How to Build a Remote Team: A Practical Guide for Small Businesses

To build a remote team, decide three things before you post a role: which hours people must overlap, whether each person is an employee or a contractor, and how work gets written down. Then hire for written communication, onboard from a checklist, and judge people on what they deliver. In the US, a few federal rules still apply when nobody shares an office; they're quoted below with each agency's own date.

This page covers the remote side. For the paperwork of a first hire in general, see how to hire your first employee. For day-to-day habits, see remote work productivity tips.

Decide how "remote" works for you

Write a one-page remote policy before the first interview. It should answer:

• Overlap hours: which hours, in which time zone, everyone is expected to be reachable.
• Response times: how fast a message needs an answer, for example the same working day for client work.
• Where decisions live: one shared document or wiki, not private chats.
• Equipment and security: what you provide, and the minimum you require, such as two-step sign-in on email.

Employee or contractor?

Working from home doesn't make someone a contractor. The IRS says (US, page last reviewed or updated May 19, 2026): "An individual working remotely, for example, performing services for you from a location other than an office operated by you, is your employee under the common-law rules, if you can control what will be done and how it will be done."

If you plan to set someone's hours, tools and methods, plan for an employee. Ask an accountant or an employment lawyer before you decide, and before you hire in another state or country.

Hire and verify from a distance

Hire for the skills remote work leans on: clear writing, finishing work without daily check-ins, and asking for help early. Set a short paid trial task, and ask for it written up the way you'd want real work written up.

Identity checks still apply to remote hires. USCIS says (US, last reviewed or updated June 3, 2026): "All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for every individual they hire for employment in the United States." On examining documents remotely, USCIS says (US, last reviewed or updated September 26, 2025): "You must participate in E-Verify in good standing if you want to remotely examine your employee's documents." If you don't, plan how the documents will be examined in person.

Onboard from a checklist

Treat the first month as a written plan:

• Day 1: accounts and equipment working, the remote policy read, and one named person to ask.
• Week 1: a small real task finished and reviewed.
• Day 30: a feedback conversation in both directions, and changes to the plan if something isn't working.

Track hours where pay depends on them

For hourly employees, record hours worked at home the same way as hours in an office. The US Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #22 (US, revised July 2008) says: "Work not requested but suffered or permitted to be performed is work time that must be paid for by the employer." Decide with each person how they record their time, and check with an employment lawyer which of your roles this covers.

Worked example: finding overlap hours

Sample figures: a business owner in New York works 9:00 to 17:00 and hires a designer in Lisbon who also works 9:00 to 17:00 local time. In January, New York is 5 hours behind UTC and Lisbon is on UTC, so the owner works 14:00 to 22:00 UTC and the designer works 9:00 to 17:00 UTC. The shared window is 14:00 to 17:00 UTC: 17:00 minus 14:00 is 3 hours a day. Put meetings that need both people in those 3 hours and move everything else to written updates.

Where Billed fits

If you bill clients for your team's time, Billed's features page says you can "Collaborate and track your team's time in one place." Its time tracking page says: "Create an hourly rate project, set its hourly rate, and Billed tracks the charge for each task as you log it." When a client wants the detail, the features page says you can "Create and export your and your team's timesheets."

Mistakes to avoid

• Hiring before the remote policy exists, then making up the rules for each person.
• Using meetings to fill gaps that written updates would fix.
• Calling someone a contractor while controlling how they do the work.
• Leaving the first remote hire without a named person to ask.

When this guide isn't for you

If your company already has an HR team and written remote-work policies, use those. This page doesn't give legal or tax advice; ask a lawyer or an accountant about your situation.

Related Articles

• How to Hire Your First Employee
• Remote Work Productivity Tips
• How to Create a Company Culture
• Time Tracking Best Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a remote worker an employee or a contractor?

It depends on control, not location. The IRS says (US, page last reviewed or updated May 19, 2026) that a remote worker "is your employee under the common-law rules, if you can control what will be done and how it will be done." Ask an accountant or an employment lawyer about a specific role.

Do I need Form I-9 for a remote hire?

Yes. USCIS says (US, last reviewed or updated June 3, 2026): "All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for every individual they hire for employment in the United States."

How do I pick meeting times across time zones?

Convert each person's working hours to UTC and find the hours they share. Keep meetings inside that window and handle the rest in writing.

Can Billed track a remote team's hours?

Billed's features page says you can "Collaborate and track your team's time in one place." It also says you can "Create and export your and your team's timesheets."