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hoyos_laura
Community Member

How agencies work from owner and member perspective?

Hey there!

So, I have this group of people that have Upwork profiles. I would like to create an agency, but we would like to know who can see what. What kind of info owners/managers have access to, and what kind of info freelancers see? Agency clients would hire the agency or would they hire directly with the freelancers? Who bids for the projects, the owner of the agency, or the freelancer? Would the freelancers be able to see the amounts we are bidding on? Or if the freelancers are the ones bidding, would the owner be able to see how much they are bidding for an agency job?

 

Thank you!

 

This is really confusing and I haven't found any specific post on this!

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
AleksandarD
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Laura,

 

To create an agency, you can go to Settings > Contact Info, click on the button 'New Agency Account' and follow the steps.

 

Business managers can submit a proposal on behalf of any agency member. They can edit or withdraw all agency proposals and accept or decline all offers. Agency members can also submit proposals themselves, which will be binding on the agency. All proposals will draw from the agency's collective Connects balance.

 

Contracts with the agency are created at the individual freelancer profile level, even while agency contract earnings roll up to the agency.

 

Regarding roles and permissions, Agency owners and admins can edit agency members' roles and permissions by going to Settings > Members & Permissions.

 

Member roles:

  • Owner – This person is ultimately responsible for the agency. Only the owner can create additional teams within an agency. The owner is always an Admin.
  • Admin – Can add, remove, and update agency members permissions. Admins also have full financial access and can buy more Connects.
  • Financial – Full access to the agency’s financial account, including payment methods, billing methods, and reports.
  • Business Manager – Can submit and manage team proposals and contracts for all your team members, adjust Exclusive Freelancer profile rates, and profile visibility. Can see agency time-based reports, including Weekly Summary.
  • Agency Freelancer – Does work on behalf of the agency. Can submit proposals, but can't accept/decline offers. Can see reports about their own work, but can't see their rates on their reports or contracts. Can see their profile rates unless a manager hides them via the roster settings.
    • Exclusive – All contracts belong to this agency.
    • Non-Exclusive – Can do work both for the agency and independently. The agency can only access their agency proposals and contracts.

Permissions:

  • Work Diary Access – Work Diaries are used to bill time on hourly contracts. Only the agency member hired can bill time to that contract through the Work Diary.
    • Full – View access to the Work Diaries for all agency contracts. Time-logging and Work Diary editing for their own contracts. Can see agency reports.
    • None – Can't see any agency Work Diaries or reports (unless their role gives additional reports access).
  • Chat Access – Clients can always contact their hired agency freelancers via messages. You can choose chat access levels within your agency.
    • No One – Can't send messages (via the website, desktop app, or mobile app) to anyone in the agency unless they've received a message from that person first.
    • Team Members – Can see and chat with anyone on the team.
    • Company Members – Can see and chat with everyone in the company, across all teams.

 

I suggest that you check out these helpful articles for more information about agencies and how they work on Upwork.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2
AleksandarD
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Laura,

 

To create an agency, you can go to Settings > Contact Info, click on the button 'New Agency Account' and follow the steps.

 

Business managers can submit a proposal on behalf of any agency member. They can edit or withdraw all agency proposals and accept or decline all offers. Agency members can also submit proposals themselves, which will be binding on the agency. All proposals will draw from the agency's collective Connects balance.

 

Contracts with the agency are created at the individual freelancer profile level, even while agency contract earnings roll up to the agency.

 

Regarding roles and permissions, Agency owners and admins can edit agency members' roles and permissions by going to Settings > Members & Permissions.

 

Member roles:

  • Owner – This person is ultimately responsible for the agency. Only the owner can create additional teams within an agency. The owner is always an Admin.
  • Admin – Can add, remove, and update agency members permissions. Admins also have full financial access and can buy more Connects.
  • Financial – Full access to the agency’s financial account, including payment methods, billing methods, and reports.
  • Business Manager – Can submit and manage team proposals and contracts for all your team members, adjust Exclusive Freelancer profile rates, and profile visibility. Can see agency time-based reports, including Weekly Summary.
  • Agency Freelancer – Does work on behalf of the agency. Can submit proposals, but can't accept/decline offers. Can see reports about their own work, but can't see their rates on their reports or contracts. Can see their profile rates unless a manager hides them via the roster settings.
    • Exclusive – All contracts belong to this agency.
    • Non-Exclusive – Can do work both for the agency and independently. The agency can only access their agency proposals and contracts.

Permissions:

  • Work Diary Access – Work Diaries are used to bill time on hourly contracts. Only the agency member hired can bill time to that contract through the Work Diary.
    • Full – View access to the Work Diaries for all agency contracts. Time-logging and Work Diary editing for their own contracts. Can see agency reports.
    • None – Can't see any agency Work Diaries or reports (unless their role gives additional reports access).
  • Chat Access – Clients can always contact their hired agency freelancers via messages. You can choose chat access levels within your agency.
    • No One – Can't send messages (via the website, desktop app, or mobile app) to anyone in the agency unless they've received a message from that person first.
    • Team Members – Can see and chat with anyone on the team.
    • Company Members – Can see and chat with everyone in the company, across all teams.

 

I suggest that you check out these helpful articles for more information about agencies and how they work on Upwork.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork

THANK YOU ♥

 

I really appreciate your answer. You covered pretty much all of my doubts!

 

Laura.

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