By seamlessly connecting the world's most innovative companies with elite global talent, YunoJuno continues to redefine the future of international contracting. The firm connects elite freelance and contractor professionals with world-class organisations in 165+ countries across the globe.

YunoJuno addresses multiple pain points experience by independent contractors across the globe, including streamlines business management that centralises all client relationships, project tracking and financial admin into one user-friendly dashboard; guaranteed payment terms with a globally compliant payroll service that eliminates anxiety; simplified global compliance workflow and onboarding; and direct access to international clients and communities, including Fortune 500 companies and innovative start-ups alike, across borders and industries.

This tech-forward platform creates direct, frictionless relationships between contractors and clients and is one of the main contributors to YunoJuno being recognised as a leader in Everest Group’s 2025 PEAK Matrix® Assessment for Freelancer Engagement and Management Systems (FEMS) in March this year.

PayStream’s Candidate Screening service simplifies and accelerates candidate onboarding, combining advanced technology with a personal, hands-on approach. It ensures candidates are screened quickly and compliantly, giving peace of mind to recruiters and clients alike while ensuring they don’t miss out on hiring the right talent.

The firm now offers more than 80 electronic ID and background checks, adding 30 in the past 12 months alone, including right to work, criminal record, referencing, international sanctions and credit history. International screening capabilities have been expanded to include checks such as global directorship and financial background checks, giving PayStream’s clients greater confidence when placing candidates abroad.

Candidate satisfaction remains high, despite a large increase in the number of reviews over the past year, and the PayStream team – which has grown by a quarter in the past year – are committed to answering calls on the first attempt, and emails on the same day they are received. Cyber Essentials Plus certification and ISO27001 accreditation further strengthen the protection of candidate data.

The screening service is trusted by a fast-growing client base. In 12 months, monthly active clients, revenue, and completed screening profiles have all increased. Despite growth, an impressive and consistent level of accuracy, compliance and care for each candidate and client has been maintained.

Since launching as a specialist tax consultancy in 1988, Qdos has evolved into a UK’s authority on tax, compliance, and IR35. Today, it delivers expert advice, market-leading insurance and a suite of services designed to empower the whole labour supply chain. To date, Qdos has successfully defended over 1,600 contractors in IR35 enquiries, saving an estimated £35 million in tax.

In the wider tax landscape, the firm continues to support clients of contractor accountants in connection with MSC legislation, ensuring they understand their options and actions taken by HMRC.

These efforts complement Qdos’ wider suite of compliance solutions, including bespoke IR35 compliance training. In the past 12 months, the firm has delivered over a dozen tailored training programmes to organisations such as Ofgem and Siemens. Alongside in-depth IR35 audits, contractor policy reviews, and insurance checks for recruitment agencies, Qdos training equips internal teams with the knowledge to manage compliance effectively.

Integrity Software has been a leading provider of industry-specific accounting and management software designed for contractors for more than 40 years. At its heart is Evolution Mx, a flagship solution delivering financial control, compliance and operational efficiency to construction businesses.

Developed with decades of industry expertise, Evolution Mx helps contractors manage their finances seamlessly while navigating a complex regulatory landscape.

Evolution Mx is a tailored accounting platform that integrates seamlessly with construction workflows. Its intuitive interface allows construction-specific accounting, real-time financial insights, automated compliance features and modular functionality that adapts to business needs.

What do customers think? Contractors can streamline their accounting processes, reduce administrative burdens and maintain financial control. Automation simplifies all invoicing and compliance checks; real-time reporting helps contractors keep financial stability; and enhanced accuracy ensures error-free data integrity. Evolution Mx is trusted by contractors of all sizes across the UK and Ireland, offering deep industry knowledge and a commitment to customer success.

First Point Group staff treat contractors as they like to be treated, not as a commodity, as a people industry without its contractors has no business. To that end the firm also has a network of management company and payroll providers and has negotiated discounts for its contractors that benefit them and help them manage their finances compliantly.

The team has successfully provided contract recruitment services in 180 countries, and, in 2024, it provided contractors from 66 nationalities to 68 different countries, with an average of over 600 contractors working monthly supporting its clients and their communities in locations as varied as DRC Congo, Honduras, Tajikistan, Japan, China and the UK.

In economic headwinds, this still privately held SME delivered $66m in turnover, adding 64 new recruitment clients in 2024, successfully completing over 1,729 assignments / contract placements, retaining key clients and flying the flag for UK plc as the destination for global business. First Point Group is a bona fide specialist with 140,000+ registered contractors and 510,000+ social media followers, generating 3.7 million impressions on LinkedIn alone.

interactive investor (ii) is the UK’s second-largest investment platform, empowering over 450,000 customers – including contractors, freelancers, and umbrella employees – with transparent, flexible, and cost-effective pension solutions.

Its award-winning Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) gives this dynamic workforce full control over their financial futures, supported by expert insight, world-class tools, and outstanding service.

Contractors choose ii for its flat-fee transparency, offering a monthly fee that doesn’t rise with pension balances and refusing to charge exit fees or penalties for regular investing. Contributions to the SIPP accommodate one-off or regular contributions based on cashflow, allowing short-term flexibility at no extra cost.

With over 40,000 options across 17 global markets, and partnering with top umbrella providers such as Parasol, Paystream and SmartWork, the pension supports all investor types, making scalable pension access easy and rewarding.

In addition, award-winning investor education equips investors with the knowledge to make informed decisions, offering guidance at every stage, including a dynamic knowledge centre with practical guides and insights, podcasts and apps, market-leading industry research and a new self-employed retirement report, filling a key knowledge gap.

Azuki Accounts intends to be the most trusted back-office partner in recruitment by transforming recruitment back offices from cost centres into strategic powerhouses. To achieve this, the firm blends financial rigour with deep sector knowledge, enabling recruitment agencies to scale with confidence, reduce risk and deliver exceptional service to contractors and clients. Its aim is not just to support recruitment businesses but to accelerate them towards success.

Azuki’s pay-and-bill framework reduces weekly processing time by 40%, streamlining reconciliation, invoicing and payroll into a precise, automated engine. This unlocks valuable time for consultants to focus on revenue generation, while reducing administrative burden and human error. For one client, this shift led to a 25% reduction in onboarding-related queries.

Real-time gross margin analysis, board-ready reporting and proactive cashflow forecasting empower recruitment leaders to make bold growth decisions with clarity and control. When a recruitment business lost its Pay and Bill Manager unexpectedly, Azuki embedded itself into operations within 48 hours, stabilising the finance function with zero disruption, two new international offices opened, and a stronger in-house team.

From the moment a contractor engages with Conexus, an international recruitment agency headquartered in Cardiff, they’re offered not just job search assistance but tailored CV guidance, up-to-date market insights, and interview preparation across time zones, often outside standard working hours, to ensure candidates feel confident, informed and supported.

Conexus DX specialises in connecting contractors to roles in SAP, salesforce, cyber security, data and analytics, and software engineering. International mobility is a key part of its offering. The firm’s consultants are trained to advise on complex relocation factors, including tax implications and legal compliance when moving country to start a new contract. Whether it’s a contractor relocating to the UK to Germany or navigating cross-border remote working agreements, Conexus DX ensures that every placement is as seamless as possible, for both contractor and client.

The Conexus team also provide ongoing support after placement through its post-placement care programme. Six weeks into each contract, they host separate check-ins with both the contractor and the hiring manager to ensure expectations are being met on both sides to drive retention and nip problems in the bud.

Ben is a champion of customer service, consistently delivering high standards that drive both client acquisition and retention. His reputation for excellence has led to referrals across PSCs, SMEs, SPVs, and tax advisory clients. In the final quarter of 2024–25 alone, he secured 13 new client referrals from existing clients.

As the primary escalation point for client complaints, Ben handles complex issues with professionalism and care, delivering enhanced support and resolving several challenging cases, turning dissatisfied clients into loyal advocates.

For example, when a longstanding client expressed dissatisfaction following internal structural changes in October 2024, Ben took ownership of the situation. He held multiple meetings over several months to address concerns, ultimately restoring the client’s confidence and retaining their business. His proactive and empathetic approach exemplifies his commitment to outstanding client care.

Ben also fosters a culture of continuous learning within the accounts team. He leads training initiatives aligned with business goals and team needs, significantly improving performance. One member, who had a slow start in 2023, improved their KPIs by 80% year-on-year under Ben’s guidance.

Since joining Sapphire in 2017 as an accounts apprentice, Ben has steadily progressed to become Accounts Manager in October 2024, all while completing his professional exams. In his current role, he leads initiatives to enhance efficiency and sets annual targets for the team.

Kintec (formerly Ja) handles the most complex payroll scenarios with accuracy, speed and zero tolerance for compliance risk, from umbrella companies to recruitment agencies to payroll bureaux. In 2024 alone, more than 100,000 people were paid through Kintec each month. With 32.6% client growth, 100% client retention, and up to 30% reductions in payroll processing time, the firm delivers proven results at scale.

The platform combines onboarding, right to work checks, pensions, contracts, compliance and invoicing. Contractors can stay ahead with real-time updates for legislative changes, built-in compliance warnings to prevent issues, automated processes that reduce admin time by 30%, and an integrated system combining CRM, timesheets and margin tracking for complete visibility.

To combat the high staff turnover risk in the payroll industry, Kintec has established the Kintec Academy, a dedicated training hub that helps clients get new employees up to speed fast and keeps experienced users up to date. From micro videos to advanced sessions, the Academy cuts down on support needs and guarantees that the platform is used as intended – with precision, not confusion.

YunoJuno is at the forefront of the fast-growing market in robust contractor management solutions, providing an end-to-end platform that streamlines sourcing, onboarding, compliance and payment processes. The firm’s proprietary classification engine, Agent of Record (AOR) support, and contractor engagement model sets it apart as a compelling choice for enterprises navigating this space.

In March this year, YunoJuno reported its first profitable quarter: the first company in the freelance and contractor management system industry to report profitability and a direct result of its global expansion and continued investment in innovation. In 2025, YunoJuno is set to grow by between 40% and 50%.

As demand for agile workforce solutions rise, YunoJuno remains committed to innovating and expanding its capabilities. These innovations, among many, include an AI-powered project brief creation tool that transforms a 30-minute task in to a 30-second one; next-gen automated IR35 classification that has maintained 100% accuracy while enabling contractors to start work 58% faster; and a suite of powerful API integrations for approvals, purchase orders and timesheets that has transformed YunoJuno into an extensible system for contractor management.

Already, in March 2025, YunoJuno was named a Leader in Everest Group’s 2025 PEAK Matrix® for Freelancer Engagement and Management Systems (FEMS), for its impactful presence across the UK and Europe.

The ethos encapsulated in Atom’s strapline ‘For us, it's personal’, directly addresses the core principles needed to win this category: excellent customer service, expert advice and outstanding value for money. A tailored, boutique approach delivers significant value to the firm’s contractor clients, including on tax planning and compliance.

Atom maintains an unwavering focus on this understanding each contractor’s unique circumstances. This boutique approach allows the firm to cultivate genuine relationships with its clients, with a low client-to-staff ratio ensuring that every client receives the attention and support they deserve, fostering trust and long-term partnerships.

Every Atom client benefits from direct contact with the senior team, each member possessing a minimum 10 years’ experience in contractor accountancy. They also receive insightful, high-level advice directly from accountancy staff.

This highly engaged, responsive and personalised customer service is underpinned by cutting-edge technology: Atom’s portal, CRM and ticketing system are designed for efficiency. And excellent availability and responsiveness mean clients can have peace of mind knowing their accountancy is in safe hands.

From engineers to architects, healthcare to oil and gas, ICS Accounting offers people-focused services and no-obligation initial consultations to every contractor as an individual. Listening to its clients enables the firm to support them and their goals beyond their expectations. Its ‘Complete’ contractor accounts package at a fixed price offers 360-degree peace of mind.

ICS is dedicated to keeping ahead of ever-evolving industry, employment and tax legislation, proactively informing its clients of vital regulatory changes and best practice, including IR35, technology, insurance, digital currency, Making Tax digital, and social media marketing. The firm has leveraged technological innovation to ensure its clients benefit from wraparound services, cost-effectiveness and compliance, including AI-powered expenses, timesheets and payroll systems, report generation and compliance checks.

To allow its clients to survive a volatile economy and legislative landscape, ICS has expanded its services, accessibility, flexibility, add-ons, and personalisation. In addition to peace of mind, its welcoming £400 cashback and an insurance price guarantee from partner QDOS eases difficult times.

The firm also stretches its ESG commitments by partnering with local schools and supporting local charities and grass roots sport.

People are everything, and Maslins has this principle at its root: the deeply personal service it offers its clients. The Maslins client service model delivers expert advice, excellent customer care, and real value for money. That’s proved by the fact that 80 of its 240 new clients in the past year came via referrals.

As an employee owned business, every Maslins team member has a direct stake in delivering superlative service. This translates into care, accountability, and a genuine desire to help. When a client calls, they speak to someone just like them – a business owner.

Each client is serviced by a small, agile team, which includes a fully qualified accountant and/or chartered tax adviser, supported by part-qualified team members. Early on, the firm made the deliberate decision to keep its client-to-accountant ratios low (around 100 clients per team) to offer clients tailored support and quick responses, often within the hour. These strong client relationships mean staff are trusted advisers and often friends to contractors.

Testament to Maslin’s deserving win are the following stats: 100% five-star Google reviews that often name specific team members and highlight how they've gone above and beyond to support their client; 80 new clients from referrals in the past year; and 240 new client sign-ups in total.

PayStream supports thousands of limited company contractors with a personal, proactive service combining technical knowledge with human care.

The enduring loyalty of PayStream’s clients highlights the strong relationships forged over the years and is further evidenced by the hundreds of referrals provided each year. PayStream offers a tailored experience, with services including tax planning, payroll and company admin. For clients who require more support, premium service options offer greater levels of insight and access.

From the outset, PayStream supports clients with a raft of help and advice, starting with a comprehensive onboarding call covering company incorporation, IR35, tailored take-home pay illustrations and essential tax advice. A follow-up welcome call ensures clients understand director responsibilities, salary planning, dividends, insurances and VAT.

The year is meticulously mapped out for clients. PayStream meets with clients multiple times a year, offering a range of services from detailed company health checks to comprehensive annual reviews. The team ensures clients are kept up-to-date on projections and tax planning opportunities.

Raising the customer service bar has made Freelancer Financials the go-to resource for mortgage advice and guidance. The firm has continually broken new ground, having secured more than 35,000 mortgages since 2004. In recognition, Freelancer Financials has won top-performing mortgage broker in the Mortgage Intelligence Awards for 11 successive years.

To stay ahead, the firm has launched three new services to clients: a ‘win-win’ mortgage rate monitoring service to lock in deals up to six months ahead of time or move to a lower rate; the UK’s first comparison tool for mortgages from contractor-friendly lenders; and a super-detailed, online, comprehensive set of contractor-friendly lender criteria.

Freelancer Financials has developed underwriting criteria with many lenders, often supporting them through their pilot programmes. By educating lenders on the nuances of contracting, they can now assess a contractor’s true mortgage affordability. The firm’s reward is the implicit trust from both lenders and the contracting community alike, as witnessed in over 900 five-star reviews on Google and Facebook.

Focusing on the UK contractor market, the Liquidation Centre has been a dominant force within the MVL market for the last six years. Its CVL offering has grown dramatically, catapulting the firm from the 50th largest CVL provider in the UK in 2021 to 3rd in 2024.

Liquidation Centre adopts a phased approach for its clients to break up the process into bite sized chunks to help its clients understand what is happening at any given time and exactly what they need to do. Liquidation can employ complex terminology and be an emotional rollercoaster, and simplifying the process to offer a more streamlined service makes the various parts easier to understand and less stressful.

A tech-driven approach enables the Liquidation Centre to react in a timely fashion to get liquidations under way and again, reducing confusion and removing barriers between the parties. A unique accountant portal allows accountants the ability to upload client details, accounts and forms directly into an efficient and effective CRM.

The Liquidation Centre’s pricing structures are transparent and competitive, with no hidden costs or fees. In line with regulation, the firm also performs strict AML checks before issuing invoices to any contractor, allowing it to offer an efficient and reliable service.

Contractor Financial is a specialist financial services firm committed to supporting UK contractors and freelancers. It offers expert, FCA-regulated advice across mortgages, protection and pensions, tailored specifically to suit non-traditional income structures such as umbrella and limited company arrangements.

The firm speaks to hundreds of contractors every month who are unsure about their pension options, especially those working via umbrella companies. Many are paying into pension schemes they don’t understand or, worse, ignoring them completely.

Rather than leading with products, Contractor Financial removes financial barriers to advice by actively improving financial literacy and empowerment across the sector, particularly for newer contractors or those on lower incomes.

The team explains what a worker’s umbrella workplace pension offers; what a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) is and how SalSac works. They also offer information to access a free-to-set-up SIPP via Jarvis – enabling clients to take control of their retirement planning without paying a percentage-based fee to get started. This educational business model is simplifying, clarifying and genuinely improving the financial lives of contractors across the UK.

A-rated insurer Markel supports contractors in managing their insurance, business, tax, HR and legal issues with a ‘one stop shop’ service.

Contractor policyholders are offered industry-specific insurance cover, supported by tax and legal services, including Markel’s innovative Business Hub. The Hub, used by 50,000 policyholders, features content created by experts and includes more than 900 DIY contracts, policies, forms and letter templates, and over 600 straightforward guides.

Markel cares about its contractors and delivers on its promises. All claims are set up within 24 hours of receiving the notification. The policyholder receives an email acknowledgement and confirmation of their dedicated claims handler with the handler’s contact details. Markel settles straightforward claims in a matter of days.

Results in the past year are testament to Markel’s sterling performance: the firm grew new business by 42%, its Direct division achieved total growth of 22%, and it scored an uptick in gross operating profit of 58%.

As a SafeRec-certified umbrella company, ADVANCE goes above and beyond to demonstrate its commitment to compliance and contractors’ financial wellbeing – adding value at every stage of the contracting supply chain.

ADVANCE provides FCSA-accredited umbrella, limited company, and self-employment/CIS solutions to the UK’s contractors and recruiters. With a compliant, ethical approach, the firm offers a service built on partnership, transparency and trust.

The firm’s stats go some way to explaining the high levels of retention ADVANCE maintains with its contractors. 99.07% of all calls were answered within three rings from May 2024 to April 2025, and 99.33% were answered within four rings. It aims to resolve all queries on the first call and respond to emails within the same business day. 94% of payments are made overnight on Thursdays to ensure funds reach contractors by Friday morning. In addition, contractor onboarding can be completed in a choice of languages, payslips are issued before payment, and payday texts confirm the amount received. Contractors can salary sacrifice towards private pensions and access ADVANCE Rewards, offering GP support, financial services, and exclusive discounts.

To remain future-fit, ADVANCE invests in both its people and infrastructure and works closely with advisers BDO and EY to remain at the forefront of legislation and best practice.

A corporate rebranding in 2024 was a transformative project that reaffirmed what Mortimer Childe stands for: supporting the UK’s flexible workforce through clarity, compliance and care. This year has seen strong growth with an 11% increase in contractor base and greater credibility through its APSCo, Trusted Partner status.

It also set them on the path for this award win. 

For more than a decade, with a contractor-centric approach, the firm has strived to make contracting easier, helping contractors and recruiters cut through complexity by offering clarity on tricky topics. Monthly newsletters, check-ins during gaps in work, refer-a-friend incentives and leavers’ questionnaires all feed into quarterly strategy sessions to sharpen its service.

The rebrand has defined this mission more clearly, and the launch of a new website in January gave contractors and agencies instant access to payroll illustrations, live chat, meeting scheduling tools for prospective customers, and an intuitive online registration. Contractors can access timesheets, expenses and payslip portal too.

In 2025, the firm launched a series of creative email templates tailored to recruitment consultants, providing real-time onboarding updates, allowing continuous improvement on service offerings and support to clients. It also introduced MC Assure: a new, proactive response to upcoming legislation that gives agencies full visibility of payroll systems.

In just two years, AGPayroll founder Chris Fahey has transformed the company from a start-up into a trusted partner for clients and contractors and a reliable name in the payroll sector. Its SafeRec accreditation distinguishes the firm as a trusted, transparent, and fully compliant payroll provider.

Guided by a strong reputation and commitment to integrity, AGPayroll operates on the principle of always doing things the right way and delivering exceptional value to contractors in the UK and globally.

A successful collaboration showcases this dedication to technology and service excellence. AEPartners needed 250 contractors onboarded and paid within 48 hours. AGPayroll’s automated onboarding app made the process seamless, compliant, and stress-free. AEPartners praised the professionalism and dedication of its team, highlighting how its support turned a challenging task into a major success.

Innovative services add real value, from automated onboarding and a benefits package offering 24/7 GP access, exclusive discounts and wellbeing services, to preferential mortgage rates and tailored financial products and smart pensions for all umbrella employees.

Successful companies realise that the contractor is not just part of the business—it is their business. Bishopsgate’s model is contractor-led by design and is fully committed to delivering a market-leading service experience tailored to their needs.

Over the past year, the firm has made significant investments to enhance the contractor experience, including introducing a comprehensive benefits platform, providing access to independent financial, investment and savings advice, and developing bespoke products that directly address the needs of its contractor community.

Compliance remains a cornerstone: including not just FCSA accreditation, but also robust trust and governance measures which include certifications in ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 45001 (Health & Safety), and Cyber Essentials to safeguard personal data and reinforce Bishopsgate’s commitment to integrity and security.

The firm has cultivated a high-performing, long-tenured team, with a company-wide average tenure exceeding five years. Compelling endorsements from contractors and clients reflect the quality, care and value Bishopsgate delivers.

Recognised as a World Class Employer by Best Companies, a title held by just 3% of UK firms, Sapphire has invested over 1,440 hours in staff development, with 86% of its leaders promoted from within.

Over the past 12 months, Sapphire launched Quartz, its proprietary pay-and-bill platform that integrates timesheet, umbrella, and payroll functionality into one seamless, contractor-friendly system. It also enhanced its Platinum and Platinum Plus services, offering greater flexibility, cashback health plans, personal accident cover and faster access to funds. These innovations are practical, user-focused, and designed to reduce stress while adding real value: Sapphire has transformed the contractor experience, making it faster to join, easier to stay and simpler to engage.

The firm is one that is not afraid to give back to those deserving of it. Sapphire was proud to pay out £1.5m to long-standing contractors as part of its first-ever employee ownership bonus year. And its social responsibility initiatives this year included donations to support homelessness in Manchester as well as supplying essential equipment to underfunded schools and grassroots sports programmes.

FCSA is the UK’s leading membership body for professional employment service providers, supporting umbrella companies, contractor accountants and CIS providers who, in turn, deliver vital services to over 220,000 contractors. Advocacy is a core pillar of FCSA’s mission. It represents members and the wider contracting community at the highest levels, engaging with HMT, HMRC, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and others to shape fairer, more informed regulation.

Committed to compliance, education, innovation and advocacy, at FCSA’s heart is independently audited accreditation. Developed with stakeholder input, including the DBT, rigorous codes covering law, tax, payroll and business ethics are publicly available and reviewed quarterly with assessors to ensure fairness and transparency. Today, they are widely recognised as the benchmark for legitimacy in the sector.

Collaboration is key to FCSA’s impact. The organisation partners with REC, APSCo, TEAM, The Recruitment Network and others to align standards, champion best practice and ensure the sector speaks with a united, influential voice.

FCSA also plays a leading role in sector-wide training. Its FCSA Academy equips industry professionals with specialist training on compliance, payroll, and employment status, promoting consistent standards and professional development.