Worksuite Agent of Record (AOR) Services

An Agent of Record acts as the administrative intermediary between your company and your independent contractors. The AOR handles compliance, contracts, payments, and tax filing — but the worker remains classified as a 1099 independent contractor, not an employee. An Employer of Record, by contrast, employs the worker directly on your behalf as a W-2 employee, taking on all employer tax obligations, benefits administration, and employment law compliance. The practical distinction: if a worker qualifies as an independent contractor, AOR is the faster, lower-cost path. If the worker doesn't pass IC classification — due to AB5 in California, IR35 in the UK, or the nature of the engagement — EOR handles the employment relationship.

AOR service covers the full administrative layer of a 1099 contractor relationship: IC classification assessment, contract execution under the AOR's legal entity, insurance verification (typically via a product like 1099Policy), compliant payments, W-9 collection, and year-end 1099-NEC filing. The AOR also accepts transfer of risk — meaning your company is no longer the entity of record on the contractor relationship, which shifts misclassification exposure and reduces your direct liability. What AOR does not cover: workers who fail IC classification, employment benefits, or workers' compensation claims arising from employee-type relationships.

The hiring manager initiates the engagement in the platform and invites the worker. The worker completes an IC classification questionnaire and document collection — business entity verification, insurance confirmation, and any jurisdiction-specific requirements. Once the worker passes classification and documentation is complete, the AOR entity executes the contract. From that point, the worker submits invoices, logs time, or delivers against milestones through the platform. The AOR processes payment. At year-end, the AOR issues the 1099-NEC. Extensions, rate amendments, and offboarding are all managed within the existing engagement record.

AOR fees are typically structured as a percentage of contractor payments — commonly in the 2–5% range depending on program volume, average engagement value, and the scope of compliance services included. Flat per-worker monthly fees are an alternative structure for programs with predictable headcount. The fee covers classification review, contract administration, insurance coordination, payment processing, and 1099 filing. For high-volume programs, tiered pricing typically applies. Compare this to agency markup costs — which typically run 30–50% of contractor compensation — and AOR represents a significant reduction in the cost of compliant contractor engagement.

AOR reporting includes worker name, engagement dates, authorized hours or project scope, PO number, payment amounts processed, and 1099Policy enrollment status. Reports can be pulled on-demand or configured to export on a regular schedule. For programs that run both AOR (1099) and EOR (W-2) workers in the same platform, the reporting separates by worker classification so finance sees a clean view of each population — contractor costs versus employment costs — without manual segmentation.

Under EOR, the EOR entity pays the worker as an employee on a fixed payroll cycle — payroll runs regardless of when your company funds the EOR. Under AOR, contractor payment follows a sequential liability model: the contractor is paid after client funding is received and confirmed by the AOR. This means your payment timing directly affects contractor payment timing. Most AOR programs operate on a 5–7 business day funding-to-disbursement window. If same-day or accelerated contractor payment is a requirement, confirm your program's funding and payment cadence at setup.