Big Four and ContractorUK where their own Graham Webber was awarded, uniquely, best forum adviser and best forum personality 2018, an award he was delighted to receive, especially as it was judged by contractors themselves.

Judges said: “An impressive entry, setting the highest standards for compliance and legal performance”.

Best Contractor Job Site

And the winner is …CV-Library

CV-Library is the UK’s leading independent job board, boasting a candidate database of over 14 million CVs and helping over 10,000 recruiters and employers to hire the right people for their roles.

Established in 2000 by founder and CEO, Lee Biggins, CV-Library is a leading player in the UK market and also has the best Trustpilot rating in the industry; 9/10 compared to their major competitors Indeed (6.5/10), Reed (2.7/10) and Totaljobs (1.5/10).

Currently, 2.9 million job hunters using their site are looking for contractor work. On average, they advertise over 25,000 contractor roles every month across all sectors, making them an appealing choice for individuals searching for a new contract role.

Judges said: “This entry stands out from the competition and demonstrates a high standard of user experience”.

Best Accounting or Payroll Software

And the winner is …FreeAgent

FreeAgent is unique among UK accounting software packages because it’s specifically designed for contractors and small businesses.

With a suite of innovative invoicing, banking, reporting, time-tracking and project management features - and a highly-rated, user-friendly mobile experience enabling customers to raise and send invoices, manage their banking data and record expenses while on the move – they are committed to making it as easy as possible for contractors to stay on top of their finances.

In the past year, they have also pioneered new ways for small business customers to interact with their finances. This includes the launch of their groundbreaking Insights feature, which analyses customers’ financial data to deliver useful information on their business performance - such as top performing clients, potential issues with cash flow and invoices that are potentially at risk of late payment. They are the first accounting software provider to offer this kind of smart analytical functionality.

Judges said: “This stand out entry provides clear product benefits for the software and scored highly for innovation.”