It’s really easy to add freelancers to your Google Workspace:
- Log in to your Google Workspace admin account.
- Go to the Admin console.
- Navigate to the Users section and click on Add new user.
- Fill in the required information for the freelancer and click Save. The freelancer will now have access to your Google Workspace.
But what if you have limited funds as a small business owner and adding another user license is just a bit of a stretch? Are there any other options available? Yes, there are! Let’s dive in and see how to add freelancers to your Google Workspace in three different scenarios.
What access do they need?
The first thing to consider is what type of access do your freelancers need?
If they need to be able to send emails as individual_name@yourcompany.com.au then they’re going to need a full paid Google Workspace account – follow the steps above to add them.
But if they don’t need to send company branded emails as an individual, then there are a few options available to you. Read on to find out what they are!
Scenario 1: Freelance just needs access to Google Workspace, but not email
This is the easiest scenario to handle. All you need to do is set the freelancer up with a Google Workspace account that has a Cloud Identity Free subscription, rather than a paid Google Workspace license.
Pro: It’s 100% free. The freelancer can log into Google Drive; use Docs, Slides etc; even make Google Meet calls.
Con: The freelancer can’t receive or send emails from an @yourcompany.com.au email address. They also can’t access Chat.
Scenario 2: Freelancer needs to receive emails sent to an individual email address
Here, I’m assuming that your freelancers have their own personal email addresses (like freelancer-example123@gmail.com or 123freelancer-example@hotmail.com) and that they need to receive emails that are sent to individual_name@yourcompany.com.au.
In this scenario you can set the user up with a Cloud Identity Free account and then forward any email sent to individual_name@yourcompany.com.au to their personal email address using the recipient address map functionality.
Pro: Cheap – in fact it is free to add the freelancer to Google Workspace and they get access to 90% of the functions – lik Google Drive, Docs, Meet etc.
Con: The freelancer will not be able to access Gmail or Chat in your Google Workspace environment. They also won’t be able to send emails as individual_name@yourcompany.com.au to anyone. Any replies will come from their personal email addresses.
Scenario 3: Freelancer needs to receive and reply to emails sent to a group email address
Here, I’m assuming that your freelancers have their own personal email addresses (like freelancer-example123@gmail.com or 123freelancer-example@hotmail.com) and that they need to receive and reply to emails that are sent to group_name@yourcompany.com.au.
In this scenario you would create the group and add all your freelancers as members to the group.
The freelancer will receive emails in their own personal email client, and can reply from there, or they can access group emails through the Google groups website if they have a personal Google account.
Pro: Free. Google Groups is built into Google Workspace and you don’t need to pay for any user licenses when adding members to the group. You also don’t need to worry about setting up a new user in Google Workspace – jsut add the external email address as a member.
Groups have collaborative features like assigning tasks; viewing all conversations; and labelling conversations.
Con: If the freelancer replies to the email from their personal email client, their own personal email address will show up rather than the group_name address. They can also opt not to send a reply to the group email – just to the original poster.
The freelancer also won’t have any access to other Google Workspace features at all.
And that’s it!
3 ways in which you can give a freelancer access to your Google Workspace installation, without having to pay for a Google Workspace license!
Want more personalised help?
I hope this article was of assistance to you, but if you want more personalised help then why not get in touch?
I specialise in helping small business owners just like you work better with Google Workspace so you can save time and money by streamlining your business processes; increasing your productivity; and improving client and employee comunications.