A practical checklist for managing and paying international contractors

Thinking of engaging contractors?

Managing contractors need not be complicated or burdensome. For your reference, here are key points to consider when selecting a contractor management solution.

Contractor agreements compliant with local laws

• Managing contractors need not be complicated or burdensome. For your reference, here are key points to consider when selecting 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 that clearly outlines contractor roles and responsibilities.

• Select a system that supports assigning and managing employer signatories on contractor agreements.

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

• Choose a system that includes a KYB/KYC process to verify compliance.

Automated onboarding

• Look for self-serve onboarding to ensure a seamless start for your contractor talent.

• Consider automated identity verification to streamline workflows and reduce human error.

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

Invoices, timesheets and payments

• Choose a system that supports both manual and automated invoice management for individual and bulk invoices.

• Confirm whether the system allows employers to create invoices on behalf of contractors — especially helpful when you manage a large number of contractors.

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

• Consider a system that supports invoicing at defined intervals, for example: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly.

• Choose a system that enables invoicing and payouts in your preferred currency.

• Prioritize guaranteed payouts for contractors. Select a system that eliminates FX and currency-conversion hassles and ensures contractors receive the exact invoice amount.

• Check whether you can export invoices for specified time periods.

Platform, user experience and pricing

• Consider platforms that provide a trial rollout before you commit to paying their fee.

• Prioritize solutions with strong automation to reduce time and effort.

• Choose a platform that scales with your business. Ask how many contractors typically use the platform to assess scalability.

• Prefer multi-product suites rather than standalone systems for efficiency. Such suites provide flexible, scalable HR solutions suited to managing globally distributed teams, including contractors.

• Make usability a key decision factor. Confirm the platform is user-friendly and accessible for both your organization and contractors.

• Prioritize access to a knowledgeable and 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

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

• Clarify whether the system deducts any additional costs for each processed invoice.

• Factor in FX rates and bank-transfer fees when configuring 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

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