Managing freelancers can quickly become time-consuming, especially for small teams working with many external collaborators. Helve, an innovation management company, had worked with 70–100 freelancers over the years, and handling contracts, invoices, and compliance created significant administrative work.
By using Abillio, Helve simplified managing freelancers, cutting paperwork and saving around 5 hours every week.
Helve – innovation management company
Helve helps organizations accelerate growth and digital transformation through innovation programs.
The company designs and runs initiatives such as:
- accelerator programs
- internal incubators
- hackathons and innovation sprints
Operating with a lean team of just 3–4 people, Helve collaborates with freelancers to deliver projects and support client programs.
The Challenge of Managing Freelancers
Before using Abillio, managing freelancers required extensive paperwork and manual processes.
Each freelancer involved:
- multiple documents and signatures
- archiving contracts and invoices
- tracking payments manually
“Before Abillio, we had five literal pages of paperwork per freelancer. Two signatures, archiving, endless steps. It took a bunch of time.”
– Igors Uhans, Innovation Lead at Helve
When legislative changes were introduced in 2021, managing freelancers became even more complex, increasing the need for a compliant and efficient system.
The Solution: Abillio as the Default for Managing Freelancers
Igors discovered Abillio during a hackathon in 2021 and quickly saw how it could simplify freelancer administration.
Helve became one of the platform’s early customers and adopted Abillio as its default system for managing freelancers.
With Abillio, the team now benefits from:
Automated compliance
Payments automatically follow government tax and reporting requirements.
Simplified invoicing and payments
Freelancers can see their payouts in a shared spreadsheet, while Helve handles invoicing and transfers through Abillio.
Abillio Pro features
Helve can issue invoices on behalf of freelancers, removing additional steps.
“Sometimes freelancers don’t even need to log in. I can do it myself, and they just see in a spreadsheet how much they’ll get. With Abillio Pro, I just send them money. Perfect.”
– Igors Uhans
Results: Time saved, risks reduced, smoother collaboration
⏳ Time savings
- 5 hours per week (~20 hrs/month).
- Freed from manual paperwork, signatures, and archiving.
- Managing freelancers now takes just a few clicks, replacing hours of paperwork.
🛡️ Reduced compliance risks
- Automated compliance was the main driver for adopting Abillio.
- Reduced risk of fines or mistakes tied to legislative changes.
💸 Cost efficiency
- Freelancers keep slightly more per payout.
- All invoices are automatically stored in Abillio, giving instant access when needed. No more manual archiving.
📈 Business impact
- With less time spent managing freelancers and paperwork, the team can focus more on innovation programs.
Experience with Abillio
Igors describes customer support as quick and effective, especially in recent years as Abillio’s team has grown.
NPS score: 10/10.
Looking ahead
As Helve continues to design and deliver cutting-edge innovation programs, Abillio remains an essential part of their workflow, helping Helve manage freelancers efficiently while staying compliant.
