Hi Dr B,
You can't top up your balance. On Upwork, you have two types of contracts - Fixed-Price and Hourly contracts.
For Fixed-Price contracts, you and your freelancer or agency can agree to certain project milestones when you will expect parts of the work to be completed. You can have one milestone or split the project into multiple parts. Additional milestones can be added during the contract if needed. As far as payment, you deposit milestone funds into Upwork escrow and you have the chance to review your freelancer’s work before any payment is released to them.
For Hourly contracts, freelancers log time with the Upwork Desktop App. You can monitor your freelancer’s progress by checking their Work Diary. You have the option to dispute hours if necessary. Manual time billing can be enabled and you can set a weekly limit on billable hours.
Once you post a job, you can also invite freelancers to submit proposals for your project and review proposals that you received. I suggest that you check out this help article for help getting started as a client. You can also learn more about the trends and best practices and get tips on making your project a success by visiting our Hiring Headquarters. You can also read about the valuable perk of payment protection we offer clients for Fixed-Priced and Hourly contracts.
Feel free to follow up if you have further questions.
Thank you.
Hi Dr B,
Once your freelancer has accepted the offer an official contract will be formed and your freelancer will be able to start working and track their time. Thank you.
