Self-employed cleaners (or similar)

[LuckyMoonstone]

Thinking of setting up as a cleaner. Just have a few queries that I’d appreciate some help with.
Can you set up and get your UTR etc first and then start work, or do you have to do some work first and provide proof that you have been working?
Is it worth going through agencies who use SE cleaners? How does that work with payments and tax etc? Do the agencies pay you or do they just send you to clients and the clients pay cash?
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Another thing, how do you protect yourself from things like customers just refusing to pay for no reason when you’ve done the work?

You can get your utr before you start work. Make sure you have insurance and decent terms and conditions to protect against cancellations etc. Good luck.