Remote-first dev team payouts

Owl Labs research reveals that 60% of global business owners are currently working in remote or hybrid formats. The shift is quickly turning into a trend with more remote-first IT startups entering the market.

However, the trend also creates specific operational risks. They generally involve payment errors, inconsistent contractor documentation, and compliance issues. These may lead to either minor losses or significant penalties.

For smaller tech startups, these risks might be even tougher. Business owners expect processes to be fast, transparent, and secure. This is how companies can maintain a competitive time-to-market.

In this use case, we will highlight our experience in working with a Web/Mobile development team. They reached out to us with quite the same challenges. For ethical and security reasons, we do not disclose the company’s name.

However, we will show how Kleos helped the startup streamline operations and optimize financial interactions with remote contractors.

Let's dig in!

About the Company

A Web/Mobile dev startup includes up to 50 multi-cultural specialists representing developers, QA engineers, designers, and project managers. They all work remotely and require regular, secure, on-time, and hassle-free payments.

The company’s headquarters are in a CIS country. They provide development services to clients across the US and Europe.

Launched in 2023, the company annually generates around $1.8M in revenue. Over 80% of that revenue comes from international projects.

The finance and accounting team consists of two specialists who manage contractor payouts, documentation, investor reporting, and compliance on a daily basis.

Main Challenges

As the team grew, managing payments became more complex.

Each month, the financial team handled:

• 50 service agreements and work-completion certificates;
• manual tax calculations;
• monthly financial reporting;
• over 200 payouts in different currencies.

Working with non-resident contractors was especially difficult. Every jurisdiction had its own tax rules, reporting requirements, and currency controls. Ensuring compliance delayed payouts.

Company Expectations

Before choosing a solution, the team outlined key objectives:

• simplify contract and document management;
• enable transparent and secure payouts across multiple countries;
• minimize pressure on the finance team;
• become less dependent on manual work;
• mitigate the risk of losing key contributors due to payout delays.

“We needed a platform that could take over the legal and operational side of payouts so we could focus on the product.” — Maxim L., CEO.

Solution: A Unified Payroll Workflow Powered by Kleos

The startup selected Kleos as its all-in-one platform for managing global contractor operations.

How we helped:

1. Migrated all existing contracts into Kleos’s centralized contract management system.
2. Enabled contractors to access a personal dashboard with payout preferences, currency selection, and full transaction history.
3. Automated the entire document workflow, featuring agreements, invoices, and acceptance certificates generated and signed online.
4. Set up weekly automated payouts based on predefined schedules.
5. Took over contractor onboarding, classification, and compliance across all operating countries.

“The onboarding took one day. Within a week, the volume of manual work dropped noticeably.” — Sergey K., Compensation & Benefits Manager.

Results: Before and After Kleos

• Time spent on documents: ~20 hrs/week → 0
• Manual reporting errors: 7–10/monthly → 0
• Payout delays: ~3 days → none
• Staff involved: 3 (CFO, accountant, C&B manager) → 1 (C&B manager)
• Payout countries: 5 → 18

Key Improvements

• Payment administration time decreased by 90%.
• Documents are now generated automatically and meet all currency-control and tax-law requirements.
• Contractor satisfaction reached 95% due to predictable and on-time payments.
• The company saved approximately 1,040 hours per year, redirecting this time toward product development and client delivery.

“We no longer worry about compliance, currency controls, or paperwork. Everything runs on schedule.” — Maxim L., CEO.

The Bottom Line

After using Kleos, the startup fully automated contractor payments, minimized operational risks, and achieved full legal transparency across jurisdictions. For a fast-growing, remote-first company with an international footprint, this became a key step toward sustainable scaling.

Looking for a safe, fast, and simple way to automate payments for remote contractors? Join Kleos or book a demo to explore all of its features.