Understanding Overpass Seats

As an Overpass client, when you first hire a contractor, you're also purchasing a seat subscription. In order to use the Overpass platform effectively and economically, it's important to understand how these seat subscriptions work.

A seat represents one contractor's access to your Overpass site. In order for a contractor to work for your company, they must have a seat.

A helpful way to envision this is to imagine that you and your team are all physically sitting around a conference table. If there's a vacant seat at the table, then a new person can join the meeting without issue. But if all the chairs are taken, you'll need to pull up a new seat before they can join.

As a client, your seat is already included. You do not need to purchase a seat for yourself, only for the freelancers that you hire.

Contractors cannot share seats, so the number of seats you need is equivalent to the total number of people currently working. A team of five sales reps will require five seats.

Seats can always be vacated and refilled as needed. When a contract ends (for any reason), that seat becomes available, and you may hire a replacement contractor into that open seat without any additional cost or penalty.

When you're looking to replace one contractor with another, the order of your actions matters. When a freelancer is being replaced, you should always cancel that contract first (vacating the seat), then extend the new offer to the next candidate. Otherwise, you'll end up with one more seat than you need.

When you initially send a contract offer, you are not charged until that offer has been officially accepted. Your first charge from Overpass will occur at the same time that your first contract is accepted.

Each seat costs $240/month. Seats can be closed at any time when not needed.

We also offer a 25% discount for clients who choose to prepay 12 months. That upfront total is $2160, which reduces the effective monthly cost to $180/month.

The seat fee for the first month is prorated, depending on how many days remain in the month. For example, if your contract is accepted on the 15th, the standard rate ($240) would be prorated to $120, since the month is already half over. Subsequent months are billed at the full rate, on the 1st of each month.

The basic process of hiring contractors and purchasing seats remains consistent, regardless of the size of your team. However, remember that seats can be re-used, so there is no charge to hire a replacement into an open seat.

To see current staff and seats, just click the Workforce link in the Overpass banner. From here, you can see all contractors who are currently hired, as well as any vacant seats. If you do have an available seat, just click the blue Hire Contractors button to bring you directly to the marketplace.
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If you decide to downsize your team, you may close unneeded seats. First, navigate to the Workforce page within Overpass to cancel the contract. Once the contract is cancelled, the seat is vacated, and a new button appears on the Workforce page, allowing you to Cancel Seat.

Remember that seats are billed on the 1st of every month, so if you plan on cancelling an unused seat, you'll want to do that before the advent of an upcoming month.

Why do I need to purchase seats?

Seats represent access to your Overpass workspace. On a practical level, seat fees are how Overpass stays in business; we don't take any percentage of the contractors' hourly compensation.

How many seats do I need?

Each contractor on your team requires their own seat. A team of 10 appointment setters requires 10 seats. However, seats are not permanently linked to the specific person, and may be vacated and refilled at any point.

Do I need a seat for myself, or my business partners?

Your own seat is automatically included, and you may add "Team Manager" accounts (with the same access as you) at no charge. Seats are only required for contractors.

How much does each seat cost?

Seats are billed monthly, and cost $240/month. Your very first seat charge will be prorated based on how much time remains in the current month. This cost can be reduced to $180/month by purchasing 12 months upfront ($2160).

Can two contractors ever share a seat?

No. Each person always requires their own seat to access your workspace, even if they are not literally accessing the site at the same time.