You have the skills. You've built the solution. Now get paid for it.

No. Real corporate experience matters most. Certifications help employers trust you faster and support higher rates.

Everyone joins as a Coach. Hotkey awards the blue Practitioner badge for verifiable business automation experience, and the purple Expert badge for top skills backed by a relevant certification. Each badge lowers your service fee.

It's the employer's budget divided by the total estimated hours, plus 10% for hybrid or 20% for onsite. You can propose a different rate, up to the employer's maximum budget.

Yes. Many requests are part time, and each shows its weekly hours.

No. You work on anonymized files with the same structure. The employer switches to live data at the end.

Only employers who accept your proposal. Public files show on your profile.

You receive the full agreed project total, split into weekly payouts. Each week is released once you post that week's update and the employer approves it. Hotkey's fee is charged to the employer, not you.

Payroll is always one week in arrears. The pay week runs Sunday to Saturday and closes Saturday at 11:59 PM; updates and employer approvals must be in by then. Hotkey runs payroll Monday morning and sends bank transfers (ACH) Wednesday. Depending on your bank the money lands Wednesday to Friday; Friday is the official pay date. Anything approved after the Saturday cutoff is paid the following week.

It still gets paid, just in the next weekly run. Nothing is skipped; it simply moves to the next Friday.

Only agreed costs (for example a tool the employer asked you to use) are reimbursed. Submit the claim from your workspace with proof of payment. It goes through automatic checks, then Hotkey approves it before it's added to a weekly payroll run.

Approved bonuses, reimbursements and your early-cancellation share are added; Hotkey's service fee (5% free, 3% Pro, 1% Elite, lower with badges) and any approved corrections are deducted. Every item shows in your pay history, and nothing is sent without Hotkey's approval.

Yes. Signed in employers can message you directly from your public profile, and you can reply from your Messages page.

Weeks the employer already approved stay yours. If the employer ends it early, you also earn 10% of the remaining balance, paid in the next payroll run. If you can't finish, request backend help first so a senior engineer can step in for a share of the remaining payouts.

Each task has an owner and due date. When it's finished, send it for review and the employer approves it as done. Final payout needs every test signed off on real data and an approved SOP.

Within 48 hours.

Yes. Employers may offer part time or full time roles. Record the outcome in Messages so your profile reflects it.