Milestone Editing for Clients

kochubei_valeria · ‎12-03-2019

We are excited to announce a much anticipated improvement to Upwork’s fixed-price milestone system. Soon, clients will be able to easily add, edit and reorder upcoming milestones on active contracts.

Clients will see an “Add or Edit Milestones” button in their fixed-price contract room.

Once they click the button, they will see a screen with a list of contract milestones and can make one or multiple changes to upcoming milestones without having to submit each change individually. Clients will be able to add, edit, or delete upcoming milestones. They will also be able to reorder upcoming milestones using the drag-and-drop capability on the left side of each milestone. Clients can use the “Show changes” toggle in the upper right corner to view their work-in-progress changes.

When changes are made, freelancers will be notified via email. Each addition and/or change made to an existing contract’s milestones will be detailed in the email notification as well as in Messages.

As always, clients should communicate with freelancers and agree in advance before making any changes. Freelancers can still propose changes and additions to contract milestones and submit them to the client for review. If a freelancer had not already agreed with a change, they can use this functionality. This can be done by clicking the “Add or Edit Milestones” button in the Contract Room. We hope with the additional functionalities for clients, this will continue to improve the contract management experience.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎12-04-2019

Valeria, this is good news. Anything that enhances functionality and the UX on the client side benefits all of us. However, there is still a big hole in the bucket on the FL side:

"As always, clients should communicate with freelancers and agree in advance before making any changes. Freelancers can still propose changes and additions to contract milestones and submit them to the client for review. If a freelancer had not already agreed with a change, they can use this functionality. "

It seems to be still the case that a client can change the terms of an existing contract -- by altering/adding milestones -- and the FL can attempt to negotiate but if the client insists, then the FL's only recourse is to close the contract. Is that accurate?

Thanks.

researchediting · ‎12-04-2019

Valeria K wrote:

As always, clients should communicate with freelancers and agree in advance before making any changes. Freelancers can still propose changes and additions to contract milestones and submit them to the client for review. If a freelancer had not already agreed with a change, they can use this functionality. This can be done by clicking the “Add or Edit Milestones” button in the Contract Room. We hope with the additional functionalities for clients, this will continue to improve the contract management experience.

Valeria,

You conclude by referring to "additional functionalities for clients"—not for freelancers. It's not at all clear what you mean by "If a freelancer had not already agreed with a change, they can use this functionality. This can be done by clicking the 'Add or Edit Milestones' button in the Contract Room." Will clicking the button allow us to delete milestones not previously discussed or agreed to? Or, as Phyllis asks, does our only means of rejection remain closing the contract?

kochubei_valeria · ‎12-04-2019

Hi Phyllis and Michael,

In the part you are quoting, I was referring to this option that allows freelancers to propose changes to upcoming milestones. That option allows freelancers to delete a milestone and send it as a contract change request to the client.

researchediting · ‎12-04-2019

Valeria K wrote:
Hi Phyllis and Michael,

In the part you are quoting, I was referring to this option that allows freelancers to propose changes to upcoming milestones. That option allows freelancers to delete a milestone and send it as a contract change request to the client.

OK, thanks, Valeria!

So like any contract change, both parties need to approve. Client and freelancer can each edit, delete, and bounce terms off each other till they reach agreement, right? (Obviously, and as you mentioned earlier, it's preferable to work this out in conversation prior to starting a round of milestone ping pong.) Freelancers can reject milestones by deleting them, subject to client approval? And at that point, if there is a true impasse, it makes sense to close the contract anyway, I suppose.

Best,

Michael

renata101 · ‎12-04-2019

It's great to hear about these new features, but it seems like there's still an important problem that hasn't been fixed on the freelancer end. As far as I'm aware, a client with an existing contract can set up a new milestone without the freelancer's approval. If the freelancer does not agree to it and ends the contract without completing it, the freelancer will end up taking a hit to their JSS score.

Is this still the case?

m_terrazas · ‎12-04-2019

Hi Valeria,

Like the others, I really don't understand anything about how this benefits freelancer.
Maybe it's my poor understanding of English, especially if it is a bit "convoluted."
So I would appreciate a very concrete explanation of how, as a freelancer, this benefits me, beyond what I could do so far, I mean, closing the contract, with its consequences.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎12-04-2019

Valeria, thanks for your responses. I have another question: what is an "upcoming milestone" exactly? Is that one that has not been funded yet? Or one that may/may not be funded but isn't due yet?

thx

mwiggenhorn · ‎12-04-2019

I need some clarification. Does this mean that a client can edit a milestone by adding additional tasks (scope creep) without adding additional funds?

versailles · ‎12-04-2019

Renata S wrote:
As far as I'm aware, a client with an existing contract can set up a new milestone without the freelancer's approval. If the freelancer does not agree to it and ends the contract without completing it, the freelancer will end up taking a hit to their JSS score.

In this case, the JSS won't be impacted by the mere action of closing the contract, since at least one milestone, the first one, has already been approved by the said freelancer and released.

The first milestone is funded when the offer is sent to the freelancer for them to approve. It is the subsequent milestones that can be created by the client without the freelancer being asked anything. When a milestone is ~~assigned~~ imposed that way, the freelancer can close the contract, yes, and this will be a contract with money paid. However, closing the contract abruptly may trigger an angry feedback from the client. Which is why discussing the matter with them should be the first thing to do when they assign a milestone out of the blue.

In all honesty, having an option to decline an assigned milestone in an existing contract would be nice, but wouldn't do that much with respect to client/freelancer communication.

versailles · ‎12-04-2019

Maria T wrote:

So I would appreciate a very concrete explanation of how, as a freelancer, this benefits me

Until now, clients were unable to add milestones as long as the active milestone wasn't released. This was a real problem and many have complained about this. If I understand the new feature well, this is a fix and it will help many.