Subcontracting for agencies as a freelance developer

The catch is that the arrangement can go badly if you sign without thinking it through. This guide covers how to find agencies that need help, how to approach them, and what to settle before you touch their client's code.

Why agencies hire freelancers

Small agencies sell more than they can build. A design studio sells a custom site and needs a developer. A marketing shop sells an automation project and has nobody who knows n8n or Make. Work comes in waves, so hiring full-time is risky. A freelancer who can slot in for a few weeks fits that pattern.

You see this across stacks: Shopify and Next.js builds, Django backends, workflow automation. If you are earlier in your search, how to get your first Next.js client and how Shopify freelancers find clients cover other routes.

Finding agencies that might need you

• Look at the team page. An agency with designers and account managers but no developers probably outsources.
• Check their portfolio for work that needs more than a page builder, such as custom apps, integrations, or store builds.
• Watch for agencies posting contract roles or asking for overflow help in communities.
• Ask other freelancers. Designers know which studios are overloaded.

Make a short list of ten or twenty and write to each one individually. Mention something specific about their work and the exact kind of task you can take, such as theme builds, API integrations, or migrations.

What to say

Keep the first message short:

"I saw you built the site for [client]. I take on development overflow for agencies, mostly custom theme work and integrations. If you ever have a build that doesn't fit your team's week, I'm happy to look at it. Want a link to two things I've shipped?"

One question, one specific offer, no long list of skills. If they answer, suggest a small paid first job so both sides can see how it goes.

White-label or partnership: decide early

Karl Sakas, who advises agency owners, draws a useful line in his article on agency white-labeling. In white-labeling, the hiring agency tells the client the work is its own. In what he calls agency partnering, the client knows your team is doing the work but pays through the primary agency. He suggests that many risks can be reduced by moving from the first toward the second. That is his opinion, based on his own experience, and it was published some years ago, but the questions he raises still apply.

Some things he recommends settling in advance, in our paraphrase:

• Structure. Does the client know you exist? The closer you are to the person paying, the more leverage you tend to have. If the client pays the agency and the agency pays you, expect a longer wait for payment, possibly an extra 30 days or more.
• Non-solicitation. Some agencies require that you do not work with their clients directly. It is common. Try to keep it time-limited, and ideally have a clause that releases you if the client asks for you by name. Have a lawyer read the contract.
• Client communication. Can you speak with the client directly? If everything goes through the agency's account manager, add budget for extra revisions and project management overhead. Some agencies also give you an email address on their own domain, which means one more inbox to watch.
• Scope. If the client asks for more than was paid for, who negotiates it, and who absorbs the cost? Fix a number of revision rounds or a dollar amount in advance.

We read the first part of his article (structure, client communication, scope) and the list of ten points; we did not read every section in full.

Terms to put in writing

Even for a small job, send a one-page agreement or a clear email thread that covers:

• What is included, and what is not.
• Number of revision rounds, and the price of anything beyond them.
• Payment: amount, schedule, and the due date counted from your invoice, not from when the client pays the agency.
• Who owns the code and when ownership transfers (usually on full payment).
• Whether you may show the work in your portfolio, and under what name.
• What you will not do, such as claim to be an employee or sign anything on the agency's behalf.

Also decide about confidentiality. If you agree to appear as part of their team, you are still the one doing the work, so be careful to stay truthful with anyone who asks you directly.

Pricing for agency work

Agencies mark up what they pay you, so expect to be paid less than a direct client would pay, in exchange for not doing sales and for steadier flow. Do not undercut yourself to win the first job. A rough way to check: would you still take the job if it were the only one that month? If the answer is no, the price is too low.

Third-party pages list wide ranges for freelance developer rates. For example, goLance states that Shopify developers charge between $30 and $285 an hour worldwide, with most on its own platform at $10 to $25. These are the seller's claims about its own market, not a benchmark we can vouch for. For how to price specific work, see Shopify theme customization pricing.

Keeping the relationship healthy

• Reply fast, even when the answer is "I'll know tomorrow".
• Give honest estimates, and flag changes as soon as you see them.
• Deliver what you said, or tell them early that you can't.
• Ask what they would like to see more of. Repeat work is the point.

Where Thomas Partners fits

If you want the agency-style flow of client work without building the relationships one by one, Thomas Partners brings client work to freelancers. You keep 90% of the profit after documented costs are repaid. Apply to join.