Contracting Awards 2024 hails 19 firms as best of the best

Nineteen companies scooped accolades at The Contracting Awards 2024.

In addition to the 19, which included VIQU (‘Best contractor recruitment agency’) and SFP Group (‘Best liquidator’), six firms were “highly commended.”

And in addition to the six, which included Yolo Wealth (‘Best contractor pension provider’) and JA (‘Best payroll software’), two professionals won individual citations.

‘Best contractor accountant’

Kate Collier of Integro Accounting won ‘Best contractor accountant,’ and Philip Jones of First Point Group won ‘Best contractor recruiter.’

Now in their sixth year, The Contracting Awards were handed out at London Hilton, Park Lane, on November 13th at a ceremony compèred by comedian Tom Davis.

The awards are in association with ContractorUK.

‘Exceptional contractor service providers’

Designed to recognise only the “exceptional” or very best contractor service providers, the 2024 awards saw two firms spotlighted twice.

IR35 advisory Qdos won ‘Best legal, compliance or tax adviser,’ as well as ‘Best contractor insurance provider or broker’ (in this category, “highly commended” was Markel).

Qdos CEO Seb Maley said it was a “proud moment” for both him and his IR35 contract review team, to lift not one but two accolades.

‘Double crowning’

Similarly, PayStream scooped both ‘Best contractor screening provider’ and ‘Best contractor accountant (over 2,500 clients).’

On Thursday, the Cheshire-based firm took to LinkedIn about its ‘double crowning;’ thanked its followers and said it was already ‘looking forward’ to 2025.

Elsewhere in the contractor accountancy space, FreeAgent won ‘Best accounting software for contractors,’ and My Digital won ‘Best payroll software.’

The ‘Best contractor accountancy firm (under 1,000 clients)’ was awarded to ICS, and in the category’s second place, PaperRocket was highly commended.

‘Best contractor accountancy firm, and best contractor mortgage provider or broker’

Separately, Aardvark Accounting, part of The Affinity Group which owns SG Accounting, secured the title ‘Best contractor accountancy firm (1,000-2,500 clients).’

Freelancer Financials won ‘Best contractor mortgage provider or broker,’ triumphing over four other shortlisted companies also specialising in home loans.

‘Bit emotional’

But the competition was even fiercer for the award of ‘Best contractor innovation’ which, seeing off seven rivals to win, went to SafeRec.

Chief executive Seb Sauca said: “We [are] honoured and honestly a bit emotional to…[be recognised] for the positive change we’re working so hard to bring to the umbrella company industry.

“This recognition means so much because it reinforces the belief we have in what we’re doing, and the long-term change we hope to make.”

Mr Sauca added: “Our team works tirelessly every single day, driven by the belief that change is needed, and moments like these remind us why we started.”

‘Highly commended’

Other accolades on Wednesday night went to Yuno Juno for being the ‘Best international contractor provider.’

Zempler Bank, formerly Cashplus, won ‘Best banking provider,’ piping at the post ANNA Money.

Likewise the runner-up in its category (insofar as it was “highly commended”) was RocketPaye, a medium-sized umbrella company.

But The Contracting Awards 2024 winner of ‘Best umbrella company, 1,000-3,000 clients’ was taken by Dasa Umbrella.

‘Best umbrellas’

Focussed Umbrella scooped ‘Best umbrella company 500-1,000 clients,’ while Liquid Friday won ‘Best umbrella company 3,000+ clients’ (also in this category, Sapphire was highly commended).  

Meanwhile, retaining the title from both 2022 and 2023, Clarity Umbrella continues to be ‘Best umbrella company, under 500 clients.’

Clarity’s boss Lucy Smith says: “If you ever want proof that hard work and commitment really does pay off, then [these three annual contracting awards are it]!”

‘Best client or consultancy, and best pension provider’

Also at Wednesday’s awards ceremony, the technology jobs website Free-Work sponsored ‘Best contractor client or consultancy’ -- which was won by Grant Thornton.

In addition, Smart Pension won ‘Best contractor pension provider or broker,’ beating highly-commended Yolo Wealth and also Penfold.

Finally, the ‘Best career product, service or job site’ at The Contracting Awards 2024 was lifted by IT Contracting Academy.

‘Massively grateful’

The academy’s David Gerrish -- an IT contractor -- said he was “massively grateful” for the acknowledgement.

Inviting users to join the academy’s LinkedIn page, Gerrish added:

“If you're a contractor, aspiring contractor, or even a permie, we can help!”

‘Contractor service providers going the extra mile for contractors’

After last week’s ceremony, a spokesperson for ContractorUK said: “The Contracting Awards 2024 was an amazing evening celebrating the talent, commitment, and hard work of professionals in our industry.

“[We were] thrilled to be a sponsor of this fantastic event, celebrating the outstanding achievements in IT contracting, with service providers going the extra mile for contractors.

“Congratulations to all the winners and nominees whose dedication continues to elevate standards in IT contracting.”