Disclaimer: This content was featured in our newsletter a while back! If you want to stay ahead and receive insights like these directly in your inbox every Wednesday, be sure to subscribe here.

Welcome to the first edition of Bubty’s Business Insider.

Freelancers aren’t side talent anymore, they’re central to how high performing businesses operate. But most systems weren’t built for that.

This newsletter is for the people fixing that gap: MSPs, CW leaders, and global talent heads building real contingent workforce infrastructure.

Each week, we break down:

• What’s broken in onboarding, compliance, and vendor ops

• Where top programs are headed next

• How Bubty is building modular fixes for the future

Expect sharp insight, usable strategy, and zero fluff. From people who’ve actually built these systems.

Scene Setting: The Tech Exists. So Why the Chaos?

Our most recent client joined Bubty after relying on nine separate systems to manage freelancer onboarding, including tools for contracts, ID verification, classification, and more.

Enterprise companies are deep into workforce transformation, yet most are still duct-taping together PDFs, emails, and spreadsheets to manage independent contractors.

The tech exists. The need is massive. So why does it feel broken?

The Challenge

A few weeks ago, our founder Lee Willoughby met with a Fortune 100 company who showed their freelancer spend data. Their MSP "handled" $4 million in independent contractor (IC) spend - which, according to them, represented just 3% of their actual freelance workforce. Do the math. That MSP is missing out on over $100 million in addressable spend because they can’t deliver at scale.

This isn’t about intent. It’s structure. The technology was never built for this. Most vendor management systems (VMS) were designed around staffing agency logic, not independent talent. Classification? Manual. Contracts? Disconnected. Compliance? Handled via hope and post-it notes.

So what do CW managers do? They build workarounds. They chase documents. They get buried in admin. The result: hiring slows, risk rises, and program data becomes meaningless.

By 2027, Most Workers Will be Freelancers. Are You Ready?

Approximately 1.57 billion people in the global workforce are freelancers (46.7%). And Upwork data shows enterprise use of ICs has grown over 30% YoY. Yet most CW programs still rely on tools optimized for full-time or temp staffing.

At the same time, compliance stakes are climbing. As of January 1, 2025, the enforcement of the DBA (Deregulation of Assessment of Labor Relations) Act is active in the Netherlands. In the US, states are tightening contractor classifications. The systems we used five years ago are no longer fit for purpose.

More importantly, buyers are demanding more. They want complete visibility, global compliance and a seamless experience, even for the most flexible talent.

What a Better System Looks Like

Let’s be honest. Visibility and compliance can’t come from Excel sheets and inbox audits.

A better system does three things well:

1. Centralizes entry. There should be one portal where freelancers, vendors, managers, and MSPs interact.

2. Automates logic. Classification shouldn't be an opinion. It should be a rules-based flow, tied to local legislation and real legal input.

3. Scales globally. Compliance doesn’t pause at borders. If your system can’t route onboarding by country, client, or contract type, it’s already outdated.

   
   

This isn’t about replacing MSPs. The point is to equip them with the infrastructure to lead, not to work their way through complexity.

The Bubty Fix

We built the Bubty Workflow Engine to be the backbone for modern freelancer onboarding. 9 different systems? We consolidated that entire workflow into a single, streamlined experience.

The result: faster onboarding, fewer risks, and a dramatically improved user journey.

What it does:

• Provides a single, configurable entry point for all IC onboarding

• Automates 80% of manual tasks: ID verification, contract creation, classification workflows

• Supports 180-country compliance through local council-driven logic

• Creates a full audit trail for every freelancer, every time

  
  

Why we built it: Because nine disconnected systems was the norm. And because MSPs were missing out on massive program spend, not because of intent, but because of tools.

Tomek's Take on The Bubty Workflow Engine

Tomek Rutkowski, Head of Product at Bubty

As the Head of Product behind Bubty’s Workflow Engine, what were the biggest technical challenges you faced when designing a system that could replace the ‘nine disconnected systems’ many MSPs currently use for freelancer onboarding?

Tomek: ''Every client comes with a different mix of systems, compliance needs, and regional workflows, and most of them are duct-taping tools that were never designed to work together.

The hardest part was building something flexible enough to handle edge cases, but structured enough to be scalable, secure, and easy to roll out. Most legacy systems are either too rigid or completely siloed. Bubty was built to eliminate that choice.

Our core approach: keep the most critical workflows under one roof, and make smart integrations where needed. That’s what allows us to consolidate nine disconnected tools into one unified platform, without losing precision or compliance control.’'

Bubty’s system ‘automates 80% of manual tasks’ in the onboarding process. Could you explain which specific technical innovations made this level of automation possible, and why these weren’t achievable with traditional MSP systems?

Tomek: ''Traditional MSP systems weren’t built for today’s external workforce, especially not for the speed and complexity of freelancer onboarding.

At Bubty, we designed a Workflow Engine specifically for this use case. It automates repetitive tasks like document collection, ID checks, tax verification, and compliance steps, but with the flexibility to match each client’s exact process. Some teams need tight manual review flows, others want full-speed automation. We support both.

Everything, from questionnaires to contract logic to multi-layer approvals, is powered by the same engine, with modular steps that plug into your existing systems via open API. That’s how we replace 80% of the manual lift, and still give teams complete visibility and control.’'

What You Can Take With You

1. Run the math on your IC visibility. If your MSP manages $4M of your IC spend, what’s the other 97% doing? Hidden spend is a symptom of poor systems.

2. Document your current onboarding flow. How many tools? How many steps? Where are the risks? If it’s more than 3-4 systems, you’re burning time and trust.

3. Pressure-test your classification logic. Are you using legal-backed flows? Or just hoping contractors don’t get reclassified?

4. Ask your MSP how they plan to evolve. If they’re still treating freelancers like temps, they’re holding you back. It’s time for a tech-led, human-centered model.

Until next week,
— Team Bubty