Freelancer finished all work on Milestone One. What do I do?

[dce717e2]

I have just finished the first milestone for a $400 job post. I have paid the Freelancer $200 but since we were iterating the job as they were submitting progress of the task along the way - I don't have any more tasks to give for the second milestone. What should I do? Do I take it that he did a $200 task and has been paid or do I take it as he needs the full amount of $400 regardless of the milestone amount he worked for.

[prestonhunter]

If you don't need any more work done, you don't need to fund any more milestones.

I went to a restaurant to eat chicken and dessert.

I ate the chicken. Then I was full. I never actually ordered dessert. I only paid for chicken, not dessert.

[dce717e2]

Here is our exchange:

Yes, I have.
I have a reminder request.
You mentioned the complete work will be done in 15 days correct?
Was it the milestone for which I have escrowed $200 that takes 15 days
Or it is 15 days for work worth $400?

 Kindly help me understand:
I have $200 in escrow right now, and there are a few days left for me to receive all screens from you.
At which milestone was I to release the $200 because I had mentioned in the task - Milestone: Completion of first draft of ALL screens
I want to be clear at what point of delivery were expecting the $200 and at what point of delivery were you expecting $400.

I hope this is clear and it will help me figure out my finances sooner.

Hello Rukia. The timeline I have said 15 working days is for the whole project. So it's like 15 working days once the initial theme is confirmed which is already done. As per my knowledge, it's been 3 working days considering the changes. So the overall timeline is 15 working days and will finish the whole UI.

Secondly, $200 milestone is just a security deposit for both of us that you have made at the beginning of the contract which I will let you know to release once we finish most of the designs. The rest $200 upon completion of the project. Do not worry, I will let you know the first milestone release a day or two before the date.

I hope this helps?

This last message is what is tricky because it seems that escrow amount is just a formality to him?

[prestonhunter]

You may pay the freelancer as much more as you want to.

You can pay $400.

You can pay $600.

You can pay $1000.

All of that is your choice.

Upwork only "holds you to" what was funded in escrow: $200.

[dce717e2]

Here is an even earlier exchange, before beginning the project:

From Freelancer:
To recap - UI/UX Design for Android device for user side only at $400. Please note, $100 will be added to the prototype when required.

Deliverables: Android user side UI/UX
Cost: $400
Timeline: 15 working days

$100 extra when you need a clickable prototype.

Did I put myself in an agreement where I have to pay the $400 even if I released the first $200 which covered the $400 task?

Don't know if I'm going round in circles but I need to know how I am to explain my position if I am able to not pay after these earlier exchanges.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Rukia:
You can do whatever you want to do.

You can pay the freelancer any amount you want to pay him.

But none of what the freelancer says, and none of what the freelancer believes, changes the fact that the freelancer is using the Upwork system incorrectly.

re: "Did I put myself in an agreement where I have to pay the $400 even if I released the first $200 which covered the $400 task?"

If you funded $200, then you put yourself into an agreement where you need to release $200. That's all Upwork cares about. Everything else is strictly between you and the freelancer.

For Upwork: The budget DOES NOT matter.

For Upwork: Promises DO NOT matter. Expectations DO NOT MATTER.

What matters to Upwork? The amount of money funded in escrow.

You can close the contract right now if you want to and be done with it. As far as Upwork is concerned this is over.

If the freelancer is still communicating with you, then you should decisively CHOOSE one of the following options:

a) Pay the freelancer $200 more and don't think about it. You can simply use the client-side "Send bonus" tool to pay him $200 more.

b) Close the contract. In the "Messages" tool, right-click on the freelancer's name and choose the "block" option so that he can no longer communicate with you.

===

Of course you already know that:

If you have already received everything you need, you have more flexibility. You really can do whatever you want.

But if you have NOT YET received everything you want from the freelancer, then you need to follow his instructions in order to receive what you want.

[dce717e2]

Alright great, thank you fro the clarification.

[colettelewis]

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Rukia H wrote:

I have just finished the first milestone for a $400 job post. I have paid the Freelancer $200 but since we were iterating the job as they were submitting progress of the task along the way - I don't have any more tasks to give for the second milestone. What should I do? Do I take it that he did a $200 task and has been paid or do I take it as he needs the full amount of $400 regardless of the milestone amount he worked for.

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______________________

Rukia, 

If you agreed a fee of $400 with the freelancer, and the freelancer has delivered all the work, then that's what you owe the freelancer. If you funded $200 for the first milestone (or half the work) then you can pay the balance as a bonus.

[feed_my_eyes]

I agree with Nichola. I think it's clear from the freelancer's message that $200 was a deposit and the other $200 would be due upon completion, which is how lots of freelancers set up contracts in the real world. It's true that he made a mistake by doing that on Upwork, but it would still be unethical for the client not to pay the full amount just because Preston told him that he could easily get away with it.

Rukia, I don't understand why you haven't asked the freelancer to clarify how much money you owe him?