Self-assessment and VAT returns
A tax return is due every 31 January with payments on account in January and July, and VAT-registered freelancers file returns on the cycle assigned to them.
For freelance developers
Contract dates, certificate expiries and patch reviews on one desk
Contract dates, certificate expiries and dependency patches build up across client projects while the build work waits.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What freelance developers have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Professional indemnity and public liability renewal
Professional indemnity cover renews annually, and enterprise client contracts often require a current certificate to be produced before a statement of work is signed.
Statement of work and retainer renewals
Each engagement runs to a scope, a rate, a term and a notice period, and a retainer renewed without a review continues at the old rate.
Domain and TLS certificate expiries
Client domains, subdomains and TLS certificates expire on their own dates, and a lapsed certificate takes a site or an integration offline without warning.
Dependency and security patch reviews
Frameworks, packages and base images pick up security advisories continuously, so each project needs a standing review of what is out of date and what is exposed.
Software and service licence renewals
Hosting, databases, monitoring, design tools and editor licences renew monthly or annually, and development accounts bundled into a client project need a decision before they renew.
Data processing and client agreements
Where a project handles personal data, a written processing agreement and a record of what is held and where need to be in place with each client and subprocessor.
Handover and project documentation
Every project needs a runbook, environment notes, credentials inventory and architecture summary that is current at the point of handover or a support question.
Timesheet and invoicing cycle
Hours or milestones are logged and invoiced on a fixed cycle, and late invoicing pushes payment past the terms and strains a month's cash.
Secure development training and client questionnaires
Enterprise security reviews and questionnaires recur annually, and contractors are often asked for evidence of current secure development or data protection training.
What it costs to carry it
A freelance developer carries the compliance load of a small company while doing the work of one person. The failures are invisible until they are expensive: a certificate that quietly expired, a dependency advisory nobody read, a statement of work renewed on last year's rate, an invoice a fortnight late. Each one costs either a client's trust or an evening that was supposed to be a weekend, and none of it shows up in the code.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Expiry watch across client projects
Domains, certificates, hosting plans and software licences across every project sit on one dated list, with a prompt raised ahead of each expiry.
Dependency and advisory rounds
The desk runs a standing review of out-of-date packages and outstanding security advisories per project and brings the list forward for a decision.
Contract and retainer dates
Statement of work terms, rates and notice periods are held per client, with a reminder before a retainer renews on unchanged terms.
Invoice and timesheet cycle
Logged time and milestones are turned into invoices on the agreed cycle, with chasing prepared when a payment passes its due date.
Handover pack assembly
Runbook, environment notes, credential inventory and architecture summary are gathered per project so a handover or support request starts from a current document.
What stays with the freelance developer
The person still designs the system, writes the code and makes the calls on architecture and trade-offs, because those decisions need someone who knows the codebase. Approvals, pricing and anything touching production access stay with the developer, and the desk stops at the point where a signature or a judgement is required.
Questions
How does the desk handle a security advisory on a client project?
It checks dependencies and base images on a standing cycle and brings any advisory forward with the affected project named. Deciding how and when to patch stays with the developer.
Who owns a client domain when the engagement ends?
Ownership rests on what the contract says and who holds the registrar account, so the desk keeps the expiry, the registrar and the access record on file for each project.
Does the desk need production access to work?
No. It works from the dates, contracts, licences and documents already on the desk. Production access stays with the developer.
Put the freelance developer's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the freelance developer corrects it.