The Contractor or Employee Decision Guide
A control-and-cost worksheet that tells you which classification fits the role and what each one really costs you.
Published Aug 29, 2026
Preview
You will finish this guide with a written role description, two scored worksheets, a side-by-side cost number for the same job as a contractor and as an employee, and a filing checklist you can complete before anyone starts work. It takes about two hours plus a few lookups specific to your state. The point is not to feel confident. It is to have a defensible answer on paper, and to know what the cheaper-looking option actually costs.
1. Write the role before you write the check
Open a blank document. List every task you want off your plate. Next to each one, put the hours per week it takes you now.
Then answer one question at the top of the page: is this a defined project with an end, or ongoing work you will always have?
That is where the free part ends.
The rest walks the whole thing through, step by step — including the parts people get wrong and what to do when the normal route fails.