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There are two different ways to pay a worker on a project: pay-for-deliverables and pay-for-time.
Below is an explanation of when to choose one over the other.
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Pay-for-deliverables:
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Triple-point money-back guaranteetm*:
You will
receive your deliverables as described in your contract, on time and
in the industry expected manner, or your money back.
- Advantage: Most protection.
- Disadvantages: More expensive. Must define the entire project up front which
can be impractical on larger projects.
This is the most protected way to pay.
Choose this method if:
- You're a new employer to the site.
- You're posting an open auction (and concerned that your
chosen worker may not be as productive as possible).
- You're posting a smaller project and can define everything up-front
in great detail.
Guarantees:
-
vWorker.com
triple-point money-back guaranteetm (on completion, quality and deadline)*:
The worker will fully
complete and deliver the contracted work by the
deadline, and it will be up to industry-expected standards, or your money
back. And on projects more than $150.00 USD there is a fourth
guarantee point on communication: The worker
will file weekly status
reports or your money back.
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You guarantee to pay the worker the money if they complete the
contracted work by the deadline, and it is up to industry-expected standards.
Need even more info?
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The worker bids a fixed price to deliver your entire project (or portions of it,
if you setup paid milestones). You select them, then escrow funds with
vWorker.com and
they begin work. When they deliver the project (or milestone) and you're 100%
happy with it, you release the funds to them. If for some reason they didn't
deliver as promised, you receive a refund of escrowed funds
via arbitration.
Advantages
- You are guaranteed to receive either the completed deliverables or your money back.
- If the worker underestimates the amount of effort the project will take, they are responsible for absorbing the extra cost.
- You can set a deadline and if the worker agrees to it and misses it, you can terminate the project and receive back unawarded funds.
Disadvantages
- The vWorker.com fee to the worker is higher (due to arbitration costs), which means they will tend to charge you more for the same job.
- You commit to completing the entire project (assuming the worker works competently). If you pull out prematurely, the worker is paid for the work they completed and you receive a poor rating from vWorker.com.
- You must take the time to define your entire project up front so that the worker can
bid. If this is too time consuming or if you cannot do this, then you
should choose pay-for-time instead.
- Since the worker is not guaranteed to be paid for each hour of work,
he/she may prioritize your project lower than
pay-for-time projects.
- Your company's policy may not allow you to use pay-for-deliverables and only
allow paying for time.
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Pay-for-time
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Honest-billing money-back guaranteetm*:
The worker will
be unable to falsify the hours they bill you.
Rather than relying on the honor system that traditional workers use,
your worker is not paid unless they verify their hours
by punching in and out of the
AccuTimeCard™
program. In addition, this program
records their desktop (and optional webcam) for your review.
You get a refund for unworked time like unauthorized breaks,
playing games,
unauthorized talking on the phone,
and sleeping on the job.
- Advantages: Most economical, flexible and handles both large and small projects equally well.
- Disadvantage: Requires time to review the timecard and work regularly.
This is the most economical and flexible way to pay.
Choose this method if:
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This is a larger project and/or one that you cannot (or would rather not) define up-front in great detail.
OR
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This project type is:
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An option auction project, and you're willing to monitor your worker's progress a little closer in exchange for saving money.
OR
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A private or 'one-on-one project' project for a worker you already know is productive.
Guarantees:
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Need even more info?
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This option is ONLY recommended for employers who have the time
to oversee/analyze their worker's
interim work for progress and review their timecard regularly.
The worker bids an hourly rate to work on your project. You select them,
then escrow a week's worth of time with vWorker.com and they begin
work. To bill time, they log into the AccuTimeCard™
which records their webcam and computer desktop, so that you know they are truly
working on your project. At the end of the week, you approve the timecard and
they are paid. If the webcam or screenshots show they weren't working, then you
receive a refund via arbitration.
Click here for
visual step-by-step details on
how this works.
Advantages
- The vWorker.com fee to the worker is lower (due to arbitration costs), which means they will tend to charge you less for the same job.
- The worker is guaranteed to receive payment for each hour worked, and has an incentive to prioritize your project higher than
pay-for-deliverables projects. (This makes it a good way to reward and maintain a loyal worker).
- You don't have to define the work up front. This allows for a more experimental or
discovery-oriented process.
- Pay-for-time is also ideal if you need a quick-question
answered, desire live technical (or other) support, or are
using Agile development methodologies.
- You can terminate the project at any time and for any reason,
without receiving a poor rating from vWorker.com.
(Note: the worker is paid for the work they completed before termination).
- If your company's policy requires you to pay in this way, you can do so.
- Recommended if you have a pre-existing employee working remotely, and
you need a way to ensure his/her productivity.
Disadvantages
- If the worker underestimates the amount of effort the project will take, you will pay for more hours than you initially expected.
- There is no guarantee that you will receive the deliverables you desire...only
that the worker will work a certain amount of time on your project.
- Requires close supervision of interim work and timecards to avoid cost overruns.
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