Vasudha Wadhera

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Online freelance work is providing a service to a client without being employed by them permanently. Most freelancers work project by project, by the hour, or on retainer, and they do it remotely, often for clients based nowhere near them.

Freelancing opens the door to clients paying in USD, EUR, or GBP. But finding the client is just one piece. One needs to have a portfolio to back it up, an invoicing process that actually works, and a compliant way to get paid once the invoice is sent.

For anyone wondering how to find freelance work online, none of it is especially complicated: choose the right skill, show you can deliver on it, find the right clients, pitch, and sort out payment collection before it becomes an emergency.

Which Freelance Skills Are Most in Demand Right Now?

The freelance skills seeing the most demand are the ones that solve an obvious business problem. Software development, content writing, graphic design, digital marketing, video editing, SEO, and data work top the list.

A handful of categories cover most of it:

Which Are the Best Freelance Websites for Beginners in India?

There's no single best freelance website for beginners; it depends on the skill, the experience level, and whether the goal is working through a marketplace or building direct relationships. Upwork and Fiverr are reasonable starting points for international work, Freelancer.com covers a wide mix of projects, and Internshala leans more India-focused.

*Fees shift depending on the contract, service, or platform's own policy changes. Upwork's documentation currently puts its freelancer service fee between 0% and 15%. Freelancer.com charges 10% or $5 on fixed-price work and 10% on hourly work. Fiverr's seller earnings documentation shows freelancers keeping 80% of the purchase amount.

Signing up everywhere at once rarely helps. One platform, actually learned well, tends to beat five platforms used half-heartedly.

Anyone researching how to find freelance work on Fiverr specifically is better off studying successful profiles in their category first, building a focused listing, and earning a few reviews on smaller jobs before going after bigger ones.

LinkedIn, niche communities, and even a search around how to find freelance work on Reddit can turn up places where potential clients are already talking about the problems they need solved.

How Do You Go from Zero to First Foreign Freelance Client?

Getting a first foreign freelance client comes down to one sellable skill, a small portfolio, one acquisition channel, and outreach that doesn't stop after the first attempt.

Step 1: Position one specific skill. Pick something that can be delivered confidently and describe it by the result it produces, not the task itself. "I am a graphic designer" says far less than "I design landing pages that help SaaS companies explain their products clearly."

Step 2: Build a simple portfolio. No one needs years of experience or a fancy website for this. Three to five strong samples do the job, even self-initiated ones. A writer can write sample articles. A designer can redesign an existing interface. A developer can build something small and push it to GitHub. Behance, GitHub, LinkedIn, or a basic personal site all work fine as a home for it.

Step 3: Pick one platform or channel. Upwork or Fiverr suits most beginners well enough to start. LinkedIn works better for direct outreach, particularly toward agencies, SaaS companies, and overseas businesses specifically. Running five channels at once usually just spreads effort too thin to move the needle on any of them.

Step 4: Reach out to potential clients. Find companies that already have an obvious reason to need the service on offer, then send something short and personal. A message that references something specific about the company, paired with the actual problem being solved for them, beats a generic pitch blasted out to hundreds of businesses every time.

Step 5: Write short proposals. Aim for under 150 words. Start with the client's problem, not a personal bio. One relevant sample and a short note on the intended approach is usually enough to make the case.

Step 6: Set up payment collection. Figure out how the client will actually pay before the first invoice goes out. Having those details ready in advance means one less thing to sort out the moment a prospect says yes.

Landing the client, though, is only half of it. The full amount still has to arrive without friction eating into it along the way. Skydo gives Indian freelancers virtual accounts for major currencies and transparent flat-fee pricing, so payment collection is sorted before the first invoice ever gets sent.

How Can Indian Freelancers Receive International Payments Compliantly?

Indian freelancers stay compliant by using an authorised, documented payment channel and keeping the relevant remittance records for tax and regulatory purposes.

Bank wire transfers let a client send money straight to an Indian bank account through international banking networks. Virtual receiving accounts, offered by services like Skydo, give clients local receiving details in supported currencies, so paying feels like a local transaction on their end rather than an international wire. Platform payouts, through Upwork or Fiverr, run through their own built-in systems entirely.

For service exports specifically, payment realisation and documentation carry real weight, since receiving consideration through a permitted channel is one of the actual conditions for a service export under GST law. CBIC guidance also points to BRC/FIRC documentation when it comes to export-of-services refund claims.

<a href="https://www.skydo.com/">Skydo</a> offers virtual accounts in USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD, CAD, and other currencies, with real-time tracking and FIRA generated automatically. Pricing currently sits at $19 for payments up to $2,000, $29 for payments between $2,001 and $10,000, and 0.3% above $10,000, plus applicable GST. Settlements typically land within one working day.

Skydo also handles eBRC workflows, helping eligible exporters map inward remittances and generate eBRC through the DGFT system. DGFT's own guidance describes generating eBRC from inward remittance records linked to an IEC.

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Freelancers in India earn an average of around ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 per month, as per different job roles in India. However, these earnings can increase as freelancers build experience, develop specialised skills and work with higher-paying clients. International clients can also offer greater earning potential because freelancers may get access to larger project budgets and bill in stronger currencies.

Note that the earnings rise substantially with experience and skill development. This is not a flat income curve and the gap between a beginner and an expert freelancer can span several multiples of the average.

In fact, the freelance industry stayed remarkably strong through the pandemic years, with many freelancers even managing to raise their rates while traditional employment contracted around them.

Role-level annual averages from industry data show meaningful variation even at a baseline level. These figures provide broad benchmarks for different freelance roles. It does not capture what experienced freelancers, or those billing international clients, take home. Experienced freelancers with specialised skills can charge substantially more than these baseline figures.

Note: Actual earnings can be higher or lower depending on experience, expertise, project rates and the clients a freelancer works with. 

What Factors Affect How Much Freelancers Can Earn?

A freelancer's actual income depends on several factors together, including skill specialisation, experience level, client geography, portfolio strength, and how much of each payment gets through the freelancer’s bank account. Some others include:

How Do Freelance Earnings Vary by Skill and Experience?

Freelance earnings in India typically fall into three broad tiers, i.e., beginner, mid-level, and expert, with each tier demanding a different rate both domestically and internationally.

Note that domestic and international income differ substantially at every one of these tiers, since international clients simply operate with larger budgets for comparable work.

Why Do International Clients Pay More Than Domestic Ones?

International clients pay more because they budget in stronger currencies and typically allocate larger project budgets than domestic Indian clients do for comparable work. This creates a real income gap for the same skill set.

This premium difference exists because US, UK, and EU clients are working against a different cost baseline entirely. What looks like a modest project budget to them still converts into a significant sum in rupees.

However, the catch is that none of this premium matters if 5% to 8% of every payment disappears into bank fees and currency markup before it reaches an Indian account.

How Do Payment Fees Quietly Cut Your Freelance Income?

Payment fees cut freelance income by reducing the amount of each international payment that reaches the freelancer's bank account. Transfer charges, foreign exchange markups and intermediary bank fees can collectively reduce a payment by around 5% to 8% when using traditional bank wires or PayPal.

A freelancer with international clients eventually needs to pay a substantial amount in <a href="https://www.skydo.com/blog/how-much-forex-fees-do-you-pay-on-global-transactions">forex fees for global transactions</a>. For example, a graphic designer invoicing a US client for $1,000 a month could receive only around $920-$950 worth of INR after these costs, depending on the payment method and exchange rate.

With <a href="https://www.skydo.com/">Skydo</a>, a $1,000 payment falls within the up to $2,000 tier and carries a $19 fee plus applicable GST, leaving approximately $977.58 after an 18% GST assumption. At an indicative exchange rate of ₹84/USD, the difference compared with receiving $920-$950 through a traditional payment method is roughly ₹2,318-₹4,837 per month, or around ₹27,800-₹58,000 a year from one client.

The impact becomes more significant with multiple international clients. A freelancer receiving $500-$1000 from three clients every month can lose a meaningful portion of their annual income to payment fees and exchange-rate markups alone.

Additionally, payment methods can also affect the time spent on compliance. Indian freelancers receiving foreign payments may need documents such as FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice) or FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) as proof of inward remittance. Traditional bank processes can make obtaining these documents manual and time-consuming, while platforms that automate the process can reduce this administrative burden.

How Does Skydo Help Freelancers Earn More From International Clients?

Skydo is one of the <a href="https://www.skydo.com/blog/best-international-payment-gateways-for-freelancers-india">best international payment gateway in India </a>that helps freelancers earn more from international clients by reducing payment costs, simplifying foreign-currency collections and making compliance easier. Instead of losing a portion of every payment to bank charges, exchange-rate markups and manual processes, freelancers can use Skydo to receive international payments more efficiently. With <a href="https://www.skydo.com/">Skydo</a>, you get:

Moreover, freelancers can contact Skydo's support team through WhatsApp, calls or text for payment-related assistance via their dedicated India-based support.

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A freelance productivity stack is the group of tools a freelancer uses to manage different parts of their business. It can include separate tools for managing tasks, recording work hours, communicating with clients, organising files, automating routine work, and collecting payments.

The key is that these tools are selected for a reason rather than simply accumulated over time. Each one should address a particular need, while the full setup should make it easier to run freelance work from start to finish.

Freelancers also do not need to find one platform that handles everything. Using specialised tools can be more practical, such as having one for time tracking, another for managing projects, and a dedicated platform for receiving payments.

A good productivity stack should make freelance work easier and more efficient. If a tool does not save meaningful time, reduce effort, or support revenue, there is little reason to keep it.

Why Do Freelancers Need Productivity Tools?

Freelancers need productivity tools to stay on top of tasks, deadlines, client work, and billable hours without the day-to-day structure of an office. When work is managed across multiple clients, even a small missed task or deadline can affect both earnings and client relationships.

The right tools help freelancers avoid common workflow problems, such as forgetting tasks, failing to record billable work, overlooking client messages, or searching through different apps for project files.

Time tracking is useful beyond creating accurate invoices. It shows freelancers how much time different tasks actually take. If a project takes longer because a client requests additional work, tracking those hours makes the extra effort visible instead of leaving it unbilled.

Productivity tools can also work like a virtual support system. They keep important information accessible, automate routine work, and make it easier to manage several projects without losing track of priorities. The main benefits include:

Which Task Management Tools Should Freelancers Use?

Trello, Asana, ClickUp, and Todoist cover most task management needs for freelancers, each suited to a different working style and level of project complexity.

The right choice depends less on which tool is objectively best and more on how complex the workload has become. A freelancer with two or three steady clients may not need ClickUp's full range of features, while someone managing many active projects may benefit from a more structured or customisable system.

Whichever tool is chosen, the most important discipline is using it consistently. Splitting tasks across a project board, notes app, and messaging threads defeats the purpose of having a central task management system.

What Are the Best Time Tracking Tools for Freelancers?

The best time tracking tools for freelancers include Toggl Track, Harvest, and Clockify. They let freelancers record work hours manually or automatically, create reports they can share with clients, and in some cases, connect with invoicing tools.

Time tracking is useful for more than proving how many hours were worked. Detailed reports can support an invoice when a client questions the hours billed and show how long similar tasks take, helping freelancers create more accurate estimates and spot scope creep earlier.

For freelancers who spend significant time in client meetings, Supernormal offers a different type of time saving. It reduces the effort involved in taking notes and creates meeting records that can be referenced later, so it complements rather than replaces a time tracking tool. Focus tools address another side of productivity:

When choosing a time tracking tool, freelancers should prioritise tracking accuracy, easy-to-share client reports, and integrations with existing invoicing tools. This in turn helps freelancers keep payment terms clear, which further eases out the <a href="https://www.skydo.com/blog/tax-on-foreign-income-indian-freelancers">tax implications on foreign income.</a>

Which Communication Tools Keep Client Work on Track?

The best communication tools for freelancers are Slack, Loom, and Zoom or Google Meet. Together, they cover ongoing client conversations, visual explanations, and real-time discussions without relying entirely on long email threads.

The communication process matters as much as the software. Clients should know where to contact a freelancer and when they can expect a response. Clear communication expectations help prevent missed messages and build trust.

Freelancers managing several clients should also keep communication channels separate for each client. Mixing conversations across projects makes it easier for important messages, files or requests to get overlooked.

Once tasks are organised, hours are tracked, and client communication is running smoothly, the next part of the workflow is getting paid efficiently. A freelancer can have a well-managed operation and still lose a noticeable portion of each international payment to conversion costs and transaction fees.

Which File Storage and Automation Tools Save the Most Time?

The best file storage and automation tools for freelancers are Google Drive, Dropbox, Zapier, and Make. Google Drive and Dropbox help freelancers store, organise and share files, while Zapier and Make automate repetitive tasks between different apps.

Automation saves the most time when it removes small repetitive tasks that occur regularly. Sending a standard onboarding email, moving completed documents into the right folder, or notifying a client when a deliverable is ready can all be automated when the relevant apps support those workflows.

Freelancers should also distinguish cloud storage from backup. Google Drive and Dropbox make files accessible and synchronised across devices, but important client work may still require a separate backup strategy.

The goal is not to create as many automations as possible. Each automation should remove a recurring source of manual work; otherwise, maintaining unnecessary workflows can create more work instead of saving time.

With work sorted, the next important thing that enters is payment. It is important to make sure you are not losing money when those clients pay you, especially on international payments where fees and currency conversion costs can add up.

What Are the Best Invoicing and Payment Tools for Freelancers?

The best invoicing and payment setup for freelancers combines professional invoicing software with a dedicated international payment solution. Invoicing tools help create and track bills, while payment platforms handle the actual collection, currency conversion, settlement, and documentation required for cross-border payments.

For invoicing, Wave, FreshBooks, and Zoho Invoice are useful options. They let freelancers create professional invoices, monitor payment status, and, depending on the platform and plan, connect invoicing with other parts of their workflow. Freelancers billing overseas clients should prioritise <a href="https://www.skydo.com/blog/best-international-payment-gateways-for-freelancers-india">international payment gateways</a> that support multiple currencies.

For Indian freelancers, the payment method matters just as much as the invoice itself. Traditional options such as PayPal and bank transfers can involve transaction charges, foreign-exchange costs, and additional documentation or reconciliation work. PayPal India, for example, currently charges 4.40% plus a fixed fee for receiving international commercial transactions, with currency conversion charges applying separately.

Payment documentation is also important for Indian freelancers receiving money from overseas. <a href="https://www.skydo.com/blog/importance-of-fira-for-freelancers">FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice)</a> provides a record of an inward foreign-currency payment and can support accounting and tax-related reconciliation. Having this documentation generated automatically can remove a significant amount of follow-up work.

<a href="https://www.skydo.com/">Skydo</a> is one such payment provider built especially for Indian freelancers and exporters receiving international business payments. It provides local receiving accounts in multiple countries and supports currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, and SGD. Its current pricing is:

With zero monthly subscription fee, Skydo automatically generates a free instant FIRA for each payment, making the documentation available without a separate manual request.

Payments can reach the freelancer's Indian bank account within 24 hours, with Skydo using live exchange rates and zero FX markup. Freelancers can sign up in about 5 minutes, receive virtual account details, and share those details with clients so they can pay through local transfer methods.

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Why Are US Clients Worth Pursuing for Indian Freelancers?

US clients are worth pursuing for Indian freelancers because they can earn in USD, which is a stronger currency, while their costs remain in INR. This is called ‌currency arbitrage.

The higher you charge your US clients, the greater ‌the advantage of this arbitrage. But your charges depend on your skills, niche, experience, portfolio, positioning, and the value you deliver. Just because your client is in the US doesn’t mean they will pay you higher fees.

Here’s an example of how the currency valuation difference helps you make more money. A website development project that earns ₹30,000 locally can command $1,500 to $3,000 (approximately ₹135,000 to ₹270,000) when sold to a US-based client, if the freelancer has clear, outcome-focused positioning.

Working with US clients opens the door to long-term retainer contracts and the opportunity to add globally recognized brands to your portfolio. These logos work as social proof for getting future, larger contracts.

However, you must also prepare for real-world challenges, such as managing a 9.5 to 12.5-hour time zone difference with the U.S. Besides, there are complex compliance requirements, like <a href="https://www.skydo.com/blog/filing-w-8ben-and-w-8ben-e-a-guide-for-indian-freelancers-and-businesses">filling out the W-8BEN form</a>, high competition, and danger of falling prey to occasional scams.

Your chances of landing a US client increase when you know their preferences. As a rule of thumb, they prioritize speed and accountability and decide quickly when they identify a specialist who can solve a specific business problem.

How Do You Pick a Niche That Attracts US Clients?

To attract US clients, move away from generalist service offerings and position yourself around a specific skill, client type, or business problem. Clearly communicate what you do and who you do it for in your profile and bio. For example, “SEO specialist for US SaaS companies" is stronger than simply "digital marketer."

A focused description like this makes it immediately clear to a prospect why you are the right fit for their exact needs.

Popular niches for Indian freelancers in the US market include:

Where Can You Find US Clients as an Indian Freelancer?

To find US clients, Indian freelancers can use freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr, professional networks like LinkedIn, direct outreach through cold email, niche communities, referrals, and partnerships with US agencies. Each channel offers a different way to reach potential clients, build credibility, and turn conversations into paid projects.

How Do You Build Trust With US Clients Before the First Call?

US businesses verify expertise and reliability through your online presence before agreeing to a call. Have an active digital presence to make this verification effortless and increase the chances of landing a job.

The most important trust signals include:

How Do You Pitch and Close a US Client from India?

A successful pitch to a US client will prove to them that you understand their business and have a relevant, actionable solution. One rookie mistake you must avoid in your pitches is generic claims or long introductions.

Besides that, here’s a 5-point pitch structure:

Once you have your pitch ready, use these guidelines to make sure that you have got the rest of the parts right:

Indian freelancers have multiple options to receive payments, including wire transfers (SWIFT), freelance platform payouts, PayPal, or dedicated international payment platforms. Personal wire transfers or PayPal take 5–8% of your revenue in fees and forex conversion. On a $3,000 project, that is ₹12,000–₹20,000 in lost earnings.

US clients prefer working with vendors who not only invoice in USD but also have a US-format bank account. Because they can use ACH payments, a local payment method in the US, to pay the vendor quickly and without hassle.

You can create a US bank account without having a US LLC through virtual bank accounts.

Skydo is an India-based payment platform offering a free, virtual USD account (also other currencies: GBP, CAD, AUD, SGD, EUR) you can set up in minutes. Once you create an account, you only have to share the virtual bank account number to receive ‌payment from your US client.

Skydo charges a flat-fee on the payments you receive:

There are no hidden charges or currency markups. You can always predict how much money you’ll receive‌. You also get a free e-FIRA automatically, so you don’t have to follow up..

Skydo is 100% digital. There are no relationship manager calls or chasing SWIFT copies to track payments. You get real-time notifications on exactly where your money is and most payments get settled in your bank account within 24 hours.

While you share the invoice with your client, make sure you take care of these:

To wrap up what we’ve covered so far, here’s a checklist to help you land your first US client:

To set up your virtual USD account with Skydo, sign up for a <a href="https://www.skydo.com">free demo</a>

A talent acquisition strategy is a long-term plan for finding, attracting, and retaining the right people for an organisation. It connects hiring decisions with the organisation’s broader business goals, rather than focusing only on filling vacancies as they arise.

Talent acquisition looks beyond immediate hiring needs. It brings areas such as sourcing, screening, selection, employer branding, talent pipeline building, and workforce planning into one approach. This allows organisations to prepare for future talent needs instead of starting the hiring process from scratch whenever a role opens.

The talent acquisition team typically manages this strategy as part of the HR function. In some organisations, especially those where hiring is closely tied to business growth, the team may also work directly with or report to the CEO.

A common mistake is to prioritise filling a vacancy quickly over finding the right fit. When hiring decisions do not consider skills, culture, or future business needs, employees may be more likely to leave. Recruitment focuses mainly on closing an open position, whereas talent acquisition takes a longer-term approach to building the right workforce.

This approach is increasingly focused on business value and not just hiring costs. 77% of talent leaders say their talent acquisition strategies focus on total value creation for the business rather than cost savings.

Talent acquisition strategies also need to evolve as business needs, industry trends, skills requirements, and candidate expectations change. Regularly adapting the strategy helps organisations maintain a competitive talent pipeline and build a workforce that can support future growth.

How to Build a Talent Acquisition Strategy?

Building a talent acquisition strategy means deciding what talent the business will need, where to find it, how to attract the right candidates, and how hiring decisions will be made. The process should start with business priorities and market realities, before individual hiring requirements are defined.

<a></a>Step 1 - Align With Business Goals and Priorities

Start by working with business leaders and other key stakeholders to understand where the organisation wants to be over the next 1 to 5 years. These priorities should shape which roles, skills, and hiring initiatives the talent acquisition team focuses on.

For example, a company planning to expand into a new continent will need to understand the local talent pool, competition for skills, and employment regulations before deciding how and where to hire.

Strategic workforce planning helps translate these business plans into actual workforce requirements. It helps organisations identify the people and skills they will need, place them in the right roles, and plan hiring at the right time. This can help prevent both skill shortages and unnecessary over- or under-staffing.

The plan should also account for changes that could affect future hiring needs. AI may change the skills required for certain roles, large numbers of employees may reach retirement age, and competition for skilled workers can shift quickly. Building these possibilities into workforce planning makes the talent acquisition strategy more adaptable.

<a></a>Step 2 - Assess Talent Market Reality and Employer Positioning

Before setting hiring targets, understand what the talent market can realistically offer. Look at the availability of relevant skills, competing employers, prevailing salary levels, location constraints, and candidates' expectations around remote or flexible work. These factors can influence the role you can realistically fill, the time it may take, and the budget required.

The organisation also needs to decide how it wants to compete for talent. This means defining what it offers candidates, where it may need to make trade-offs, and which candidate profiles are the best fit. A clear employer value proposition helps ensure that job roles, messaging, and candidate outreach present a consistent reason for people to choose the organisation.

<a></a>Step 3 - Define Decision-Making and Build a Talent Pipeline

Set the hiring framework before candidates enter the process. Define what a successful hire looks like, the criteria candidates will be assessed against, who will participate in the evaluation, and who has final decision-making authority. Having these expectations in place can reduce inconsistent assessments, repeated work, and avoidable hiring risks.

Alongside this, build relationships with potential candidates even when there are no open positions for them. A talent pipeline gives the organisation an existing pool of people it can engage when a hiring need arises. A well-maintained pipeline can:

Best Talent Acquisition Strategy Examples

Talent acquisition strategies can work very differently depending on an organisation’s hiring challenges. The examples below show how companies have used different approaches, including candidate experience, recruitment technology, AI, employer branding, diversity initiatives, and process improvements, to strengthen their hiring efforts.

Accenture: Candidate and Employee Experience

Accenture brings in more than 150,000 people each year. Hence, improving recruitment at scale requires more than fixing individual steps. The company adopted a 360-degree approach to its global recruitment process and used pulse surveys at different stages of the candidate journey to understand where improvements were needed. Hiring managers also shared feedback quarterly. Based on these insights, Accenture developed training materials that managers could complete in smaller sessions, helping improve the experience for both candidates and recruiters.

Delaware North: Digitised Talent Acquisition Strategy 

Delaware North, a global hospitality company, needed its recruitment technology to work across multiple countries while accommodating differences between regional hiring processes. It introduced a unified iCIMS platform across countries to create a more consistent recruitment setup. The change brought the average time required to complete an application down from over 5 minutes to 2 minutes and 44 seconds, while the application completion rate increased from 50% to 95%.

Mastercard used Phenom's AI-enabled talent platform to improve several parts of its recruitment operation, including candidate engagement, talent-pool growth, interview scheduling, and hiring analytics. The company introduced a global careers site with workflows, automated interview scheduling, and AI-based candidate matching and insights. Following the changes, 88% of interviews were scheduled within 24 hours, and the talent pipeline reached around 900,000 profiles.

Global Technology Company: Streamlined Hiring Process

A global technology company partnered with Randstad Enterprise to simplify recruitment and reduce the amount of manual work involved. Its solution used a scalable talent business process outsourcing model to support global hiring and improve operational efficiency. Faster interview scheduling was one of the outcomes, contributing to a 27% reduction in time to hire.

HelloFresh used two employer-brand campaigns to attract candidates and increase engagement with its recruitment efforts. “Cooking Eggs” featured regional leaders preparing food while showcasing their local cultures, and the campaign generated a 174% increase in career-site traffic and a 40% rise in external applications. A second campaign, “Cooking Up a Career,” focused on employees' internal career journeys and saw internal candidates account for almost 33% of applications.

Talking Rain, a Washington-based beverage company, wanted to broaden the diversity of its workforce as it expanded internationally. The company found that most of its hires were male and White and that employee referrals played a significant role in hiring. It changed its referral approach, after which the proportion of women applicants rose from 22% in 2020 to 50% in 2021, while BIPOC applicants increased from 32% to 42%.

UK marketing communications agency Rostrum worked with RS Talent Solutions to improve hiring speed, quality, and cost. The company introduced an applicant tracking system, reduced the time spent reviewing CVs, strengthened its employer presence on social media, and updated its job descriptions. Over 12 months, Rostrum made 18 hires, saved 42 hours of management time, and reduced recruitment costs by £36,500.

These examples largely focus on attracting and hiring employees. For organisations that also work with international freelancers and contractors, the talent experience continues after the engagement is agreed. Payment speed and cost can become part of that experience, particularly when cross-border payments involve delays, intermediary fees, or currency-conversion costs.

In fact, a 2026 Trolley study found that 72% of independent earners consider two days the outer limit for an acceptable wait after completing work, while 93% would accept less pay for a guaranteed 24-hour payout.

Payment costs can also affect what freelancers actually take home. A separate study of freelancers found that 48% said payments took too long, while 49% felt payout fees were too high. The same research found that 75% wanted payment within 24 hours and 45% wanted real-time payments.

<a></a>How Cross-Border Payments Support Talent Acquisition

Talent acquisition does not end when an international freelancer or contractor is hired. For organisations that work with global talent, the payment experience can also affect how attractive and sustainable the engagement is. Delayed payments, unclear fees, or unexpected deductions can create friction even when the hiring and onboarding process has gone smoothly.

To solve this, organisations can streamline their processes by transferring funds to local virtual accounts provided by inward remittance platforms like Skydo. When international contractors, such as those based in India, use Skydo, they are issued a local receiving account (such as a US or UK account). This allows the hiring organisation's finance team to make a simple, free local transfer instead of dealing with complex and costly international wires.

For the freelancer receiving the funds, Skydo uses a transparent fee structure, charging a flat $19 for payments up to $2,000, $29 for $2,001–$10,000, and 0.3% above $10,000, with 0% FX markup. There are no hidden intermediary-bank charges or separate FIRA fees.

By supporting payment methods that eliminate international wire fees for the business and remove exchange-rate markups for the contractor, organisations ensure the freelancer takes home exactly what they earned. For companies relying on global talent, facilitating this kind of seamless, low-cost payment experience builds trust and makes them a highly attractive client for top-tier international freelancers.