Verification of Service Provider, leading to smarterwork accredited member
status
Entry in the smarterwork global services directory
Entry in the smarterwork global services search
On-line profile with a facility for customers to place unlimited work
directly with service provider
Ability to quote on 10 marketplace projects per month, where you have
obtained a Smarterwork qualification and the customer’s stated budget is below
$400.
Normal Cost: 250 Euro.
Payable in four equal quarterly instalments of 62.5 Euro
Project fees are paid for each project that is originated through Smarterwork
(see article 2 of the Payment Agreement). The project fees are paid by the
Service Provider to Smarterwork.
There are 2 types of project fees: the Smarterwork Commission fee and the
Administration fee.
The Smarterwork commission fee is 10% of the total project value.
The Administration Fee is 4% of the total project value, with a minimum of
15 Euro and a maximum of 200 Euro per transaction.
There are currently no fees to Smarterwork clients to use the Smarterwork
service.
Smarterwork may at its discretion introduce and offer different service
levels to specific clients and Service Providers that are based on different
Smarterwork fees than the ones described here.
Proof of identity including your name, address, phone number, email address
and a copy of a utility bill, passport or Duns number.
Proof of your ability to provide services in your selected service category.
On application you will be sent a link to our tests.
Commitment to operate at the Smarterwork level of professional
standards Professional
Standards
Agreement to the Smarterwork User Level Agreement User Agreement
Agreement to display the Smarterwork accredited member logo on your website.
On request to provide impartial moderation on disputed projects. A
payment will be made to you for this work to a maximum of three hours of your
published hourly rate or $80 whichever it the lower.
Agreement that your profile can be displayed on the smarterwork site
(including client feedback) for a period of 18 months after your membership
expires
Agreement to participate in at least one 15 minute Smarterwork survey per month.
Now that you have seen what Smarterwork expect of you and what you
can expect of us, you are probably curious about how the Smarterwork network
operates. The steps from becoming a service provider to finding work and getting
paid are fairly simple. Here is the process from start to finish.
Customers log their requirements at the Smarterwork site, via an affiliate’s
site or via our customer help desk. Customer can direct their requirements:
To qualified individual network members.
To all qualified network members.
To the Smarterwork project team, who will select the appropriate qualified
network member.
Qualified service providers discuss customer requirements via the
Smarterwork secure messaging system.
Once a service provider has received enough details to produce a valid
quote, he or she will respond to the customer with a quote for the complete
project.
The customer selects the appropriate service provider to complete
project.
The service provider begins work in line with the quote provided and billing
schedule.
The service provider responds with regular updates to the customer about the
progress of the project.
The service provider bills the customer in line with their quote. The
service provider must have clearly stated all costs associated with the project
within their quote.
Service providers will have provided a clear schedule for payment.
For example, on a month-long project to create a 100-page report, a service
provider could ask for a 10 percent deposit up front at the start of the
project, a 40 percent payment two weeks later, when 50 pages have been
delivered, and a final 50 percent payment two weeks after that, when the full
project is delivered.
The service provider requests that the customer sign off the project
The customer signs off the project or requests changes if project is not in
line with the original service providers’ proposal.
If there is a dispute that cannot be resolved between the customer and the
service provider either party can invoke Moderation
The customer provides feedback on the service provider and the service
provider provides feedback on the customer.
Billing and Payments
In addition to the ability to get work done, the most important
part of performing work over the Internet is the ability to bill customers and
make payments. Unlike many other third parties, Smarterwork has created an easy
payment system. Smarterwork does have some simple rules in place to prevent
misunderstandings during the invoice process:
All billing and payment is carried out via the payment centre.
Billing and payment should be done in line with the agreed service
provider’s quote.
Billing and payment can be done at any time during the project’s
life cycle as long as it is in line with the quote provided.
Multiple bills and payments can be sent and paid for a single
project.
Up-front billing and payment is allowed if stated in the agreed
quote.
Smarterwork holds all payments on behalf of the customer until the
customer signs off on the project and requests the payment to be released to the
service
Moderator services are available at no charge on all projects with
a value over $400.
Moderation will be carried out by a third party with expertise in
the relevant category.
The moderator’s decision is final.
For projects with a value less than $400 a standard fee of $80
will be charged.
Please note that Smarterwork will work with the customer and
service provider to avoid moderation at no cost for all projects.
If required by the moderator translation of any correspondence
into English costs 10 cents per word.
If a formal written report is required, the charge is
$40. please view the moderation page for
the latest details
Mutual Feedback
Both customers and service providers are expected to rate and give
written feedback for each project carried out via Smarterwork.
Feedback will be kept and available to other members in order to
help them in their decision making process when commissioning or carrying out
work.
Feedback will be kept and made available for a minimum of one
year, even if the feedback relates to a customer or service provider who is no
longer a member of Smarterwork.