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Freelancing has experienced a remarkable surge in recent years, almost wholly reshaping the traditional employment landscape. In many industries, businesses increasingly turn to freelancers and independent contractors to access specialized skills on a project-by-project basis, reduce overhead costs, and adapt to fluctuating workloads. Similarly, more people are drawn to freelancing for its autonomy, allowing them to choose when, where and how they work.
Due to the rise and consistent integration of freelance talents into the workforce, tools like freelancer management software have become more diverse, advanced and crucial for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a startup looking to streamline project collaborations or a large enterprise managing a global network of freelancers, finding the right tools to manage and optimize workflow is crucial. We explore the best freelance management software solutions available, offering the top choices to help harness the power of freelance talents effectively and efficiently.
What is Freelancer Management Software
Freelance management software is a specialized system designed to help businesses and organizations efficiently manage their relationships and work arrangements with freelancers, independent contractors, and their external workforce at scale. These FMS platforms aim to simplify the process of engaging and managing freelance talent, resulting in enhanced productivity, reduced administrative burdens and compliance with legal requirements.
Before we delve further, it’s crucial to clarify the difference between freelance marketplaces and freelance management software. Freelance platforms function as open talent marketplaces, allowing employers to search and locate available freelancers. On the other hand, freelance management software is your own private, white-labeled repository used to manage contingent workers and outsourced projects, from onboarding and assigning to invoicing and payments.
Features of Freelance Management Software
Freelance management software is invaluable in the modern workforce landscape, providing businesses with a comprehensive suite of features to simplify and optimize their freelance management processes. From streamlined onboarding to efficient project management, effective communication and seamless payment processing, here are some features you should look for in every freelance management software.
● Onboarding
Freelance management software platforms help to streamline the onboarding process by having freelancers enter and access relevant information from one portal. This process saves time and mitigates the need to switch between different systems in communicating additional information.
● Project & Task Management
These platforms also incorporate features that streamline project workflows, improve productivity and ensure effective project delivery. With freelance management systems, businesses can create and manage projects, assign tasks, set deadlines and track real-time progress.
● Communication
Freelance management software provides freelancers and managers a centralized platform to organize their rolodex of contacts, track projects, and communicate seamlessly with external talent and internal team members. This could be through messaging systems, email integration, file sharing and other communication tools that facilitate clear and effective collaboration.
● Invoicing and Payments
These systems typically include features such as payment tracking, invoice templates and automated reminders. These accounting tools help pay freelancers, track financial transactions and keep records of income, recurring expenses, assets and liabilities.
● Performance Evaluation
With freelance management software, businesses can monitor and evaluate the performance of their freelancers, systematically gathering feedback and preserving records that can be referenced or used to make critical hiring and talent management decisions.
● Reporting and Analytics
Many freelance management software offer reporting and analytics tools that give businesses relevant insights into freelancer utilization, project costs and overall workforce spend.
● Integration
Usually, these platforms integrate with other software tools for more streamlined processes. They could integrate with project management software, accounting platforms and HR systems, creating a more seamless workflow across different departments in the organization.
The Best Freelance Management Software
If you’re looking to invest in a worthwhile freelance management system, we’ve compiled a list of the best FMS platforms based on the above features. Here are our picks for the top freelance management software available today.
1. Worksuite
Worksuite stands as the top pick in freelance management systems, providing an unparalleled solution for effortless recruitment, onboarding, management and payment of external talent spanning a staggering 190 countries and 120 currencies. With an intuitive end-to-end platform, Worksuite’s centralized FMS offers respite from tiring administrative work, freeing up time to concentrate on the strategic and relationship aspects of your business.
Worksuite also helps large-scale enterprises stay compliant, regardless of the number of freelancers engaged or their geographical dispersion. This platform empowers businesses to attain a comprehensive insight into crucial metrics like time-to-hire metrics, talent spending and everything that your diverse global teams are working on.
Worksuite is designed to be your all-in-one contractor management solution. Through this platform, businesses can scale their talent network to encompass hundreds or thousands of freelancers, manage assignments and match the best contractors to suitable projects, and streamline invoice processing to ensure contractors are compensated on time, every time.
Furthermore, businesses can perform smart searches and locate freelancers and vendors based on availability, location, rates, skills, and various custom fields. With Worksuite, companies can eliminate complex spreadsheets and endless email chains. Request a custom demo and transform your creative operations today.
2. Remote
Remote has become one of the top freelance management software available today, empowering companies of all sizes to process payments and manage full-time and contract workers worldwide. This platform addresses international payroll, benefits, taxes, stock options, compliance, onboarding and talent management globally in just one click.
Remote also features an extensive contracting process incorporating every aspect of freelance work, from onboarding to payment. This platform offers a faster, more accessible global payout, generates contracts tailored to local labor laws, and helps to manage the freelance process from one centralized platform.
Regardless of where your team resides and works, Remote offers the best-in-class global employment solutions, providing them with the best experience. With Remote’s comprehensive intellectual property protection and industry-leading security, businesses can operate without fear of theft or breaches. All these features and more can be gotten for just $29 per active contractor monthly with Remote’s fair price guarantee.
3. Deel
Deel is a comprehensive human resource platform designed to cater to the needs of global teams, offering end-to-end HR management solutions that transcend geographical boundaries. This ensures businesses can hire, onboard and remunerate full-time employees and independent contractors within minutes.
With Deel, businesses gain a centralized vantage point to oversee the entire workforce effortlessly. Companies can achieve global payroll harmonization by capitalizing on the platform’s embedded office capabilities and locally owned entities. Deel also features an innovative self-serve interface that empowers freelancers and managers to execute tasks and accomplish various essential functions.
This platform enables the creation of localized legal contracts, time tracking, bonus allocation, equity management and various essential HR opportunities. Presently, Deel serves over 20,000 customers, ranging from small and medium-scale businesses to large corporations. This vast clientele is a testament to Deel’s ability to unlock the potential of any global workforce.
4. Fiverr
Fiverr Enterprise is a software as a system (SaaS) solution that provides businesses with complete visibility and control over their freelance workforce by allowing them to source, hire, onboard, manage and pay talents, all while ensuring compliance. Streamlining these processes ensures distributed teams can work faster and maximize business growth.
With the Fiverr Enterprise platform, businesses can build their own private vetted talent pool, empowering teams with hiring autonomy while also gaining complete visibility into freelance activity and cost. The platform also features an AI engine that automatically monitors relationships with freelancers and helps mitigate the risk of worker misclassification.
Regardless of where you source freelance talent, Fiverr Enterprise enables you to hire and onboard any talent seamlessly. Businesses can also pay freelancers more flexibly, opting to pay hourly, by project, or with milestones. Furthermore, payment can be made to about 190 countries, in 80 currencies, and through seven different methods.
5. YunoJuno
YunoJuno is a comprehensive platform that allows businesses to hire talent faster, reduce costs, and easily ensure compliance. This platform is ideal for those looking to manage different business processes from one central hub, incorporating helpful features for hiring managers, HR professionals, finance teams and other departments.
YunoJuno is for companies of all sizes looking to hire and manage freelancers and contractors. It helps to streamline the hiring process and reduces costs. However, professionals in the human resource department can also use this platform as a comprehensive solution to manage their contingent workforce. Furthermore, YunoJuno offers businesses better financial visibility and control over their global talents.
This platform ensures compliance with built-in global worker classification, automated right-to-work checks, global insurance and misclassification indemnity. Businesses can also access real-time reporting on their spending, monitor project timelines and view project dashboards.
Conclusion
As remote work evolves, selecting the best freelance management software becomes a strategic investment for businesses of all sizes. Embracing these tools serves as a clear strategy to adapt better to the dynamic demands of the modern workforce. Each platform explored in this guide offers unique features and benefits that cater to different needs and preferences, ensuring there’s a freelance management software solution that perfectly aligns with your specific requirements.