Becoming a Provider Company: FAQs for Buyers
Overview
Many oDesk Buyers are IT services firms who serve local clients but contract oDesk providers to extend their team. If you are in this category, your Company can now offer its services to Buyers on oDesk as well.
What is a Provider Company?
A Provider Company oversees a team of individual providers ("Affiliated Contractors", or "ACs") who work on oDesk. When a Buyer hires an AC, the money goes into the Provider Company's account. In addition, any feedback earned accrues to both the AC's profile and the Provider Company.
Who will work for me?
You can invite existing oDesk providers to join your Company as an AC, or you can bring your own employees onto oDesk. You invite them using the Team Admin -> Invite a New User link.
For local employees, enter in the email address. The recipient will get an email invitation to join oDesk. After he/she signs up, they will be added to your team as an AC.
For existing oDesk users, enter in their oDesk User ID. They will get an email invitation to join your team. If they accept, they will become an AC of your company.
How do I find jobs?
You can look for available jobs by clicking on Find Jobs. When you apply for the job, you will have the opportunity to apply as yourself, or you can enter in the User ID of one of your ACs.
So my Provider Company and my Buyer Company are the same?
Yes! If you sign up as a Buyer as Acme, Inc., what is happening is this: you create a Company called Acme, Inc., and you become a Hiring Manager for that Company. To "become a Provider Company" all you really do is activate your "provider-ness" and become a Staffing Manager in Acme, Inc.
How does payment work?
Your Company has one financial account for both your Buyer spending and your Provider earnings. All of the earnings of your ACs go into your account, and you are then responsible for paying your ACs outside the system (yes, this can be inconvenient, and we will be enabling team payroll soon).
Do I get a Company Profile?
Yes! Your Company name and logo will appear on the profiles of your ACs. If you click on your name/logo, you will see a limited profile including your logo, tag line, description, and your Provider Company work history here on oDesk (e.g. hours worked, feedback, recent assignment history). Buyers can invite you to interview directly from your Company profile.
How do I get started?