What a payment set-up has to do
- Pay the agreed amount, in the agreed currency, on the agreed date, every month.
- Keep fees predictable, and make clear who pays them.
- Leave a record for your accounts: an invoice from the contractor and a payment confirmation.
- Collect the documents your accountant needs, such as a tax form from a non-US contractor if you are a US company.
- Work in the contractor's country: the service must support payouts there, in a currency their bank accepts.
No single tool does all of this best. The choice is mostly between a platform that also handles the contract and a transfer service that only moves the money.
Deel: contract, invoices and payment in one place
Deel is a platform for hiring and paying people abroad. For contractors, you create or upload the agreement, the contractor signs it and submits invoices, and you pay through the platform; the contractor then withdraws the money with the method they choose. Deel also sells employer of record services, which are a separate and more expensive product.
The contractor plan is $49[1] a month per contractor. You pay for structure: signed contracts, tax forms collected during onboarding, monthly invoices and one dashboard if you have several people abroad.
Ask the contractor how they prefer to withdraw before you choose a platform; withdrawal options and their costs differ by country.
Wise: transfers to the contractor's bank account
Wise Business is a multi-currency account. You hold US dollars or euros and send transfers to the contractor's bank account or to their own Wise account, with the fee shown before you confirm; fees start from 0.23%[2] per transfer. Batch payments help if you pay several people on the same day.
Wise does not handle the contract or the invoices. You keep the signed agreement yourself and ask the contractor for an invoice each month. For one or two contractors, that is often all you need.
Payoneer: payment requests the contractor sends
Some freelancers already receive money from clients abroad through Payoneer. In a common set-up, the contractor sends you a payment request from their account, and you pay it by bank transfer or card. Fees depend on the payment method and the currencies, so check them on Payoneer's pricing page and agree in advance whether you or the contractor covers them.
Like Wise, Payoneer moves money; the contract and your records stay with you.
Side by side
- Contract and documents: Deel handles them; with Wise and Payoneer you keep them yourself.
- Cost: Deel is a fixed monthly fee per contractor; Wise and Payoneer charge per transfer or by payment method.
- Effort for you: Deel is the most structured; Wise is the simplest for a few transfers; Payoneer suits contractors who already use it.
- Several people abroad: a platform keeps contracts, invoices and payments in one place; separate transfers get harder to track as the team grows.
- Records: all three give payment confirmations; only a platform also stores the invoices and contracts for you.
Whichever you choose, agree it before the offer and write it into the agreement: method, currency, date and who pays the fees. Our contractor agreement checklist lists the payment clauses.
A monthly payment routine
- The contractor sends an invoice on an agreed day, for example the last working day of the month.
- You check it against the agreement: the monthly amount, any extra hours or expenses you approved, unpaid days off.
- You pay within the agreed number of days, through the agreed method.
- You save the invoice and the payment confirmation in one folder per contractor.
- Once a year, you review the pay and the method together.
Invoice details to ask for
The contractor's full name and address, as on their documents.
Your company's name and address.
Invoice number and date, and the period covered.
A description of services, for example “executive assistant services, [month]”.
Amount and currency, and the account details for payment.
The contractor's tax number in their country, if they have one.
Taxes and compliance, in general terms
Independent contractors abroad usually handle their own taxes in their country, and you do not run payroll for them. Your side depends on where your company is: US companies, for example, commonly collect Form W-8BEN from non-US individual contractors. Payment services also check where the person lives and may refuse some countries; we do not recruit in Russia or Belarus. Ask your accountant which records you need to keep; this is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Questions
Which option is cheapest for one contractor?
For a single contractor on a fixed monthly amount, a transfer service is usually cheapest: you pay per transfer, from 0.23%[2] with Wise. A platform such as Deel costs $49[1] a month per contractor and is worth it when you want contracts, invoices and tax forms handled in one place.
Who should pay the transfer fees?
Agree it before the offer. A fair and simple approach is that you cover the cost of sending, so that the contractor receives the agreed amount, and the contractor covers their own withdrawal costs. Write it into the agreement.
Should I pay in US dollars or the local currency?
Silkstaff's pay bands are in US dollars, and that is what we suggest. Paying in the contractor's currency moves the exchange-rate risk to you; choose one currency and keep it.
What if a payment will be late?
Tell the contractor before the due date, with the new date. Late pay is one of the fastest ways to lose a good remote hire, so set a reminder a few days before each payment date.
General information for small employers, not legal or tax advice: check contracts, tax and data rules for your country with a qualified adviser. Figures carry their sources below; our own prices are on the pricing page. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@silkstaff.com.