Wage portage for graphic designers | How it works and benefits

How does wage portage for graphic designers work?

Do you want to become a graphic designer under wage portage? In 2022, the global graphic design market reached 42 billion dollars. The freelance graphic designer profession is therefore booming. However, many entrepreneurs hesitate to start due to fears of financial insecurity associated with the independent status. That’s why, through this article, we present the benefits of wage portage for graphic designers. From operational modalities to choosing your umbrella company, discover how to launch your graphic design activity under wage portage and enjoy the security of salaried employment without sacrificing your freedom.

Conditions to become a graphic designer under wage portage

To start as a graphic designer under wage portage, you must possess certain qualities and technical skills specific to this profession: graphic charter, visual identity, print, mastery of desktop publishing software… In addition to your technical expertise, certain human qualities are essential for practicing this profession, namely:

• Creativity: it allows you to create different visuals for your clients.
• Listening: to produce the visual that meets your client's request, you will need to demonstrate a great capacity for listening.
• Organization: as an independent (even under wage portage), you will need to juggle multiple missions and tasks, so good organization will be essential.
• Commercial skills: you will need to master sales and communication to find clients likely to invest in your services.

Steps to become a graphic designer under wage portage

Wage portage is based on a tripartite relationship between the umbrella company, the client, and the contractor (yourself). You work with your client and are employed by an umbrella company that handles invoicing your clients and pays you a monthly salary. Here are the 5 concrete steps of the functioning of wage portage:

1. Find a freelance graphic design mission: you must first find a graphic design mission through your network or specialized platforms.
2. Choose an umbrella company: once you have your mission, you contact an umbrella company with which you conclude a fixed-term or permanent contract.
3. Conclude a service contract: the umbrella company signs a commercial contract with your client to formalize the conditions of the service.
4. Carry out the mission: you perform your service according to the formalities defined in the service contract and the requirements expected by your client.
5. Invoice your client: you invoice your client through your umbrella company, which collects the amount of the service and pays it to you as net salary, after deducting social charges and management fees.

Determining your rate as a graphic designer under wage portage

To ensure the profitability of your activity as a graphic designer under wage portage, you must decide on your average daily rate (TJM) taking into account several criteria: your skills and level of experience, the type of mission, and the various expenses necessary for the exercise of your activity (subscription to desktop publishing software, purchase of a graphic tablet…). You should also consider the average prices practiced in the graphic design market. Generally, the TJM of a beginner graphic designer is 250 €.

In addition to the classic criteria, you will need to consider the management fees charged by your umbrella company (between 5 and 15% of the gross turnover) as well as social contributions (between 50 and 60%).

💡Good to know: to know your net remuneration as a graphic designer under wage portage, we recommend the zero hidden fees simulator from Weepo: https://weepo.fr/simulator-portage-salarial.

The advantages of wage portage for the graphic design profession

Choosing the wage portage option for your independent graphic design activity provides you with numerous advantages, namely:

• Administrative simplicity: you delegate all your administrative formalities and accounting to the umbrella company, freeing up time to fully dedicate to your activity.
• A varied client portfolio: in traditional salaried employment, you work on a single project, while in wage portage, you are flexible and choose various missions. This allows you to express your creativity more.
• A financial guarantee: with wage portage, you avoid income fluctuations. You receive a monthly salary from the umbrella company with the possibility of deducting your professional expenses.
• Comprehensive social coverage: unlike micro-enterprises, you benefit from the same social protection as an employee and contribute to health insurance, unemployment, and retirement.
• Retained freedom: you remain your own boss under an employment contract, set your own hours, and freely define the mission with your client.
• Ease of access to loans: thanks to the pay slips from the umbrella company, you gain more credibility with banks for obtaining a mortgage.
• Personalized support: you benefit from the experience and network of your umbrella company to develop your skills and expertise.

💡Good to know: for a quick launch and more administrative simplicity, choose the umbrella company Weepo for starting your activity in just 2 hours!

The advantages of choosing Weepo as your umbrella company

To carry out your graphic design activity under wage portage smoothly, we recommend the offer from our umbrella company Weepo. At Weepo, with our triple T commitment (transparency, technology, tranquility), we are committed to providing you with an ethical wage portage experience that is completely transparent regarding our procedures.

💡Good to know: in June 2023, Weepo received the “zero hidden fees label” certification from Fedep’s, a guarantee of its completely transparent pricing policy.

Weepo integrates into its solution a 100% digital platform to automate your management and save time. You thus enjoy a high-end experience as a contracted consultant. We also stand out for the responsiveness of our customer service, always by your side to offer you personalized advice.

The essentials of the article summarized in 5 points

You now know how to become a graphic designer under wage portage. Here are the 5 main elements to remember:

1. To become a graphic designer under wage portage, you must possess the technical skills related to visual identity as well as human qualities such as creativity and listening to your clients' needs.
2. To practice your graphic design activity under wage portage, you must follow the principle of the tripartite relationship between your umbrella company, your client, and yourself.
3. You must decide on your rate (TJM) based on your level of experience, but also the management fees set by your umbrella company.
4. By practicing your graphic design activity under wage portage, you delegate all your management formalities to the umbrella company to focus on your creativity.
5. By choosing an umbrella company like Weepo, you benefit from tailored support and absolute transparency regarding your fees.

To go further, also consult our guide on the employment contract in wage portage: https://weepo.fr/portage-salarial/contrat.