The quick answer is that it doesn’t in the slightest and has no impact on your take-home. Any company that repays business expenses to its employees has to account for how that money is spent and how the associated VAT has been dealt with. The usual way to do this is via some kind of proof of purchase, usually in the form of a VAT receipt or payment slip.

So having decided to go with an umbrella company, the next problem is to choose one. There are many to choose from and you need to do some research.

On Remembrance Day I had an appointment with senior officials of HMRC in Parliament St London – a stones throw from the Cenotaph. The meeting was concerning the coding of expenses incurred in travelling to temporary workplaces.

If you are in business on your own account and working through a limited company, how you take money from the company to pay your bills is entirely up to you. There are no set rules you need to adhere to about how you do it.

When you are starting out as a freelancer, or transferring from an umbrella to running your own company, you are going to incur some out-of-pocket costs before your company is fully operational, or even before it actually exists. These costs can be reclaimed from the company.