oDesk Frequently Asked Questions
Hiring Getting Hired
How do I find someone
to hire?
What kind of work is
done here?
How good are the
contractors?
Do I need to post a job
to use oDesk?
How do I write a good
job post?
Should I post an hourly
or fixed-price job?
What is the difference
between independent
contractors and agencies?
Do I hire a contractor as employers are good?
a 1099 contractor or W-2
employee?
Managing
What is the oDesk
Guarantee?
How does oDesk make
remote work work?
How do I know the
contractor worked all the hours software to work?
billed?
Can I limit a
contractor's hours?
How can I manage a
team spread across a continent,
or separated by oceans?
How do I know I'm
getting quality work?
Can I use the oDesk
tools with non-oDesk users?
Paying
Miscellaneous FAQs
What's the pay rate for How does oDesk protect
a contractor like me? intellectual property?
How much money can I Do you have a referral
make? Can I get full-time program?
work? What is the oDesk
What kinds of Manifesto for online work?
employers are here? Does oDesk have an
How do I get a job? iPhone App?
Should I apply for
hourly or fixed price jobs?
How long does it take
to get a job?
How can I improve my
profile?
How do I know which
Can my agency provide
services on oDesk?
Working
What is the oDesk
Guarantee?
How does oDesk make
remote work work?
Do I have to use oDesk
Do I have to do all my
work on a “timeclock”?
Does oDesk spy on me?
How do I communicate
with my employer and deliver
the finished work?
Can I find full-time
work on oDesk?
How many jobs can I
apply to?
Getting Paid
 How much does it cost
to join oDesk?
How does oDesk make
money?
How do I pay oDesk
and my contractors?
Do I have to pay
upfront?
What if there is a
dispute?
Can employers pay US-
based W-2 employees through
oDesk?
Hiring:
Are there membership
fees for contractors?
How does oDesk make
money?
How can oDesk
guarantee payment to
contractors?
What if there is a
dispute?
How do I get paid?
What about taxes?
Can I get healthcare and
retirement benefits through
oDesk?

How do I find someone to hire?

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It's pretty easy. You start by posting a job — you fill out a well-rounded description of the kind of work,
and the kind of contractor, you're looking for. You can post it publicly, or keep it private. If it's public, you'll
quickly have skilled contractors from around the world sending you applications.
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Hiring works pretty much like the in-person process for in-house jobs: You read cover letters and
resumes, and here at oDesk you also have the contractors' portfolios, test results, oDesk work histories
and feedback ratings to consider before you even contact anyone. You select candidates to interview,
invite them to set up a time with you, and conduct your interview via phone, IM, email, webcam —
however you're comfortable. Once you find the right contractor, hiring is a simple click.
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If you keep a job private, you can search our contractor database to find candidates you'd like to talk to.
You invite them to view your job post, and then you can set up the interview process.
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Some employers are initially worried about hiring someone without a face-to-face interview, but the
information and tools oDesk puts in your hands can actually give you a better idea of what an oDesk
applicant offers than you'd get sitting across a table from someone while you scan their one-page
resume.
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What kind of work is done here?

Pretty much anything that can be done remotely — we're often surprised by the ever-increasing variety of
work performed on oDesk. You can hire talented web and software developers, writers, graphic designer,
customer service representatives, marketers and much more. You can see the full list here. Drop a
relevant keyword into the contractor search bar and you might be surprised how many people worldwide
are offering the services you need.
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How good are the contractors?
There are a lot of really good contractors here — we know because we hire them, too. You have a far
larger talent base here than you'll find within commuting range of your office. oDesk's hundreds of
thousands of professionals offer a broad range of skills and capabilities. Finding the best contractors, and
the ones best-suited to the work you need done, is easy. oDesk gives employers tools including free
online testing, feedback scores, portfolios, job preferences and more to evaluate contractors. These tools
have helped thousands of employers and contractors form long-lasting work relationships of a year and
more.
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Do I need to post a job to use oDesk?

To hire a contractor, you must first post a job. Jobs can be posted privately if you do not wish to make
your posting available to the entire oDesk network. You can also sign up with oDesk to use some of the
free tools without posting a job.
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How do I write a good job post?

It's not too much different from writing an ad for an in-house job — except that the job form and the
examples oDesk provides with it make it easier to narrow down just what you're looking for, in clear
language that should attract the kinds of contractors you need. Being specific about the work and
communication skills you need, your timeline and other details helps attract more contractors who can
work within your requirements. You might browse similar ads already posted and decide which would
attract you to apply and which you'd be inclined to skip.
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Should I post an hourly or fixed-price job?

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It depends. oDesk recommends hourly jobs for most ongoing work efforts, but fixed-price jobs can be
appropriate for smaller, well-defined projects.
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Hourly jobs are more flexible — you can add to a contractor's work, even retain her for an entirely
different task after the first job is complete, without having to renegotiate or repost a job. You have full
access to oDesk’s time tracking and Work Diary functions, and the "hour paid is an hour that was
worked" guarantee behind it. We've found that the most talented and in-demand contractors gravitate
toward the hourly work, and that hourly jobs have led to long-lasting, very successful relationships.
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Fixed-price jobs may work best for shorter tasks with a very defined scope. They can also be used as test
tasks to give contractors as a trial run before hiring them to longer, hourly work.
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What is the difference between independent contractors and agencies?

A key difference in the oDesk network is that all work is completed by individuals rather than companies,
but many of the individual contractors are associated with larger agencies. Independent contractors work
by themselves, while agency contractors work as part of an agency. Click on the agency name in the
profile to see details about the agency.
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Do I hire a contractor as a 1099 contractor or W-2 employee?

U.S.-based companies hiring workers can classify them as either 1099 or W-2. While most U.S.-based
contractors on oDesk are classified as 1099 workers - if you are interested in hiring W-2 employees at no
additional cost, you can do so through oDesk Payroll. This service also allows you to use oDesk's high-
visibility billing and management tools with your existing workers.
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Managing:

What is the oDesk Guarantee?

oDesk is the first and only service to guarantee that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour
worked is an hour paid. Hourly work done using the oDesk Team collaborative software lets us take a lot
of the uncertainty out of remote work. To learn more about the oDesk Guarantee, click here. And please
read our oDesk Manifesto to see how we define — and celebrate — the rights of online employers and
contractors.
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How does oDesk make remote work work?

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The problem with remote work is the remoteness. You can't sit in the same room for the job interview.
Managers can't walk around and check on a worker's progress, and workers can't easily check in with
their bosses or consult with colleagues. Payment is usually more complex and slower than internal
payroll, and billing and record-keeping is a hassle. What oDesk does is eliminate all that.
TOP
oDesk brings robust assurances to the hiring process—each contractor can create a profile that's much
more detailed than a resume, can upload portfolio pieces and take any of our dozens of skill tests.
Feedback and work history are very clear, all giving you a better idea of a candidate's record and
reputation than most in-person recruiting processes.
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We also bring transparency to the management/work process. The oDesk Team application accurately
logs hours and adds screen shots to the contractor’s Work Diary, giving an employer as good an idea of a
contractor's progress as strolling around the office would. oDesk also offers have tools for chatting and
sharing code and other information, all geared to foster greater confidence and collaboration.
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The payment system is streamlined, swift and secure. After the timelog is reviewed, you're billed one total
amount for however many contractors worked for you, in however many countries. We handle getting the
money to those contractors, who in a matter of days can withdraw it by their chosen payment method.
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How do I know the contractor worked all the hours billed?

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An hour billed is an hour worked. You can review a contractors' Work Diaries at any time. They start each
session with a work memo that lets you know what part of the job they're tackling, and you get desktop
screen shots six times an hour, along with a graph charting their activity level. Learn more about the Work
Diary here.
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All of this information is also aggregated in the weekly financial reports, which you can review before
signing off. For more in-depth information, you'd have to be a mind-reader.
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Can I limit a contractor's hours?

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Certainly. You can set a weekly limit on the number of hours that any contractor works for you. You can
also modify this limit at any time if you and your contractor change the workload or expectations. Hours
worked over the limit will not be billed to you.
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Read more about weekly limits here.
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How can I manage a team spread across a continent, or separated by oceans?

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The Work Diary lets you keep up with their activity and see how team members are progressing. You can
use your own email and chat systems, but oDesk also builds chat functionality into the oDesk Team
application, along with tools for assigning and tracking tasks and and exchanging links, desktop images
and other information. Basically, you can have at your fingertips as much information as you could get
doing a cubicle-by-cubicle check-in around your office.
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Read more about tools here.
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How do I know I'm getting quality work?

Quality is in the eye of the beholder, but oDesk gives you unprecedented ability to behold it. oDesk makes
it possible to hire candidates with proven track records and to manage as closely and collaboratively as
you like. Remote work offers many advantages over in-house hiring, such as a global talent pool, quick
scalability, less overhead and greater rate flexibility. With oDesk, you get that without sacrificing the
transparency and ability to manage that you'd have with everyone under one roof.
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Can I use the oDesk tools with non-oDesk users?

Yes. You can register for an account without posting a job, then utilize the tools yourself, and even add
some of your colleagues to your new oDesk account. You can have in-house staff logged into your oDesk
team room to improve collaboration between them and your remote team. Just keep us in mind when you
need additional resources—you can always post a job!
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Paying:

How much does it cost to join oDesk?

Nothing. Neither the contractor nor the employer pays anything to sign up with oDesk. There are no fees
for posting jobs, creating profiles, applying to jobs, conducting interviews, nothing. oDesk makes money
only when you pay for work done by your contractors.
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How does oDesk make money?

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What you see is what you pay.
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Contractors get 90% of the advertised rates and oDesk retains the remaining 10%. This is true for all
payments, whether they are hourly rates, fixed price jobs or bonuses.
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oDesk does not charge registration, membership, job posting, application, or interview fees. It is
absolutely free to join and always free for contractors to apply to and work on jobs. Employers only pay
for time worked (hourly contracts) or for work delivered (fixed-price contracts). Contractors never make
payments to oDesk.
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Read more about fees here.
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How do I pay oDesk and my contractors?

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You make the full payment to oDesk, and oDesk pays your contractors. The most common payment
method is by credit card. Under some conditions, employers may pay by check; see the Payment
Methods page for information.
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When you pay for work, no costs are added to the rate you hired at; the contractor receives 90% of the
payment and oDesk keeps 10%. This keeps the process simple, and the employer's paperwork to an
absolute minimum — there's no difference for the employer between paying one contractor in Miami or
three in Mumbai, Manila and Munich. It's also how we can make the oDesk Guarantee, and to stand
firmly behind our dispute resolution policy.
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Also note that you can set a limit on the number of hours your contractors work, to help keep jobs within
budget.
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Do I have to pay upfront?

No. Hourly jobs are paid weekly, after you've had three days to review your contractors' timelogs. Fixed-
price jobs are paid as you and your contractor negotiate it—generally once the job is complete, though
you may negotiate upfront or milestone payments along the way. oDesk does not ask you to put money
into escrow, nor to make payments before the hours are worked or the related work is done.
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What if there is a dispute?

TOP
Disputes are rare, thanks to the oDesk Work Diary feature, but we take resolution of any conflicts very
seriously, and we live up to our guarantee that an hour worked is an hour paid, and an hour billed is an
hour that was worked.
TOP
When there is a disagreement between employers and contractors over the number of hours worked, we
first encourage them to work out the problem. If that fails, oDesk will step in to moderate. We do not
evaluate the quality of work, but will focus on a careful review of all time logged to ensure the contractor
was working on the job and following all policies and best practices. Fixed-price jobs are paid solely at the
employer's discretion, and there is no dispute resolution process in such cases — the employer has the
ultimate control.
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See more about our dispute resolution policy here, and about the oDesk Guarantee here.
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Can employers pay US-based W-2 employees through oDesk?
Yes. While most U.S.-based contractors on oDesk are classified as 1099 workers, W-2 employees can
also be hired through oDesk Payroll.
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Getting Hired:

What's the pay rate for a contractor like me?

TOP
Pay rates vary, of course, based on the type of work, your skill level, work history and reputation. Check
out what other contractors with similar skills are charging, and price yourself accordingly. New contractors
often find it effective to price themselves a little below the average market rate at first, until they've landed
the first few jobs that will give them the work history and feedback that can make it easier to find jobs at a
higher pay rate. You can search contractors profiles here.
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For help on searching contractors, go here. You can find more advice on "giving yourself a raise" here.
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How much money can I make? Can I get full-time work?

You set your rate, and you determine how many hours you're available to work. As you build your
reputation through feedback scores and work history, you should find it easier to increase your rate and
find more work, whether it be full-time with one employer or through a few. There is a lot of opportunity on
oDesk, and how far you take it is up to you.
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What kinds of employers are here?

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Most oDesk employers are managers at small to medium-sized companies that are looking for
contractors for everything from small fixed-price projects to long-term relationships of a year or more.
They're looking for web developers, writers, graphic designers, call-center staff, data entry professionals,
marketing experts, business consultants and more.
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For a few examples of companies that have had success hiring oDesk contractors, click here.
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How do I get a job?

Start with the basics: First, post a profile and fill in your past work history and skills. Take a few onlineskill
tests to verify your skills, and upload any relevant examples to your portfolio. Do your best to make sure
that when an employer sees your application, he will be impressed. Then start applying for jobs! Try out
small jobs first to accrue feedback and then go after the bigger fish.
oDesk's forum, blog andnewsletters often have more tips for landing your first jobs.
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Should I apply for hourly or fixed price jobs?

Whichever you prefer. Most long-term work is done on an hourly basis, but fixed-price engagements may
be a great way to get started with your first oDesk jobs and build the feedback that can help lead to
longer-term opportunities. Note that only hourly work done online with oDesk Team benefits from the
oDesk guarantee that an hour worked is an hour that will be paid.
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How long does it take to get a job?
The first job is always the hardest; it can take some time and persistence to build an impressive profile
and acquire your first job. Take free online skill tests to increase your job application quota and write
detailed custom cover letters, and you should be able to get a job within a few weeks.
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How can I improve my profile?

Take as many free skill tests as possible, upload work samples to your portfolio, include a portrait, and
spend time editing and refining the text in your profile. Check the forums for more advice.
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How do I know which employers are good?

Check out the feedback other contractors have left for the employers and take a look at the number of
paid jobs they've completed on oDesk. And during the interview process, pay attention to your instincts,
just as you would on an interview for an in-house job: Do you get a good "vibe" from this employer? Does
the work challenge you, and will you bring your best to it? Are you comfortable with the pay, the deadlines
and any requirements regarding hours, communication and deliverables? While you're selling the
employer on you, don't forget to make sure you're sold on them.
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Can my agency provide services on oDesk?

Of course. You can sign up on oDesk as the staffing manager of your agency. Then add individuals from
your agency to your roster and apply to jobs. All rates and payments will be in your control as the staffing
manager.
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Working:

What is the oDesk Guarantee?

oDesk is the first and only service to guarantee that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour
worked is an hour paid. Hourly work done using the oDesk Team collaborative software lets us take a lot
of the uncertainty out of remote work. To learn more about the oDesk Guarantee, click here. And please
read the oDesk Manifesto to see how we define the rights of online employers and contractors.
TOP

How does oDesk make remote work work?

TOP
The problem with remote work is the remoteness. You can't sit in the same room for the job interview.
Managers can't walk around and check on a worker's progress, and workers can't easily check in with
their bosses or consult with colleagues. Payment is usually more complex and slower than internal
payroll, and billing and record-keeping is a hassle. All oDesk does is eliminate all that.
TOP
oDesk also brings robust assurances to the hiring process — each contractor can create a profile that's
much more detailed than a resume, can upload portfolio pieces and take any of our dozens of skill tests.
Feedback and work history are very clear, all giving your future employer a better idea of a your record
and reputation than most in-person recruiting processes.
TOP
oDesk also brings transparency to the management/work process. The oDesk Team application
accurately logs hours, and adds screen shots to the contractor’s Work Diary, giving an employer as good
an idea of a contractor's progress as strolling around the office would. There are tools for chatting and
sharing code and other information, all geared to foster greater confidence and collaboration.
TOP
The payment system is streamlined, swift and secure. After the timelog is reviewed and payments
processed, you're paid one total amount for however many employers you worked for, in however many
countries. We handle charging all those employers, and in a matter of days you can withdraw it by your
chosen withdrawal method.
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Do I have to use oDesk software to work?

Nope. Your actual work will be done with whatever tools you and your employer agree on, and you'll
handle communication methods the same way. The oDesk Team application logs time and enables
collaboration, and you'll need that for hourly work to qualify for the "hour worked is an hour paid"
guarantee. You'll also find a number of tools that, if you and your employer want to use them, will make
collaborating across long distances a breeze.
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Do I have to do all my work on a “timeclock”?

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We don't make anyone "clock in" to work through oDesk. Many of our jobs are fixed-price, in which hours
need not be logged—but more than 90% of the work done here is hourly, using our Team application,
because it enables our "hour worked is an hour paid" To learn more about the oDesk Guarantee,
click guarantee, and it fosters closer, more successful collaborations and leads to long-term relationships
between employers and contractors.
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When you log your hours using oDesk Team, you're giving your employer more confidence, and giving
yourself our guarantee of prompt, full payment for your work.
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Does oDesk spy on me?

No. The oDesk Team application takes snapshots of your desktop six times an hour, and tells you when
it's doing so. You can see those snapshots in your Work Diary and even delete the shot for a given block
of time. Your activity level is logged in terms of frequency of keyboard and mouse clicks, but there is no
keystroke logging or any other kind of data gathering. We think oDesk Team is less intrusive than the
physical and electronic environments within most major corporate employers, and what data is gathered
serves as much to protect the contractor as to inform and assure the employer.
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How do I communicate with my employer and deliver the finished work?

However you (and the employer) like. We create an environment that makes hiring, managing and
payment easy. How you and the employer want to actually get the work done and delivered is up to you,
just like in any remote-work relationship.
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Can I find full-time work on oDesk?

Yes. Some contractors find a single employer who provides a full-time workload, and many fill out their
desired work week with a small number of long-term employers. oDesk encourages ongoing work
relationships, and you can take your ability to build a solid work history and high feedback score as far as
you can.
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How many jobs can I apply to?

Applying for jobs is always free. oDesk does limit the number of jobs a new contractor can apply for; a
new contractor who has no feedback and has passed no skills tests can apply for two to five jobs at a
time. A contractor who has taken four or more tests, or has earned feedback of 4.0 or higher, can apply to
the maximum number of jobs, 20 at one time. There's no cost to increase your quota or to apply to any
number of jobs. To learn more about the quota and how to increase yours, click here.
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Getting Paid:

Are there membership fees for contractors?

No (and none for employers, either). Everything is free — joining, filling out your profile and portfolio,
taking skills tests, applying and interviewing for jobs, using the oDesk Team application, and working (for
which you get paid.)
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How does oDesk make money?

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For hourly jobs, you set your rate and oDesk adds a small surcharge equal to 10% of what the employer
pays. So you always get paid what you asked for. For hourly jobs, this means the fee is 10% of the
employer's bill rate, or about an 11.11% markup above your pay rate. For bonuses or fixed-price jobs, the
fee is 10% of the amount the employer has opted to pay.
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Read more about fees here.
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How can oDesk guarantee payment to contractors?

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oDesk gives employers a series of tools to manage the work being done by contractors. If the time is
being logged correctly and the contractor is doing relevant work, filling out accurate work memos, and
staying in touch with the employer, we assume the work logged is valid and bill the employer.
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Read more about the oDesk Guaranteed here.
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What if there is a dispute?

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Disputes are rare, thanks to the Work Diary feature, but we take resolution of any conflicts very seriously,
and we live up to our guarantee that an hour worked is an hour paid, and an hour billed is an hour that
was worked.
TOP
When there is a disagreement between employers and contractors over the number of hours worked, we
first encourage them to work out the problem. If that fails, oDesk will step in to moderate. We do not
evaluate the quality of work, but will focus on a careful review of all time logged to ensure the contractor
was working on the job and following all policies and best practices. Fixed-price jobs are paid solely at the
employer's discretion, and there is no dispute resolution process in such cases — the employer has the
ultimate control.
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See more about our dispute resolution policy here, and about the oDesk Guarantee here.
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How do I get paid?

We've made it easy for you to get paid, no matter where you are. For U.S.-based contractors, we can
deposit your earnings directly into your bank account. For U.S. and international contractors, we offer
MoneyBookers, wire transfers — and the favorite of many contractors — the Payoneer debit MasterCard,
which works everywhere a regular MasterCard would work. You'll find full details of our payment
methods here.
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What about taxes?

Contractors in the U.S. will fill out a W-9 form and oDesk will provide the 1099 form for the IRS at the end
of the year. oDesk does not withhold taxes, and, as with any income for contractors, you are responsible
for making quarterly tax payments as may be necessary. International contractors are responsible for
reporting their earnings to the appropriate tax agencies.
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Can I get healthcare and retirement benefits through oDesk?

Yes. If you're a U.S.-based contractor looking to get benefits while working through oDesk, you can do so
by enrolling in one of the programs without decreasing your pay. You may also qualify not only for
affordable healthcare plans, but also for 401(k) and other benefits exclusively available to W-2
employees. See details here.
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Miscellaneous FAQs:

How does oDesk protect intellectual property?

Every registered contractor in the oDesk network has a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with
oDesk. That contractual protection is passed to the employer on any active oDesk contract as long as
work and payment are performed through oDesk. See the NDA. Additionally, you may request any
contractor to sign your own NDA.
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Do you have a referral program?

Yes—you can earn money when someone you refer to oDesk becomes an active user. See our Referral
Program page for information.
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What is the oDesk Manifesto for online work?

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oDesk believes that the best approach to online work is the one that creates success for both employers
and contractors. As the first and only service to guarantee that an hour billed is an hour worked and that
an hour worked is an hour paid, oDesk has long held these Manifesto principles dear.
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Please consider the Manifesto a declaration: Don't settle for less than you deserve.
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Does oDesk have an iPhone App?

Yes!
Download your free oDesk App.
The oDesk iPhone App gives you literal visibility of your online team no matter where you are:
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 See all contractors in your team room grouped by current work status — Working Now, Worked in the Last
24 Hours, Other
 View each team member's latest work memo, local time, 24-hour work sparkline, and latest snapshot
 Check complete Work Diaries including memos, full-size snapshots, activity indicator, billing status,
timestamp, and active window for any date
The App is designed for both employers and contractors.
If you already have an oDesk team, install the free oDesk App and get started. Otherwise, create your
own team here.
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