Keeping track of hours outsourced (esp for webdesigners NOT odesk) -- any suggestions?

[Kitjaii]

Greetings all,

How do you usually keep track of outsourced webdesigners overseas, especially for webdesigners/print designers/ logo artists? The only way I can think of is to set pay a set amount for a particular task :

example : if I wanted a logo completed , I'd assume it takes 5-7 hours for completion, and then pay accordingly per hour set.

Or should I let them use their time for completion, some may take less than 5 hours and some may take omre than 7 hours, but at the end of the day both provides high quality of work.

I was thinking of using Odesk, but I have a few interested on craigslist and I am going to use Paypal.

Opinions?

Thanks

[JOSourcing]

Hi Kitjaii,

Several of the more popular outsourcing services provide a time tracking program that can help you monitor your project's progress. As you already know, oDesk provides such a program. However, should you want to work with a designer outside of a service, take a look at some of the freeware/shareware time tracking programs available, and see if you can get your designer to work with one as part of your contract.

Personally, I prefer to pay per project (not per hour) since a slow worker can unnecessarily drive up costs.

[Kitjaii]

Thank you for the advice, that is what I was thinking of as well. I was thinking of using only excel to record hours set for project and perhaps pay biweekly depending on project distribution.

Any other suggestions?

[JOSourcing]

Sure. I recommend using an escrow service to protect your funds (you should really never outsource without using one), and paying a part of your escrowed funds per successful milestone. I unfortunately don't have an escrow service to recommend at the moment other than those offered at popular outsourcing services.