Hire freelancers, they said. Your business will gain a competitive edge, they said. But who knew managing freelancers would be such a hassle! Make no mistake; a freelance workforce is a godsend for companies looking to scale up and down and meet project requirements faster than ever.
However, if your company works with ten or more freelancers, managing them can turn out to be frustrating, with tedious processes slowing your team’s day-to-day productivity. So, how do you leverage the skills and expertise your freelancers bring to the table without letting your team drown in time-killing paperwork and freelancer management tasks?
Well, you’re in luck! Gone are the days when you had to rely on traditional and tedious ways of work. With a freelancer management platform, you can now eliminate these freelancer management issues. It’s time to empower your freelancers and the rest of your team to work together in agile and flexible ways.
5 Reasons to Use the Freelancer Management Platform
Implementing a contractor management system can benefit every department of your business – right from HR and Marketing & IT to Finance and Law. Not sure if an FMS is for you? Below we have pulled together the top 5 reasons you should invest in a contractor management platform.
Increased Productivity and Oversight
Are messy spreadsheets and missed deadlines affecting your business? As you work with more freelancers, spreadsheets start to pile up and get lost in the shuffle. You lose oversight and control over your external workforce, and as a result, deadline-driven projects cost overruns.
How an FMS helps:
Using a contractor management platform can help organize and streamline your freelancer data in one place, making it easier for you to access it anytime. An automated process helps you reduce errors and work more efficiently, giving you full visibility into every aspect of your contractor workforce.
Fast and Effective Contractor Onboarding
Is poor contractor onboarding causing low morale and high turnover rate? If you are struggling to ensure a smooth transition of new freelancers to your company, you’re not alone. Most companies find it challenging to onboard freelancers effectively, causing a lack of trust and confusion among new freelance hires.
How an FMS helps:
A contractor management platform provides a standardized onboarding approach by streamlining the legal documents and contract forms. All the paperwork, such as freelancer contracts and tax forms, including W-9s are signed and uploaded on the contractor management platform, making it easier for HR and managers to access it anytime.
Seamless Contractor Management
Managing your freelancers can be frustrating when you’re dealing with disconnected and disparate processes. Anything can go wrong — from freelancer contracts not signed and uploaded on time and inefficient communication causing misunderstandings to poor budgeting resulting in overspending.
How an FMS helps:
A contractor management platform makes it easier to manage, communicate, and collaborate with your external workforce, enabling you to communicate requirements, filter contractor data, create tasks, track project hours, establish budgets, and do so much more.
Automated Invoice And Payments
Do you still process your contractor’s invoices manually? The more freelancers you work with, the greater the complexity to facets such as freelancer invoices and payments. Messy invoicing and payment delays can cause a bad reputation for your business and increase the risk of freelancers leaving your organization.
How an FMS helps:
A consolidated payment system helps you create calibrated invoices, request or approve invoices, schedule payments, and offer global payment options for accurate and hassle-free payments to your contractor workforce.
Effortless Tax Compliance
If you work with an external workforce, your business must handle and e-file your contractors’ 1099 forms on time to ensure tax compliance with state and federal tax codes. Any errors and delays in doing so can put your company at risk of non-compliance.
How an FMS helps:
A contractor management platform lets you securely e-file 1099-NECs over a highly encrypted network, track the status of every payment, and schedule reminders, so you never miss a tax payment again.
Freelance management can be easier if you allow it to be. With a contractor management platform, you can improve productivity, reduce risks, save resources, and boost ROI for your business.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of an FMS aren’t just limited to onboarding and payments. FMS helps ensure that your business is compliant and safe from unnecessary risks. As more companies are leaning towards external workforce management, it’s high time you evaluate how you manage your freelancers. Thanks to contractor management platforms such as FreelanceCentral.com, you will be able to onboard, manage, and pay your emerging contingent workforce easier than ever.