Direct Contracts new beta offering.

[Reinier B]

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Jason A wrote:

Hi Reinier,

My name is Jason and I'm the product manager for the Direct Contracts team.  Implementing the Paypal option is our top priority and hope to have it ready for you to use within a week.  I'll follow up with you on this post once we have Paypal up and running (or if there are any delays to the launch).  Thank you for checking out our new product!

Please feel free to post any other questions or suggestions you might have for Direct Contracts - I'd love to hear them.

Best,

Jason

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Thanks, Jason! I'd like to mention that I have set up a Direct Contract with another client without involving PayPal and from what I've seen, the process is largely painless on both sides. I'll be sure to let you know if and when something crops up during contract closure and/or payment processing, though. 

[Jason A]

Thank you, Reinier - I’d very much appreciate your feedback on the product. I want to make sure this is useful and seamless for you and your clients!

[Igor I]

Hi! Can clients leave feedback once a Direct Contract is completed? If so, will their feedback affect the freelancer's Job Success Score? Thank you!

[Valeria K]

Hi Igor,

Since your client and you will only be using Upwork for payments, any Direct Contracts will not impact your Upwork reputation metrics (for example your, Work History, Job Success Score or Top Rated status). These contracts also will not be included in your other Upwork profile stats, such as total earnings, number of jobs, etc.

I've merged your post with the announcement thread we have about Direct Contracts.

[Eve L]

Question: Since this Direct Contract is just escrow, so fixed-rate contracts and not hourly, will it be possible for clients to pay with a debit card, Payoneer balance, or other types of payment options that are not credit cards or PayPal? If not, care to share why?

[Valeria K]

Hi Eve,

I added you to the waitlist! PayPal, credit cards and a lot of debit cards are accepted. Prepaid cards are, unfortunately, not accepted.

[Eve L]

Hi again!
Thanks for adding me to the test.
Just a question I would like to have confirmed, so I know how to use this.

As I understand the information I got you need to open a new contract for each milestone, is that correct? So you can't just keep on adding on more milestones as you go along, under the same agreement with a client, but you need to start a new contract each time?

[Juan C]

Today I received an invitation to try Direct Contracts. A client recommended my work to a friend who doesn't use Upwork. In order to avoid circumvention I declined the offer. I was thinking that maybe if I use Direct Contracts with his friend now I could work with this person, but I'm not sure if this is circumvention or not, because the potential client was recommended by someone I worked with here on Upwork. Is it still circumvention of the TOS if I work with my client's friend using Direct Contracts?

[Valeria K]

Hi Juan,

It would not be considered circumvention if you use Direct Contracts for payments from your client's friend. Check out this help article for more information about the process and requirements.  

I've also merged your post with a thread about Direct Contracts. 

[Valeria K]

Correct, Eve, Direct Contracts are for a single amount and can’t have multiple milestones.