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How to Work with Freelancers. All You Need to Know

The amount of freelancers is growing every year. The number is expected to reach 90.1 million by 2028, according to ClientManager’s research published earlier this year. Remote work for companies, as well as completing individual projects remotely, are now common forms of employment, not only for creative professions, but also for those who traditionally worked in offices.

The Gig Economy, the Employer and the Freelancer

The gig economy is the environment where freelance was born and is developing today. When discussing freelancers, it’s impossible to overlook the gig economy. It is a system of employment where employers pay solely for the results achieved under a short-term contract. For example, in a traditional employment contract, the hours spent by the employee in the office are also paid. In general, professionals favor part-time project-based work rather than long-term employment with one company.

Freelance offers advantages for both the worker and the employer. The freelancer chooses where and how much to work, sets the price for their time, and most importantly, chooses their employer.

The employer, in turn, pays for the result, not office hours, and doesn’t pay income tax or social security contributions that are associated with full-time employees. This also helps increase efficiency, as it allows for the creation of specialized teams for projects and the quick scaling of business when needed without increasing the regular staff.

Therefore, if a company director decides that maintaining a large staff is not feasible at the moment, but results need to be achieved through professionals, then it’s time to move on to the next step: working effectively with freelancers.
Understanding how much your project really costs is critical for assessing freelancers’ offers later on – EasyStaff

How to figure out how much your project really costs?

One of the reasons company directors and department managers turn to freelancers is that project-based work and result-based payment are more cost-effective than maintaining a full-time employee. As for money, the client wants to save money and the freelancer doesn't want to undervalue themselves. So it's important to properly assess the real cost of work and plan on next steps if an agreement on the price can't be reached.

Here are some recommendations we follow when inviting project contractors to work:

Double-check what the freelancer says. This is a background check, not an undercover investigation. If a freelancer claims to have worked with a particular company or completed certain projects, ask for contact information from the clients or ask to see the work yourself.

Scrutinize costs. Rounding (e.g., $500) or, on the contrary, a supermarket price (e.g., $499.99) should raise suspicion. If the price is rounded, it sounds like it was pulled from thin air rather than calculated based on real costs.

Check how quickly they respond. If, even at the stage of the contract and exchanging terms of reference, unexplained pauses between messages last for several hours, then working with the contractor might be problematic full of missed deadlines and entire days waiting for responses.

Now, the most interesting part – the price. To better understand this issue, it's helpful to look at the cost of work from the perspective of the freelancer themselves. What do they include in their price?

Understanding freelancer pricing

Regardless of experience, freelancers monitor market trends and try not to deviate significantly from the average rates. The modus operandi of a freelancer is project-based work, often fast and with clear results. Are you looking for a specialist for a task with an unclear solution that requires research and trial and error? The freelancer will likely charge extra for revisions.

Here are some recommendations from the business analytics agency Modelta:

Expert approach. If you don’t understand the cost of a service or how reasonable the proposed price is, consult someone who knows.

Compare prices and experience. In short, you should talk to more than one freelancer and request more than one estimate. Generally, the less experienced the contractor is, the lower their cost will be. Therefore, in addition to the price itself, you should also take into account their experience, portfolio, and reviews.

Evaluate the entire project instead of hourly rate. It’s important to correctly calculate how many specialists you need for the project, how many hours will be spent on the work, and how much this cost will be at an agency. An agency will, of course, be more expensive due to the "brand premium," but if the price is too high, this comparison will give you an argument for lowering the freelancer’s price. However, if you need the services of a single specialist, this kind of comparison might not be necessary.

Evaluate the freelancer’s work in the context of expected profit. This method is somewhat speculative and works if your niche is closed or innovative, so there is very little information about pricing. You’ll need to calculate by how much revenue will exceed expenses.
A contract serves as the guarantee that the freelancer and the client work honestly and complete work on time.

How to Sign a Contract With a Freelancer?

What does a contract with a freelancer do?
  • It motivates you both to stay compliant and on time with commitments.
  • It describes what a completed project looks like and allows the company to formally document this expense.
  • A contract prevents either party from failing to fulfill their obligations.
  • It provides formalized agreements, so acceptance of results, discussion, and payment happen faster thanks to documented results from the initial discussion.

When working with a freelancer, the client company does not pay taxes. The freelancer will pay income tax as a self-employed individual. Now let’s look at what should be included in the contract so that it fulfills its regulatory function.

Conclusions

  • Working with freelancers offers numerous benefits for both the company and the contractor. For the company, an independent contractor means no taxes associated with a regular employee’s salary. For the contractor, it means multiple projects with the ability to quickly change bosses, a luxury unavailable to regular employees.
  • When agreeing on the price, it’s crucial to pay attention to how the freelancer quotes the price and how much such a task typically costs on the market.
  • It’s also essential to understand that a proper evaluation of work involves looking not just at the number of hours but at the entire project as a whole.
  • A contract with a freelancer is a vital document that disciplines both parties and defines areas of responsibility. A contract ensures that tasks are completed on time and to a high standard, mitigating risks.
July 2, 2024
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