Delegating with freelancer or partnership structure rather than hiring an employee

Working with freelancer is fast becoming a cost-effective route. And, contrary to popular belief, businesses no longer have to sacrifice quality. There are plenty of well-qualified freelancers who want to work with big name companies and be assured a longer project period. In return, they may charge a lower rate leaving both sides of the agreement satisfied. But first, there must be an agreement in place.

How Delegating to a Freelancer Works

It’s not just for cost-saving reasons: delegating to a freelancer has so many other benefits. Businesses who have never worked with freelancers before may be hesitant to start, having heard of poor communication and missed deadlines. But this is why agreements should act as a fail-safe to prevent these sorts of issues. They may also be concerned with on boarding – will the freelancer understand the brand? Of course, companies must shop around for the best freelancers that come with great testimonials and a robust portfolio. Depending on the size or scope of the project, they may even have a brief “interview”, just to get a sense of “fit”.

Why Even Freelance Work Needs an Agreement

Many companies mismanage their freelancers. Companies make the mistake of not following up, not communicating with the freelancer, and not clearly outlining roles and responsibilities. This risks miscommunication, poor quality work, and missed deadlines. Delegating to a freelancer also means treating freelancers like a company employee. Provisions such as edits and revisions, request for changes, ownership of materials, chain of command – these are all details that must be outlined in the agreement in order to make delegating to a freelancer the answer that solves the time problem, rather than starting even more fires to put out.

As any business or tax lawyer will say, a partnership agreement helps in a myriad of ways. Once the company is registered as a general partnership or LLC, an agreement should outline the roles and responsibilities of the partners. It will help to avoid tax issues and become the backbone document when bringing in new partners, expanding, and dealing with issues such as non-competes and conflicts of interest.