Frequently Asked Questions

Yes you do. Our services are specifically designed for people who will operate as sole traders.

Absolutely! Pick which service or services you need to help you work as a sole trader.

We will schedule a meeting with you to go through each service so you understand what they provide. We can also sign you up as a guest user to the Health, Safety, and Wellbeing system on the SafetyCulture app so you can trial it for up to 1 week before making a decision.

Well no… but yes. You can’t join us as a Limited Company but if you’re the only employee then you could fold the company and re-start as a sole trader and join us! It’ll be a lot more efficient for you.

We can have you up and running in 1 working week. Set-up with Hnry (for the financial management side of things) is also very fast. Certificates of Insurance take a little longer to come through, typically within 2-3 weeks,  but your policy will be in place while you wait for them to arrive.

There is no minimum term. You can cancel at any time, but we ask that you give us one months’ notice.

Yes, you can. We simply ask that you give us one months’ notice but note that you only ever pay us when you get paid. So if the work has dried up and you want to cancel you won’t be paying for the service.

Nope. We only get paid when you get paid. However note that there is a minimum threshold you need to earn to keep using our service. If you are below this for 3 consecutive months (without giving us a reason why), then you’ll no longer be considered an active user of the service(s).

You’re the one in charge so you can take holidays whenever you like. However, there is no holiday pay and whilst you are on holiday you will not be earning. Which incidentally means you won’t be paying us any fees.

If you have concerns about loss of income due to injury/illness, we can put you in touch with a trusted Financial Advisor to discuss income insurance policies. You won’t be paying us any fees if you’re not working.

One of the best things about freelancing is that you can work anywhere. However, we’d recommend an ergonomic set-up somewhere where you do most of your work, whether that is a home office or a space in a shared office, or even at a client’s premises.

We have partnered with Hnry who manage all the financials for sole-traders. They become your accountants and can handle pretty much everything. Check them out here www.hnry.co.nz.

Yes, you can based on the percentage area that your office takes up. This applies to rent/mortgage and consumables like power and internet fees too. Our partners Hnry take care of all of this for you.

Absolutely! Local government procurement rules allow for vendor setup and engagement of sole traders.

Whilst you don’t have to get a NZBN if you are operating as a sole trader we’d recommend getting one as it gives you more credibility.

Nope, you can still obtain an NZBN for your business as a sole trader.

You do not need to use the Tech service to use the H&S and/or Insurance service(s). However, you will not have access to the cyber monitoring and offsite backup features provided by the Tech service. Also, the Tech service provides a Microsoft 365 Business Premium License, which provides advanced cyberthreat protection and device management capabilities (which are not provided with the Standard license). You can opt to use the Tech service and still use your business email.

Our Health, Safety, and Wellbeing system is designed to be easily pre-qualified. We have helped members get their Tōtika prequalification using our system. For more information about prequalification, check out the freemeup blog “Do Sole Traders need H&S Prequalification?“.

Absolutely! Freemeup can arrange your Professional Indemnity, Public Liability, and Statutory Liability insurance as a sole trader, as long as the requirements set out in the Service Agreement are met.

Your cover stops once you cancel your agreement with us. If you have completed engagements under our cover your client(s) may require you to get run-on insurance. You will need to organise this yourself, but we can recommend a trusted insurance broker.

If you sign up to the Insurance service, you will need to use the latest ACENZ New Zealand Short Form conditions of engagement for all your engagements (note we can accept client variations provided that the liability limits are not changed).

No, freemeup does not source work for you, but we sometimes hear from others who need help and have work available.