Editorial Policy

Purpose and audience

We write for independent professionals, mainly in the United States and in other English-speaking and international markets, who run their own finances and choose their own tools. The test we apply to every guide is simple: is the reader's question properly answered? Our guides are educational and are not personal advice (see the Disclaimer).

Who is responsible

Freelance Frame is a small, independent publication. The people accountable for it are named:

• Aftab Ahmad, Founder & Publisher, researches and writes the guides and decides what is published. He is accountable for this policy and for corrections.
• M. Arshmaan, Senior Editor — Finance, Research & Editorial Review, reviews guides for clarity, structure, research quality, consistency and reader usefulness.

Guides are written and researched by Aftab Ahmad and editorially reviewed by M. Arshmaan unless an article states otherwise. Each guide names its author and its reviewer, and links to their profiles. We do not attribute guides to people who do not exist or have not agreed, and we do not claim credentials anyone does not hold. Neither person is a licensed financial, tax, legal or insurance professional, and we do not present an academic background as a professional licence.

How a guide is made

1. Topic selection. We choose topics that answer a real decision freelancers face, and we prefer improving an existing guide to publishing a thin new one.
2. Research. We gather the rules and figures the topic depends on, from primary sources where practical, and note where each came from.
3. Writing. Each guide is structured around the question it needs to answer. Depending on the topic, we may use definitions, comparisons, worked calculations, decision frameworks, examples, checklists, source notes and practical steps. The goal is reader usefulness, not uniformity.
4. Checks. Calculations are re-computed independently, and every guide passes automated checks against our written content rules, which cover wording, the labelling of examples, references and content completeness: whether the facts, context and evidence the question needs are all there.
5. Editorial review. A named editor reviews the guide (see below), and the review date is shown on the guide.
6. Publication. The guide shows its publication date, its last meaningful update and its last editorial review.

Editorial and professional review

These are two different things, and we do not blur them.

• Editorial review means a named editor read the guide and checked it for clarity, structure, sourcing, logic, consistency, completeness, reader usefulness, and obvious calculation or factual problems. Every published guide shows who reviewed it and when.
• Professional review means a separately qualified or licensed professional in the relevant field, for example a CPA, a tax professional, an attorney, a licensed insurance professional or a regulated financial adviser, checked the guide.

No guide on the Site has had professional review yet. Guides on consequential subjects say so in their research status. If a licensed professional reviews a guide in future, we will name them, state their qualification and show the date.

Finance, tax, insurance and legal guides

We treat guides on taxation, retirement, insurance, banking, credit, business structure, legal compliance and immigration as consequential, because a mistake can cost readers money. These guides show a research status box with the author, the editorial reviewer and review date, the jurisdiction the guide covers, the year its figures were checked for, the main primary sources, and whether a licensed professional has reviewed it. Planning heuristics, such as a percentage of income to set aside for tax, are labelled as heuristics and never presented as statutory rates.

Accuracy and illustrations

• We state the year of every limit, rate or price, because these change. Where the newest comparable data is several years old, we say so.
• Guides list the references we relied on at the end, so you can check them yourself. We prefer government agencies, regulators, legislation and official documentation, then universities and professional bodies.
• Charts and examples that use invented numbers are labelled as illustrations. We never present a model as a measurement or a promise.
• We avoid guarantees, absolutes and unsupported claims, and we do not make claims of personal testing or experience that did not happen.
• We do not quote vendor prices or rank products unless we can support and date the claim.

How we use AI

We are open about our use of artificial intelligence.

• What it may do: AI tools may assist with outlining, drafting, structure, editing and illustration.
• Who is responsible: human editorial responsibility remains with Freelance Frame. Sources, calculations, publication decisions and final editorial review remain the responsibility of the named author and editor.
• What it never does: nothing is published automatically. We do not use AI to invent sources, statistics, experiences, testing, reviewers, experts or qualifications, and every source cited is checked by a person.
• Images: illustrations are AI-generated depictions of objects and scenes, not photographs of real people, products or events.
• Limits: AI can make mistakes, which is why facts and calculations are checked by people, and why you should verify details that matter to you.

Independence and advertising

Advertising and any affiliate relationships never influence what a guide says. We do not accept payment for coverage, rankings or favourable comparisons, and we keep the commercial side of the Site separate from editorial decisions. Details are in our Advertising and Affiliate Disclosure.

Updates and dates

Rules and figures change. Each guide shows three dates where they apply: when it was first published, when its content last changed in a meaningful way, and when it was last editorially reviewed. We change these dates only when that event really happens, never automatically, and we never backdate. We aim to review guides at least once a year, and sooner when a rule, limit or price they rely on changes.

Corrections

• Tell us about an error at hello@freelanceframe.com, with the page address and what you believe is wrong.
• We aim to acknowledge within 5 business days and to review the report promptly.
• We correct factual errors as soon as we can verify them, and we update the “Updated” date on the guide. For a significant correction we add a short note describing what changed.
• We may decline a request that asks us to remove accurate information, but we will explain our reasoning.

Complaints and feedback

If you think a guide is misleading, unfair or breaches this policy, email hello@freelanceframe.com. Aftab Ahmad will look into it and tell you what we decide.