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Direct Contracts now live for all freelancers

lenaellis
Community Member

To help grow and support your freelance business on and off Upwork, we are releasing Direct Contracts to all Upwork freelancers today. With this new release, we have also expanded the functionality to now include multiple milestones. 

 

Direct Contracts allows you to enter into fixed-price contracts with non-Upwork clients, offering access to Upwork's safety and security features with greater flexibility for your business. Freelancers can access their Direct Contracts by clicking on the new paper airplane icon next to notifications or directly here.

 

Direct Contract Icon.png

 

Here’s how it works: 

 

On the Direct Contracts page, freelancers will see the option to start a new Direct Contract and a list of all existing Direct Contracts along with the status of that contract.

 

The steps to start a new Direct Contract are very simple:

 

1. Enter your client’s details

1. Create.png

 

2. Add either a single amount or create milestones with each amount

MM - Collapsed.png

 

3. Review and send the contract

3. Review.png

 

4. An email is sent to your client to begin

4. Confirmation.png

 

 

Your client will receive an email notifying them of your detailed proposal, along with some guidance on how the product works. 

 

Just like your other fixed-price contracts on Upwork, your client deposits project funds in escrow before the contract starts. You will see the status of the milestone listed below each one, so you will know when to begin working. When you’ve completed the contract or each milestone, you’ll request payment from your client. And with Direct Contracts, once they’ve accepted your request, the funds are released to you immediately, with no security period.

 

5. - Active - m1.png

 

As a freelancer, you’ll pay a processing fee of 3.4% of the total contract amount, but you won’t pay any freelancer service fees to Upwork. It’s easy for your clients because they won’t have to create an Upwork account.  And with payment protection and dispute assistance, you can work confidently with your clients who are not on Upwork. 

 

Let us know if you have any questions.

 

405 Comments
ssilviuss
Community Member

It was about an existing contract with milestones. With this new fee, without any announcement, only for escrow Upwork will become my 3rd option. 

af1ae564
Community Member

I am new to Upwork looking to use the Direct Contract feature. Is $5,000 the largest amount that I can put in there for a direct contract? 

jdomizi
Community Member

Hi, I'm trying to use the Direct contract with a client but she gets a 6% processing fee. I don't know why is that happening. Her method payment is Paypal. Can you please help?

BojanS
Community Manager

Hi Jennifer,

 

Thanks for your question. We will be asking clients who start new Direct Contracts to begin paying a small processing fee on the payments they make to their freelancer(s). We are currently building this option into our site, and testing it out with select Direct Contracts to start. In the future, a payment processing fee for clients will be added to all new Direct Contracts. When that occurs, we will be sure to update all communications, Help articles, etc., to share the fee amount that we decide upon.

shahzadwaheed0
Community Member

So, I met a client outside of the upwork, and we agreed to a 6 month contract. I have read that Upwork doesn't charge commission on the direct contracts but I just discovered that the client already had an upwork account. Now here comes the question: 

 

Will Upwork still charge if we start a direct contract? Because we didn't meet on upwork. If answer to this question is yes then what will happen if client starts a direct contract from some other account?  I hope it's not illegal and against upwork's TOs!

 

I need expert's advice on it. Or if anybody could suggest me a better way to solve this problem for my client. 

 

Thanks 🙂

BojanS
Community Manager

Hi Shahzad,

 

We’ll have one of our agents reach out to you via a support ticket to look into this request and advise you accordingly. 

 

Thank you for reaching out to us.

lanamagnifico
Community Member

Hello

Please, let me know why Upwork may ask additional 6% fee to fund the proposal?

The client's opened the link from an email hasn't chosen any type of payment and saw an extra fee.

 

fund.png

BojanS
Community Manager

Thanks for your question, Svetlana.

 

We will be asking clients who start new Direct Contracts to begin paying a small processing fee on the payments they make to their freelancer(s). We are currently building this option into our site, and testing it out with select Direct Contracts to start. In the future, a payment processing fee for clients will be added to all new Direct Contracts. When that occurs, we will be sure to update all communications, Help articles, etc., to share the fee amount that we decide upon.

lanamagnifico
Community Member

Will the next direct contract with the same client be considered as a new one?

What is your definition of a new contract?


 

BojanS
Community Manager

That's correct, Svetlana.

 

Any new Direct Contract even if it's with the same client. I would also like to reiterate that this is something we're testing currently and can't share further details.