9 ms·

How to Pay Remote Employees

125 points by bradleybuda 8y ago

mseebach 8y ago
> Wire transfer fees are a set amount, usually around $40, not a percentage of the total amount transferred. You can do the math to figure out at what dollar threshold sending wire transfers through your bank becomes cheaper than using Transferwise. Absolutely do the math, but keep in mind that fees are not the only fees when doing FX: few banks will use the spot FX rate for wire transfers, they'll typically add a spread of about 3%.
- analyst74 8y ago
  yeah, you're getting skimmed hard between wire transfer cost and that spread. If you have access to an FX brokerage with reasonable fee, definitely use that. I personally use Interactive Brokers, one free wire transfer per month, and you can get spot price on your exchanges. Only fees I pay are a couple dollars IB charges on exchanges, and twenty dollars or so my bank charges for receiving wire transfers. Only downside is that they hold the money for 3 months before allowing withdrawal into a different bank.
  - delinka 8y ago
    "...and twenty dollars or so my bank charges for receiving wire transfers." For business accounts or personal? I received a single wire transfer to a personal account two months ago and didn't pay a fee. Maybe I get one free. Maybe there would have been a fee for a business account. But I'm certain I've never heard, until now, anyone mention fees for receiving wire transfers.
    - analyst74 8y ago
      Mine was for personal. The bank payment system has myriads of complicated rules/methods determining how they will charge you on a transfer, where the bank is located, wire vs ACH vs direct deposit vs other clearing mechanisms, international vs domestic, individual bank's progressiveness, your account type, etc.
Klathmon 8y ago
I was really hoping this would go into some of the tax implications as well. I was semi-recently denied a fully remote job because my state of residence would have caused the company to have a "sufficient physical presence" in the state, and meant that they would have to do a lot of extra work as well as paying extra sales taxes for sales in that state as well as setup the infrastructure to send the required taxes to that state. It was enough of a hassle and cost that they decided to go with someone else over me, because they were in a state that the company already had employees in (at least that's what they told me...)
- pc86 8y ago
  Why not mention the state? You should contact your state representative (not member of Congress) and state senator (not US Senator) and let them know that you were denied a well-paying job because of the onerous standards your state has for remote work. They might be inclined to change it.
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    It's unlikely a state is going to unwind their taxing and funding model for a few remote jobs (nor should they). EDIT: OP mentions the state in question is Florida, which has no personal income tax, but does have a state sales tax (disclaimer: I am also a resident of Florida); I believe a recent court decision on the HN front page [+] makes that a moot point (the business will have to collect those sales taxes regardless of nexus), which leads me to believe their decision not to hire OP was a bit short sighted. [+] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17365366 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17365366 | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-21/states-can-require-internet-tax-collection-supreme-court-rules-jiomtl5c https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-21/states-ca... (Online Retailers Can Be Forced to Collect Tax, High Court Rules)
  - Klathmon 8y ago
    I actually thought I did (it's Florida by the way)... I want to be clear, that I don't blame the state in the slightest. I honestly feel that companies should have to pay taxes where they operate regardless of how many employees live there, but what sucks is that a lot of states have difficult tax codes, esoteric and difficult ways of sending taxes in, have varying laws that make it extremely hard to follow the law unless you are a lawyer familiar with that area, and often won't help you if you need it. I also don't really blame the company. I still feel like I would have been more than worth the extra hassle, but they aren't sure. And if they can avoid having to pay taxes in that state by not hiring me, and that can provide them a material benefit, then I'd probably do the same as them if I were in their position.
pc86 8y ago
Almost every link in the article is a referral or affiliate link.
- justinzollars 8y ago
  It was like reading an advertisement
  - darpa_escapee 8y ago
    That's exactly what this is.
  - astura 8y ago
    It was an advertisement! It fact, it as an advertisement without a disclosure of financial incentives; which is in clear violation of FTC regulations. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...
    - leethargo 8y ago
      I love the casual language of the page you linked! It's much more friendly to the broad population and does pretty much devoid of legalese.
      - astura 8y ago
        Its good example of writing for your audience. The audience of that page is bloggers, YouTubers, and social media "influencers."
    - pc86 8y ago
      If anyone would like to join me in submitting a complaint to the FTC, you can start the process here[0]; all fields are optional so you only need to provide the information you want to, and can remain completely anonymous if desired. [0] https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID=251&Url=%23%26panel1-9#crnt https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID...
quizme2000 8y ago
Most payroll processors handle this for you. HR and Payroll for teams under 50 should never be done in house, there are so many pitfalls. IMHO, until you can hire a full time HR person, use a company to process/collect taxes, handle on boarding paperwork, and your employee handbook. ADP, Zenefits, etc.. can provide what you need to get started. You can always go internal later on once you are setup and learn the risks. Payroll is like dental work, its best to trust a professional that isn't you.
zeroxfe 8y ago
I would love to know how companies can grant equity (vesting over time) to remote contractors (i.e., without establishing a legal entity in the remote country.)
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  Signing an option contract with a vesting clause. Nothing about options or vesting is inherently tied to employment.
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    Hazards abound if you're a US startup and have employees in other countries that might treat ISOs significantly differently than the IRS.
    - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
      I don’t think you can grant ISOs to non-employees. That doesn’t stop you from granting simple options. (It will probably be a tax headache, however. Derivatives usually are.)
- swampthing 8y ago
  It depends based on the country. Some countries require an addendum to your stock plan, or other changes. So you would really need to talk to a compensation and benefits attorney to be safe.
zerr 8y ago
Hire as long-term contractors - they send invoices at the end of the month, you transfer the funds through regular wire transfer.
- flamtap 8y ago
  Yep, that's how it works for me, working from Canada. I invoice on the 15th and the last day of the month, wire transfer comes in a week later (just because of how the company chooses to do payroll).
ayumukasuga 8y ago
Meantime transferwise.com from article is down for more than 6 hours already, be careful...
- gaastonsr 8y ago
  Unfortunate, I have been using for the last 3 years and I couldn't recommend it enough.
- lioeters 8y ago
  I was keeping an eye out for mention/discussion of TransferWise. Been receiving payments via their service for several months, and have found it to be a well-designed experience, useful service with competitive/low fees. Didn't know they've been down - related post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17364752 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17364752
codingdave 8y ago
I worked for a 100% remote company for years. Although I wasn't involved in the payroll details, my impression was that the problems were just bureaucracy, and not as painful as this article implies. The answer to make it work was, "Hire a payroll processor."
sireat 8y ago
Hilariously sad: The Last Day for Shipping to Europe (For Now) Will be May 24, 2018 Why in the world a backpack business would be so worried about GDPR?
- darpa_escapee 8y ago
  Some are responding to the GDPR in a quixotic fashion akin to those who boast about not taking a raise because they "don't want to pay more in taxes" after getting bumped into a higher income bracket.
ttoinou 8y ago
Outside of the US, everyone is considered a contractor, even if they're a full-time member of the company Wait, so they are not full time employee. For example they can terminate the contract and leave the company as they please
- anemitz 8y ago
  In the U.S. this is how employees work as well -- they can leave a company for any reason at any time. Conversely, employers can dismiss at employee for any reason and at any time as long as it's not illegal.
  - ttoinou 8y ago
    Are there contracts made so that the relationship between employers and employees is guaranteed/retained over a period of time ?
    - Androider 8y ago
      No, such limitations would likely be illegal (without additional compensation, beyond the wages, also being stipulated for the period where the employee couldn't leave / couldn't be let go) in many states. I have never seen such a guarantee / requirement in an employment contract, such a "key man" provision would likely be reserved for someone who is in possession of some critical knowledge to the company and company is willing to pay for it. It's a double edged sword. It's easy to be let go (basically, pack your stuff and get out while escorted by security, just like in the movies), but it also makes it much easier for companies to take a risk and hire you. In Europe, hiring someone is a big risk and companies are extremely careful to hire since they're taking on a big responsibility. As a result, permanently contracted positions are even more common in Europe than the US as a result in my experience.
      - heeen2 8y ago
        And yet US companies do homework assignments first round and 8 hour interviews second round if not even more. I have had jobs offered after a two hour technical interview plus 1 hour hr interview in Germany.
pope-mobile 8y ago
removed
- tgroutars 8y ago
  I always find it funny when people say it's only 15USD when a wire transfer in Europe in free
  - rurban 8y ago
    It's 40USD to of from the US, and no European bank wants to deal with the arcane way US wire transfers are handled. If you want to deal with that crap you have to pay the premium. It's not that much of a burden, because US rates are much higher than European rates, so you are still winning a lot. Just banks hate it.
nodesocket 8y ago
I'd recommend Square Payroll[1] for US based 1099 contractor payments. They handle sending the tax forms to the contractor at the end of the year and the ACH transfer. The only bummer is that they don't support recurring, i.e. each month send $X. [1] https://squareup.com/payroll https://squareup.com/payroll
ilaksh 8y ago
Article is kind of an ad, but didn't know about Transferwise so glad I read it. Anyone have any comments about Transferwise?
- Androider 8y ago
  Works great in my experience. It comes out way cheaper than our business banking for paying our workers in Europe from the US. It's also really easy and convenient, while setting up wire transfers with our Major Bank in the US was complicated and arcane. To date, Major Bank doesn't offer us online wire transfers, for a business account! We also use TransferWise to accept customer bank payments in Europe, without having an actual presence there.
- dewey 8y ago
  I used it a bunch of times, it’s great. Usability is awesome and it’s reasonably fast.
- lfxyz 8y ago
  I've used it to transfer money between an account in the UK (GBP) and my account in the Netherlands (EUR). It took less than 24 hours from signing up to Transferwise to having the money in my Dutch bank account and I got a good rate on it. No complaints from me whatsoever.
FatalLogic 8y ago
For over five years, I have been offering my remote employees the option of payment, or partial payment, in bitcoin, or in more recent years in whatever other cryptocurrencies they choose. For crypto salary payments, I added about 3%-10% to the amount paid, because processing it was much easier for me, no hassles, no paperwork. It's a one click solution, like Jeff Bezos would say ^_- I also prefer crypto payout methods for personal sentimental or ideological reasons. Moreover, many of my foreign and US contractors had difficulties with bank payments, severe local corruption, and bank account processing. These problems are usually happening because they are from traditionally unbanked social classes, they are not legally resident in their resident country, or they are in developing nations where good quality banking services are not aligned with their social class. But I would not deny that some could be attempting to avoid paying taxes or other such traditional obligations. More than half of the international contractors tried cryptocurrency options. Many of them cashed out pretty instantly and I've heard they had no big problems doing it. Several kept their cryptos for years and they have made ridiculous profits now, even enough to retire. But I've also heard that a few timed the markets unfortunately or made bad side investments and lost a lot of the money they earned.
- viraptor 8y ago
  > because processing it was much easier for me, no hassles, no paperwork Are you saying the payment was completely off the books? That doesn't seem to match "employees"...
  - FatalLogic 8y ago
    I don't know how you would define employees, contractors etc. But the hard details of the deal have always been strictly an amount of payment for work completed. No more and no less than that. No written contracts, no sick leave, no government insurance, no paid holiday. All those expenses are their responsibility, and they know that. But the real situation is a little softer, because of course I will be more flexible if a contractor seems to be good and of course they will be more flexible if I have been playing reasonably and fairly with them. Decent people feel happier behaving this way, and wouldn't we all be damn stupid if we didn't behave like decent humans? I try my best to avoid doing business with stupid people.
Geee 8y ago
Cryptocurrencies are a great way to pay remote employees or contractors with low fees.
- swyx 8y ago
  what are the fees all-in? just buying the thing is say 1% then you have miner's fees of 0.3%? something like that?
  - Geee 8y ago
    Transactions in cryptocurrency can be zero-fee with NANO. Bitcoin transactions can be also free or almost free when using Lightning network. On-chain Bitcoin transactions are priced by markets and can be high when the network is congested, but are currently very low (about $0.2). Exchanging to and from local currency depends on how you do it. Most of the cost comes from the volatility, which in general might turn into profit as well. Exchanging at ATMs or 'quick buy/sell' services can be pricey (5% or so). Transferring fiat currency to/from a bank account is generally free.
bitL 8y ago
Isn't it better for your contractors to incorporate an LLC or S-Corp in Delaware and for you to send money to those companies, so that contractors can deal with their own taxes themselves? LLCs would work also for foreign contractors.
jkempe11 8y ago
Quick callout: we're hiring at Gusto if anyone wants to join us... gusto.com/careers
senatorobama 8y ago
Anyone know of remote companies that hire systems programmer not front end or backend for a web app?
bitcoinisqueen 8y ago
Just pay in Bitcoin (Cash) and call it a day? Transacrion costs are less than 1c USD for any amount and near instant. For my gigs, I only accept BCH as it's safer than holding paper or digital entries that can be taken from you at will. Just convert what you need to be stable in DAI and you will also avoid the volatility.

125 points by bradleybuda 8y ago

> Wire transfer fees are a set amount, usually around $40, not a percentage of the total amount transferred. You can do the math to figure out at what dollar threshold sending wire transfers through your bank becomes cheaper than using Transferwise. Absolutely do the math, but keep in mind that fees are not the only fees when doing FX: few banks will use the spot FX rate for wire transfers, they'll typically add a spread of about 3%.

analyst74 8y ago
yeah, you're getting skimmed hard between wire transfer cost and that spread. If you have access to an FX brokerage with reasonable fee, definitely use that. I personally use Interactive Brokers, one free wire transfer per month, and you can get spot price on your exchanges. Only fees I pay are a couple dollars IB charges on exchanges, and twenty dollars or so my bank charges for receiving wire transfers. Only downside is that they hold the money for 3 months before allowing withdrawal into a different bank.
- delinka 8y ago
  "...and twenty dollars or so my bank charges for receiving wire transfers." For business accounts or personal? I received a single wire transfer to a personal account two months ago and didn't pay a fee. Maybe I get one free. Maybe there would have been a fee for a business account. But I'm certain I've never heard, until now, anyone mention fees for receiving wire transfers.
  - analyst74 8y ago
    Mine was for personal. The bank payment system has myriads of complicated rules/methods determining how they will charge you on a transfer, where the bank is located, wire vs ACH vs direct deposit vs other clearing mechanisms, international vs domestic, individual bank's progressiveness, your account type, etc.

Klathmon 8y ago

I was really hoping this would go into some of the tax implications as well. I was semi-recently denied a fully remote job because my state of residence would have caused the company to have a "sufficient physical presence" in the state, and meant that they would have to do a lot of extra work as well as paying extra sales taxes for sales in that state as well as setup the infrastructure to send the required taxes to that state. It was enough of a hassle and cost that they decided to go with someone else over me, because they were in a state that the company already had employees in (at least that's what they told me...)

pc86 8y ago
Why not mention the state? You should contact your state representative (not member of Congress) and state senator (not US Senator) and let them know that you were denied a well-paying job because of the onerous standards your state has for remote work. They might be inclined to change it.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  It's unlikely a state is going to unwind their taxing and funding model for a few remote jobs (nor should they). EDIT: OP mentions the state in question is Florida, which has no personal income tax, but does have a state sales tax (disclaimer: I am also a resident of Florida); I believe a recent court decision on the HN front page [+] makes that a moot point (the business will have to collect those sales taxes regardless of nexus), which leads me to believe their decision not to hire OP was a bit short sighted. [+] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17365366 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17365366 | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-21/states-can-require-internet-tax-collection-supreme-court-rules-jiomtl5c https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-21/states-ca... (Online Retailers Can Be Forced to Collect Tax, High Court Rules)
- Klathmon 8y ago
  I actually thought I did (it's Florida by the way)... I want to be clear, that I don't blame the state in the slightest. I honestly feel that companies should have to pay taxes where they operate regardless of how many employees live there, but what sucks is that a lot of states have difficult tax codes, esoteric and difficult ways of sending taxes in, have varying laws that make it extremely hard to follow the law unless you are a lawyer familiar with that area, and often won't help you if you need it. I also don't really blame the company. I still feel like I would have been more than worth the extra hassle, but they aren't sure. And if they can avoid having to pay taxes in that state by not hiring me, and that can provide them a material benefit, then I'd probably do the same as them if I were in their position.

pc86 8y ago

Almost every link in the article is a referral or affiliate link.

justinzollars 8y ago
It was like reading an advertisement
- darpa_escapee 8y ago
  That's exactly what this is.
- astura 8y ago
  It was an advertisement! It fact, it as an advertisement without a disclosure of financial incentives; which is in clear violation of FTC regulations. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...
  - leethargo 8y ago
    I love the casual language of the page you linked! It's much more friendly to the broad population and does pretty much devoid of legalese.
    - astura 8y ago
      Its good example of writing for your audience. The audience of that page is bloggers, YouTubers, and social media "influencers."
  - pc86 8y ago
    If anyone would like to join me in submitting a complaint to the FTC, you can start the process here[0]; all fields are optional so you only need to provide the information you want to, and can remain completely anonymous if desired. [0] https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID=251&Url=%23%26panel1-9#crnt https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID...

quizme2000 8y ago

Most payroll processors handle this for you. HR and Payroll for teams under 50 should never be done in house, there are so many pitfalls. IMHO, until you can hire a full time HR person, use a company to process/collect taxes, handle on boarding paperwork, and your employee handbook. ADP, Zenefits, etc.. can provide what you need to get started. You can always go internal later on once you are setup and learn the risks. Payroll is like dental work, its best to trust a professional that isn't you.

zeroxfe 8y ago

I would love to know how companies can grant equity (vesting over time) to remote contractors (i.e., without establishing a legal entity in the remote country.)

JumpCrisscross 8y ago
Signing an option contract with a vesting clause. Nothing about options or vesting is inherently tied to employment.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  Hazards abound if you're a US startup and have employees in other countries that might treat ISOs significantly differently than the IRS.
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    I don’t think you can grant ISOs to non-employees. That doesn’t stop you from granting simple options. (It will probably be a tax headache, however. Derivatives usually are.)
swampthing 8y ago
It depends based on the country. Some countries require an addendum to your stock plan, or other changes. So you would really need to talk to a compensation and benefits attorney to be safe.

zerr 8y ago

Hire as long-term contractors - they send invoices at the end of the month, you transfer the funds through regular wire transfer.

flamtap 8y ago
Yep, that's how it works for me, working from Canada. I invoice on the 15th and the last day of the month, wire transfer comes in a week later (just because of how the company chooses to do payroll).

ayumukasuga 8y ago

Meantime transferwise.com from article is down for more than 6 hours already, be careful...

gaastonsr 8y ago
Unfortunate, I have been using for the last 3 years and I couldn't recommend it enough.
lioeters 8y ago
I was keeping an eye out for mention/discussion of TransferWise. Been receiving payments via their service for several months, and have found it to be a well-designed experience, useful service with competitive/low fees. Didn't know they've been down - related post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17364752 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17364752

codingdave 8y ago

I worked for a 100% remote company for years. Although I wasn't involved in the payroll details, my impression was that the problems were just bureaucracy, and not as painful as this article implies. The answer to make it work was, "Hire a payroll processor."

sireat 8y ago

Hilariously sad: The Last Day for Shipping to Europe (For Now) Will be May 24, 2018 Why in the world a backpack business would be so worried about GDPR?

darpa_escapee 8y ago
Some are responding to the GDPR in a quixotic fashion akin to those who boast about not taking a raise because they "don't want to pay more in taxes" after getting bumped into a higher income bracket.

ttoinou 8y ago

Outside of the US, everyone is considered a contractor, even if they're a full-time member of the company Wait, so they are not full time employee. For example they can terminate the contract and leave the company as they please

anemitz 8y ago
In the U.S. this is how employees work as well -- they can leave a company for any reason at any time. Conversely, employers can dismiss at employee for any reason and at any time as long as it's not illegal.
- ttoinou 8y ago
  Are there contracts made so that the relationship between employers and employees is guaranteed/retained over a period of time ?
  - Androider 8y ago
    No, such limitations would likely be illegal (without additional compensation, beyond the wages, also being stipulated for the period where the employee couldn't leave / couldn't be let go) in many states. I have never seen such a guarantee / requirement in an employment contract, such a "key man" provision would likely be reserved for someone who is in possession of some critical knowledge to the company and company is willing to pay for it. It's a double edged sword. It's easy to be let go (basically, pack your stuff and get out while escorted by security, just like in the movies), but it also makes it much easier for companies to take a risk and hire you. In Europe, hiring someone is a big risk and companies are extremely careful to hire since they're taking on a big responsibility. As a result, permanently contracted positions are even more common in Europe than the US as a result in my experience.
    - heeen2 8y ago
      And yet US companies do homework assignments first round and 8 hour interviews second round if not even more. I have had jobs offered after a two hour technical interview plus 1 hour hr interview in Germany.

pope-mobile 8y ago

removed

tgroutars 8y ago
I always find it funny when people say it's only 15USD when a wire transfer in Europe in free
- rurban 8y ago
  It's 40USD to of from the US, and no European bank wants to deal with the arcane way US wire transfers are handled. If you want to deal with that crap you have to pay the premium. It's not that much of a burden, because US rates are much higher than European rates, so you are still winning a lot. Just banks hate it.

nodesocket 8y ago

I'd recommend Square Payroll[1] for US based 1099 contractor payments. They handle sending the tax forms to the contractor at the end of the year and the ACH transfer. The only bummer is that they don't support recurring, i.e. each month send $X. [1] https://squareup.com/payroll https://squareup.com/payroll

ilaksh 8y ago

Article is kind of an ad, but didn't know about Transferwise so glad I read it. Anyone have any comments about Transferwise?

Androider 8y ago
Works great in my experience. It comes out way cheaper than our business banking for paying our workers in Europe from the US. It's also really easy and convenient, while setting up wire transfers with our Major Bank in the US was complicated and arcane. To date, Major Bank doesn't offer us online wire transfers, for a business account! We also use TransferWise to accept customer bank payments in Europe, without having an actual presence there.
dewey 8y ago
I used it a bunch of times, it’s great. Usability is awesome and it’s reasonably fast.
lfxyz 8y ago
I've used it to transfer money between an account in the UK (GBP) and my account in the Netherlands (EUR). It took less than 24 hours from signing up to Transferwise to having the money in my Dutch bank account and I got a good rate on it. No complaints from me whatsoever.

FatalLogic 8y ago

For over five years, I have been offering my remote employees the option of payment, or partial payment, in bitcoin, or in more recent years in whatever other cryptocurrencies they choose. For crypto salary payments, I added about 3%-10% to the amount paid, because processing it was much easier for me, no hassles, no paperwork. It's a one click solution, like Jeff Bezos would say ^_- I also prefer crypto payout methods for personal sentimental or ideological reasons. Moreover, many of my foreign and US contractors had difficulties with bank payments, severe local corruption, and bank account processing. These problems are usually happening because they are from traditionally unbanked social classes, they are not legally resident in their resident country, or they are in developing nations where good quality banking services are not aligned with their social class. But I would not deny that some could be attempting to avoid paying taxes or other such traditional obligations. More than half of the international contractors tried cryptocurrency options. Many of them cashed out pretty instantly and I've heard they had no big problems doing it. Several kept their cryptos for years and they have made ridiculous profits now, even enough to retire. But I've also heard that a few timed the markets unfortunately or made bad side investments and lost a lot of the money they earned.

viraptor 8y ago
> because processing it was much easier for me, no hassles, no paperwork Are you saying the payment was completely off the books? That doesn't seem to match "employees"...
- FatalLogic 8y ago
  I don't know how you would define employees, contractors etc. But the hard details of the deal have always been strictly an amount of payment for work completed. No more and no less than that. No written contracts, no sick leave, no government insurance, no paid holiday. All those expenses are their responsibility, and they know that. But the real situation is a little softer, because of course I will be more flexible if a contractor seems to be good and of course they will be more flexible if I have been playing reasonably and fairly with them. Decent people feel happier behaving this way, and wouldn't we all be damn stupid if we didn't behave like decent humans? I try my best to avoid doing business with stupid people.

Geee 8y ago

Cryptocurrencies are a great way to pay remote employees or contractors with low fees.

swyx 8y ago
what are the fees all-in? just buying the thing is say 1% then you have miner's fees of 0.3%? something like that?
- Geee 8y ago
  Transactions in cryptocurrency can be zero-fee with NANO. Bitcoin transactions can be also free or almost free when using Lightning network. On-chain Bitcoin transactions are priced by markets and can be high when the network is congested, but are currently very low (about $0.2). Exchanging to and from local currency depends on how you do it. Most of the cost comes from the volatility, which in general might turn into profit as well. Exchanging at ATMs or 'quick buy/sell' services can be pricey (5% or so). Transferring fiat currency to/from a bank account is generally free.

bitL 8y ago

Isn't it better for your contractors to incorporate an LLC or S-Corp in Delaware and for you to send money to those companies, so that contractors can deal with their own taxes themselves? LLCs would work also for foreign contractors.

jkempe11 8y ago

Quick callout: we're hiring at Gusto if anyone wants to join us... gusto.com/careers

senatorobama 8y ago

Anyone know of remote companies that hire systems programmer not front end or backend for a web app?

bitcoinisqueen 8y ago

Just pay in Bitcoin (Cash) and call it a day? Transacrion costs are less than 1c USD for any amount and near instant. For my gigs, I only accept BCH as it's safer than holding paper or digital entries that can be taken from you at will. Just convert what you need to be stable in DAI and you will also avoid the volatility.