Are you considering working with a freelancer? Do not forget about the administrative tasks when working with freelancers. Below we listed down the most important ones.
Contract
Before you draft a contract, decide what type of agreement you actually need. If your freelancer runs a company, you can settle the deal on the basis of an invoice. The contract would then be an agreement between two companies. In other cases, you must establish the type of agreement you want to enter into and what purpose it serves (performing a specific task or rather a series of repeated tasks).
Regardless of the contract type, remember to include in it the most important information: who enters into agreement, how long it is supposed to last, remuneration, deadlines and scope of work. If you want to make sure that the agreement is well-written, consult a lawyer or a legal department in your company (if there is one). This way, if there is a dispute in the future, you will avoid unnecessary and unpleasant consequences.
Settling accounts
Another important issue is how you choose to settle the accounts with your freelancer. If your contract is not a B2B agreement, you need to take into account taxation and insurance that your employee is subject to. This might prove particularly problematic if the freelancer you work with is a foreigner. In such scenarios, asking for advice from an experienced accountant or labour law expert is worth considering. Following their advice will help you fully meet your obligations as an employer.
Admin tasks cannot be completely avoided even if you settle deals with a freelancer on the basis of an invoice. You still need to make sure that the documentation is issued on time and verify if the declared scope of work is what was actually done. Therefore as an employer you have to check whether the protocol of performed tasks or assignments is true to facts.
Records management – one of the important administrative tasks when working with freelancers
If you want to hire a freelancer you should also take into account record keeping. The first documents will appear as early as in the recruitment process (resumes, cover letters, consents to process personal data) and they need to be stored properly. As the collaboration develops, even more documents will need management. This should make you consider your record keeping options, so that you are able to access necessary information at any time.
Deadlines
Setting deadlines does not necessarily mean that freelancers will respect them. As a commissioner you will likely find yourself in situations where you will need to insist on a freelancer delivering an assignment or issuing an invoice. However, it is worth noting that delays do not necessarily mean bad intentions on a freelancer’s side; sometimes they fail to deliver on time because of circumstances beyond their control.
Optimising the process of working with freelancers
Once you know what are the administrative tasks when working with freelancers, you can start thinking of some effective ways to optimise your collaboration with freelancers.
First of all, always start with open communication. You can present your expectations and scope of work at the very first meeting. Then you can move on to setting deadlines and agreeing on evaluation, that is, how you are going to control the quality of work and how long it should take a freelancer to revise the work, if necessary.
A good way of optimising the cooperation between you and freelancers is the Useme platform. It will take care of the admin and formal side of your business for you, by stepping up as an employer in the process. This means that you will not need to trouble yourself with the proper qualification of work performed, drafting a contract, or setting deals, even if you decide to collaborate with foreign freelancers.
As soon as a freelancer has uploaded the ready work into the Useme system and you have it accepted, they will receive the agreed remuneration within 48 hours and you will receive a VAT invoice.
Useme helps with all of the administrative tasks when working with freelancers:
- it takes over the task of preparing and signing contracts with freelancers (Useme becomes the legal employer of your freelancer, so you do not need to involve the legal or accountance teams; Useme also makes it easy to hire and pay foreign freelancers),
- it helps you with record keeping (as all documents are stored inside your Useme profile),
- it helps you with settling accounts (you can pay your freelancer legally with a couple of clicks and you receive a tax invoice after a successful collaboration).
Do you want to hand over your administrative tasks to Useme? Just create a free account and then invite your freelancer to collaborate via this platform.
Administrative tasks when working with freelancers – summary
As you can see, hiring a freelancer does come with some duties. If you want to avoid illegal labour you should take care of not only the legal, but also administrative duties. Fortunately there are ways to optimise these processes, which makes it easier for you to develop more business relationships without worrying about formalities and legal matters.
Special Q&A for you
Handling all the administration tasks when working with freelancers can be a difficult. If you’ve got any questions, then we’re here to help.
Ask our team of business experts, industry specialists and lawyers – we’ll come back with the best answers.
