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How Do You Pay Your Freelancers/Contractors? And How Do You Track Their Time?

by TheWebGuy
12 replies
Hi Warriors,

I have a few freelancers/contractors that do regular work for me but on their own time. They live in Europe (and I'm in the US).

How would you recommend I make weekly payments to them? I don't want my payments to get eaten up by fees/transaction costs like they're about to with Upwork's new expensive fees.

Additionally, how do you track your contractors to make sure they're working when they say they are?

Right now Upwork does this well but we're moving away from them with their boost in fees.

Is there a program to track their screen that they can install and use (that free or cheap)?

Thank you
#pay #time #track
  • Profile picture of the author russflex
    As someone who is a freelancer, I would recommend doing fixed prices for everything. Otherwise, you'll have to be online at the same time they are and have them submit a certain amount of work each hour to prove they've done something.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheWebGuy
      Thank you for your reply. But that's why I want to use a screenshot tool to let me know they're working.

      Also, they do long term work daily for me so paying a fixed price won't quite work.
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      • Profile picture of the author BradVert2013
        Originally Posted by TheWebGuy View Post

        Thank you for your reply. But that's why I want to use a screenshot tool to let me know they're working.
        As a freelancer myself I can tell you I never accept hourly pay because of this very thing.

        Much of my time is spent researching and brainstorming, not necessarily writing and it's not always at my computer.

        Also, the whole screenshot thing feels like micromanaging to me. It's a very uncomfortable thoight.

        Reduce everyone's anxiety and pay by the project. Set clear milestones. Then it doesn't matter when/where they get the work done, as long as it gets finished then that's all that matters, right?
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  • Profile picture of the author anhtt265
    Agree to pay fix-price per task. Tracking software is not useful. They can turn on it and work other task.
    You should give an estimatation how many hours a normal guy can finnish your task? Your budget can pay for per hour. I recommend to hire Philipinese or Indiana freelancer. Their hourly rate is very cheap $3.
    But you should make some tests to find 1-2 best freelancer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    I'm real finicky about who i hire as a freelancer to do something for me. So i do most of the work myself, and then things like "graphic design" i outsource to others. Luckily i always ask for something super simple, and my designers promise a 3-day turnaround for the project completion. So it depends on what you want outsourced. And i pay right away with a fixed agreed upon rate that they initially set.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gambino
    What type of work are they doing? They sound like freelancers that have been working for you for a while. Why micro manage them with screen capture software to make sure they're working?

    Agree to a price that you both agree is fair for the work, let them do it, then pay them. You're probably paying for the end result, not the time. So what difference does it make if it takes 2 hours or 20 hours?

    That's how I do it anyways and it's worked for me.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheWebGuy
      Originally Posted by Gambino View Post

      What type of work are they doing? They sound like freelancers that have been working for you for a while. Why micro manage them with screen capture software to make sure they're working?

      Agree to a price that you both agree is fair for the work, let them do it, then pay them. You're probably paying for the end result, not the time. So what difference does it make if it takes 2 hours or 20 hours?

      That's how I do it anyways and it's worked for me.

      Hi Guys, they run the customer support for me. This is not a one time job. We get tons of customer support requests each day. It's not something they can finish because there's more each day. It's definitely and ongoing job because the customers need to be taken care of.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ashok Panda
        Hi

        Once you have purchased the service for a week or so , you will clearly have an idea how is the work load . If someone is doing the work properly , spend the money which you pay as Upwork fee as a bonus to these gusy. a small increment will keep them motivated.

        Cutting costs and cutting corner are very close to each other. I would rather focus on quality and by continuous quality improvement could achieve better results , get a higher fee for primary services.

        On the other hand worrying about money will create internal uncertainty and VA dissatisfaction which is not healthy.
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      • Profile picture of the author gooroo
        Originally Posted by TheWebGuy View Post

        Hi Guys, they run the customer support for me. This is not a one time job. We get tons of customer support requests each day. It's not something they can finish because there's more each day. It's definitely and ongoing job because the customers need to be taken care of.
        How have they been doing their work so far? Have you gotten any complaints from unsatisfied customers regarding the customer service? That be emails or even social media activity, if they would complain there.

        Have there been any changes or increased number of complaints since you moved away from Upwork? Because if things have been good so far and they're continuing to be good, then you could just trust them.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gambino
        Originally Posted by TheWebGuy View Post

        Hi Guys, they run the customer support for me. This is not a one time job. We get tons of customer support requests each day. It's not something they can finish because there's more each day. It's definitely and ongoing job because the customers need to be taken care of.
        I think you need to take a close look at your numbers. If they've been freelancing for you for a while, you should know what type of complaints normally come thru, how many complaints they typically handle per hour/day and keep those numbers going. I'm sure you'll know if they slack off and your complaints back up.

        There is probably something you could use to better track the handling of your customer service inquiries. That would be preferable than standing over your employees shoulder with tracking software watching their every move. Just my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    Check out Time Doctor, but there are many alternatives.

    https://www.timedoctor.com/features.html

    Also check out https://www.onlinejobs.ph it's what I use and everyone that I know for finding VA's. You can get full time VA's for $300-$400 per month. You can actually hire users for less, but for customer support, you probably want to get someone with better skills.

    I know someone who's company does over $20mm per year and they hire everyone for customer support (email/chat) from them.

    Couple tips. Search and contact users that you think are qualified VS posting a job and getting those who will respond to anything. Put them through tests to check their skills. Hire users on a probationary period and make it very clear they will be fired if they don't live up to your standards.
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  • Profile picture of the author jazbo
    Why the hell are you working with people you don't trust?
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