General
So you have an idea but don't know where do you go with it? Or maybe you have a business and want to find more cost effective options. Welcome to VOIS where Virtual Outsourcing is for everyone not just the big boys anymore. On VOIS you'll find a world of limitless possibilities and contacts. Whether it is the development of a new product, a logo, a web site, some business cards, letterhead, or perhaps, even a magazine ad for your business? Whatever you want to create or outsource, just post your requirements on VOIS.com, and let our massive community of professionals from around the world work for you, to get the project done. VOIS is Social Sourcing at its best.
Social Sourcing is one of those new catchy Web 2.0 terms that seems hard to understand until you see how simple it is. It's the process of sourcing work - from a group of people - the VOIS members. See? We said it was simple.
Whether you are a Buyer or Seller, just go on over to the
VOIS Registration page the whole process takes less than a minute!
Q. What is posting a project, and is it hard to do?
Posting a project is so simple. It's so easy a five year old could do it. To Post, just type in what you need and go. Be clear in your description, and remember details count!
First, sign up for an account so that you can post a project. Then create a buyer account. To post your project, just provide information about the requirements of your task, and specify how much money you'd like to award.
Your project posting can run for up to sixty days.
For help just click on any of the VOIS 24 Hr Customer Service buttons located throughout the VOIS site. You can also email us any time at help@VOIS.com.
You may also mail us at:
VOIS Inc.
951 Yamato Road #201
Boca Raton. Florida 33431
Successful Projects involve a few basic strategies.
Communicate
Communication on VOIS is important. When working with remote professionals over the Internet, be clear in your wants and needs. Maintain continual communication. Use all of the VOIS tools available including VOIS email. Use VOIS email to serve as a record of your discussions. This record is a great reference point that you can use to refer back to, should any misunderstandings arise. Communication outside the VOIS system is not recommended and VOIS is unable to take communications outside the VOIS system into account to help resolve potential issues, as outside communications cannot be verified.
Be Specific and Expect Changes
Changes happen. Good planning and clear communication are crucial. Understand, it is sometimes hard to account for everything with a project from the beginning. Occasionally minor revisions may occur along the way. Be flexible. If major changes are required, do not expect your Seller to make these changes without additional compensation. In this case reach an agreement with your seller, to provide fair compensation for the extra work. If you are unable to come to an amicable agreement, you may pay for the partial work done and begin the process of obtaining new quotes from others, to finish the project and document any changes to your agreement in the VOIS email system.
Create Milestones
VOIS recommends the use of milestones as checkpoints to gauge project movement. With milestones, you can share feedback and set payments, encouraging the Seller to complete them in order to receive compensation and be motivated. - Milestones in VOIS are easy to set up.
Click Here to find out how to set up milestones.
Pay Timely
When your project is finished or you reach a milestone, the seller will send you a Payment Request. Informed your seller how they are to be paid makes payment easy. Timely payment makes you a good VOIS member. Payments should be released when you are satisfied with the results.
Leave Feedback
When your project is complete, leave feedback and be fair. Feedback is an essential part of VOIS as it serves as a members ' online reputation. Feedback motivates everyone to work together. Wait until you have received and evaluated all deliverables and are fully satisfied before leaving any feedback.
Vois members provide feedback for every buyer or seller they work with on projects. Feedback is given on the members profile page. Feedback is crucial as it ensures members can get an idea of what other members think of their skills. Everyone can read feedback of any user. Buyers and Sellers gain a huge incentive to stay honest and trustworthy thru feedback which has real life consequences.
You can give feedback by entering in "feedback" as a star rating. Star ratings are just indicators of what you like and don't like about your experience.
Once your project is posted, you may not edit the original text of your project description, but you may add additional text to your project description anytime by logging into VOIS and clicking on the project name. Then click the Add to Project Description link. Once you add text to your description, all interested Sellers will be notified so that they can adjust their proposals if necessary. Keep in mind that large changes to a project description may make the existing project unclear. In this case, you may want to post a new project and invite new and existing bidders to reply.
If you want to change the category you should cancel the project and repost it accordingly. To cancel a project, login to VOIS and click the name of the project. Click 'Cancel' in the section to the bottom of the project description. You will be asked why you cancelled the project. Credits for submitting a Featured Posting are not refundable if the project is cancelled for any reason and may not be applied towards any other Featured Posting.
Sometimes you may like a service Seller's work, or see a profile you like, and want to limit the project's proposals to just them. Well then just invite them. Only invited service Sellers may submit proposals on this type of project.
Posting a project on VOIS requires credits. Buyers and Sellers each pay a nominal acceptance fee via VOIS Credits, but only after a Seller has been selected and both sides accept the engagement. Buyers and Sellers who pay the acceptance fee are rewarded simultaneously with VOIS Credits as a thank you and may apply these credits towards future projects.
Much of the content on VOIS is search engine index-able. That means some information from VOIS may appear in search results. If you don't want search engines to find your Project, upon Posting click the "hide from search engines" option and pay via VOIS Credits. Once you do this, your project information will remain private.
Sometimes, project buyers can have difficulty deciding on the winner. They might also have to get approval from clients or other stakeholders. Be patient!
You can, but backing out of a project tends to be bad for contest holders' reputation, and might make it hard for you to attract sellers to your future projects.
Easy. Just sign up, set up your profile, and start viewing projects.
Posting a project requires credits. When you first join VOIS you are given the opportunity to obtain enough credits to post several projects. Posting a project on VOIS requires Buyers and Sellers to pay a nominal acceptance fee via credits but only after a Seller has been selected and both sides accept the engagement. Buyer and Sellers who leave feedback once a project is done are rewarded simultaneously with bonus credits.
As a Seller on VOIS, you have the opportunity to obtain enough credits to bid on a project. Members may purchase credits and apply them to bidding on projects. To purchase more credits,
Click Here.
You can hire someone for your project at any time after you post your offering and you don't have to wait for the bidding period to end. Projects must be awarded within the timeframe you specified during your posting, not to exceed 60 days. Awarding a project is simple. Once logged into your account, just click your project name and view the list of bidders and their proposals. When you have finalized your decision, click on that bidders Award button. Next, your bidder will review and accept the project. Please review all terms and make modifications to terms before a project starts.
You can only select one bidder for your project, but you can post a new project with similar or new terms to be awarded specifically for another bidder you would like to award a project to. The project will be listed specifically for that bidder. A contract or term sheet for work is always suggested but not required when agreeing or negotiating your project.
To pay for work completed, simply pay by the payment method you agreed upon.
To see the proposals for your project: Log in to VOIS. From your MyDashboard click on the project name. Review bids and accompanying comments. Go to sellers profile page and review their portfolio & feedback rating. Contact sellers as needed by instant messenger, or VOIS internal email.
Awarding a project is easy! Simply go to your MyDashboard page, view proposals for projects, and click Award project button. That's it.
From time-to-time certain parities may prefer to work with written agreements outlining terms of the project. While annoying, a written agreement helps projects move smoothly. Contracts help with, and are not limited to confidentiality, project timetables, payment, as well as many other issues. While VOIS is just a facilitator of transactions, we understand you may have questions as to what a seller or buyer might require. As such we have created a few sample agreements (contracts) for you to review. These contracts are merely samples for your review and VOIS does not endorse use of these samples. These samples should not be relied upon as legal advice. VOIS does not accept any liability in offering these samples. You should consult a legal advisor before entering any contract.
Non-Disclosure Agreements (also known as an NDA) Sample Non-Disclosure Agreement
Click Here Buyer/Service Contract Sample Contract
Click Here Professional Services Sample Engagement Letter
Click Here
If you want you can always save your project as a draft before activating that project. To save a project simply press the 'Save as Draft' button following at the end of the Post a Project screen before the final step or checkout. You can come back to make your post live by going to your Project Drafts page, selecting the post you want to activate and set as live.
On VOIS, you can choose to work with a seller on a fixed fee or hourly basis. Fixed fee projects are those that a fixed price is agreed upon for the entire project. Hourly fee work is when you would like to work with your seller on an hourly basis. Very often the seller will bill you on a weekly basis after calculating the hours worked during each week.
Sellers can be found in a number of different ways through searching by:
Name
Category
Keyword
Feedback
Rating
Number of Reviews
Membership Status
Location or zip code (where available)
To begin a Seller search, click on search VOIS tab on the footer of any of the VOIS web page, then use the appropriate filter.
VOIS is unique in that Buyers and service Sellers may communicate with each other in many ways including internal email, feeds or instant messaging. We suggest internal email for all written communication on VOIS, like project posting, proposals bids and business terms. Such email communications will serve as the record for resolution in a dispute. Outside communication cannot be used as it can't be verified.
At certain times you might want to ask your service Sellers to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, or NDA to protect any Intellectual Property/Confidential Information you may need to release in order to give the full scope of your project's requirements. In your project description, please state that you require Sellers to sign an NDA.
See sample NDA, below:
(Sample NDA) Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement
It is understood and agreed to that the parties to this Agreement would each like to provide the other with certain information that may be considered confidential. To ensure the protection of such information and in consideration of the agreement to exchange said information, the parties agree as follows:
The confidential information to be disclosed under this Agreement ("Confidential Information") can be described as and includes:
Technical and business information relating to proprietary ideas, patentable ideas and/or trade secrets, existing and/or contemplated products and services, research and development, production, costs, profit and margin information, finances and financial projections, customers, clients, marketing, and current or future business plans and models, regardless of whether such information is designated as "Confidential Information" at the time of its disclosure. In addition to the above, Confidential Information shall also include, and the parties shall have a duty to protect, other confidential and/or sensitive information which is (a) disclosed as such in writing and marked as confidential (or with other similar designation) at the time of disclosure; and/or (b) disclosed by in any other manner and identified as confidential at the time of disclosure and is also summarized and designated as confidential in a written memorandum delivered within thirty (30) days of the disclosure.
The parties shall use the Confidential Information only for the purpose of evaluating potential business, employment and/or investment relationships.
The parties shall limit disclosure of Confidential Information within its own organization to its directors, officers, partners, members and/or employees having a need to know and shall not disclose Confidential Information to any third party (whether an individual, corporation, or other entity) without prior written consent. The parties shall satisfy its obligations under this paragraph if it takes affirmative measures to ensure compliance with these confidentiality obligations by its employees, agents, consultants and others who are permitted access to or use of the Confidential Information.
This Agreement imposes no obligation upon the parties with respect to any Confidential Information (a) that was possessed before receipt; (b) is or becomes a matter of public knowledge through no fault of receiving party; (c) is rightfully received from a third party not owing a duty of confidentiality; (d) is disclosed without a duty of confidentiality to a third party by, or with the authorization of the disclosing party; or (e) is independently developed.
The parties warrant that they have the right to make the disclosures under this Agreement.
This Agreement shall not be construed as creating, conveying, transferring, granting or conferring upon either party any rights, license or authority in or to the information exchanged, except the limited right to use Confidential Information specified in paragraph 2. Furthermore and specifically, no license or conveyance of any intellectual property rights is granted or implied by this Agreement.
Neither party has an obligation under this Agreement to purchase any service, goods, or intangibles from the other party. Furthermore, both parties acknowledge and agree that the exchange of information under this Agreement shall not commit or bind either party to any present or future contractual relationship (except as specifically stated herein), nor shall the exchange of information be construed as an inducement to act or not to act in any given manner.
Neither party shall be liable to the other in any manner whatsoever for any decisions, obligations, costs or expenses incurred, changes in business practices, plans, organization, products, services, or otherwise, based on either party's decision to use or rely on any information exchanged under this Agreement.
If there is a breach or threatened breach of any provision of this Agreement, it is agreed and understood that the non-breaching party shall have no adequate remedy in money or other damages and accordingly shall be entitled to injunctive relief; provided however, no specification in this Agreement of any particular remedy shall be construed as a waiver or prohibition of any other remedies in the event of a breach or threatened breach of this Agreement.
This Agreement states the entire agreement between the parties concerning the disclosure of Confidential Information and supersedes any prior agreements, understandings, or representations with respect thereto. Any addition or modification to this Agreement must be made in writing and signed by authorized representatives of both parties. This Agreement is made under and shall be construed according to the laws of the State of ___________________, U.S.A. In the event that this agreement, is breached, any and all disputes must be settled in a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of ____________________, U.S.A.
If any of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be unenforceable, the remainder shall be enforced as fully as possible and the unenforceable provision(s) shall be deemed modified to the limited extent required to permit enforcement of the Agreement as a whole.
WHEREFORE, the parties acknowledge that they have read and understand this Agreement and voluntarily accept the duties and obligations set forth herein.
Recipient of Confidential Information:
Name (Print or Type):
Company:
Title:
Address:
City, State & Zip:
Signature:
Date:
Discloser of Confidential Information:
Name (Print of Type):
Company:
Title:
Address:
City, State & Zip:
Signature:
Date:
VOIS encourages you to formalize contract terms and conditions before accepting business terms. If you would like sample contract terms and conditions, see the generic contract below. You will need to edit the generic contract, save as a .doc file on your computer, and upload it to your project description before accepting Business Terms. A contract is where you include language for warranty and/or guarantee terms, intellectual property / copyright clauses, confidentiality agreements, detailed milestone delivery dates, and payment dates. You can also post a project in our Legal category to have a custom contract designed for your business. VOIS does not guarantee work. Buyers and service Sellers must negotiate those terms with each other before proceeding to work on a project.
Sample Contract
CONSULTING AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made this______day of______, 20______, by and between ______, whose address is ______, hereinafter referred to as the "Consultant", and , whose principal place of business is located at ______, hereinafter referred to as "Company". WHEREAS, the Company desires to engage the services of the Consultant to perform for the Company consulting services regarding the functions for the operation of as an independent contractor and not as an employee; and WHEREAS, Consultant desires to consult with the Board of Directors, the officers of the Company, and the administrative staff, and to undertake for the Company consultation as to the direction of certain functions in said management of; NOW, THEREFORE, it is agreed as follows: Term. The respective duties and obligations of the contracting parties shall be for a period of commencing on , 20 , and may be terminated by either party giving thirty (30) days' written notice to the other party at the addresses stated above or at an address chosen subsequent to the execution of this agreement and duly communicated to the party giving notice.
Consultations. Consultant shall be available to consult with the Board of Directors, the officers of the Company, and the heads of the administrative staff, at reasonable times, concerning matters pertaining to the organization of the administrative staff, the fiscal policies of the Company, the relationship of the Company with its employees or with any organization representing its employees, and, in general, the important problems of concern in the business affairs of the Company. Consultant shall not represent the Company, its Board of Directors,its officers or any other members of the Company in any transactions or communications nor shall Consultant make claim to do so.
Liability. With regard to the services to be performed by the Consultant pursuant to the terms of this agreement, the Consultant shall not be liable to the Company, or to anyone who may claim any right due to any relationship with the Corporation, for any acts or omissions in the performance of services on the part of the Consultant or on the part of the agents or employees of the Consultant, except when said acts or omissions of the Consultant are due to willful misconduct or gross negligence. The Company shall hold the Consultant free and harmless from any obligations, costs, claims, judgments, attorneys' fees, and attachments arising from or growing out of the services rendered to the Company pursuant to the terms of this agreement or in any way connected with the rendering of services, except when the same shall arise due to the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the Consultant and the Consultant is adjudged to be guilty of willful misconduct or gross negligence by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Compensation. The Consultant shall receive at least monthly from the Company for the performance of the services to rendered to the Company pursuant to the terms of the agreement $ per hour for work performed by the Consultant; however, in no event shall the compensation paid to the Consultant by the Company be less than $___________ per month nor more than $__________ per month. In addition, the Company shall reimburse the Consultant per diem for any reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by the Consultant pursuant to the terms of this agreement. The Consultant shall submit itemized statements of hours of services performed and expenses incurred during any particular month by the fifth (5th) day of the next succeeding month. The amount shall be paid to the Consultant by the fifteenth (15th) day of the latter month.
Retainer. A minimum retainer of Dollars ($ ) will be paid Consultant by Company in advance of any consultations and will be applied by client in advance of any consultations on account of the fee for such consultations.
Arbitration. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance of the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) shall be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. For that purpose, the parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction and venue of an appropriate court located in County, State of . In the event that litigation results from or arises out of this Agreement or the performance thereof, the parties agree to reimburse the prevailing party's reasonable attorney's fees, court consts, and all other expenses, whether or not taxable by the court as costs, in addition to any other relief to which the prevailing party may be entitled. In such event, no action shall be entertained by said court or any court of competent jurisdiction if filed more than one year subsequent to the date the cause(s) of action actually accrued regardless of whether damages were otherwise as of said time calculable.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto executed this Agreement on the_______day of________, 20 .
"Company"
Witness Company Name
By: Witness
"Consultant"
Witness Firm's Name (if applicable)
By: Witness
For projects, the Seller may choose not to begin work until at least one project milestone has been funded by the buyer. When the Terms are approved, generate a funding request to the Buyer so the Buyer can fund the first milestone allowing the Seller to begin work. The seller is then sent a notification. When the Seller has completed the project services related to the milestone, the Seller will request release of the milestone payment. As a buyer, when you are satisfied that the services have been completed you approve the release of the milestone payment. When the Seller requests a milestone release, you will receive a notification. By releasing a milestone, you essentially agree that all services are complete for that milestone.
Be fair and honest when giving a rating. Also realize that your Buyer or Seller will also be rating you as well so be fair and it works out for everyone. VOIS encourages all users to include specific comments as comments really give a good insight to the Buyer or Sellers' performance. Remember feedback cannot be changed once posted.
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