Subcontracting as a Freelancer: How to Track and Bill Outsourced Hours

To track and bill a subcontractor's hours, log them against the same project as your own, check them against what was delivered, and only then invoice the client. You stay accountable for the work, so you need a record of it that you can defend. This is the follow-up to the question of whether you have decided to outsource: once you have, the hours need a trail.

Quick answer

Four habits cover most of it:

• Agree terms and collect paperwork before any work starts.
• Log subcontractor hours per project, as they happen, with specific descriptions.
• Reconcile the log against deliverables before you invoice.
• Decide, and state, how you bill the client for outsourced work.

Here's each one in turn.

Set terms and paperwork first

A short written agreement removes most later arguments. One freelance writer who subcontracts regularly uses a standard contract of under two pages covering the term, deliverables, fees and termination, plus confidentiality, a non-solicitation clause that stops the subcontractor approaching your clients directly, and a statement that they are an independent contractor, not an employee.

Two practical details from the same source are worth copying:

• One point of contact. The subcontractor invoices you, not your client, and you stay the only person the client talks to.
• Paperwork before payment. Collect a W-9 from each new US subcontractor (a W-8BEN for non-US ones) before you pay them, and log each payment as an expense as it happens.

Decide the pay basis here too. Per-assignment pricing is simple when the deliverable is well defined. Hourly pay suits open-ended work, but then the hour log becomes the thing you both rely on, which is why the next step matters.

Log subcontractor hours per project

If you bill the client by the hour, the outsourced hours belong in the same project record as yours. Otherwise the invoice is assembled from memory, and memory loses time. A time-tracking vendor's blog gives a simple illustration: at $75 an hour, missing 30 minutes a day adds up to roughly $9,750 a year. That's one vendor's example, not a measured average, but you can check the arithmetic against your own rate.

The same source gives habits that carry over to subcontractor logs:

• Log as the work happens, not at the end of the day or week. Batch entry is where hours get forgotten.
• Use project codes and billable status, so internal hours and client hours never mix.
• Write specific descriptions. "Meeting with client" doesn't justify a line on an invoice. "Revised onboarding copy after client feedback" does.

Ask your subcontractor to submit hours weekly in a fixed format: date, project, task, duration, one line of description. Weekly is frequent enough to catch problems while the work is still fresh, and it keeps small tasks from falling into invisible work that nobody bills.

Reconcile logged hours before you invoice

Don't pass a subcontractor's hours straight through to a client. Run three checks first:

1. Does the log match the deliverable? Six logged hours for a task that normally takes two deserves a question, asked politely and early.
2. Are descriptions specific enough to show a client? If you couldn't paste the line into your invoice, ask for a rewrite.
3. Is anything missing? Revisions, calls and coordination time are the usual gaps, and so is your own review time.

Your own review is real work, so log it. It also gives you the best answer if a client later questions an invoice: a dated record of what was done, by whom, and when you checked it. If it ever comes to that, an evidence-first response is far easier when the log is already clean.

Decide how to bill the client

There are three common models, and none is wrong if you state it clearly in your terms:

• Pass-through. You bill the subcontractor's hours at cost, plus your own hours at your rate. Transparent, but it leaves nothing for the coordination you carry.
• Your rate for all hours. You bill outsourced hours at your standard rate, because the client is buying your accountability and quality control, not just labour. Be consistent, and don't hide behind vague line items.
• Fixed price. You quote the whole deliverable and use the tracked hours internally, to learn whether the job paid. See effective hourly rate on fixed-price work.

Whichever you pick, read your client contract first. Some forbid subcontracting or require consent. Where it is allowed, telling clients is a courtesy rather than a requirement, and the freelancer quoted earlier presents it positively: she stays the single point of contact, and she shapes, edits and approves every piece herself.

Keep year-end records

Subcontractor payments come back at tax time. In the US, the IRS says the Form 1099-NEC reporting threshold is $600 for payments made before 2026 and $2,000 for payments made in 2026, with later years adjusted for inflation. Whether a worker is truly a contractor is a separate question, and rules differ outside the US. Keep each subcontractor's W-9, the invoices and a total paid per year, and ask a tax professional how it applies to you.

Doing this with Pomlo

Pomlo is a simple time tracker for iOS, Android and the web, and three features map directly onto this workflow:

• Projects and clients let you keep each client job in one place, so your hours and your review time sit next to the work you outsourced.
• Time tracking with one-tap start and stop makes real-time logging realistic for your own hours, and you can tag your own review and coordination time as billable.
• Reports and invoicing show where the hours went and turn tracked time into an invoice, so the reconciled total is what your client sees.

Pomlo tracks your own time. So if a subcontractor reports hours to you, enter them against the project after you've reconciled them, so one record holds both. Pomlo's iOS, Android and web apps stay in sync.

Download Pomlo from the App Store or Google Play.

Conclusion

Outsourcing doesn't change what your client is buying: your judgment and your accountability. Agree terms first, log hours as they happen, reconcile before you invoice, and say plainly how outsourced work is billed. Do that and the invoice is a summary of a record you already trust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to tell my client I use a subcontractor?

Check your client contract first, since some forbid it or require consent. Where it's allowed, telling clients is a courtesy, and you stay the single point of contact who approves the work.

Should I add a markup to subcontractor hours?

That's your pricing decision. You carry the coordination, review and accountability, so many freelancers bill outsourced work at their own rate. Be consistent and state it in your terms.

When do I need to file a 1099-NEC for a subcontractor?

The IRS threshold is $600 for payments made before 2026 and $2,000 for payments made in 2026. Confirm how it applies to your case with a tax professional.