We get a lot of questions about the management software we use and what tools we recommend. In this post, we’ll focus on the contractor management software that will help you acquire, manage, track, and document both contractors and freelancers.
Contractors provide offices with flexibility and a diverse set of skills as businesses grow or downsize. Hiring a contractor or freelancer might be an in between step before making the leap to a full-time hire, or you may hire outside contractors for specialized work that your current team is unable to perform. No matter what your reason, contractors take time to manage, and it’s best to have processes in place to keep track of employee information, contracts, payment details, time tracking, and compliance requirements.
Let’s dig into the benefits of using contractor management software as well as the software options available to streamline your management processes.
What is a Contractor?
A contractor completes work for a business but doesn’t meet the criteria of a regular employee. The main difference comes down to the relationship with the employer and the legal aspects of the contract. Employees have taxes withheld and submitted by an employer, whereas a contractor is responsible for their own tax payments.
The following list includes general guidelines for distinguishing between an employee and a contractor.
What makes someone a contractor?
- Contractors set their own hours
- Contractors are responsible for their own training
- Contractors pay for their own equipment and office supplies
- Contractors don’t receive company benefits
- Contractors are not entitled to overtime
- Contractors are not entitled to vacation pay
- Contractors charge or invoice for the work they complete
- Contractors pay their own income tax and other deductions
- Contractors often dictate when their fees will increase and by how much
Intro to Contractor Management Software for Offices
Contractor management software is designed to keep track of contractors and the work they do to help businesses simplify the process of hiring outside workers.
One of the most complicated aspects of searching for general contractor software is that many of the more well-known tools are designed for managing labor contractors, such as construction workers. For offices, you may find contractor management software is also called freelancer management software. Check the features carefully to ensure the software you choose meets the needs of your office. We’ll share some software suggestions below.
Benefits of Contractor Management Software
Simplify the Process
The number one benefit of contractor software is the simplified process. The software you choose shouldn’t complicate anything for yourself, management, or your HR team. It should simplify all aspects of hiring, managing, and tracking contractors to save you time and bring everything you need into one place.
Save Time and Reduce Busywork
Contractor management software removes a lot of the busywork that comes with managing workers. Software automates mundane processes to free up time for more important aspects of HR, like workplace productivity, wellness, or retention. Let the software take care of onboarding, time tracking, workflows, payments, and other repetitive tasks. Time saved is money saved for business owners, and it will minimize hectic schedules, overworked admins, and the risk of burnout.
Remote Friendly
Contractor software brings all of your processes online and makes them available to anyone on your team—no matter where they’re working from. As more businesses offer work from home options, relying on archaic paper processes is no longer an option. Contractors and freelancers are often hired from all over the world, so it’s essential to use processes that are available online from any location. Say goodbye to filing cabinets and paper cuts.
Information Stored in One Secure Location
When everything is online and documented in one secure location, you never need to worry about where a document is or where you’re storing information. Contractor management software keeps track of all aspects of your relationship with the contractor, from hiring to onboarding to ensuring essential documentation is maintained. When tax seasonrolls around, everything you need will be just a few clicks away. Plus, that information can be accessed both inside and outside of the office.
Contractor Management Software Options
Shortlist — All-In-One Platform
Shortlist is designed to manage all aspects of the contractor relationship. It helps businesses source, manage, and stay compliant with freelance contractors.
If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution, Shortlist can do it all. Begin your contractor search with Shortlist’s talent portal and candidate CRM that helps you find and hire the best freelancers for your needs. From there, you can fully automate your onboarding process, including custom workflows that simplify and eliminate mundane onboarding tasks.
The project dashboard keeps track of current assignments, milestones, and budgets, so you can see who’s working on what in real-time. Shortlist can also pay contractors to keep all processes in one localized tool, and it provides an analytics platform that includes budget dashboards, engagement inefficiencies, and compliance reports.
Shortlist Features:
- Shortlist talent portal
- Candidate CRM and profiles
- Freelancer/contractor profiles
- Customizable onboarding workflows
- Organize and group contractors
- Availability tracking
- Manage tasks and milestones
- Manage invoices
- Pay freelancers in over 180 countries
- Business intelligence analytics platform
- Zapier integrations
Shortlist has a 30-day free trial you can use to check out all of its features before committing to the platform.
Kalo — All-In-One Platform
Kalo is another all-on-one platform that provides tools to hire, manage, track, and pay freelancers.
Organize freelancer contracts and use Kalo’s simple search feature to find whatever information or documents you need at the click of a button. The tool lets you group and categorize freelancers to help you and your team choose the right person for the job every time. You can label groups based on past experiences, such as “choose these contactors first,” “never hire again,” or “ideal for quick-turnaround projects.”
Rate contractors, search contractor availability, store documents, approve invoices, and pay contractors with the all-in-one dashboard. You can invite contractors or freelancers to join Kalo with customizable onboarding questions to streamline onboarding to one location.
Kalo Features:
- Organize and search contacts
- Find freelancers based on availability, location, or rating
- Create groups and categories
- Customizable onboarding workflows
- Rate and review contractors
- Availability tracking
- Document storage
- Customizable data storage
- Track and approve invoices
- Pay freelancers in over 75 countries
Kalo has a free 30-day trial, so you can try it yourself before making a commitment.
Toggl — Project Management, Time Tracking, and Smart Hiring
Toggl is a general contractor project management software that manages all of the work your contractors complete. Toggl provides project management, time tracking, and reporting for over 5 million users. The tool brings clarity to time tracking for both contractors and regular employees with a desktop app, mobile app, or browser extension.
In addition to time tracking, Toggl offers a hiring tool that helps businesses screen for the skills that actually matter. The online skills test will help you find candidates with the right skills for your needs without deciphering piles of resumes. You can screen thousands of candidates in seconds, filtering based on test results, to ensure you find the best of the best.
Toggl Features:
- Project planning
- Team planning
- Task management
- Time tracking
- Reporting
- Revenue tracking
- Team scheduling and management
- Intelligent candidate screening test
- Candidate management
- Hiring analytics
Field Nation — Find and Manage Technicians
Field Nation focuses on matching you with experienced technicians for specialized work. You can search for candidates based on industry, including POS (Point of Sale), merchandising, carpentry, and general tasks, as well as by state, to help you find the best talent near you.
The platform helps you create work orders, find the right candidates, and manage work orders from start to finish. You can save your favorite technicians for simple hiring whenever you need a job done, and all work orders through Field Nation are backed by general liability and professional liability insurance.
Field Nation Features:
- Search candidates based on industry, state, and city
- Create work orders
- Manage work orders
- Communicate with technicians
- Save your favorite contractors for future hiring
- General liability and professional liability insurance
- Optional Occupational Accident Insurance (OAI)
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Contractor Management Software For Offices