Consultancy scheduling, billing, and record keeping systems and methods

摘要

Employers, referral agencies, consultants and independent contractors need each other. Employers outsource sign language interpreting, spoken language interpreting, court reporting, real time captioning and other support personnel services. Consultants and contractors provide information regarding their services and certification, degrees and experience through a subscription service allowing them access to a computerized scheduling, billing, and record keeping system. Referral placement agencies utilizing the environment post information concerning their respective services, fees, policies and the consultants or independent contractors available through such entities. Outsourcing companies search a database containing Agency's information to determine which entity meets a particular search criterion. Selected agencies receive job assignment information in a job request template. Agency representatives prepare a bid that is sent to the outsourcing companies for review. An outsourcing company will make their selection and award the job assignment to a particular agency or agencies for satisfying their particular job requirements. The environment's automated method provides Employers, Agencies, Consultants and Independent Contractors a method for identifying, planning, scheduling and managing personnel in an environment in which there are varying job requirements. Each employer, agency, consultant and contractor will have it's own work rules, schedule and operating constraints. Computerized scheduling, billing, record keeping and payment templates create an method and system for managing communications between a Consultant or Independent Contractor having particular qualifications and the Outsourcing Company seeking to hire Consultant(s) or Contractor(s). In a preferred embodiment, the environment created by the present invention includes an Agency Entity having a database for storing Consultant and Independent Contractor qualifications. A search program identifies the Consultant or Independent Contractor (s) qualified to respond to the Outsourcing Companies job request. A request is then submitted to the Consultant(s) or Contractor(s). A response is made either through the environment or through other traditional communication methods to the Agency's request. Using a wide range of security levels from passwords to cryptography the job request is considered filled. The Agency uses the environment to push the assigned Consultant(s) or Contractor(s) the specifics of the job request. The Agency then pushes the confirmation of assignment to the Outsourcing Company. Upon Completion of the assignment, the Consultant(s) or Contractor (s) will use the environment to bill and record their job related expenses. A ‘teaching tool’ in this embodiment use a better business practices for Consultants and Contractors by standardizing their record keeping. The environment and systems of the present invention have applications on the Internet.