Work in Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com is a website that provides an online job marketplace for freelance workers from around the world. Formerly known as GetAFreelancer.com, the company was founded in 2004 by Plendo Sweden, headed up by Magnus Tibell of Swedish web solutions company Innovate It. GetAFreelancer.com was bought on the 7th May 2009 by the Australian company Ignition Networks. The buyers changed the name to Freelancer.com in October 2009.


How Freelancer works :
Users of Freelancer.com fall into two main categories: buyers and providers.



Buyers
Buyers are individuals or companies who wish to outsource their work. There may be several reasons for this: perhaps the job to be done is too small to warrant employing a full time member of staff, or it requires specialist knowledge or skill not pre-existing within the organisation. A significant draw is the opportunity to exploit global competition and have a project completed much more cheaply than it could be done at home. The way that Freelancer.com works has been likened to eBay, but for jobs. Buyers must register and set up a profile on Freelancer.com. There are 2 options available, either the “basic” free membership, or a “Gold” premium membership. With the basic membership, there are no monthly fees to pay, but the buyer must pay $3 or 3% of the total project fee (whichever is the greater) of each project they post to Freelancer.com. In addition, a $5 fee is taken when the project is posted, refundable upon selection of a provider. This deposit is to discourage the increasing number of “spam” buyers who post projects to garner interest from providers, then cancel the project and continue to operate it outside of Freelancer’s terms and conditions. The buyer is able to specify the budget range for the project with the brackets being $30 – 250 USD, $250 – 750 USD, $750 – 1500 USD, $1500 – 3000 USD, $3000 – 5000 USD, or >$5000 USD. Based on this and the project description, the interested provider makes a bid, which is then forwarded to the buyer. The buyer is then able to review all the bids he or she receives and judge for themselves who they would like to select to complete the project...



Providers
Providers, or “freelancers”, are individuals or teams who wish to be hired for outsourced work. Individuals may be full or part time self-employed persons, or those who wish to make some extra money on an ad hoc basis. Some providers on Freelancer.com are in fact teams or agencies who bid for work to delegate out to one of their members. Like buyers, providers also have a choice of either a basic account or a Gold membership. With a basic membership, providers pay no monthly fees but are charged $5 USD or 10% of the project fee when they are selected, whichever is the greater. Paying $24.95 USD per month for a Gold membership reduces the project commission fee to 3% and allows a provider to make up to 150 bids per month, instead of 30 as a basic member.

How to complete a project :
Once a buyer has selected a provider, they are each provided with the other’s contact details so that they are able to communicate freely with one another. It is up to the buyer and freelancer to mutually agree a timeframe for project completion and payment schedule. Payment may be made by transferring funds from the buyer’s Freelancer account to the provider’s, or may be conducted externally to Freelancer via PayPal, Moneybookers or another method of the buyer and provider’s choice. Payment outside of Freelancer’s system removes the ability for both buyer and provider to leave feedback for the other party.