Freelance work is an extremely sought-after commodity in recent years, especially with the global pandemic, which forced all businesses to move online to protect the health of their workers. 

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But, in the same way people are doing their jobs differently, so are companies using other means of tracking their work - such as remote computer monitoring.

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That’s why employee hour tracking software is being implemented in a rapidly increasing number of companies and is showing no signs of slowing down.

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If you’re running a company that hasn’t hired freelancers before, and are considering that option now, it’s only natural to evaluate all sides of it to make sure you’re making the right decision. 

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Let us help you.

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Why Hire Freelancers?

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Remote work is already changing the way the labor market works - all because of the flexibility it offers, especially in monitoring remote employees and freelancers alike. 

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Access to a ‍Wider Talent Pool

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Location now makes very little difference during the screening process, because companies don’t need people working from their offices. The market itself has expanded, allowing companies to choose from a much wider pool of qualified prospects. Working hours can be pretty flexible, as long as there are some overlaps among team members or associates who are working closely.

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Cutting Costs

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With the help of good billable time tracking software, companies that hire freelancers also significantly cut costs by paying for only productive hours spent on the project. 

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This is a particularly useful option for companies that often engage in time-limited projects where they need more manpower throughout or have realized it while working on the project. 

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Specialist ‍Expertise

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These external human resources may be highly specialized experts in their fields who charge a pretty penny and would thus be a less than economical long-term solution for the companies that need their services. 

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This is why companies hire them on a temporary basis and use freelance time tracker solutions to better monitor their progress and pay them accordingly. 

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These individuals are usually in limited contact with the team or a single person responsible for relaying information pertinent to the project. Partly, the reason for this is that they are under no obligation to come into the office or attend meetings like company employees are. Especially if working remotely. 

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However, that doesn’t mean they are free to shirk their responsibilities. 

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The Value of Time Tracking with Freelancers

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Having freelancers working for you doesn’t mean you cannot control their work properly or timely. Some companies use tools like Insightful solely for this purpose. Others start with this intention, but soon realize it can actually help them streamline all their processes - not just external - and extend the use to all employees. 

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Sticking to Deadlines

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With time-sensitive projects, the most important thing to pay attention to is finishing within the given time frame. While such software can be used in a multitude of ways, it’s usually because of this factor that time tracking is very useful to companies hiring freelancers. 

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Keeping a close eye on their tempo of work and making sure that the new freelance hire isn’t slacking can make all the difference in ultimately ensuring that the project is finished on time. 

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Staying Flexible

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By the same token, having constant knowledge about where you are in the project can also help decide to take it in another direction, or make sure the assignee is staying on track with executing your vision. 

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Increasing Accountability

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Similarly, using a time tracker with screenshots is extremely helpful to companies that pay special attention to the resources used for their projects. In order to make sure no unsolicited tools and materials are utilized, companies rely on direct insights provided by monitoring software. 

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That way they can be sure that no infringement rights are being broken or plagiarism taking place while the work is being done. 

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Addressing Freelancer Concerns

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There’s no denying that some freelancers will bristle at the thought of having their time tracked - you might have even faced a similar reaction when introducing it to internal employees.

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As a result, it’s a good idea to proactively address potential freelancer concerns when you’re thinking of using time tracking tools for your freelance projects. To ease these objections, here are some ways of broaching the topics with freelancers:

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•  Reiterate privacy measures: First and foremost, you need to reassure your freelancers that their data will be secure when you track their time. When you use a tool like Insightful, you can point to the many data protection measures that are in place to make sure that is the case.

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•  Talk about transparency: Time tracking helps ensure there’s a transparent work process, and the only reason it’s in place with freelancers is to make sure the deliverables are met. As such, you can communicate that it won’t affect the way the freelancer works with you at all.

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•  Ease trust concerns: If you already use time tracking software in your company, you can ease freelancer concerns by demonstrating that it's standard procedure for your teams and not a special measure you’ve put into place just for freelancers.

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The Case for ‍Insightful: A Freelance Time Tracking Tool

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To ensure the safety of a company’s own internal systems, screen monitoring software like Insightful can provide information and alerts about the websites visited by the monitored freelancers. 

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Label Activities

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As one of its core options, remote computer monitoring tool Insightful allows supervisors to label websites and apps as productive, unproductive, and neutral in order to keep up with the working habits of employees. This feature provides a high degree of customization since different duties on a project require using different working resources. 

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Workload Distribution 

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Aside from time constraints, proper workload assigning and handling is a big concern as well. Hence, the best time tracking software is more than just a virtual punch card system - it also integrates project management features through which supervisors can follow the progress of work while also actively preventing worker time theft. 

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Raising Productivity Levels

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More than just tracking progress, you want to ensure productive working hours with software like Insightful. Just by implementing a tracking option for your employees, freelancers included, you can raise their productivity 20-30% in the first month alone! 

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People who are aware of their work being a subject of scrutiny will naturally want to put their best foot forward, so you can count on minimized time waste and complete focus on tasks by simply installing a freelance hour tracker. 

To that effect, companies tracking employees have first-hand knowledge about how much time is needed to complete a particular task or project, as well as any possible hold-ups that may prevent a timely project finish. This helps them prepare better for the next time the need for a freelancer to be involved in a project arises and calculate precisely the ROI. 

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Accurate Billing

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Furthermore, tracking time with high precision allows you to accurately pay freelancers for their services and stay within the limits of the budget allocated for a particular project - this ensures that all parties are satisfied with the working arrangement, and every hour worked is an hour paid. Insightful helps ensure that you uphold a fair working environment which freelancers want to be a part of.

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Freelancer Time Tracking

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Freelance employee hour tracking software is a useful business tool for both parties. 

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It provides a clear image of the work being done and allows precise and accurate payment for services rendered. In times when employees aren’t working in front of you, but from across the globe, tools like Insightful are necessary to provide objective and reliable information your business depends on. 

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