features · Jul 15, 2015

5 Easy Steps to Quire’s External Team

Last updated: July 22, 2026

TL;DR

Quire's external team feature lets you outsource a task to freelancers or an agency while keeping their access to just that task. Set it up in five steps: open the task's assignee panel, turn on external team, add and name the team, then invite members by email. They can break the task into subtasks and manage their own people, and the parent project still shows the whole picture.

Outside help is the norm now, not the exception. Statista reports that about 38% of the U.S. workforce did some freelance work in 2023, so a clean, safe way to bring contractors into a project is worth the five minutes to set it up.

Quire external team feature for outsourcing tasks to freelancers

Here is something useful for those of you who need outside help, like freelancers, to help you complete a task in your project: You can now easily (and safely) outsource the task with Quire’s new feature “external team.”

Before we move on, you can take a look at the overview to get an idea of what it is. Or we can just get straight to the hows:

1. Click on the Assignee icon.

Quire Assignee icon to begin external team setup

2. Turn on the switch button beside “Assign an external team”.

Toggle switch to enable Assign an external team in Quire

3. Click on “+ Add new team”.

Add new team button in Quire external team setup

4. Enter a name for the external team.

Entering external team name in Quire dialog

5. Add external member(s) by typing their emails and pressing Enter or clicking on +, then click on Create.

Adding external team member emails in Quire

After you clicked on Create, you will return to your project.

Quire project view after creating external team

Note: When you assign a task to an external team, the assignee will always be the team even when it has only one external member.

Now, you are just one step away!

The external members you have invited will need to accept the email invitations you have just sent.

Once they have done so, you would have successfully assigned the task to them, and they would be able to start working on it.

When you work on your project, you will see the whole picture.

Complete project view with external team tasks in Quire

And if you sort (group) by assignee, you will see the outsourced task under the external team’s name.

Quire tasks grouped by assignee showing external team section

What can an external member actually do?

When your external team work on the same project, they will see only the assigned task. So, you do not need to worry about them seeing your other tasks. External Team is really just Quire's permission model applied to people outside your organization.

External team member view showing only assigned task in Quire

That said, external members can still create subtasks under the assigned task and manage them.

External team creating subtasks under assigned task in Quire

And so can you.

Project manager creating subtasks under external team task in Quire

Why use an external team instead of full access?

“External team” is a useful feature for those of you who want to focus on the core tasks at hand while delegating those that are non-core to third parties without compromising your safety. It sits alongside the member roles you can already assign inside your own organization.

Related: Introducing Master Organization: Saving Money on Quire Subscription — for when your own team spans multiple linked organizations, rather than outside collaborators.

In our upcoming reports, we will go into more details of what you and your external members can do — starting with I Don't Really Know Them, But I Need Their Help.

Please stay tuned!

What are the five steps to set up an external team?

The whole setup takes about a minute. Here it is end to end.

StepWhat to do
1. Open the assignee panelClick the Assignee icon on the task you want to outsource
2. Turn on external teamFlip the switch beside "Assign an external team"
3. Add a new teamClick "+ Add new team"
4. Name itGive the external team a name
5. Invite membersEnter their emails, press Enter, then click Create

Free task management software for small teams with a live project overview

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the External Team feature in Quire?

It lets you safely outsource a task to outside helpers like freelancers. They work on the assigned task without seeing the rest of your project.

How do you set up an External Team in Quire?

Click the Assignee icon, turn on Assign an external team, click Add new team, enter a name, add members by email, then click Create.

What can an external member do on a task in Quire?

They can work on the assigned task and create subtasks under it. They only see that task, not the rest of your project.

How does Quire show a task assigned to an external team?

The assignee is always the team, even with one member. Group by assignee to see the outsourced task under the team's name; members must accept the email invite first.

Crystal Chen
Content writer, food lover, and aniholic.