Escrow

[8a78dfac]

Is it normal for a freelancer to request payment of a milestone before any work has been done?  I have a job and I agreed to the two milestones, but the freelancer is requesting me to release the funds for the 1st milestone in order to begin the work.  I am not comfortable with this and I want to know if this is normal here on Upwork?

[nkocendova]

Hi Charlie,

In terms of best practices, we'd advise that you release funds after you have been able to review the work that the freelancer did, and have determined that work has been done to the expectation and according to the terms agreed upon by yourself and the freelancer. Releasing funds on a milestone is essentially the same as approving the work. Doing this before the work on an assigned milestone has been submitted for review and before you have had a chance to look over the work will preclude you from benefitting from Upwork's Payment Protection.

You can discuss establishing a deposit on the work before the freelancer begins working if it something that you are comfortable with and suits you and the freelancer. Hope that helps.

[versailles]

---

@Charlie M wrote:

Is it normal for a freelancer to request payment of a milestone before any work has been done?  

---

 Absolutely not! No way. Many have been scammed that way. Escrow is released only when the work is delivered and checked.

[mtngigi]

Charlie,

What Rene said ... and if it's not too late, I would consider finding another freelancer. Asking for a milestone release before any work has been done puts a big red flag on their head.

Professional, ethical freelancers do not make such requests.

Despite what others are suggesting, the fact of the matter is that 99% of the time, a freelancer asking for money up front, ends up with an unhappy client coming to the forum with complaints of being scammed. This isn't the real world, where you're face to face with a client to discuss money matters. It's a different ballgame, and the OP is right to be concerned.

[gilbert-phyllis]

Generally speaking, I agree with what others have said--that you should never approve payment of a milestone until/unless you are satisfied that the specified work has been performed completely and to your specifications. However, I also want to represent a scenario in which it is reasonable for a freelancer to request some portion of the total fee before any tangible work has been completed. But it should be discussed and the milestone description should accurately reflect what was mutually agreed to.

A big part of my practice is designing and implementing custom research projects, which may include focus groups, a series of in-depth interviews, and/or a quantitative survey. Those kinds of projects are front-loaded with learning about the client's product/service/competitive situation/etc., thinking time, and information-gathering (getting quotes for direct costs like respondent recruiting, facility rental, buying panel lists, etc.). Also, I have to allocate chunks of my calendar weeks in advance, to create dedicated blocks of time for implementing the project. Outside of Upwork, I always use a fixed-price structure with and invoice 30-50% up front, upon authorization of the project, with the remainder in appropriate segments as the project progresses. And the contract always specifies cancellation terms at various points. Inside Upwork, it's more complicated. I haven't actually done any qualitative projects here yet--those are the ones where I have to block time on a set schedule, if I'm going to be arranging and conducting focus groups or in-person interviews--but if I do, there will have to be an initial payment to get started.

I realize this kind of situation is an outlier here, as most people are doing work that producs tangible deliverables from the outset. But maybe it's of interest or use to point out that for every absolute rule, there will be exceptions.

[bobafett999]

Ditto to what Phyllis said.  However, it is not unusal for a freelancer to ask for a down payment (I have seen many posts by freelancers doing that) - in real world that's how you hire a contractor (unless you are a big multinational).  Here you both are venturing in a lawless territory where abuse by either is a real possibility. However, it should be discussed and agreed.

[resultsassoc]

See Phyllis G's response. I used to do jobs that required international travel. I don't want to put out $4K for a plane ticket, then bill the client and get $3,200 back. I request that the client buy the ticket.

In the stratosphere, where I used to work, it was customary to bill fees and estimated expenses a month in advance. Global conglomerates and heads of state had no problem with that. Today, if I'm going to incur costs before reaching milestone one, I might request a deposit.