Freelancers help you scale your team or access specialist skills, but paying them works differently from paying a regular employee or supplier. This article explains how to choose the right working framework and how to submit, review, and pay a freelancer's invoice on Spendesk.

For: Account Owners, Admins, Controllers, and anyone with the Requester role who works with freelancers.

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👥 Roles: Only Account Owners and users with the Requester role can submit freelancer invoices. Controllers review them, and Account Owners confirm payments.

Before you start working with a freelancer, decide whether you're hiring them for a mission or a fixed-price contract. This determines how the work is scoped and billed.

A mission typically spans several days, weeks, or months and can include several types of tasks.

Example: A designer on a two-month mission could create a logo, design infographics, and produce advertising visuals. List these tasks in the quote so both parties understand the scope.

Freelancers sometimes work on-site with an obligation of means (they commit their time, not a specific deliverable). This is popular because:

⚠️ Warning: Freelancers are not employees. To avoid legal misclassification (for example, under French labour law), ask freelancers to include any out-of-pocket expenses directly in their invoice rather than submitting them as an expense claim. Expense claims are reserved for employees.

A fixed-price contract gives a clear framework: the freelancer commits to a specific result (an obligation of means becomes an obligation of results) and typically works remotely.

Example: If a designer quotes for a new logo, you can't ask them to also design an advertising campaign under the same contract. That's a separate task requiring a new agreement.

💡 Tip: Regardless of the framework you choose, research market rates, compare quotes from several freelancers, and get a clear, itemized quote before starting the work.

Freelancers must provide invoices that meet legal invoicing requirements (for example, invoices issued using certified, tamper-proof accounting or invoicing software where required by local law). Once you have a compliant invoice, add it to Spendesk the same way you would any other supplier invoice.

Your invoice is either automatically validated or sent to an approver, depending on your company's approval policy.

Once paid, the invoice appears in Invoices > History.

Symptom: You can't submit an invoice for a freelancer.
​Cause: Only Account Owners and users with the Requester role can submit invoices.
​Resolution: Ask your Account Owner or Admin to add the Requester role to your profile, or ask for your company's dedicated invoice-forwarding email address.

Symptom: The invoice is stuck and can't be scheduled for payment.
​Cause: The freelancer's bank details are missing or incomplete.
​Resolution: Go to Invoices > Review, open the invoice, and add or correct the freelancer's bank details before approving.

Symptom: A freelancer has a Spendesk login or a physical card.
​Cause: The freelancer was invited as a Spendesk user by mistake.
​Resolution: Remove their access from Settings > Team > Members and cancel any card issued to them. Submit their future invoices through the Requests flow instead.

Can I invite a freelancer to Spendesk as a user?
No. A freelancer is not an employee, so do not invite them to Spendesk or issue them a physical card. Submit and manage their invoices through the Requests tab instead.

Can freelancers claim expenses the same way as employees?
During a mission, freelancers may request reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses. Include these costs in their invoice or in the total project budget rather than submitting them as an employee expense claim.