As an independent contractor, managing your finances can be a daunting task. From tracking hours to sending invoices and processing payments, task management can get overwhelming. As a company, contractor management is an important aspect of ensuring quality work in a measurable time frame. With the rise of the gig economy, contract workers and companies alike need solutions to invoice and get paid on time. Fortunately, the market is full of invoicing and payment solutions that can make both lives easier.
Not only do these tools streamline your financial processes, but they also ensure that independent remote teams are paid on time. An estimated 162 million individuals in the EU and US are already a part of the flexible economy, with 44% relying on it as their primary source of income.
This is going to grow and so will the need to get invoices and payroll in order. Both independent contractors and employers can administer invoices and payroll. Some platforms empower independent contractors to do the paperwork, while other platforms place the responsibility on the employer.
Nonetheless, it is ideal to choose a platform that satisfies both parties. Let’s explore some of the best invoicing and payment solutions, accounting software, and professional services for independent contractors.
Borderless
Managing a distributed team of independent contractors? With Borderless, you can hire, onboard, manage, and pay your independent contractors, no matter where they are. You can manage payments and invoices in over 100 currencies with a single click. Simple, Borderless deals with the complexity of global contractor management so you don’t have to.
The Borderless global contractor management system allows you to tailor contracts to local laws, and to quickly pay independent contractors on any device. Invoices can be generated automatically and only require one-click approvals, so you can save time and focus on your business. This platform also empowers independent contractors – they can track payments, issue invoices, manage their profiles, accept online payments, and view their pay stubs.
Manage Global Payroll
On Borderless, employers can also manage and administer global payroll in 170+ countries in one place. This all-in-one platform helps employers streamline payments for their legal entities, through Borderless legal entities, or both. It can also help an organization of any size manage payroll taxes while ensuring security, making it a great option for global employers.
Access Top EOR Services
Whether you are a registered legal entity, using an Employer of Record (EOR) service, or both, you can process real-time payments and compliantly administer payroll on the Borderless platform. You can also get accurate, real-time access to your payroll data without filtering through thousands of lengthy emails and spreadsheets. Dive into your data with drill-down reporting and gain actionable insights on how to incentivize your distributed team.
Maintain Compliance
Managing contractors involves extensive compliance concerns. Borderless has the expertise to help customers stay compliant throughout the process. Borderless’ simple, integrated user interface also allows employees to have direct access to their detailed payslips and tax documentation on the same platform you run payroll from. This saves time on HR procedures.
All in all, Borderless is a brilliant platform to manage your independent contractors globally. Moreover, Borderless offers EOR services. On top of managing independent contractors and global payroll, Borderless can also handle all the paperwork and extra admin while you focus on scaling and growing your business.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting solution that is popular among independent contractors and small businesses. The platform offers a user-friendly interface, customizable invoices, a time-tracking feature, and expense tracking. With FreshBooks, you can manage global independent contractors and easily create professional-looking invoices, track time, and monitor expenses.
Automate Processes
With Freshbooks, you can give contractors, accountants, and clients the ability to monitor time, register costs, and revise projects by using custom permissions to put everyone on the same page. You can also automate billing cycles to pay independent contractors faster. This way, your independent contractor will have more time for clients.
Deploy Comprehensive Payment Solutions
FreshBooks makes global contractor management simple with automated invoicing, online payments, and payment reminders. FreshBooks is popular among independent contractors because of its comprehensive payment solutions. It accepts credit card payments and direct bank transfers and also allows for automated recurring payments. Additionally, it provides an online payment portal, making it easier for independent contractors to get paid in a timely manner.
Consolidate Finances
You can also consolidate your finances in FreshBooks. This allows you to easily access reports about the condition of your business and monetary situation. This way, you will always understand how profitable you are, check the status of your cash flow, and determine where the majority of your money is going.
Aside from the platform, FreshBooks also has accounting partners who can help you with any invoice or payment troubles. FreshBooks can meet all your invoice and payroll needs. If you are looking for an invoice and payment solution with personalized accounting help – Freshbooks is a great solution.
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is a comprehensive financial management tool that allows you to customize invoice templates, track time and expenses, and run accurate payroll. You can choose your pay schedules and frequencies and automate payroll. With QuickBooks, you can easily manage your finances and keep track of your independent contractors and expenses, and pay contractors on time.
Enjoy Project Management Capabilities
QuickBooks helps you pay your independent contractors on time, no matter where they are in the world, with free 2-day direct deposits. You can also give your entire team of independent contractors access to digital pay subs and year-end forms. QuickBooks helps employers calculate and fill out year-end forms to print and file. There are many customizable features, too.
Pay Contractors with Ease
QuickBooks offers a range of payment solutions that make it easier for independent contractors to get paid as well. It accepts credit cards and ACH bank transfers, and also offers QuickBooks Payments for online payments. One of its standout features is the automatic matching of payments and invoices, which saves time and reduces errors. Additionally, it supports mobile payments, allowing you to get paid on the go.
Transition to Automation
If you're looking for an effective way to transition from manual bookkeeping, or if your spreadsheets have become too complex to manage, or if you're unsatisfied with your current software, QuickBooks can be an affordable solution. Skip the paperwork and automate your invoice and payroll system.
QuickBooks also has a supportive onboarding team so you can get payroll in order from the very start. QuickBooks allows you to consolidate all of your complex business tasks in one place. Automatically sync your accounting, time tracking, and payroll activities for a more efficient workflow and more time to devote to your core operations.
However, if you have a team of global independent contractors based in India, you should note that QuickBooks has been discontinued for Indian users since April 30, 2023. This means it won’t be available to your team in India. This is something to keep in mind when choosing invoicing and payment solutions.
Zoho Invoice and Zoho Books
Zoho Invoice is part of the Zoho suite of productivity tools. Zoho Invoice enables you to create professional invoices, track payments, and manage expenses while Zoho Books allows you to fully manage your finances and payroll. Both are user-friendly and integrate with other Zoho products, great if you have already subscribed to Zoho suite.
Manage Everything in One Place
With Zoho, you can send invoices via SMS, email, and customer portal, keep track of invoice status, and follow up with automated payment reminders. You can also manage billable hours by setting a timer for particular tasks to ensure that you are paying only for the hours spent by independent contractors.
Integrate Functions
Great contractor management goes hand in hand with good funds management. Zoho is here to help you make payments easy. You can choose a payment gateway, set reminders, and pay your independent contractors on time. Zoho’s smart reporting also allows businesses to gain immediate insights about business performance, invoices, and expense status.
Remember, choosing the right invoicing tool and payment solution will help your business grow sustainably. Zoho is great for small businesses and offers great tax support, too.
And CO
And CO was created by Fiverr with independent contractors in mind. It is an invoicing and expense-tracking software designed specifically for freelancers and independent contractors. It streamlines contract creation, proposals, subscription management, time tracking, and payment reminders.
It is easy to set up and use and includes flexible invoice scheduling. You can also create detailed contracts and proposals on the go since it has a great mobile app. However, it doesn’t offer many invoice templates or customization.
This is a great platform for freelancers and independent contractors who are managing their own administration and payroll. This lifts the weight off the shoulders of employers who want to work with them. This is great on a project-to-project basis. Employers, however, may want a platform with more flexibility and capabilities when it comes to hiring independent contractors on a long-term basis or converting independent contractors into employees, wherever they are.
Simplify Contractor Management by Hiring an EOR or PEO
If you don’t have a legal entity and want to have more control over invoicing and payments, you can hire an EOR or PEO. This would further cut the paperwork and contractor management you have to do. An EOR or PEO can help you deal with the nitty-gritty of setting up global payroll and streamline contracts, pay stubs, and more to make contractor management simple.
EOR vs. PEO
While some EOR and PEO services overlap, they are two different structures:
EOR
An EOR is a legal employer of a company in a country. An EOR takes on any risks or liability associated with the services it provides for your company and handles all legal compliance requirements and issues. This is a great way to employ worldwide without setting up a legal entity in every location.
EOR generally works better for larger companies with both full-time and temporary employees, including independent contractors. An EOR manages HR tasks including payroll, benefits, and tax information. With an EOR, you can hire from any country in which the EOR has an established local entity. Borderless has entities established in 150+ countries around the world.
PEO
Under a PEO arrangement, the PEO is a co-employer. A business and the co-employer share certain tasks related to the HR services that a company would typically provide. This setup means that the employee is employed not only by the primary business but also by the co-employer (PEO). Consider a PEO to be your external HR division.
PEOs generally work better for smaller companies with a few full-time employees. It also requires an employer to have existing local entities in the countries they want to employ in. Similar to EORs, they offer compliance assistance and help companies manage HR tasks including payroll, benefits, and tax information. However, they do have minimum employee requirements.
Outsourcing to the Right Contractor Management Systems
If you’re ready to get serious about growth and global expansion, you’ll likely want to work with an EOR like Borderless. An EOR takes full legal responsibility for labor compliance and makes it easier to scale quickly or in multiple countries at once.
This decision is largely dependent on if you have already built up a legal entity in the country you are looking to hire from. Constructing an entity can be a pricey, lengthy, and difficult process, so opting for an EOR may be more attractive if you don't have a functioning entity already.
If you have established or are in the process of establishing an entity or entities around the world, a PEO may suit you better. If you are looking to focus on other parts of your business and unload your HR tasks, PEOs can be a great choice. Depending on the situation, they can sometimes provide cost savings due to the reduced amount of responsibilities compared to an EOR.
Manage Independent Contractors with Borderless
Managing finances can be challenging for employers and independent contractors, but with the right tools, it can be a breeze. We have discussed the best invoicing and payment solutions available today.
They offer a range of features that simplify financial management and ensure that you get paid on time. However, if you are looking to manage independent contractors distributed around the world on a large scale, consider using Borderless.
While all these invoicing tools and payment solutions streamline your financial processes, Borderless is an all-in-one platform that delivers a seamless invoicing and payment experience while ensuring compliance – out of all the payment solutions available, this is a world-class one.
You can also set invoices through Borderless’ invoicing system which automatically generates locally compliant recurring invoices. Borderless helps companies hire, onboard, manage, and pay independent contractors, no matter where they are, worry-free. Catch Borderless in action.
Disclaimer
Borderless does not provide legal services or legal advice to anyone. This includes customers, contractors, employees, partners, and the general public. We are not lawyers or paralegals. Please read our full disclaimer here.
