Questions about freelance business and hiring, answered

3lanse is not a recruitment agency. It doesn't employ freelancers, place them under agency contracts or take a margin on day rates. It is funded by memberships, and each engagement is agreed directly between the freelancer and the business.

There is a free plan for both sides. The paid plans add business tools for freelancers, recruitment tools for hirers and, on Pro, Aidmin, the 3lanse AI assistant. It works in a browser and in the 3lanse app.

When choosing, check that the software handles UK VAT (including the construction domestic reverse charge if you work in construction), lets you put your own logo, bank details and terms on invoices, and gives your accountant clean records. Think about what else you spend time on: finding work, keeping insurance in date, or filling in prequalification questionnaires.

3lanse is not accounting software. It doesn't file tax returns or connect to your bank, so most freelancers still use an accountant or bookkeeping software alongside it. On 3lanser Pro, Aidmin prepares monthly and yearly reports to hand to your accountant.

Keeping these together means an invoice is built from what you actually logged, at the right rate for that project. It also shows at a glance who you still need to invoice and what is unpaid.

On 3lanse, client and project management, the work log, mileage, tasks and the calendar are part of 3lanser Plus and Pro.

Aidmin can create clients and projects, log days and mileage, prepare and send invoices, scan a photographed receipt into your expenses, add and move things in your 3lanse calendar with reminders, draft messages for you to send, apply for jobs and prepare monthly and yearly reports for your accountant.

Without Pro, 3lanser Plus still removes a lot of retyping: logged days flow into invoices, renewal dates are flagged, and your calendar shows deadlines, invoices due and interviews together. Automatic renewal reminders by email are coming soon.

Aidmin works with your own 3lanse records, so the invoice uses your logo, bank details, payment terms and VAT settings. It can also show what is unpaid or overdue and mark invoices as paid.

Aidmin is included with 3lanser Pro. On 3lanser Plus you create the same invoices yourself.

A UK invoice needs a unique number, your business name and address, the customer's details, the date, a description of the work and the amount. If you are VAT registered it also needs your VAT number and the VAT charged, or reverse charge wording where the customer accounts for the VAT.

3lanse supports standard, reduced and zero-rated VAT and the construction domestic reverse charge, plus pro formas, credit notes and statements. It doesn't calculate CIS deductions: record what you receive when you mark an invoice paid and keep your CIS statements for your accountant. Invoicing is part of 3lanser Plus and Pro.

Typical documents for a construction freelancer are professional indemnity, public liability and employer's liability insurance (if you employ anyone), CSCS or similar cards, and qualifications such as SMSTS or NEBOSH.

3lanse also runs an automatic 3lanse Compliant check, which confirms the core profile is complete and in-date insurance is recorded, and lapses if the insurance does. 3lanse tracks dates; it does not provide insurance. Renewal reminders by email are coming soon.

For hirers, compliance means checking that the freelancer's information is current before they start. On 3lanse a 3seeker can see a 3lanser's profile, documents and PQQ status before getting in touch, but remains responsible for their own onboarding checks.

Uploaded is not the same as reviewed: documents count as reviewed only once a 3lanse reviewer has assessed them as part of the PQQ.

For freelance work, lead with your disciplines, availability, day rate and the projects you've delivered, then qualifications and accreditations. Keeping it as a live profile means hirers searching your discipline see current information.

3lanse reads the CV to fill in your profile but doesn't store the CV file. You can download your profile as a PDF CV at any time, and share a public profile link that is kept out of search engines.

A construction PQQ usually covers experience, qualifications, insurance, health and safety and business standing. Some clients will still ask for their own forms, but having the evidence ready makes them quicker to complete.

The 3lanse PQQ is a 3lanse review, not a third-party accreditation such as SSIP or Constructionline, and hirers should still carry out their own checks. It's part of 3lanser Plus and Pro, and PQQ Compliant 3lansers are listed first when businesses search their discipline.

Setting your availability and day rate on your profile helps hirers who are searching now. A complete profile, in-date documents and a reviewed PQQ make it easier for a hirer to say yes quickly.

Because 3lanse is not an agency, there's no margin taken from your day rate; you agree terms directly with the business.

3seekers can post unlimited jobs and Need Someone requests on 3seeker Plus, which has a 14-day free trial. On 3seeker Pro, Aidmin finds matching 3lansers, summarises applicants and prepares interview invitations from a plain-English request.

The engagement is agreed directly between you and the freelancer, so contract terms, onboarding checks and employment status (including IR35 where it applies) stay with the parties. Invoice reconciliation, client billing with agency uplifts and AI interview preparation are coming soon for 3seeker Pro.