Why DIY Contractor Software Is a Bad Idea

If you’ve identified that your business needs a freelance management solution, you’re halfway there. There could be a multitude of reasons for this, for example:

• You’re juggling multiple software solutions, including spreadsheets, different databases, payment platforms, etc., to manage your freelancers. 

• You’ve received complaints for missed or slow-to-be-paid invoices.

• Your onboarding process is cumbersome, and things like signing important compliance-related documents get missed.

• You’re finding it hard to retain and engage freelancers across different platforms.

• You need a central point of contact and management for your freelance talent pool.

• You’re slow matching freelancers to projects.

If any of the above sounds familiar, you’ll know that a freelance management solution could potentially answer all the above issues. 

The only thing holding you back is that your business has neither the capacity nor the will to build its own contractor management software. 

Often, creating your own solution is just another headache to add to the one you already have, thanks to the above mentioned reasons. 

But before we look at why you shouldn’t build your own contractor management software, let’s ensure we're all on the same page:

What Is Contractor Management Software?

Also referred to as a freelance management system, contractor management software is a cloud-based platform that provides all the tools you need to manage your contractor/freelance talent pool. 

This includes tools for streamlining your onboarding, compliance, project tracking, paying freelancers, and so on - all from one centralized place. 

In other words, it’s a one-stop-shop for handling near-on every aspect of freelance management. 

But, with that said, here are just a few reasons why you shouldn't build your own contractor management software:

It’s Time-Consuming and Expensive

While you may think (and rightly so) that building your own solution provides greater control over what it looks like/does and how long it takes to create, the reality is that it’s an expensive and time-consuming piece of work. 

You may have set money aside to build your own bespoke solution, but you may not foresee all the features you need (both now and in the future) nor how much they’ll cost. 

There are risks even if you have a healthy budget to hire a developer or believe you have someone in-house to do the job. For example, what if neither can complete the project to a high enough standard? Or what if they quit halfway through the project, leaving you high and dry? Or perhaps your in-house developer will also have to manage their day job while coping with such a large project? 

These are just a few of the many potential hiccups that might occur, but hopefully, you get the point we're making. I.eWhen you depend on someone else to produce the goods, it’s never ideal as it could result in costly delays and stress for all involved.

It’s a Complex Process

Freelance management software is complicated to build and hard to scale. Period.

Unfortunately, what suits your business now may not be the case in the longer term. On top of that, the reality is that as well as the initial time and cost it takes to build such a system; there will always be ongoing maintenance. 

So, ask yourself, does your business have the skills and capacity to maintain and scale such a platform in the long term? Your business must make budgetary provisions for this. I.e., either ongoing web developer fees or additional salary costs for an in-house person to take this task on.  

To give you a sense of just how much you might expect to fork out, the average yearly salary for a senior web developer in the UK is £49,202. On the freelance web developer side of things, for an experienced programmer, anticipate paying around £30 per hour.  

Don’t forget that if you decide to build your own contractor management software, you’ll have to test it before giving it the green light. This will involve a fair amount of time from staff across your company, primarily HR, IT, payroll, and even freelancers you’ve recruited to road test from their end. Needless to say, this will likely disrupt your company’s day-to-day operations. 

Security Matters

The complexity surrounding privacy laws like GDPR and overall security cannot be overstated. Not only will you have to stay on top of any new legislation that impacts how you manage your contractor management software, but you can face a hefty fine if you fall foul of said legislation

For example, British Airways was fined in July 2019 a staggering £183.39 million after a security breach in their system!!

The bottom line: As you’re handling your freelancer’s personal data, you’ll need to be 100% sure your system isn’t vulnerable to hackers. Failing that, you could be in for a costly lawsuit. 

How Do You Know You’re Prepared?

Just because your business believes it’s prepared for such an undertaking, in reality, that isn’t always the case. 

As we’ve alluded to throughout this blog post, building your own contractor management software is a big decision. However, if your organization suddenly experiences a period of change or disruption, this project could be put on the back burner, forcing you to continue managing your talent pool with less-than-effective solutions that have outgrown their usefulness.

Of course, it’s tough to anticipate new circumstances that may impact your business. But we only need to look as far back as the pandemic to know that it’s not possible to be prepared for absolutely anything that might be around the corner. 

This is why we suggest considering out-of-the-box contractor management software instead. Here are some reasons why it may, in fact, address all the above issues:

It’s Time-Saving and Cost-Effective

A reputable freelance management platform is made by experts who have explicitly built it with the end goal in mind: managing contractors as effectively as possible.

From the get-go, you and your team will save time. Providing you opt for a platform like Bubty that’s built with user-friendliness in mind, not only can you access the software immediately, but getting to grips with its interface and features will likely be a much shallower learning curve. 

As for cost, rather than shelling out funds for building and maintaining your software, you can eradicate this expense by opting for an external cloud-based solution. Often these SaaSs only charge a monthly or annual fee, which is usually more manageable than the aforementioned outlay of creating your own platform. 

It Might Be Complex, but It Works

A top-of-the-range contractor management software will address the issues outlined at the start of this post. For example, you can move seamlessly from:

• Chaotic onboarding and compliance-related tasks to fast and legal onboarding, with all documents digitized, signed, and securely stored in one place. 

• Slow payment systems to a more streamlined workflow where you can approve and manage all uploaded invoices and keep track of costs from one centralized place

• Poor freelancer retention and engagement to more effective communication within your chosen FMS via live chat.

• Finding it hard to match freelancers to projects to being able to quickly search for freelancers according to their availability, location, language, time zone, skill set, etc., and invite them to specific projects.

• Chopping and changing between different software to seamlessly integrate your FMS with your existing tech stack. These might include Excel, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Slack, QuickBooks, and Xero. 

As You Grow, It Grows With You

An out-of-the-box solution should grow as your business scales. The same applies in reverse; should you downsize your business, you should be able to downsize your contractor management software too. This makes it an incredibly flexible option for companies looking to operate in what’s a pretty turbulent economic climate at the moment.

It’s Secure and Up-To-Date

It’s the responsibility of your chosen cloud-based freelance management software, rather than you and your team, to undertake effective software maintenance, eradicate any bugs, and ensure uptime. The right platform will also work with you to help you comply with:

• Local employment laws

• GDPR

• Tax and social security regulations

• Payroll reporting

• Record keeping

Have We Persuaded You?

Hopefully, we’ve alerted you as to why it’s more cost-effective, efficient, and straightforward to buy ready-made contractor management software to help you manage your freelancer talent pool.

Rather than finding yourself mid-project wishing you’d never started. Instead, with a pre-built freelance management platform, you can focus on the day-to-day and strategic running of your business without having to worry about how you’ll manage your external talent.

Bubty offers a range of features that can streamline all aspects of freelancer onboarding, compliance, payments, communication, and availability. Interested? Great! Book a discovery call with us today to find out more.