Hire and pay your global team in 242 locations — with compliant contracts, IP assignment, and one B2B invoice. The entire back office — without the back office.
A Contractor of Record sits between you and your contractors. You manage the work. Kleos manages contracts, classification, cross-border payments, tax docs, and the audit trail. One invoice from us, money in their accounts, compliance handled.
You keep:
Who you hire
Scope & deliverables
Day-to-day comms
Performance calls
Your sanity
CoR handles:
Compliant contracts
Worker classification
Cross-border payments
Tax docs & audit trail
IP transfer clauses
The problems this solves
Misclassification risk is real
The IRS found 38% of audited contractors were misclassified in 2023. Penalties can exceed $100K per worker. A COR classifies every engagement correctly from day one.
Contractor paperwork doesn't scale
Residence certificates, tax forms, KYC, IP assignments and payment details quickly become unmanageable across multiple countries.
Payments are more than bank transfers
Tax withholding, currency conversion, invoicing formats, delivery timelines — all vary by country. Get one wrong and someone doesn’t get paid on time. Or you get audited.
One provider shouldn't dictate your hiring strategy
Different countries, engagement models, and payment corridors often require different solutions. A flexible CoR adapts to your workforce instead of forcing it into a single model.
COR + EOR: the full picture
Most companies end up using both. Here’s what each one handles
Who it’s for
Legal relationship
What’s included
Typical cost
Risk it solves
Pairs with
COR
Who it’s for
Contractors, freelancers, project-based talent
Legal relationship
Contractor stays independent. COR is the contracting entity.
FX conversion no more than 3.5% — locked at signing
For employees
€0
/ always
Your contractors never pay a cent.
Zero platform fees
Zero withdrawal commissions
All payout methods free
Get paid in your local currency
On-time payments, every cycle
Full visibility into payment status
FX conversion no more than 3.5% — locked at signing
Everything else you're wondering
Is a COR the same as an AOR (Agent of Record)?
Practically, yes. "Agent of Record" is the older term. Some providers use them interchangeably. The function is the same.
Do my contractors know they’re going through a COR?
Yes. The COR signs the contract with the contractor. Your company is referenced as the client. It’s transparent — not a shell game.
What happens if a contractor should actually be an employee?
We flag it before it becomes a problem. If the engagement starts looking like employment — fixed hours, your tools, your manager — we’ll tell you. Kleos can move them to full-time payroll through our Employer of Record service with minimal disruption.
What about IP ownership?
Every COR contract includes IP transfer clauses by default. Everything your contractor creates belongs to you. Without explicit IP assignment, the contractor may legally own their work in some jurisdictions.