The 5 Best Software Tools For Managing Freelancers

If you’re planning on working with freelancers this year, you’ll need a reliable solution for finding, interviewing, communicating with, and paying talent. Many people cobble together a freelance management system that includes multiple elements like spreadsheets, Slack, Zoom, and a payroll processor. 

While that multistep approach often works, it can be complicated — and expensive, as you might have to pay for several software licenses. Luckily, to manage freelancers, software is available as several all-in-one platforms that can help you streamline your onboarding process, automate freelancer workflows, and save money at the same time.

1. Upwork Business Plus: Best for finding and managing freelancers

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Upwork Business Plus is the most comprehensive freelance management system available today. A single Upwork account gives you access to:

• AI tools for writing job posts, interviewing freelancers, and summarizing meetings
• Video and audio calling software
• Time tracking tools
• Simplified billing (for both hourly and fixed-rate project pricing)
• Chat and collaboration tools
• Project tracking dashboards
• Work submission and approval tools
• Secure payment processing

You can manage freelancers on your own or collaborate with your team — the Upwork platform makes it easy to share tasks, review deliverables, and issue payments.

And the best part? Upwork Business Plus is affordable. There’s no monthly fee or annual subscription that you have to maintain. Instead, you simply pay:

• A contract initiation fee of $0.99 to $14.99 on small contracts with a value of $100 or less
• Service fees of up to 10% on payments made to your freelance workforce

If you don’t have an active contract or aren’t making payments, there’s no charge. Upwork Business Plus gives you the flexibility to hire, pause, browse, and plan as you see fit without budgeting for a continual subscription fee.

2. Field Nation: Best for finding in-person IT technicians

Field Nation is a labor marketplace that connects businesses with independent IT field technicians in the United States. If you have physical infrastructure that you need to manage, Field Nation can help you find professionals with the right technical skills.

When you use Field Nation, you can:

• Post field technician jobs
• Search for technicians with specific skills
• Find technicians in a given location
• Communicate with techs about project requirements
• Get real-time status updates on your chosen technician’s work
• Issue freelancer payments
• Maintain appropriate levels of insurance coverage

The fact that Field Nation gives you one place to handle everything from finding to insuring a tech makes it a good choice for growing businesses with a large geographic footprint. Because there’s no need to set up service centers in every location that you operate, you can save money and deliver faster and more flexible results to your clients.

But remember — Field Nation only supports IT field work, so companies seeking other types of freelancers will need to stick with a more universal marketplace like Upwork.

If you’re interested in connecting with field technicians, though, you’ll need to contact Field Nation to learn more about how much access to the platform (and its pool of freelancers) costs.

3. Worksuite: Best for automated freelancer onboarding

‍Worksuite is a freelance talent management platform that lets you create your own talent pool from trusted freelancers — but you have to source those freelancers on your own. You can’t connect with freelancers for the first time through Worksuite like you do on Upwork or Field Nation.

That said, once you successfully onboard a freelancer to Worksuite, you can:

• Share worker details with team members in your company
• Save freelancers for rehire at a later date
• Automate HR document collection
• Issue contracts based on freelancer classification
• Pay freelancers in multiple currencies

Worksuite is meant for use by companies with access to an internal hiring team (or external staffing agency) and a pool of talent. If you want help finding freelancers to work with, you’ll be better served by Upwork Business Plus.

Anyone interested in using Worksuite needs to contact the company to arrange a demo and discuss pricing options.

4. WorkMarket: Best for IT fieldwork and remote freelance management combined

WorkMarket is a workforce management tool that offers a mix of features: independent contractor management solutions like those found in Worksuite, as well as a freelance IT technician marketplace like Field Nation.

While you can manage non-IT freelancers on WorkMarket, you’ll need to source those individuals yourself or create a hiring portal through which freelancers can apply to join your talent pool.

WorkMarket’s other features include:

• Branded freelance recruiting webpages
• Automated freelancer verification tools
• Onboarding workflows with real-time visibility
• Work assignment tools
• A dedicated mobile app for freelancer communication
• Payment processing

As with some of the other solutions on this list, you’ll need to contact WorkMarket for a demo and custom pricing options before signing up to use the platform.

5. Gusto: Best for small businesses with complex payroll needs

Gusto is a payroll processing and talent management suite that lets solopreneurs and small teams easily pay contract workers, onboard freelancers, issue tax documents, and carry out other essential HR functions.

The platform’s core features include:

• Time tracking tools
• Talent management tools
• International hiring and payment tools
• Payroll processing
• Benefits management

Gusto also offers integrations with a wide range of other tools for time tracking, legal compliance, training, communication, and more. But no matter how you choose to configure Gusto, it’s simply a tool to manage your own freelance (or full-time) workforce. You can’t source new talent directly through Gusto like you do on Upwork.

Gusto pricing plans start at $49 per month.

How these 5 freelance management platforms compare

See how these five platforms stack up in specific areas like industry availability, communication tools, insurance, and payment processing.

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Start hiring remote freelance talent today

If choosing the right platform feels daunting, ask yourself this question: Do you need to hire freelance IT field technicians in the U.S.? If so, try Field Nation or WorkMarket. 

But if the answer to that question is no, start your freelance management process with Upwork Business Plus. There’s no need to set up a subscription or wait to schedule a demo — you can create your account, post a job (with the help of Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI™), and even hire your first freelancer today. Sign up for your free Business Plus account to get started.

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Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.