Hire or outsource
The choice between an employee, a freelancer and a team on a plan depends on the workload your software represents and on the on-site presence you need.
Hiring
When to hire instead
Your software is a full-time job
When the workload keeps one person busy full time over the long term, hiring is the better fit.
You need someone on site every day
Helping colleagues at their workstations and receiving technicians is not the role of an outside team.
You want to build an in-house team
A plan can maintain your software while your IT department takes shape.
Risks
The risks of a role held by one person
A freelancer carries the same risk as a single employee: everything rests on one person.
Skills
Development, hosting, security, backups: one person rarely masters all of these areas.
Absences
In Luxembourg, an employee has 26 days of statutory leave and 11 public holidays a year, plus sick leave. During those periods, the position is not covered.
Departure
The notice period rarely leaves enough time to hand over what the person knows, and a new recruitment has to begin.
Comparison
Compare a single employee and a team on a plan
| A single employee | A team on a plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge of the system | With one person, who also knows your staff and your habits | With a lead consultant and a backup, and in the documentation you receive |
| Skills | One profile, with its strengths | Development, hosting and security in the same team |
| Availability | All week, for you alone | The work in the plan, spread across the quarter according to your priorities |
| On-site presence | Every day | No daily presence |
| Leave and absences | The position is not covered | A backup knows your software |
| Departure | A notice period, then recruitment, then a newcomer who has to learn the software | The backup knows your software. If you end the contract, everything is handed back to you |
| Reviewing the work of your other suppliers | Possible, if the person has the time and the experience | Included in the plan |
| Cost | Salary, contributions, recruitment and equipment, whatever the workload | A fixed monthly invoice, from €1,400 excl. VAT |
| Your time | Recruiting, managing and assessing a discipline that is not yours | A report to read each month and a review each quarter |
Comparison between a single employee and a team on a plan
Knowledge of the system
- A single employee
- With one person, who also knows your staff and your habits
- A team on a plan
- With a lead consultant and a backup, and in the documentation you receive
Skills
- A single employee
- One profile, with its strengths
- A team on a plan
- Development, hosting and security in the same team
Availability
- A single employee
- All week, for you alone
- A team on a plan
- The work in the plan, spread across the quarter according to your priorities
On-site presence
- A single employee
- Every day
- A team on a plan
- No daily presence
Leave and absences
- A single employee
- The position is not covered
- A team on a plan
- A backup knows your software
Departure
- A single employee
- A notice period, then recruitment, then a newcomer who has to learn the software
- A team on a plan
- The backup knows your software. If you end the contract, everything is handed back to you
Reviewing the work of your other suppliers
- A single employee
- Possible, if the person has the time and the experience
- A team on a plan
- Included in the plan
Cost
- A single employee
- Salary, contributions, recruitment and equipment, whatever the workload
- A team on a plan
- A fixed monthly invoice, from €1,400 excl. VAT
Your time
- A single employee
- Recruiting, managing and assessing a discipline that is not yours
- A team on a plan
- A report to read each month and a review each quarter
Plan
When a plan is the better choice
- Your software is not a full-time job and the workload varies from month to month
- You do not have the in-house skills to manage an IT person and assess their work
- Your IT person is taken up by day-to-day work and one piece of software is no longer maintained
- You want continuity to be ensured when someone is away or leaves
- You expect advice on your requests as much as the work itself
Compared with a project agency
A project agency is paid to deliver; running the software afterwards belongs to another contract, when there is one. With a plan, the follow-up continues after delivery.
You receive a report every month and the written description of your software. You remain the owner of the code, the domain name and the hosting accounts throughout the contract. We can manage them on your behalf, and everything is handed back to you when the service ends.
Call
Decide between an employee and a plan
A consultant talks with you for 20 minutes by video call, free of charge. You describe your software and your priorities; the consultant gives you an opinion, whether or not you go further.