(operations/contractors)=
# Contractors

QuantEcon engages contractors for some work, and contractors submit their hours and
invoices through a GitHub-based workflow. The process is deliberately light: a contractor
files a GitHub Issue, validates it, and submits it — the tooling does the rest.

The full guide, including the issue templates and field-by-field instructions, lives at:

**[quantecon.github.io/contractor-payments](https://quantecon.github.io/contractor-payments/)**

## How it works

There are two kinds of submission, depending on the contract:

- **Timesheets** — for hourly contractors reporting hours worked.
- **Milestone invoices** — for fixed-deliverable contracts requesting payment on completion.

Either way the flow is the same:

1. The contractor opens a **GitHub Issue** from the relevant template and fills in the fields.
2. They run `/validate` as a comment to check the entries parse cleanly and the totals are correct.
3. They run `/submit`, which automatically opens a **pull request** with a rendered PDF of the
   timesheet or invoice.
4. A QuantEcon administrator reviews and merges the PR, then notifies the payment processor.

```{tip}
The contractor only needs to file (and validate) the issue — there is nothing to do with the
pull request itself. Corrections to an earlier submission follow the same issue-based flow.
```

```{seealso}
For the issue templates, required fields, and the corrections process, see the contractor guide at
[quantecon.github.io/contractor-payments](https://quantecon.github.io/contractor-payments/).
```