The engagement model you choose decides five things you never evaluated.

Managed Delivery vs. Staffing vs. EOR vs. Freelance breaks down what a rate card conceals: who legally employs the engineer, who may direct the work, who owns the code, and who is accountable when delivery slips. 2026 made that decision consequential in a new way. From 6 April, UK clients and agencies are jointly liable for umbrella PAYE with no reasonable-care defence. The EU platform work deadline lands 2 December. California still charges $5,000 to $25,000 per wilful misclassification. US federal rules loosened; state law and private litigation did not.

Most buyers assume the label transfers the risk. It does not. German copyright cannot be assigned at all, only licensed, so a US-form contractor agreement leaves a permanent hole in your chain of title. This paper supplies six transfer questions, a model-by-risk matrix, and a diligence pack: the exact questions to ask and the evidence to demand before you sign. Rocketeams runs two of the four models and says plainly where each one is the wrong choice, including its own two. Read it before your next MSA, then run the same diligence on us.