Contractor management software without the middleman

If you're managing freelancers and independent contractors, you probably have spreadsheets, scattered email threads, contract documents in multiple folders, and invoices tracked in several places. Contractor management software can bring all of this together—but most platforms are built for the wrong use case. Here's what you actually need to know.

What is contractor management software?

Contractor management software is a system for organizing, tracking, and managing independent contractors. It consolidates contractor information, contracts, projects, invoices, and payment history into one place. The software helps you avoid spreadsheets, maintain compliance documentation, track deliverables, and ensure no payment gets missed.

But there's a catch. Most contractor management platforms aren't actually built for contractors. They're built for Employer of Record services—managing full-time employees with payroll, benefits, and tax compliance. If you're working with people who handle their own taxes and already have payment accounts (Wise, PayPal, Payoneer), you're paying for features you don't need.

The problem with most contractor management platforms

Most contractor management software is designed for Employer of Record services. They manage payroll, benefits, and tax compliance for full-time employees in multiple countries. If your contractors handle their own taxes and already have payment accounts, you're paying for infrastructure you don't need.

Consider the cost: 10 contractors on platforms like Deel or Remote.com costs $290-490 per month before any work happens. Your money flows through the platform—you pay them, they pay your contractor 3-5 days later, with fees along the way. You're paying for payroll infrastructure when you just need to organize, manage, and pay people who are already self-employed.

There's also a structural problem. EOR platforms position themselves as the employer relationship. Your contractors belong to the platform, not to you. This creates vendor lock-in and limits flexibility if you want to change payment methods or manage contractors differently.

What contractor management software should actually do

Good contractor management software organizes your contractor relationships, tracks projects and deliverables, maintains compliance documentation, and keeps payment history in one place. It doesn't need to process payments or manage payroll. It doesn't need to be the relationship owner. It just needs to bring order to contractor operations.

The core features you actually need are straightforward: a contractor database organized by location and skill, contract generation and storage, project and milestone tracking, invoice management, and payment tracking. Slack integration helps keep your team informed. That's it.

Features that matter for contractor management

Contractor database: Store all contractor information in one searchable place—location, tax ID, payment method, contact details. No more hunting through email for contractor info. You can see all your contractors at a glance and search by skill, location, or status.

Contract generation and storage: Generate contractor agreements tailored to location and your needs. Store contracts electronically with e-signatures. You maintain ownership of the relationship—contractors don't "belong" to a platform, they work with you.

Project and milestone tracking: Create projects with deliverables and deadlines. Attach contractors to projects. Track which projects are on schedule and which need attention. See everything in one view instead of scattered across emails and Slack messages.

Invoice management: Collect and organize invoices from contractors. Track which invoices are pending payment, which are approved, and which have been paid. Everything in one system instead of email attachments and spreadsheets.

Payment tracking: Record payments sent to contractors via your own Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer account. Upload proof of payment. Contractors confirm receipt in the system. You maintain a complete audit trail without a middleman.

Team awareness: Slack integration notifies your team about overdue payments, approaching milestones, and pending confirmations. Your team stays informed without constantly checking the system.

The key principle: You maintain control. Your contractors own their relationship with you, not with the platform. You send payments directly from your account. The software organizes everything—it doesn't insert itself into the payment flow or delay your money.

Who uses contractor management software?

Agencies managing freelancers for client work. Remote startups with distributed teams. Businesses that work with 5-50 independent contractors. Companies that value direct control over contractor relationships and payments. Teams that have outgrown spreadsheets but don't need employee payroll infrastructure.

Cost considerations

Contractor management software ranges widely in cost. EOR platforms that manage payroll, benefits, and tax compliance cost $290-490+ per month for 10 contractors. General project management software built for teams doesn't address contractor-specific needs. Simple contractor management software designed specifically for freelancer workflows costs significantly less—typically $50-150/month flat rate with no per-contractor fees.

The value calculation changes based on your situation. If you have 50+ contractors across multiple countries who need payroll, benefits, and tax management, an EOR platform is necessary. If you have 5-15 contractors who already handle their own taxes and have payment accounts, you're overpaying for payroll features you don't use.

Time savings matter more than you might think. Managing contractor spreadsheets, chasing documents, remembering who's paid, and checking multiple email threads takes hours per month. Consolidating everything into one system eliminates that overhead.

When you actually need contractor management software

You have 5+ contractors and spend more than 5 hours per month on spreadsheets, email, and document management. You work across multiple teams that need visibility into contractor status. You value having an audit trail of contracts, payments, and communications. You want contractors to belong to your business, not to a platform. You handle multiple currencies and countries.

You probably don't need it if you have 1-2 contractors and manage everything in email and a simple spreadsheet. You also don't need contractor management software if your contractors are actually employees—use payroll software or an EOR platform for that.

Why contractor management software exists

The need for contractor management software emerged when companies started working with large, distributed contractor networks. Spreadsheets break down. Email becomes chaotic. Documents get lost. You can't see who's been paid or which projects are overdue across multiple team members.

But the market developed a specific solution: EOR platforms designed for international payroll. These platforms solve a real problem—managing employee-like relationships across countries with tax withholding and benefits. But they also created a mismatch: smaller companies with independent contractors started using these expensive platforms because there wasn't an alternative.

The gap exists for businesses that need organization and visibility without needing payroll infrastructure. That's where simpler contractor management software comes in.

Why we built this

We were spending thousands per year on EOR platforms to manage contractors who already had their own payment accounts and handled their own taxes. Every month felt like paying for payroll infrastructure when we just needed organization and visibility.

Wise handles payments beautifully. PayPal and Payoneer do too. DocuSign handles contract signing. But there was no single system to organize contractor relationships, track projects, collect invoices, and maintain an audit trail without a middleman inserting itself into the payment flow and delaying money.

We looked at spreadsheets—they break down at 10+ contractors. We looked at EOR platforms—they charge $300+ per month and insert themselves into every payment. We looked at general project management software—they don't understand contractor-specific workflows.

So we built contractor management software that does what it should: organize, track, and maintain visibility. Not process payments. Not manage payroll. Just give you a single system for contractor operations.

How contractor management actually works

The typical workflow starts with contractor onboarding. You collect essential information—location, tax ID, payment method, contact details. This information goes into your contractor database organized by location, skill, or availability status.

Contract generation comes next. You generate agreements tailored to the contractor's location and your needs. Contractors sign electronically. You store contracts in the system rather than scattered across email and Google Drive. You maintain ownership of the relationship—contractors don't "join a platform," they have a documented agreement with your company.

Project creation and assignment happens when work begins. You create a project, define deliverables and milestones, and attach contractors. Team members can see which contractors are assigned to which projects. Deadlines are tracked.

As work progresses, contractors submit invoices. You collect these in the system. You approve invoices and track which are pending payment, approved, or paid.

When it's time to pay, you send money directly from your Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer account to the contractor's account. You upload proof of payment into the system. The contractor confirms receipt. This creates an audit trail without a middleman.

Throughout this process, your team has visibility. Slack notifications alert people about overdue payments, approaching deadlines, and pending approvals. Everything lives in one place—not scattered across email, spreadsheets, and payment platforms.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How is this different from a spreadsheet? A: A spreadsheet is free until you need to actually manage contractors at scale. You lose documents, miss deadlines, forget who's paid, can't see project status across your team. Kontrable organizes all of this—contracts, invoices, payment history, deadlines—in one searchable system. Slack alerts keep your team informed. For teams with 5+ contractors, the time savings pay for itself within weeks.

Q: Can I use this for employees? A: No. Kontrable is designed for independent contractors who handle their own taxes and already have payment accounts. If you need to manage employees, payroll, benefits, or tax withholding, use an EOR platform or traditional payroll software.

Q: Do you process payments? A: No. You send payments directly from your Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer account to your contractors. Kontrable tracks the payment, lets you upload proof, and maintains the audit trail. This keeps your money in your control and payments fast.

Q: What countries do you support? A: Contractors in any country can be managed in Kontrable. You pay them through Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer based on their location and currency preferences. Tax compliance is the contractor's responsibility. We provide a system to organize and track everything.

Q: Is there a per-contractor fee? A: No. $99/month covers up to 25 contractors. No additional fees based on how many contractors you have or how many payments you make.

Q: Can we customize contracts for different countries? A: Yes. Our contract generator creates agreements tailored to the contractor's location. These are starting points you should review with a lawyer. We're not providing legal advice—just streamlining the process.

Q: What if we outgrow 25 contractors? A: You'll hit that ceiling (most teams with 25+ contractors move toward EOR anyway). We'll talk about enterprise options when you get there.

Q: Do you replace a lawyer or accountant? A: No. Kontrable organizes contractor relationships and tracks everything, but you still need a lawyer to review contracts for your specific situation and an accountant to handle taxes in your country. Kontrable makes their jobs easier by keeping everything organized.

Next steps

If you manage contractors today, audit how much time you spend on spreadsheets, email, and document management. If it's more than a few hours per month, contractor management software will pay for itself quickly in time savings alone.

If you're considering contractor management software, the key questions are: Does it let me maintain ownership of contractor relationships? Does it work with payment methods I already use? Does it keep my money in my control without a middleman? Does it actually organize the information I need?

The answers to those questions will guide you to the right tool for your situation.