Few things can bring a small company to a grinding halt faster than an IT problem. This isn’t surprising, since most small and mid-size businesses can’t afford the luxury of employing full-time IT staff. Happily, they don’t need to, because with IT outsourcing aggregator sites flourishing on the Web, most small businesses can now find the solution to almost all of their IT needs with just a few keystrokes.

Below is a comparison of a few of the more notable online IT outsourcing sites that cater to smaller companies. All four sites connect businesses with vetted IT freelancers who charge either hourly rates or a flat fee, depending on the project. While oDesk.com, RentACoder.com, and Guru.com can save your business money by offshoring tasks like custom software development and website management to cheaper IT experts overseas, the first of these sites, OnForce.com, fills a need among many smaller companies for on-site IT assistance in handling things like software setup and network installations.

Online Assistance: 

NUMBER OF REGISTERED FREE LANCERS: 10,000

COST TO POST A PROJECT: $11/work order

WORKFORCE LOCATION: U.S.-based (local focus)

JOBS BEST SUITED FOR: On-site software setup, Hardware installations 

SELECTION PROCESS: Local Search (OnForce lets buyers find IT help by searching freelancers’ zipcodes and credentials)

Open Negotiation (Buyer can propose a price for their project and local freelancers can accept or counter the bid)

PAYMENT METHOD: To submit a work order, buyer must pay an access fee ($11) and fund a service account with OnForce, but IT provider only receives full payment after completion of the project 

NUMBER OF REGISTERED FREE LANCERS: 30,349

COST TO POST A PROJECT: Free

WORKFORCE LOCATION: Mainly foreign-based (offshore focus)

JOBS BEST SUITED FOR: Software coding, Website management

SELECTION PROCESS: Reverse Auction (Buyers choose IT help based on providers’ posted hourly rates and credentials)

Open Auction (oDesk freelancers bid on buyers’ publicly-posted projects; can see competing bids)

PAYMENT METHOD: oDesk charges buyer’s credit card weekly based on timesheets filed by IT freelancer and approved by buyer; contract can be terminated at any time

NUMBER OF REGISTERED FREE LANCERS: 200,00

COST TO POST A PROJECT: Free

WORKFORCE LOCATION: Mainly foreign-based (offshore focus)

JOBS BEST SUITED FOR: Custom Software Coding

SELECTION PROCESS: Closed Auction (Buyer posts projects and sets a maximum price, IT freelancers offer quotes; can’t see competing bids)

PAYMENT METHOD: Buyer fully funds an escrow account before project starts, releases funds to IT provider only after satisfactory completion of the project

NUMBER OF REGISTERED FREE LANCERS: 629,000 (not all are IT-focused)

COST TO POST A PROJECT: Free

WORKFORCE LOCATION: Mainly foreign-based (offshore focus)

JOBS BEST SUITED FOR: Software coding, Website help, Database development

SELECTION PROCESS: Reverse Auction (Buyers choose IT help based on providers’ posted hourly rates and credentials)

Closed Auction (Freelancers offer quotes on posted projects; can’t see competing bids)

PAYMENT METHOD: Buyer has the choice of either fully or partially funding a Guru escrow account before project starts, and can release funds to IT provider either in installments or in full after satisfactory completion of the project