How GoCo Supports Contractors

A recent NPR/Marist poll reports that nearly 1 in every 5 Americans is a contractor -- a statistic that has continued to grow year-over-year by about 5%. While employees are individuals who are employed full-time or part-time under a contract of employment, contractors take on contractual obligations to provide a specific service, material or job. The two worker types can also differ in hiring practices, tax documents, tax reporting requirements, value of work, and payment methods. 

Employees vs. Independent Contractors

What is the difference between employees and contractors?

Employees

• Must follow company guidelines and the employee handbook

• Given a W2 tax form by the organization, responsible for how their taxes are filed

• Eligible for enrollment in benefits packages

• Provided agreements, liability forms, compensation documents, and payroll information by the employer

Independent Contractors

• Self-employed and in charge of withholding their own taxes (1099 document)

• Not required to follow company guidelines and employee handbook

• Not always given the option to enroll in company benefits

• Must provide a detailed outline of the work agreement including time frame, responsibilities, and more.

What do these differences mean for HR managers and business owners?

 It’s becoming increasingly more important to have sophisticated HR technology that makes it easier to hire, manage, and pay 1099 workers and employees alike. GoCo’s employee management system is built to flexibly manage both use-cases, so that HR can focus on higher value tasks. Here are a few examples of how our modern HRIS can help!

HR Software for Contractors

GoCo is a complete employee management system that supports hiring, onboarding, payroll, benefits administration and all of your organization’s HR needs. In addition, GoCo also has features designed specifically for businesses that work with contractors to make the onboarding, management, compliance and payment processes as easy as they are for standard employees.

Simplified Contractor Agreements & Documents

With GoCo’s proprietary Magic Docs (document management) technology, HR pros can easily upload personalized contractor agreements, auto-fill with “Magic” fields, and collect e-signatures in minutes. The W9 is also included as a standard Government Form so you don’t have to add it manually! Here are some other forms that can be “magictized” for your contractors:

-Non-disclosure agreements

-Statements of Work

-Scope of Services

-Non-compete agreements

Custom Work Groups / Job Codes (NEW!)

Our new Custom Work Groups feature allows employees and contractors to track hours worked against Customers, Projects, Tasks and more. Job codes make it easy to keep track of costs associated with specific areas of the business, and custom reports can be pulled later to bill hours to clients. 

Multiple Time Tracking Policies

HR managers can efficiently set up unique Time Tracking policies specific to contractors. Let contractors enter durations (5 hrs) instead of clocking in/out.

Automated Onboarding Workflows

New contractors typically have a different onboarding workflow than a standard new employee, from additional steps and documents to training requirements. GoCo’s automated workflows feature allows you to build standardized contractor workflow templates, assign tasks accordingly, and track the status every step of the way.

Collect Licenses with Ease

With GoCo, you can easily collect documents like licenses, and receive notifications when they expire. Stay on top of all compliance regulations to avoid issues with labor laws.

Allow Contractors to Enroll in Benefits

Depending on how your business is run, you may want to provide benefits enrollment options for your contractors. If applicable and compliant, GoCo makes the process as easy as it is for standard employees.

Hire & Export New Contractors

HR pros can seamlessly hire contractors through applicant tracking systems like JazzHR,  and export them into GoCo as contractors just as easily as standard employees. No time wasted!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As organizations continue to transition to hiring independent contractors for services, GoCo continues to evolve with them. From efficient & digital onboarding to accurate payment and job costing, the type of worker shouldn’t affect your HR process. If your business frequently works with contractors, GoCo is the HR solution for you. Take a free tour today to see why we’re top-rated in the industry!