Everything you need to set yourself up, set your rates, and win work on Handballed. Built for professionals who've never gone out on their own before — and veterans who want a fast refresher.
Before you quote a single brief, you need three things locked in: an ABN, a handle on GST, and a plan for super. None of it is complicated. Here is the quick version.
Free, takes 15 minutes online. You need one to invoice legally and avoid 47% tax withholding. Get it at the Australian Business Register before you take your first brief.
Once your annual turnover hits $75,000, you must register for GST and add 10% to all invoices. Below that, it is optional but worth doing if you expect to grow fast.
As a sole trader, super is your responsibility. The current rate is 11.5% of your income. Build it into your rate (the calculator below does this for you) rather than paying it as an afterthought.
Most experts on Handballed operate as sole traders. If your income grows significantly, a Pty Ltd may offer tax advantages. Talk to an accountant before making the switch.
No ABN = 47% tax withheld. Australian businesses are legally required to withhold 47% from any payment to a supplier without an ABN. Do not skip this step.
Handballed handles your invoicing and payments. But once money lands in your account, you are running a business — and that means tracking income, paying tax, managing super, and keeping records. Here is what most experts use.
You need somewhere to track income and expenses, reconcile your bank account, and generate reports at tax time. In Australia the main options are:
Even if you charge project rates, tracking your actual hours is how you calibrate future quotes and prove to yourself your rate is working. Most consultants underestimate their time until they measure it.
If your turnover exceeds $75,000 you must lodge a Business Activity Statement (BAS) quarterly. Even below that threshold, getting an accountant early pays for itself.
For work done outside the Handballed platform, you need written agreements. A simple signed document beats a verbal understanding every time.
One rule that saves most new consultants from a nasty surprise: the moment Handballed releases funds to your account, move 30% into a separate savings account immediately. That covers income tax, Medicare levy, and your super contribution. Treat it as untouchable until tax time.
Coming soon: Handballed is exploring partnerships with leading accounting and business tools so our experts can access preferred rates. Watch this space.
PI insurance covers you if a client claims your advice or service caused them financial loss. For the categories on Handballed — employment law, HR, WHS, finance, coaching, automation — this is not optional. It is the cost of being credible.
What it covers: Legal defence costs and compensation if a client sues you for negligence, an error in your work, or a claim that your advice caused them financial harm. Policies typically cover claims made during the policy period, even if the work was done earlier.
| Cover Level | Who it suits | Approx. Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | Starting out, low-complexity advisory, small clients | From ~$500/yr |
| $1,000,000 Recommended | HR consultants, WHS advisors, business coaches, most SMB work | From ~$776/yr |
| $2,000,000 | Employment lawyers, CFO advisory, larger client engagements | From ~$1,200/yr |
| $5,000,000 | Enterprise clients, contractual requirements, high-stakes decisions | From ~$2,500/yr |
Indicative only. Actual premiums vary by occupation, claims history, and coverage scope.
Australia's largest online PI insurance comparison. Compare multiple insurers in minutes and buy online. Over 300,000 small businesses insured.
Public Liability covers injury or property damage claims. Cyber Insurance covers data breaches. BizCover bundles these together affordably.
Handballed requires all verified experts to hold current PI insurance. You will need to provide proof of your policy during verification. Our team reviews it as part of your onboarding. Keep your renewal date in your calendar.
Most experts undercharge because they price against what feels comfortable, not what their time actually costs. This calculator works backwards from your financial reality to your minimum viable rate.
Enter your numbers. We do the maths.
Market check: HR consultants in Australia typically charge $120–$200/hr. WHS advisors $100–$180/hr. Employment lawyers $250–$450/hr. CFO advisors $200–$400/hr. Business coaches $150–$300/hr. Automation consultants $150–$250/hr. If your calculated rate falls below market, charge market.
Don't negotiate yourself down before the client has even seen your rate. It is on them to determine whether the value is right for them — not you. Most experts find clients value them more than they value themselves. Put the rate out there and let the market respond.
Your hourly rate is the floor, not the ceiling. From there, the structure you use to package it determines your income security, your cashflow, and how the client experiences your value. Use this tool to model the main options.
Enter your hourly rate, then model different engagement types.
Hourly billing in arrears is the hardest model to sustain. You have no income security, you get paid after the fact, and you are effectively penalised for getting faster at your work. Use it only to capture out-of-scope additions on an otherwise project or retainer engagement — not as your primary model.
When it makes sense: Ad-hoc advisory calls, overflow work from an existing engagement, a new client relationship where scope is genuinely unclear at the outset.
If you do bill hourly: Invoice at the end of each week the work is done. Do not let it accumulate. Quote a range on Handballed (e.g. "10–15 hours at $175/hr") and agree a check-in before exceeding the upper end.
Best for: On-site facilitation, workshops, strategy days, audits where your full attention is required.
Tip: Day rates feel cleaner to clients than hourly for structured engagements. Half-day rates should not simply be half your day rate. Charge 60–65% for a half day to cover your travel time and opportunity cost.
Best for: Discrete, well-defined deliverables — a policy document, a compliance audit, an HR framework, a comp review. You know what needs to be done and roughly how long it takes.
How to scope it accurately: Break the project into sub-tasks and estimate hours at that level. Keep drilling down until you can confidently put a number on each piece. Inaccurate scoping at a high level is what leads to undercharging on complex work.
On Handballed: The client pays the full project fee into escrow before work starts — you do not need to negotiate a deposit. For larger projects spanning multiple phases, structure each phase as its own job with its own escrow payment. See the Payment section below for how to handle this.
On efficiency: The better you get at this type of work, the faster you deliver it — and your effective hourly rate goes up while the client pays the same price. That is value based pricing in action. Scope tightly and quote all out-of-scope additions in writing at your hourly rate before proceeding.
Best for: Ongoing advisory relationships: fractional CFO, retained HR, monthly WHS compliance, coaching programmes. Broad scope where a project structure would be impossible, or where the client just wants your expertise on tap for a set number of hours.
On Handballed: Retainer arrangements currently work as monthly payment requests — one escrow payment per period. Talk to the Handballed team before setting up a retainer so we can walk you through the process. We are working on a more streamlined recurring payment flow.
On the "what if you work fewer hours" objection: The price is for securing your expertise for that block of time, not for the literal hours tracked. You should not be penalised for being efficient. Agree an hours scope that feels right for the work, keep it fixed, and hold the line if this comes up.
The same work is worth more to some clients than others. A WHS audit for an 800-person manufacturer carries more consequence than the same audit for a 20-person office. Same deliverable, different stakes, different price.
Larger companies have bigger payrolls, more people affected, and higher consequences for getting it wrong. The same expertise is worth more to them. Segment your pricing accordingly.
When you have more leads than you can service, raise your price by 10% and see what happens. If demand holds, raise it again. Scarcity is a legitimate reason to charge more.
The job of determining whether your rate is worth it belongs to the client, not you. Quote your real rate and let them respond. You will be surprised how often they say yes.
One of the biggest headaches in solo consulting is chasing payments. On Handballed, the platform handles payment terms for you. Here is what that means in practice.
Handballed requires the client to pay the full agreed amount into escrow before any work commences. This is enforced by the platform — not a conversation you need to have. You receive a notification when funds are secured, and that is your start signal.
Once you deliver and the client confirms the job complete, funds are automatically released to your connected bank account via Stripe Connect. No invoice to send, no payment to chase, no waiting on someone's accounts payable cycle.
Because payment release is tied to the client confirming completion, your agreed deliverables need to be documented clearly in the Handballed messaging thread before the escrow payment is made. This protects both parties if there is ever a dispute.
If the client asks for work outside the original agreed scope, pause and agree the additional cost in writing in the chat thread before proceeding. Additional work will require a new payment request through the platform.
For longer or staged projects: The current practical approach is to structure the engagement as sequential milestones, each with its own agreed scope and escrow payment. For example, a 3-month HR framework project might be structured as three separate jobs on the platform — one per phase. Agree this with your client upfront and document the overall plan in your first message thread. If you have questions about how to set this up, contact the Handballed team.
Monthly retainers: Handballed is actively working out the best way to support ongoing retainer arrangements. For now, the practical approach is a monthly payment request per retainer period. Talk to the Handballed team before setting up a retainer engagement so we can support you through the process.
Clients on Handballed see your profile before they select you. A strong profile is not a resume. It is a pitch. Use the AI portfolio builder to craft yours — or use these principles to write it yourself.
Handballed Pro includes an AI portfolio builder that walks you through five guided steps to produce your expertise title, value proposition, experience narrative, service streams, and problem framing — the exact fields clients see on your profile. Open the portfolio builder →
Start your bio with the type of problem you solve, not your credentials. "I help SMBs navigate unfair dismissal claims without going to the Fair Work Commission" beats "20 years in employment law."
Numbers build trust. "Reduced a client's WHS incident rate by 60%" is more compelling than "experienced in workplace safety." Clients are buying results, not time.
A clear headshot increases response rates significantly across every marketplace studied. Natural light, simple background. Your photo is the first impression before your words.
If you have deep expertise in one industry sector (e.g. HR for hospitality, WHS in construction), say so. Clients with that background will choose you over a generalist every time.
Handballed verifies every expert before they appear on the platform. Have these ready:
On Handballed, the first two verified experts who express interest in a brief get matched. Speed matters. But speed without quality loses work. Here is how to respond fast and win the job.
Clients describe their problem in plain English. Read for the actual pain point, not just the category. An "HR problem" might really be a performance management issue heading toward unfair dismissal risk. Naming what they are really worried about sets you apart.
Start by showing you understand their situation. Then mention one or two directly relevant experiences or outcomes. Keep it short. This is not a pitch document, it is a conversation opener.
Clients compare two matched experts. The one with a clear proposed approach and honest price estimate wins more often than the vague one. Use the pricing calculator above to give a range, and explain the factors that would push it higher or lower.
A single well-chosen question shows you are thinking about their problem and opens a dialogue. Avoid questions that could have been answered by reading the brief carefully. "What outcome would make this project a success for you?" is almost always the right question.
Once selected, confirm the deliverables, timeline, and pricing in writing via the Handballed messaging thread before you do any work. This protects both of you and forms the basis of the payment release on completion.
Scope creep is the number one issue for freelance consultants globally. Agree your scope clearly, in writing, before you start. If the client adds work, acknowledge it promptly and quote the additional cost before proceeding. It is not awkward, it is professional.
Handballed uses a secure escrow payment system. The client pays before work is complete, but you do not get paid until they confirm the job is done. Here is exactly how it works.
Handballed charges a flat 8% on every completed transaction. This is taken from the client payment at release. Quote your full rate to the client — the fee comes out of the total, so factor it into your pricing if you want to net a specific amount.
Handballed uses Stripe Connect from day one. Once the client confirms completion, funds are automatically split and paid directly to your connected bank account. No manual transfers, no chasing. You will receive an email notification the moment funds are released.
If a client disputes completion before releasing funds, our team reviews the agreed scope against the delivered work. This is why written scope agreement via the messaging thread matters so much.
Quick maths: To net $1,000 after the 8% fee, quote the client $1,087 (ex-GST). Then add 10% GST on top, so the client pays $1,196. Use the formula: desired net ÷ 0.92 = your quote amount.
Set up your profile, complete verification, and let the AI portfolio builder do the heavy lifting on your bio. Your first brief is waiting.
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