My freelancer can't do the job. What do I do?

eric5037 · ‎07-01-2018

Hi, there

I have a really great freelancer that did a job for me a few days ago and I gave him the best feedback he could ever have but... I've given another job to him (even before terminating the first one) and he's been into it, very proficient, very stubborn (I admire that) but he's not been able to do it. He told himself that I should take another freelancer: I have no other solution.

So, I don't really know what to do!

I want to change some things in my proposal to get a great freelancer more easily:

- change the programming language

- increase the fixed price project

Here are my questions:

- Can I change my proposal with those 2 changes and I will just have to invite other freelancers?

or

- Is it better to create a new proposal?

What happens with the money in escrow?

Thanks in advance

prestonhunter · ‎07-01-2018

All you need to do is close the contract. You will be presented with options to request refund or release payment.

Request refund. The freelancer will click button to accept the refund request. Then you will receive the money back into your account within 5 business days.

Separately, you can hire someone else to work in this. Use a new proposal.

If you don't want money tied up in escrow, go ahead and use an hourly contract.

eric5037 · ‎07-01-2018

@Preston H wrote:
HAll you need to do is close the contract. You will be presented with options to request refund or release payment.

Request refund. The freelancer will click button to accept the refund request. Then you will receive the money back into your account within 5 business days.

Separately, you can hire someone else to work in this. Use a new proposal.

If you don't want money tied up in escrow, go ahead and use an hourly contract.

Thanks, Preston for your answer.

So, There is no way to modify that proposal, right?

I mean: I could want to use another language and/or give a bonus or simply pay more.... I absolutely have to create a new contract, right?

Hourly contracts seem risky to me when what you're asking is a 5 legs goat. If the guy waste 20 hours to do something, it could be very expensive.

prestonhunter · ‎07-01-2018

I do not know for certain that it is impossible to modify the existing job proposal. You can always try. As job proposals are free to post, I am not sure why it matters. You should be able to close an existing proposal, and post a new one, copying text as needed, all without incurring any fee.

prestonhunter · ‎07-01-2018

re: "Hourly contracts seem risky to me when what you're asking is a 5 legs goat. If the guy waste 20 hours to do something, it could be very expensive."

Hourly contracts are not riskier, but they may be more expensive.

On complex development projects, you would always want to use hourly contracts in order to obtain higher quality.

Work is submitted and checked every few hours, especially at the beginning. So, no... You would not have somebody waste twenty hours. Check and verify the work before that amount of hours has been worked.

Fixed-price work also need to be checked.

Ideally, you are working with a project manager to maintain your quality and keep on schedule, whether or not you are using fixed-price or hourly contracts.

If you are not working with an independent project manager, then you need to perform that role yourself. If you did not, then the lead developer performs that function, and only 25% of then are capable of doing so.

eric5037 · ‎07-01-2018

Very interesting. Thanks, Preston.

eric5037 · ‎07-01-2018

@Preston H wrote:
I do not know for certain that it is impossible to modify the existing job proposal. You can always try. As job proposals are free to post, I am not sure why it matters. You should be able to close an existing proposal, and post a new one, copying text as needed, all without incurring any fee.

I've just done it, in fact.

I've changed the fixed price as a placeholder, changed the programming language...

It's free to create a fixed price project but If I understand well, it implies money, right? so, If I create new proposals again and again, I think I will escrow money again and again. May be I'm wrong. Am I wrong?

It's not the first time I see duplicated and triplicated proposals but I have seen from a freelancer perspective, not from a client perspective.

I try to learn to be a client too.

petra_r · ‎07-01-2018

I believe you are talking about job posts, not proposals (clients post job posts. freelancers send proposals to apply to job posts)

No money gets taken while posting a job post, only when you actually make a fixed rate contract offer to the freelancer you have chosen.)

richard_wein · ‎07-02-2018

Adding to Petra's clarification... escrow is an arrangement with one particular freelancer. When you make a fixed-price offer to a freelancer you put money into escrow for that freelancer, and that money is not available for any other purpose until it's been refunded to you. If you want to make an offer to a second freelancer, you would have to put money into a second escrow: either using new money or waiting until you've received a refund of the first escrow.

An exisiting escow is not affected by a new job post. Once you've put money into escrow for a freelancer, it will remain there until refunded, whether you start a new job post or not.

eric5037 · ‎07-02-2018

@Richard W wrote:
Adding to Petra's clarification... escrow is an arrangement with one particular freelancer. When you make a fixed-price offer to a freelancer you put money into escrow for that freelancer, and that money is not available for any other purpose until it's been refunded to you. If you want to make an offer to a second freelancer, you would have to put money into a second escrow: either using new money or waiting until you've received a refund of the first escrow.

An exisiting escow is not affected by a new job post. Once you've put money into escrow for a freelancer, it will remain there until refunded, whether you start a new job post or not.

Thanks, Richard. I think that now my understanding is complete 🙂

eric5037 · ‎07-02-2018

@Petra R wrote:
I believe you are talking about job posts, not proposals (clients post job posts. freelancers send proposals to apply to job posts)

No money gets taken while posting a job post, only when you actually make a fixed rate contract offer to the freelancer you have chosen.)

Hi, Petra,

Thanks for your answer. You're surely right: clients post job posts. freelancers send proposals to apply to job posts. My mistake: linguistical abuse (I keep working on that beautiful english language)

That's good to know, so while I don't explicit click on the "Hire" button, no money gets taken.