How to Manage Global Freelancers: Contracts, Payments & Compliance for Marketing Teams
Hiring freelancers is a common approach for marketing teams. And often, it’s a great solution. A project may require a specific skill the team doesn’t have. Or they may need a unique approach to solve a problem that can be done fully remotely.
There can be many reasons to hire freelancers. But once you start working with them, it’s important to understand the basics of freelance management.
Rise can help you with that. It’s a global contractor management platform. It helps businesses hire, onboard, coordinate, and pay contractors worldwide, all in one place. This makes it easier to manage freelancers all around the world.
Still, even with a platform that simplifies the process, it’s important to understand how to organize your collaboration with remote freelancers.
In this guide, we’ll cover what contracts to create, how to manage payments, what documents to collect, and how to handle contractor compliance.
Key Takeaways
Create a Professional Services Agreement to establish the overall relationship with each freelancer.
Use a Statement of Work to define specific deliverables, deadlines, milestones, fees, etc.
Use an NDA when freelancers have access to confidential business or marketing information.
Agree on payment methods, currencies, fees, and payment schedules before the work starts.
Keep contracts, invoices, tax documents, and payment confirmations organized.
Consider using a centralized platform when managing freelancers across multiple countries.
Global Contractor Management: Which Contracts to Create and What to Include
Before a freelancer starts working, you need to establish the terms of the relationship. And that can’t be based on a verbal agreement alone. A proper freelance agreement should clearly outline all the important information in a written contract. This way, both sides know what to expect from each other.
There are three main documents that can help clarify these details and protect both sides if any issues arise.
Professional Service Agreement
A Professional Services Agreement (PSA) sets the general rules for working with a freelancer. It is the foundation of the relationship. Usually, it includes the most important terms beyond the specific work responsibilities.
The most important parts of the PSA are:
Independent contractor status. Clearly state that the freelancer is an independent contractor rather than an employee.
Confidentiality. Define what information should remain confidential and how the freelancer can use it.
IP ownership. Explain who owns the work the freelancer creates and when ownership transfers.
Payment terms. Specify the freelancer’s rate, payment schedule, currency, and other payment conditions.
Termination. Explain how either side can end the agreement and what happens after termination.
Liability. Clarify who is responsible if something goes wrong or one side causes a loss.
Governing law. Specify which country or jurisdiction’s laws will apply to the agreement.
Dispute resolution. Explain how both sides should handle disagreements if they arise.
For marketing teams, intellectual property is especially important.
Imagine you work with an SEO freelancer to deliver some tasks for your clients. IP ownership can clarify who owns the content the freelancer creates. And how that ownership is handled once your client receives the final result.
This way, even if you don’t go into every detail about how the work is delivered in your SEO client proposal, clear IP terms help make sure that ownership is properly transferred to you and your client.
Statement of Work
An SOW makes the project and the freelancer’s responsibilities more specific.
Such an agreement should clearly explain what the freelancer needs to do and when. This helps make sure the freelancer meets your needs. At the same time, it gives them an understanding of their responsibilities.
Your SOW can include:
What the freelancer will do
Deliverables
Deadlines
Milestones
Approval process
The more specific you are, the fewer misunderstandings you’ll have later.
This is particularly useful for marketing because deliverables can easily become unclear. For example, “manage social media” can mean completely different things to different people.
Note: An SOW can be a separate document or be included as part of a PSA. It depends on how the agreement is structured. A PSA can also support multiple SOWs for different projects if the agreement allows it.
Non-Disclosure Agreement
Marketing freelancers can have access to a surprising amount of sensitive information. This can include information about the company, employees, clients, etc.
For example:
A paid media specialist might see your advertising budget.
An SEO freelancer may have access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
Some may also see customer information, pricing, campaign data, or even employee salaries.
That’s why many companies use a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). It explains what information should not be disclosed to third parties or anyone outside the company. You can also include specific rules for how they can use or share this information.
For example, imagine a company that provides content marketing services for independent insurance companies.
Its NDA may cover:
Marketing strategies
Customer information
Pricing
Campaign data
Unreleased content
This gives both sides a clear understanding of what information should stay confidential. This applies during and after the project.
An NDA usually comes alongside other documents as part of the freelancer onboarding process.
Note: If the PSA already includes clear confidentiality rules, a separate NDA may not be necessary.
How to Manage International Contractor Payments
Once you’ve agreed on the work, you need to figure out how the freelancer will actually get paid. International payments can be more complicated than domestic ones. You may be dealing with:
Different currencies
Various banking systems
Transaction fees
Payment preferences
So, it’s better to establish the payment processing rules before the first invoice arrives. But here’s a sad truth: there isn’t one payment method that will be perfect for every freelancer.
Depending on their country, they may prefer different platforms or currencies. Some payment services may also not be available in certain countries. So, you shouldn’t assume that every freelancer can use the same payment method.
You should also clarify who pays the transaction fees. Make it clear whether the agreed amount is the amount you send or the amount the freelancer should actually receive.
There are several ways to pay global freelancers. You can use:
Bank Transfers
Bank transfers are a good option when the freelancer is in the same country as you. But in some cases, they can also work for international payments. For such transfers, you may need to use a system such as SWIFT. Also, be aware that bank fees may apply.
Payment Platforms
Services such as Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer are popular options for international payments. They support multiple currencies and operate in many countries. However, the features and supported currencies can vary by location.
Besides that, these platforms can let you transfer money directly to a bank account. But be careful with currency and transfer restrictions. The options may depend on the currency, location, and recipient’s bank.
If you have any specific questions, it’s better to contact the platform’s customer support.
Global Payroll Platform
Rise Payroll can be a useful option when you want to manage payments all in one place. It supports 190+ countries, 90+ local currencies, and 100+ cryptocurrencies.
With Rise, you can:
Pay contractors in fiat or crypto, depending on what works best for them.
Make one-time or milestone-based payments.
Let contractors submit invoices and expenses directly through the platform.
Manage payments for multiple contractors in one place.
For marketing teams working with freelancers across different countries, this can make the payment process much easier.
How to Manage Contractor Compliance When Marketing Teams Work With Global Freelancers
Compliance shouldn’t be something you think about only when your finance team asks for paperwork. It should be part of your freelancer onboarding process from the beginning.
This way, you won’t have to look for missing documents months after the freelancer has already started working.
Collect the Right Documents From Your Freelancers
Start by creating a standard onboarding checklist. Depending on the freelancer, country, and your company’s requirements, you may need:
Tax forms and tax identification information
Legal name
Business details
Invoices and other payment details
Identification documents, where required
Signed contractor agreements
Only request information you actually need for onboarding, payments, compliance, or another legitimate business purpose.
Keep Freelancer Documents and Payment Records Organized
When you work with multiple freelancers, it’s really important to keep their documents organized. Each freelancer should have their own folder. For example, you can create a digital folder for each person. Or, if you prefer, keep the necessary documents in physical form.
The easiest option is to name each folder after the remote worker. And since they are not employees, there are usually fewer documents to manage.
Keep all freelancer contracts and documents signed by both sides. You should also update all the information whenever something new comes in. This can include invoices, payment confirmations, and other relevant documents.
How Rise Helps You Manage Global Freelancers
Managing one international freelancer isn’t usually difficult. But managing dozens of them is a different story. Especially when they are based in different countries.
Suddenly, your team has to deal with contracts, tax documentation, invoices, compliance requirements, etc. And often, these are spread across different systems.
This is where a centralized platform can make the process much easier. Rise helps businesses hire, onboard, manage, and pay contractors in 190+ countries. It also helps manage contractor compliance and documentation through one platform.
With Rise, you can:
Let freelancers complete their own onboarding.
Manage contractors and compliance in one place.
Give global freelancers more flexible payment options, and much more.
This can save your team time and make managing global freelancers much easier.
Conclusion
By working with global freelancers, you can get unlimited access to different skills. And in some cases, it can also help reduce costs.
Marketing teams often hire freelancers for specific projects. This means you don’t have to pay them as full-time employees when you only need them for a specific task or period. Besides that, their rates can vary depending on where they are based. In many cases, this can also help reduce labor costs.
But as your international freelancer network grows, things can get harder to manage. That’s why it’s important to have a clear system in place.
With the right process, you can keep contracts, payments, documents, and compliance under control. And spend less time dealing with paperwork. Once you get the process right, you’ll see that it’s not as complicated as it seemed at first.
FAQ
1. What documents do you need when hiring a global freelancer?
The most common and useful documents are a Professional Services Agreement, Statement of Work, and NDA. But you should keep in mind that there isn’t one set of documents that works for every freelancer, every company, and every country.
2. What is the difference between a PSA and an SOW?
A PSA establishes the general terms of the relationship with a freelancer. An SOW covers the details of a specific project.
3. Do I always need an NDA when working with a freelancer?
Not always. It depends on the type of work and the information the freelancer will have access to. If they can access a large amount of confidential information, an NDA can definitely help here.
4. Can you use one PSA for multiple projects with the same freelancer?
Yes. If you plan to work with the same freelancer on multiple projects, you can establish the general terms in one PSA. Then, you can use separate SOWs for each project.
5. How can you manage multiple freelancers across different countries?
Managing several global freelancers means keeping track of all the required documents, payments, compliance, and more. It can be a time-consuming and responsible task. But you can always use a centralized contractor management platform. It can bring all the required processes together.
6. What is the difference between PSA and MSA?
The main difference between a PSA and an MSA is how they are used.
A PSA usually covers the terms for a specific project or service.
An MSA sets the general terms for a long-term working relationship and can cover multiple projects.