Frequently Asked Questions

• We find the perfect candidate for your individual requirements with previous experience from your industry.
• Thanks to a deep understanding of the IT landscape, we don't just scratch the surface, but understand in detail which skills a perfect candidate needs to have.
• We guarantee to present a pre-qualified expert profile 48 hours after your inquiry.
• Simplifying complicated processes are our top priority: We provide digitized and legally compliant contracts as well as straightforward billing.
• Throughout the entire process, we provide personal assistance with any questions that might come up.

ElevateX specializes in the placement of IT professionals across a variety of industries. We fill positions such as:

• Mobile App Developer
• Web Developer
• Software Developer
• Project Manager
• Data Scientist
• Product Owner
• Scrum Master
• UI/UX Designer

This is a non-exhaustive exemplary list — our IT freelance community includes all those experts who are necessary for the successful implementation of first-class IT projects. We treat each customer inquiry individually and find the best specialist for your requirements.

With the help of ElevateX, you can find the right expert in four steps:

1. A free inquiry through our website is all you need to get in touch with us.
2. In a subsequent phone call, we personally clarify all the important details regarding your requirements and wishes.
3. Within 48 hours you'll receive pre-qualified profiles of IT experts and the opportunity to speak to them directly.
4. ElevateX assists your entire project — onboarding, implementation, and offboarding — on both the client and freelancer sides.

This contributes to a goal-oriented and smooth collaboration and gives you the opportunity to keep as much of the expert know-how in-house as possible.

We support you in IT projects. Our network includes freelancers from a wide variety of fields, such as app and web development, cybersecurity, or experts in blockchain solutions. To show what we and our freelancers are capable of, we prepare case studies on individual projects together with our customers.

We would be happy to discuss your project with you. Send us a message or make an appointment without obligation. Let us tackle your next innovative project together!

The key advantages of an intermediary are manifold:

• Saving time and effort during the hiring process.
• Assuring qualifications of hired specialists.
• Assistance during on- and offboarding, as well as during the entire project.

All options for an independent freelancer search have one thing in common: They require a lot of work by you. You not only have to invest time in the active search, but also in selection interviews, professional evaluation, matching availabilities, contract negotiation and drafting, and billing and accounting tasks.

Alternatively, you can work with a freelancer intermediary such as ElevateX, who can relieve you of this time-consuming work and offer you highly qualified candidates. This way, you get the freelance support you need in a legally secure, efficient, and timely manner and can continue to focus on your core business.

You can recognize a good freelance provider by several factors:

• First and foremost, good communication, speed, and accuracy of fit.
• Good service providers respond promptly to your request and present pre-qualified profiles of available candidates.
• A fair contract is being offered.

At ElevateX, we place a special emphasis on straightforward mediation, a smooth transition, and finding a suitable expert for your project within the shortest possible time.

Ideally, the suitable freelancer starts the new project within one week! The process duration — the so-called time-to-hire — is a decisive advantage of using freelancers. Our process from inquiry to assignment:

1. Your customer inquiry
2. Preliminary meeting to detail your requirements (within 4h)
3. We present 1–3 pre-qualified specialist profiles (within 48h)
4. Getting-to-know conversation (video or telephone) between you and the candidates of your choice
5. Decision for candidates and assignment (within 48h)

Keep in mind that due to the accessibility, plannability, and decisiveness of all parties involved, certain variance may occur.

Your inquiry at ElevateX is always free of charge. The same applies to the initial meeting to clarify your requirements.

Costs are only incurred when a freelancer starts working and performs services for you. The work is billed on a time basis — the hourly rate is "all-inclusive".

The hourly rate of a freelance expert varies greatly depending on various factors:

• Expertise and experience
• On-site or remote assignment
• Exact technical task and requirement
• Timeliness and technology of the project

Our approach is to determine a realistic price range for you prior to the search. Within this range we will find the most suitable candidate(s) for you!

All contractual and financial aspects are handled by ElevateX. ElevateX takes care of all billing and contractual issues with the freelancer for you.

If we find the right candidate for you, you sign a contract with ElevateX for the services to be provided. At the end of the month, you will receive an invoice from us — based on the actual hours worked by the expert. These are recorded via performance records, which are submitted to you for approval.

Every situation calls for its own solution, but generally we can distinguish between four important options:

1. Freelancer — Freelancers are experienced and highly qualified specialists who use their expertise to advance projects. They work independently and can be deployed quickly and flexibly due to their short time-to-hire.
2. Outsourcing — In outsourcing, companies use resources from the outside. Either certain responsibilities or even entire departments can be handed over to external service providers, allowing the company to focus on its core business.
3. Staff leasing — Companies hire a staffing company that leases a permanent employee for up to 18 months. This form of work is especially suitable for short-term support because temporary workers can be hired through a rapid selection process.
4. Permanent employees — Permanent employees have a regulated relationship with their employer. They are the cornerstone of any successful company and usually perform permanent activities over a longer period of time.

The hiring of IT freelancers is a very good choice in many situations — for example, in the event of order peaks, to build up and balance in-house expertise, or to scale and support the internal IT team.

Freelancers are very flexible and can be deployed on short notice — for example, if there is a need for more staff for short- to medium-term projects or if replacements are needed for temporarily absent employees.

In addition, freelancers are also used specifically to support companies with their technical expertise and experience that is not available internally. With increasing digitization, the hiring of IT freelancers has become indispensable for many companies.

Staff augmentation is the temporary deployment of external personnel. In contrast to classic project outsourcing, control and responsibility remain within the company itself. Factors such as project duration, skill level, and data protection play a role in the use of external personnel.

Staff augmentation is especially suitable when you need to extend your existing team temporarily, maintain oversight of the work, or quickly close a specific skills gap.

Freelancers promote revenue and employee growth, and help companies in their dynamic and innovative development. The study by Andrew Burke and Marc Cowling attests that freelancers have a strong positive influence on company development — taking a new perspective on how external expertise drives business growth.

Despite various options available, our experience has shown that the benefits of hiring IT freelancers are often underestimated. Freelancers not only serve as a growth factor but also as job creators for companies.

In addition to working with a specialized IT freelance intermediary, there are various options to find your ideal candidate independently. Among other things, you can:

• Use your personal network
• Actively search via social media
• Create job advertisements via job portals
• Join social media groups and post project offers
• Get your purchasing or HR department on board and pass on your request
• Actively search for freelancers and post projects via online platforms

Bogus or false self-employment is a very relevant topic between companies and freelancers. False self-employment is when someone registers as self-employed but de facto works like a permanent employee for a company. This can have legal and financial consequences for a company.

At ElevateX we focus on supporting companies in avoiding bogus self-employment. To do this, we review this issue with our internal processes and rely on industry-experienced lawyers to draft our contracts to ensure the successful implementation of freelance-client relationships.

Proper onboarding and offboarding is the be-all and end-all of a good working relationship with any freelancer.

Onboarding plays a crucial role in how goal-oriented and quickly a freelancer can add value. Invest some time to give a good insight into the project and the current challenges, and define goals and milestones from the beginning.

Offboarding involves the professional, organized exit from the project. The transfer of knowledge is particularly important here, as this is a crucial way the company can benefit from the collaboration. Both sides should regularly obtain feedback to react more quickly to new challenges in the future.

We have put together 5 tips for hiring freelancers remotely:

1. Set the parameters — Define scope, timeline, and deliverables clearly.
2. Set expectations — Communicate availability, communication channels, and working hours.
3. Interview correctly — Use structured interviews to assess both technical and soft skills.
4. Fair payment — Agree on a transparent and fair rate from the start.
5. Find experts — Use platforms or intermediaries like ElevateX to source pre-qualified candidates.

A frequently asked question, especially since the topic of freelancing is fraught with many misconceptions. The key is clear communication, defined responsibilities, and well-structured on- and offboarding.

In our free resources section, you can find guides, eBooks, and checklists that give you all the information you need to work successfully with freelancers.