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Sales Support
Want help to get more clients? Then our Grow package is for you!
You'll get coaching, training, first access to Upbeater jobs, invitation to recruitment event, etc.
Admin support
Want help with your business admin such as contracts, invoices, payouts and other financial, legal and operational to-do's?
Then our Scale package is for you!
Ready to start freelancing?
It may sound like a no-brainer, but knowing what you're going to sell is the very first step to a successful freelance career. You don't need to know exactly how you're going to package or sell it, but you need to have at least an idea of what you're going to offer before you continue.
So start by making sure that you know what you're going to sell, and that you want to turn it into a business.
Then you're ready for the next step 🙂
Need help?
- Watch our Free Freelance Preparation Workshop to get practical tips and exercises that will help you prepare yourself before you start
- Check out our Free Video "How to Start and Succeed as a Freelancer" for general info on how to get going
- Buy our starter pack to get help with the set-up process (coming soon!)
- Ask any questions you may have in our #questions channel in Discord
In Sweden you may NOT freelance without a company being responsible for your invoicing, reporting of your earnings, and paying your taxes and social contribution fees. However, there are several options you can choose between;
- Setting up your own company - the most common company forms for freelancers in Sweden are Enskild Firma and Aktiebolag. They vary in terms of initial investment and legal responsibility, so make sure you read up on the differences and choose the best company form for you. Either way, when you choose to register your own business, you're fully responsible for managing it from a legal and administrative perspective, making it the best choice when you want full ownership and don't mind taking care of the paperwork.
- Using an umbrella company - in this case you don't need to register your own business as you can invoice using the umbrella company. Once you have sent the invoice, the umbrella company takes care of all the admin for you, making this option a great choice when you want to build your own brand and sell your own services without having to manage your own company. You usually pay between 2-6% of your invoiced amount for the service.
- Being hired by a consulting firm or other employer that "rent you out" - in this case you're pretty much employed and placed on assignment by your employer. In other words, you're not your own, which means that you loose the control and a lot of benefits of freelancing. However, we wanted to add this option for those who want the security of a salary, yet the work-style of a consultant.
What option is best suited for you will depend on the level of ownership, control, operational, legal and financial responsibility you want to have and feel comfortable with.
Once you have chosen your preferred way of operating your business, make sure that you have set it all up correctly, then ready to go!
Need help?
- Check out our Free Video "How to Start and Succeed as a Freelancer" for general info on how to get going
- Take "Module 1 - "Set Up & Manage Your Own Freelance Business (in Sweden)" (399 sek/€39) of our Freelance Foundation Course
- Watch Verksamt.se's "Starta Eget" webinar for info on how to get started
- Check out how to start a company on Skatteverket.se
- Read more about different company forms on Skatteverket.se
- You'll also find guidance on how to choose company form and register your business in Sweden on Verksamt.se
- Want help to set up an AB? Book a free call with our partner Wint who can guide you and also offer help to set up the company free of charge when you become a customer of their automated bookkeeping service
- Buy our starter pack to get help with the set-up process (coming soon!)
If you've chosen to register your own business or freelance operations, you will be responsible for managing your finances. In this case, even when it's not required, we recommend that you set up a separate bank account for your business so that you can more easily keep your personal and business related income and expenses apart.
Most banks will have an offer for new businesses, why we recommend that you compare them and choose the one that feels right for you.
Note.
- If you have chosen to use an Umbrella Company, you will get paid a salary and won't have to worry about setting up your bank account and accounting processes.
If you've chosen to register your own business or freelance operation, you will be responsible for having an insurance that will cover you in case something happens to you, or you cause any damage.
Most insurance companies will have an offer for new businesses, why we recommend that you compare them and choose the one that feels right for you.
Notes.
If you have chosen to use an Umbrella Company you will usually be covered by their insurance when you're at work. Make sure to check what applies with the service you use.
Step 1-4 above done? Cool, that means that you can start selling your services, charge for them and get paid... at least from an administrative perspective.
Now the work of finding gigs and clients begins, and unless you already have some clients lined up, this might be easier said than done.
Luckily, we have gathered lot's of juicy tips on how to land new and better paying freelance jobs on our Job-Tips page.
Need help?
- Sign up for our Grow Coaching Package to get group coaching on how to improve your sales as well as access to our growth video library (499 sek /€49 per month)
- Get 1-1 sales-coaching for individual guidance on how to improve your offer and land new and better paying deals (990sek/€99 for 3 sessions)
Got a new gig?
It might seem obvious but make sure to outline the scope of work and agree on the terms before you start working with a client. It will save you from potential misunderstandings and disagreement as the work/project moves along.
Discuss and agree on:
- What work you are going to do
- When it should be done
- In what format it should be delivered
- Where the work should be performed
- What compensation you'll get
- When you should invoice and what payment terms* apply
- Any other details concerning the work/project
Once you have this info you can create a contract and send it to your client to be signed.
______
*Note that the payment terms may vary. In some cases you may be able to discuss the payment terms, in other cases not. Usually, smaller clients can be a bit more flexible with discussing the payment terms than bigger companies who have set standardized terms that you need to comply with.
Tips! IF you have a chance to negotiate the terms, we recommend that you try to get a % of the full payment (or full month/full retainer or similar) up front, especially if it's a new client that you haven't worked with before. This will give you a guarantee that you'll get paid for the work, and create a better collaboration in general as you're both invested to get the best results from start.
Need help?
- Take Module 8 "How to close the deal and sign new clients" (399 sek / €39) of our "Freelance Foundation Course"
- Sign up for our Grow Coaching Package to get group coaching on how to improve your sales as well as access to our growth video library (499 sek /€49 per month)
- Get 1-1 sales-coaching for individual guidance on how to improve your offer and land new and better paying deals (990sek/€99 for 3 sessions)
Once you have the agreed on the scope of work and terms for the collaboration (step 1), creating the contract is quite easy. You just need to update your contract template to include the specific details that's been agreed between you and your client, and send it over to be signed (see step 3).
If you don't have a contract template yet, there are many templates available if you just Google or ask ChatGPT.
- Find a template that is relevant for you/your industry
- Copy the template or use it as an example when creating you own
- Adjust the template or create a new contract that match your specific needs and terms
Once you've done this, we recommend that you have a lawyer look over your template the first time to make sure that it's legit and will hold up in case something happens. You can of course also have a lawyer create a customized contract for you, but by preparing a template you save them time, which means you save money.
Notes.
- If you're using an umbrella company, the contract will be signed through them. So make sure to check what applies with the service you use.
- The contract should be signed by all parties before you start any work to ensure that your insurance will apply.
- You should to sign a new contract for each time you start a new project.
Need help?
- Use Upbeater's Freelance template (coming soon!)
- Create a contract using Freelance Union's Free Contract Creator
- Create a contract directly through e-signing platform who usually also offers templates (see step 3)
- Book contract review call with our trusted legal partner (coming soon!)
If you don't meet your clients in person, you can send them the contract over email or through an e-signing tool (see examples below).
When you've both reviewed the contract and have no more comments, you're ready to sign. You can choose to sign the contract in person or electronically.
If you prefer to sign the contract electronically, it's recommended to use a trusted e-signature tool, for example:
Don't forget that you both need to sign the contract and that it needs to be signed before you start working for most insurances to cover you in case something happens.
Once the contracts have been signed by all parties, you're ready to get to work 🙂
Congrats again, and best of luck with your new project/client!
Work completed?
Unless you have agreed to invoice your client up front, you'll most likely first delivery the work or complete the period you have agreed to work, and then send the invoice.
Once your work is delivered, or you have come to the end of a month or time period that you should invoice for, then it's time to hop down to Step 2 - Create Invoice.
When you have finished a project, or by the end of the time period agreed, you need to create an invoice and send it to your client. The invoice should include:
- Total amount to be paid
- What the cost(s) refer to
- For what time period the invoice concern
- Payment terms agreed & due date
- Payment details such as bank account info
- Your general business info
- Your contact info
If you use a bookkeeping service, we recommend that you use their own system to create and send the invoice to your client as the invoice can then be accounted for automatically.
Otherwise, you can create your invoice manually and email it to your client.
Need help?
- Find more info about what an invoice must include on Skatteverket.se
- Get 1-1 sales-coaching for individual guidance on how to create and send an invoice (990sek/€99 for 3 sessions)
Once the invoice is sent to your client, the client have until the due date to pay the invoice.
Money received before or on due date? Congrats!
Client hasn't paid?
We're sorry to hear that! Unfortunately, it's more common than it should be that clients don't pay on time. It's of course not right, so try to do what you can to get them to pay.
- Send a friendly reminder, and give them another week/10 days to pay
- Send a payment request incl. late fee, usually they'll have another 10 days to pay
- Still no payment? Try to get a hold of them over phone and email to let them know that if they don't pay by a set date, then you'll be forced to send the invoice to a collection service
- No luck? Ok, you're done playing nice! Send your invoice through to a collection service for them to handle the case
Hopefully this works, but be aware that there is no guarantee (also note that fees from the collection service may apply related to your claim).
If you have a lot of problems with getting paid, a solution can be to sell your invoices to a service that buy your invoice upfront. You usually pay a % of your invoice total for this service, but at least you'll get paid and don't have to deal with chasing payments after they are due.
Time to Get Paid?
When you want to pay yourself/take out a salary from your own company it's important to know what amount you can afford to take out, as you'll also have related costs such as social contribution fees, income tax, etc. on the money you make.
Let's look at an example:
If you invoice your client(s) in total 100.000 sek + 25% VAT (moms) = 125.000 sek
- 25.000 is VAT (moms) and is not a profit that you can take out
= This means that you have 100.000 sek to use to either pay for company expenses, save, or pay yourself
Let's say that you have company expenses of totally 20.000 sek and wish to take out as much as possible of the 80.000 sek that you have left in your business's bank account.
How much is yours after all fees are paid?
A quick answer for a rule of thumb is about half!
However, to make sure you can cover vacation compensation, pension savings, and other admin fees, etc. (optional), we recommend multiplying the amount you want to receive in your personal bank account with x 2.2. This means that out of the 80k, you can pay yourself about 36.360 sek.
How do we calculate? (excluding. optional fees):
Out of 80.000 sek, you'll pay approximately:
- 19.128 sek in social contribution fees (31.42%)
= 60.872 sek as gross salary
- 18.262 sek in income tax (30% generic amount)
= 42.610 sek in net salary (yours to spend!)
*note that this is an example and that % may vary depend on your company form and individual situation so make sure to double check your individual current rates at Skatteverket.se.
Need help?
- You can use Driva Eget's Salary calculator to calculate your salary amount
- Get guidance from one of our partner accountant (coming soon!)
Now that you know how much you can take out, you can pay yourself the right amount while being confident that you will have money to cover all related fees that will occur related to your salary/self-payment.
When you need to pay these fees depends on the company form you have registered, so make sure to check up on this with Skatteverket.se.
If you have an AB, you need to report your salary monthly. Usually this happens on the 12th day in the month after the salary way paid, and you report it by submitting an "Arbetsgivardeklaration".
Note that even if you haven't taken any salary, you still need to submit this form.
*be aware that information may change and that you're responsible for checking the dates and what to report and when to submit it to Skatteverket. You can read more about the "Arbetsgivardeklaration" on Skatteverket.se.
Once you have reported your salary in the "Arbetsgivardeklaration", you'll be get a summary of how much you need to pay Skatteverket in total, including Social Contribution fees (usually 31.42%) and Income Tax (usually around 30%).
You then need to pay this amount to Skatteverket on the date mentioned in the verification, usually also the 12th the month after the salary was paid.
*be aware that information may change and that you're responsible for checking what to pay to Skatteverket and when.
Do I have to?
The best way to make sure your bookkeeping is not becoming a nightmare is to keep track on your income and expenses on an ongoing basis by:
- Have a separate bank account for your business
- Note down all incomes and expenses and keep track on what they refer to
- Save all your invoices and receipts
- Use a bookkeeping tool to send invoices, take out money/pay yourself a salary and upload receipts
Need help?
- Check out the admin-support offers from our trusted partners here. You'll find everything from tools to use to simplify the bookkeeping, as well as accounting services to help you with the whole process
Bookkeeping is the process of keeping track of a business's financial transactions. These services include recording what money comes into and flows out of a business, such as payments from customers and payments made to vendors.
Preferably you'll keep regular track of your accounts. It will help you understand how your business is doing, how much money you'll be able to pay yourself, what other investments your business can afford, AND you'll avoid saving it all until the end, when it's harder to remember what's what and will be more work for you or any help you hire (= more expensive).
Need help?
- Read how Xero, a world known accounting software, explains bookkeeping here
- Find more info about bookkeeping requirements and how to manage it on Skatteverket.se
- If you want to get help with managing your bookkeeping, check out offer from our trusted partners here
In addition to reporting your salary to Skatteverket and paying related fees, you also need to:
- Report & pay preliminary tax (preliminärskatt)
- Report VAT (momsredovisning)
- Submit an Annual Report (Årsredovisning)
How much you need to pay, when and how often you need to report this depends on how much you make, and what set up you have chosen when you registered your business.
Need help?
- Find latest information on Skatteverket.se, or give them a call
- Select one of our trusted partners take care of it for you - you'll find all admin-support offers from our trusted partners here
- Or hire one of our trusted accountant to help you directly (coming soon!)
We're in the process of adding information, resources and other useful stuff to help you start, grow and scale your freelance career in the Nordics and beyond 🚀
What country do you wish that we add next?
Let us know in the Wish-Box and we'll bump the most popular country up in priority 🙂
We're here to help when you need it!
Freelance
Starter Pack
- Help to set up your company
- Help to package your offer
- 1 month bookkeeping free
Freelance
Foundation Course
- 10 modules included
- Lifetime access
- Freelance plan & certificate
How to Manage
Projects & Clients
- 40 min recorded lecture
- Examples & exercises
- Templates
Starter pack
- Help to set up your company
- Help to package your offer
- 1 month bookkeeping free
Bookkeeping Help
- Monthly bookkeeping
- Annual VAT report
- Annual financial report
Invoice without company
- Invoicing service
- Salary payout
- Insurance
Want help with your sales?
As a Scale member, you can add everything in our Grow Membership for only €39/month.
Use the code: SCALEMBR20 to get your 20% off!
Grow
- Everything in Start
- Coaching calls
- Sales training & support
- Exposure to 1000+ companies
- Exclusive recruitment events
Get Admin support from our partners
Automated accounting for Swedish AB's
Wint is a full-service bookkeeping solution offering fully automated accounting for Swedish AB's. Sign up with Wint through Upbeater and get 1st month for free and no start fee! (value 5000 sek) Read more & collect offer here
Get a Free, ready-made Aktiebolag from Wint
Wint offers all Upbeaters a Free, ready made Aktiebolag! On top of that you get your first month accounting for free, no start fee + 30 minute free advisory meeting on how to start. (value 5000+ sek) Read more & collect offer here
Want to learn more?
Take the opportunity to learn something new, get the know-how, re-skill or up-skill your game.
We're offering courses that will help you take your freelancing to the next level!
Free
Freelance Preparation Workshop
This preparation workshop will help you develop 3 key things you should have before you start freelancing:
- A clear goal
- An attractive offer
- A reasonable price
Full course
Freelance Foundation Course
Our Freelance Foundation Course will teach you the 10 most important things every freelancer need to succeed!
Price: 3990 sek / €399
Incl. all 10 modules and certification
Module 3/10
Establish Your Freelance Brand
Learn how personal branding can help you stand out from the crowd, and how you can shape your own freelance identity.
Price: 499 sek / €49
Incl. video, examples & template
Module 5/10
Price & Position Your Offer
You'll learn how to price your offer in a way that attract the right clients, as well as how to position it on the market.
Price: 499 sek / €49
Incl. video, examples & template
IT'S TIME TO MAKE YOUR FREELANCE DREAM A REALITY!
Can't find what you're looking for?
When you become a member at Upbeater you'll get; access to tools, resources, job-tips, discounts, tips, inspiration and courses - all to help you grow your freelancer business. You'll also get access to a supportive community of freelancers just like yourself!
A lot of things are Free for you to use as much as you like 🙂
If you need more help, or want to accelerate your learning and growth, we also offer paid services by Upbeater and our partners, usually to a discounted price.
Find more info about Upbeater and the Membership here.
Yes! A membership with Upbeater is Free of charge.
If you wish to purchase any other product or service that you find on Upbeater.com, you can do that directly by following the instructions.
Please note that prices and terms may vary and is set by the service provider offering the service. You are responsible for paying the price mentioned and review the terms related to it for each product or service you decide to purchase.
Note that Upbeater does not place you in work, nor are we a consulting firm or staffing agency.
However, it's our mission to help you grow your freelance business, and as such, we do our best to support you in your work towards finding and landing new and better paying clients.
You'll find all ways we can help under our Job-Tips page, that gives a lot of good information on how you can find and land work, and also offers support if you need help.
While we don't take care of all of it for you, we aim to help make your admin work as easy and effortless as possible so you can focus more on your business and less on paperwork.
You'll find tips on how to manage your admin and recourses to use on the Admin-Support page, where we also have different options for how you can outsource your admin to our trusted partners if you don't want to do it yourself.
No, your membership don't expire unless you decide to cancel it. That means that you have unlimited access to Upbeater's Freelance Universe as long as you want!
However, if you're using a paid service and you fail to complete the payment according to the payment terms, your paid service will be cancelled.
Yes, you can cancel your membership at any time. Just send an email to [email protected] and let us know that you want to cancel and we'll proceed with your request.
Note that if you're using a paid service, you'll need to cancel that service separately by contacting the service provider (the company that sold the product/service to you) and follow their cancellation procedure.
When you're ready to come back, you'll of course be welcome back again!
