In this guide we collect the most common questions and answers about becoming/being a trainer in the Digital Research Academy.
Please note: This information comes from the experiences of knowledgeable individuals in the DRA and/or partner communities, who are not necessarily tax or legal experts. Please check out our disclaimer at the bottom of this informal guide.
¶ How to be a trainer with the DRA
¶ Prerequisites to become a trainer
- You join the Train-the-Trainer program and fulfill the requirements of the TTT (see checklist).
- You ensure that you are allowed to do freelance work. If you are employed, you need to clarify this with your employer (see below).
¶ How to tell my employer that I want to do this on the side?
The process here depends on your country and institution. Have experience in your country? Please add information below.
¶ Germany
In Germany, most institutions ask you to fill out a form that you should be able to get from HR (“Anzeige einer Nebentätigkeit”). If your “Nebentätigkeit” does not provide a conflict of interest for your main job and is 8 hours or less per week, my understanding is that the employer cannot prevent you from working on the side. So the most important step is to check if there is a conflict of interest. If teaching is a core part of your full-time job, please discuss with your employer if they are ok with you doing this on the side. We don’t currently expect that the 8 hours per week will be an issue.
¶ Examples
- University of Hamburg, Germany: Additional gainful work : Staff Service Portal : Universität Hamburg
¶ Netherlands
TBA
¶ UK
We partner with OLS to offer advice on setting up as a freelancer in the UK.
¶ US
TBD
¶ Training
¶ How do I get training opportunities?
Training opportunities normally come in through the DRA core team. If that is the case, you will receive requests through the incoming requests channel on Mattermost.
You can bring in training opportunities yourself, of course! Please reach out to the core team in that case.
¶ How does pricing work?
The DRA core team is taking care of making offers to clients including pricing. Clients pay either for one training or they pay for a membership. Generally you can expect 1000-1500€ for a one day training as your trainer fee.
¶ How to ask participants for feedback? Pre- and post-training surveys
You can use the post-training survey template:
- Make a copy of the template
- Send out to learners
- Share the results with the DRA core team
¶ How to create and share training materials?
Check the information here.
¶ How does invoicing work?
The DRA writes the invoice to the client.
The trainers write invoices to the DRA (for the most part - there can be sometimes exceptions with regards to travel costs).
¶ How to write invoices
If you need an example template for how invoices can look, check out an example in the DRA Community Template Folder
- Make a copy of the invoice template
- Edit the template with your details.
- Download as PDF
- Send the PDF to the email finance@digiresacademy.org
If you use your own template, please be sure to have the correct invoicing name and address.
DRA Digital Research Academy GmbH
Bayerstrasse 77C
80335 Munich
Germany
¶ Tax considerations
How do taxes work as a freelancer? This depends on your country of residence and citizenship among other factors.
Have experience in your country? Please add/correct information below.
For anyone using the information below, please review our disclaimer at the bottom of this guide. Thanks!
¶ Germany
The work you do counts as freelance (Freiberuflich) in Germany.
In Germany, if you freelance only little, you can just add your regular tax ID on the invoice and do not have to ask for VAT (unless your freelancing income is over 22.000 EUR - check out this article about starting a side hustle in Germany).
You file your taxes in the new year and add your freelance income there. That is what Heidi used to do when she still did 1-3 workshops per year totaling under 2.000 EUR annual revenue.
If you teach more workshops a year, you should let the Finanzamt know (“Anzeige einer freiberuflichen Nebentätigkeit”, see e.g. here for Bavaria).
We are looking into more exact numbers of what the earning threshold is for needing to officially register as a freelancer with the Finanzamt, while most articles online say you must do it within 4 weeks of starting the freelancing activity, we have heard personal accounts of persons who have done it later. If you have more info on this, please add it to this section!
¶ Netherlands
To get paid in NL you can charge the DRA via your employer or become a ZZP-er (= selfemployed status with obligations) or other company.
If you are not a ZZP or other company, but employed elsewhere (like a university) and this is your only secondary income, they only other way is to:
claim to make use of the 'registration threshold'(registratiedrempel) if:
1 the work is performed on a self-employed basis, i.e. not on behalf of your employer;
2 you earn no more than 1800,- ex VAT per calendar year on this self-employed basis (so not counting your other 'normal' income).
NB: this means you can only do one or two smaller paid-for workshops max. a year
This means you don't have to register as a ZZP-er, and you are not allowed/don't need to send invoices and charge VAT.
For this:
-You need to have the Chamber of Commerce officially assess that you do not have to become a ZZP, on the basis of your situation,
-You may send a receipt but not an invoice; advised is to actually call it receipt or 'kwitantie' and mention that you fall under the 'registration threshold'(registratiedrempel) and af course do not put VAT on it;
-You have to declare the earnings in the annual income tax return.
Please also see: https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/btw/hoe_werkt_de_btw/kleineondernemersregeling/registratiedrempel-voor-kleine-ondernemers ( in Dutch) or call the Tax office, they are very willing to help you.
in Dutch:
Geen zzper, maar in loondienst elders en dit is je enige bijverdienste: Als de werkzaamheden op zelfstandige basis worden uitgevoerd, dus niet in opdracht van de eigen werkgever, en er niet meer dan 1800,- ex btw per kalenderjaar wordt verdiend, dan kan men aanspraak maken op de registratiedrempel. Dit betekent dat men zich niet als ZZPer hoeft aan te melden, en er geen factuur met BTW gestuurd hoeft te/mag worden.
NB: dit betekent dat je maar 1, of 2 kleinere, workshops betaald per jaar kan geven.
Je moet hiervoor:
-Op basis van schets van je situatie door de Kamer van Koophandel laten beoordelen dat je geen zzper hoeft te worden;
-Je mag wel een kwitantie sturen maar geen factuur sturen; noem deze dus kwitantie, en zet erop dat je aanspraak maakt op de registratiedrempel en daarom geen BTW hoeft te rekenen;
-Je dient de verdiensten aan te geven bij de jaarlijkse aangifte inkomstenbelasting.
¶ UK
In the UK, you will probably be considered 'self-employed' for this type of work.
If you earn less than £1000 per year, in general, you do not need to tell HMRC, or declare that you have earnt this money: LITRG, HMRC.
If you earn more than £1000, you will need to tell HMRC. For most people, you will be a sole trader. You can do this as well as being employed (e.g by a university). This also means you need to send in a tax return each year.
Alternative options include becoming a Limited company - Ltd. It's unlikely that you will need to do this, although there may be some tax benefits (but also higher costs).
The other thing of note is being VAT registered. This is optional if your turnover is below £90,000. Again, for us this is unlikely to apply. Assuming you are not registered, it is useful to say on your invoices "Not VAT registered". Most universities can cope with this, but a couple have become confused.
¶ US
TBD
¶ Disclaimer
The information provided in this guide is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal, financial, or professional advice. The steps and recommendations outlined in this guide are based on general principles and may not be suitable for every individual or situation.
We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the information contained in this guide. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
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Before taking any actions based on the information provided in this guide, we strongly recommend consulting with a qualified professional, such as a lawyer or accountant, who can provide personalized advice tailored to your specific circumstances and needs.
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