> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manage contractors

> When to use the Contractor role instead of Member, how contractor rates change your margin, and how to run and end a freelance engagement cleanly.

Use the **Contractor** role when someone works for you but is not one of you.

It is the narrowest staff role in TimeTracker. A contractor tracks time and works tasks, and that is close to all they do.

<Info>
  **The example:** Ana Ferreira is a freelance copywriter working two days a week for Northwind Studio. Her billable rate is **$80/hour**. She costs Northwind **$55/hour**.
</Info>

## Contractor or Member?

Both track time. Both submit their own week. The difference is what they can see.

|                                | Member  | Contractor |
| ------------------------------ | ------- | ---------- |
| Track and edit their own time  | Yes     | Yes        |
| Submit their week for approval | Yes     | Yes        |
| Create and edit tasks          | Yes     | Yes        |
| Submit expenses                | Yes     | Yes        |
| Request time off               | Yes     | Yes        |
| Clock in and out               | Yes     | Yes        |
| Plan their own work blocks     | Yes     | Yes        |
| **See the client list**        | **Yes** | **No**     |
| **Build and view reports**     | **Yes** | **No**     |

Two capabilities separate them: `client.view` and the report family. A Contractor has neither.

→ [Roles and capabilities](/concepts/roles-and-capabilities) · [Roles and permissions matrix](/reference/roles-and-permissions-matrix)

## When to use each

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Use Contractor">
    * A freelancer who works on one or two projects
    * Someone at an agency you subcontract to
    * Anyone you do not want browsing your client list
    * Anyone whose engagement has a defined end date
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Use Member">
    * An employee, full time or part time
    * A long-term freelancer who is effectively part of the team
    * Anyone who needs to pull their own reports
    * Anyone who needs to see across your clients to do their job
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  If a contractor genuinely needs one extra permission – say, viewing a report you built – change it on that person rather than promoting them to Member. See [Per-person permissions](/team/per-person-permissions).
</Note>

## What contractor hours do to your margin

This is the part worth understanding before you hire.

| Person        | Role       | Billable | Cost | Margin per hour | Margin %  |
| ------------- | ---------- | -------- | ---- | --------------- | --------- |
| Sarah Lin     | Member     | \$100    | \$45 | \$55            | 55%       |
| Jonas Bergman | Member     | \$120    | \$60 | \$60            | 50%       |
| Ana Ferreira  | Contractor | \$80     | \$55 | \$25            | **31.3%** |

Ten hours of Ana's work bills the client **$800**, costs Northwind **$550**, and earns **\$250**.

The same ten hours from Sarah would bill $1,000, cost $450, and earn \$550 – more than double.

<Warning>
  A quote that leans on contractors looks the same on the top line and earns much less. Check the blended margin before you price the job, not after. See [Quote to invoice](/guides/quote-to-invoice).
</Warning>

→ [Cost rates](/rates/cost-rates) · [Profitability and margin](/budgets/profitability-and-margin)

## Set a contractor up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Tom invites Ana as a Contractor">
    Send the invitation with the Contractor role selected.

    → [Invite a member](/team/invite-a-member)

    <Warning>
      A contractor counts as a seat exactly like an employee. On Free, three people means three people whoever they are. See [Seats](/billing/seats).
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Maya sets both her rates">
    | Rate     | Value     | What it is                                |
    | -------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------- |
    | Billable | \$80/hour | What you charge the client for Ana's time |
    | Cost     | \$55/hour | What you pay Ana                          |

    For a contractor the cost rate is not an estimate – it is literally their invoice rate. Get it exact and your margin is exact.

    → [Set a person rate](/rates/set-a-person-rate) · [Billable rates](/rates/billable-rates)

    <Tip>
      If Ana charges you a different rate on a different client, set a project member rate on that project. The most specific rate wins. See [Project and client rates](/rates/project-and-client-rates).
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tom assigns her a part-time schedule">
    Ana works two days a week. Put her on a 16 hour schedule so her expected hours are right and a normal week does not look like a shortfall.

    → [Create a schedule](/schedules/create-a-schedule) · [Assign a schedule](/schedules/assign-a-schedule)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Priya adds her only to the projects she works on">
    Project membership is how a contractor reaches work. Because Ana cannot see the client list, project membership is effectively her whole view of your business.

    Add her to **Bluebird Coffee – Website Redesign**, and nothing else.

    → [Project members](/projects/project-members) · [Project visibility](/projects/project-visibility)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Priya assigns her tasks with estimates">
    Estimates matter more for a contractor than for staff, because the estimate is what you agreed to pay for.

    → [Create a task](/tasks/create-a-task) · [Task estimates](/tasks/task-estimates)

    <Tip>
      If the engagement has a hard limit – "no more than 20 hours on this" – put a cap on the task. See [Task-level caps](/budgets/task-level-caps).
    </Tip>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Running the engagement

| When    | What                                                                                          |
| ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Weekly  | Ana submits her week like anyone else. → [Submit a timesheet](/timesheets/submit-a-timesheet) |
| Weekly  | Priya approves it. → [Approve a timesheet](/approvals/approve-a-timesheet)                    |
| Weekly  | Compare her tracked hours against the estimate on each task                                   |
| Monthly | Reconcile her invoice against her approved hours                                              |
| Monthly | Check the margin on the projects she works on                                                 |

<Steps>
  <Step title="Reconcile her invoice against approved hours">
    Ana sends you an invoice. Check it against her approved time before you pay it.

    Build a report on time entries, filter to Ana and to the month, and read the total. If she invoices 44 hours and the report says 40, one of you is wrong and it is worth five minutes to find out which.

    → [Build a report](/reports/build-a-report) · [Report filters](/reports/report-filters)

    <Note>
      Ana cannot build this report herself. Contractors have no report capability at all – it is one of the two things that make the role narrow.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch the margin on projects she touches">
    A project staffed mostly by contractors carries a thinner margin than one staffed by employees, even when the client price is identical.

    → [Monitor project profitability](/guides/monitor-project-profitability)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Ending a contractor engagement

Shorter than an employee offboard, but do not skip it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get every outstanding week submitted and approved">
    Unapproved time cannot be invoiced to the client, and it also cannot be reconciled against what the contractor billed you.

    → [Submit a timesheet](/timesheets/submit-a-timesheet) · [Approve a timesheet](/approvals/approve-a-timesheet)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reassign their open tasks">
    → [Assignees](/tasks/assignees) · [Bulk actions](/tasks/bulk-actions)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reconcile the final invoice">
    Their approved hours against their bill, one last time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Remove them, and free the seat">
    Removing a member discards any running timer, revokes outstanding invitations to their address, revokes their device tokens and takes them out of every group. Their tracked time stays as a business record.

    → [Remove a member](/team/remove-a-member) · [Offboard an employee](/guides/offboard-an-employee)
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  If you expect them back next quarter, consider deactivating rather than removing. It keeps their setup and stops them being billable. See [Remove a member](/team/remove-a-member).
</Tip>

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can a contractor see my other clients?">
    No. The Contractor role does not have `client.view`. They see the projects they are a member of, and nothing about the client behind them beyond what the project itself shows.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a contractor see what they cost me?">
    No. Seeing cost needs `rate.viewCost` or `time.viewCost`, and Contractors have neither. They cannot see their own cost rate or anyone else's. See [Rate permissions](/rates/rate-permissions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a contractor build a report of their own hours?">
    No. Contractors have no report capabilities. If they need a record of their hours, someone with `report.export` runs it and sends it to them. See [Export hours for payroll](/guides/export-hours-for-payroll).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do contractors count toward my seat limit?">
    Yes. Seats count everyone with access, whatever their role – staff, contractors and client portal contacts – plus every outstanding invitation. See [Seats](/billing/seats).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Should the contractor's cost rate be their invoice rate?">
    Yes. For an employee the cost rate is a loaded salary figure. For a contractor it is exactly what you pay them per hour, which makes contractor margin the most accurate number in your workspace.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a contractor approve anyone's time?">
    No. Approving is a manager and finance capability. A Contractor can submit their own week, nothing more. See [Approval permissions](/approvals/approval-permissions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a contractor submit expenses?">
    Yes. Contractors can submit their own reimbursable expenses. Approving them stays with Finance or a manager. See [Submit an expense](/expenses/submit-an-expense).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Onboard a new employee" icon="user-plus" href="/guides/onboard-a-new-employee">
    The employee version of this setup.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quote to invoice" icon="file-invoice-dollar" href="/guides/quote-to-invoice">
    Pricing a job that uses contractors.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor project profitability" icon="chart-line" href="/guides/monitor-project-profitability">
    Watching the margin they affect.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export hours for payroll" icon="file-export" href="/guides/export-hours-for-payroll">
    Contractors are a separate payables run.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Offboard an employee" icon="user-minus" href="/guides/offboard-an-employee">
    The full leaver checklist.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>