A checklist to manage and pay international contractors

Thinking about engaging contractors?

Managing contractors needn’t be complicated. Use this checklist when you’re selecting a contractor management solution.

Locally compliant contractor agreements

• Managing contractors doesn’t have to be complex or challenging. Here are a few things to keep in mind while choosing a contractor management solution.

• Choose a system that provides country-specific contract templates compliant with local tax and regulatory requirements.

• Be sure to use a separate statement of work to set out contractor roles and responsibilities.

• Look for a system that supports assigning and managing employer signatories for contractor agreements.

• Ensure the system has the option to include indemnity coverage against misclassification risks.

• Choose a system that offers a KYB/KYC process to confirm compliance.

Automated onboarding

• Choose self-serve onboarding so contractors can start without delay.

• Consider automated identity verification to streamline processes and minimise manual error.

• Confirm the system can manage essential documentation and compliance checks.

Invoices, timesheets and payments

• Choose a system that supports manual and automated invoice handling for single and bulk submissions.

• Check whether the system allows employers to create invoices on behalf of a contractor — especially useful when managing large numbers of contractors.

• Ensure invoice approval permissions can be assigned and shared across your administrative team.

• Look for a system that supports invoicing at set intervals, for example: weekly, biweekly, semi monthly, monthly.

• Choose a system that supports invoicing and payouts in the currency of choice.

• Prioritise guaranteed payouts. Pick a system that removes the hassle of FX and currency conversion and pays contractors the exact invoice amount.

• Confirm you can export invoices for chosen date ranges.

Platform, user experience and pricing

• Choose a provider that offers a trial rollout or pilot before you pay their fee.

• Aim to cut time and effort by choosing a system with strong automation.

• Pick a platform that will scale as your business grows. Ask how many contractors typically use the platform to assess scalability.

• Prefer multi-product suites to single systems for greater efficiency. These suites provide flexible, scalable HR solutions ideal for managing a globally distributed team, including contractors.

• Base decisions on platform usability — ensure it’s user-friendly for both your team and your contractors.

• Prioritise access to a knowledgeable, dedicated customer support team.

• Look for a platform that offers activity based pricing. Remote’s transparent pricing guarantee ensures you are charged only per active contractor per month.

Understand your total cost of deployment

• Check whether the system adds a ‘management fee’ on top of the monthly subscription.

• Find out whether any additional fees are deducted by the system for each invoice processed.

• Factor in FX rates and bank transfer fees when setting up international contractor payments.

”Contractors start 2 weeks faster on average with Remote.”

”47% of Remote customers find managing contractors easier compared to their previous solutions”

”Administrative costs linked to contractor management have decreased by 32% through Remote.” "99% invoices paid out in 3 business days”

“Remote’s Contractor Management platform makes it super easy to pay in multiple currencies with the click of a button and arrange everything in one place. Everything is compliant and we can onboard quickly to respond to spikes in demand.” - Georg Herzog, Head of People, Mimo

Discover a better way to hire, manage and pay contractors with Remote.

Sign up