New here. I don't understand. Must I pay the contractor through UpWork?

[03a0eef5]

Just joined, as an employer, for a short one-time errand job, and I can't figuire out if UpWork is going to insist that I pay the contractor through UpWork or not.

Is this how they make their money, i.e. by taking a cut of every job payment?  If so, I may have to go elsewhere because this REALLY isn't what I had in mind and I do not like it one bit.

I am also going to be REALLY angry if they are going to insist on me filing out 87 different IRS tax forms just in order to hire an errand runner in another country for a teeny tiny little errand job. (This is NOT my idea of "frictionless e-commerce.)

[martina_plaschka · Accepted solution]

---

James W wrote:

Just joined, as an employer, for a short one-time errand job, and I can't figuire out if UpWork is going to insist that I pay the contractor through UpWork or not.

Is this how they make their money, i.e. by taking a cut of every job payment?  If so, I may have to go elsewhere because this REALLY isn't what I had in mind and I do not like it one bit.

I am also going to be REALLY angry if they are going to insist on me filing out 87 different IRS tax forms just in order to hire an errand runner in another country for a teeny tiny little errand job. (This is NOT my idea of "frictionless e-commerce.)

---

Did you expect upwork, a company listed on the NYSE and accountable to their shareholders, to not take a fee on the transaction between a client and a freelancer but just do it out of the goodness of their heart?

[pudingstudio]

---

Martina P wrote:

---

James W wrote:

Just joined, as an employer, for a short one-time errand job, and I can't figuire out if UpWork is going to insist that I pay the contractor through UpWork or not.

Is this how they make their money, i.e. by taking a cut of every job payment?  If so, I may have to go elsewhere because this REALLY isn't what I had in mind and I do not like it one bit.

I am also going to be REALLY angry if they are going to insist on me filing out 87 different IRS tax forms just in order to hire an errand runner in another country for a teeny tiny little errand job. (This is NOT my idea of "frictionless e-commerce.)

---

Did you expect upwork, a company listed on the NYSE and accountable to their shareholders, to not take a fee on the transaction between a client and a freelancer but just do it out of the goodness of their heart?

---

Yeah, but they will go elsewhere...
Maybe UpWork can make an exception in this case..?
🙂

[03a0eef5]

No need for an exception.  Now that I know the fee is small AND that it is paid by the contractor, I'm a happy camper.

[loisa10johnson]

You guys are not fooling around with these comments.  Unlike conventional "Corporate America", the feeling here is definitely one of "keeping it real", but some of these comments make me say, this is a tough crowd...Or maybe it's just plain old, Nonnonsene...now I am here for that!

[pudingstudio]

---

Lois J wrote:

You guys are not fooling around with these comments.  Unlike conventional "Corporate America", the feeling here is definitely one of "keeping it real", but some of these comments make me say, this is a tough crowd...Or maybe it's just plain old, Nonnonsene...now I am here for that!

---

There are all types of attitudes here.
All are welcome. All are praised, ridiculed, helped.

Just join in and have fun.
Be helpful where you can.

*edit:
Forgot to include that this is NOT consensus of this community. This is just my opinion!

[gilbert-phyllis]

---

Lois J wrote:

You guys are not fooling around with these comments.  Unlike conventional "Corporate America", the feeling here is definitely one of "keeping it real", but some of these comments make me say, this is a tough crowd...Or maybe it's just plain old, Nonnonsene...now I am here for that!

---

It's a tough crowd for nonsense, no question. Whiners and lazy folks definitely don't bring out the warm fuzzies. Anybody who's honest, candid, and courteous will find an authentic community that's kind, generous, and helpful. Personally, I respond positively to people who take their work--but never themselves--seriously.

[03a0eef5]

I'm perfectly OK with unvarnished answers.  In fact I prefer them!

Believe me, I've worked WAY tougher rooms than this in my carreer!

No harm, no foul.  I'm just darn glad I found anybody willing to give me the tiny bit of guidance I needed to get me going.

[03a0eef5]

Thanks for the reply.  I got the picture now.  I'm not really that bothered that UpWork will take a cut, as long as I don't have to full out metric buttloads of IRS forms just for this tiny project.

[abinadab-agbo]

James,
Can we know why you are particularly concerned about the freelancer service fee?

One would expect this to be the "freelancer's" (not client's) headache.

[03a0eef5]

In reply to Abinadab A... I'm not actually concerned with the UpWork fee, now that I've been told that (a) it is small and also (b) that it is customary for the contractor/employee to take care of it.

I was just worried that UpWork might want to reach into my pocket and take something exhorbitant, like 20% or something... and maybe payroll taxes too.  But now that I know that none of this will happen, I am no longer worried about anything.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I am also going to be REALLY angry if they are going to insist on me filing out 87 different IRS tax forms just in order to hire an errand runner in another country for a teeny tiny little errand job. (This is NOT my idea of "frictionless e-commerce.)"

Don't worry about this.

I have hired about 100 different freelancers on Upwork. I have hired people from all over the world.

I have never had to fill out any IRS tax forms in order to hire anybody.

[abinadab-agbo]

---

James W wrote:

Is this how they make their money, i.e. by taking a cut of every job payment?  If so, I may have to go elsewhere because this REALLY isn't what I had in mind and I do not like it one bit.

---

What did you REALLY have in mind that Upwork is? What were you expecting before you signed up?

[03a0eef5]

"What did you REALLY have in mind that Upwork is? What were you expecting before you signed up?"

I dunno.  I guess that I was kind of thinking that it would be a bit like Craigslist, only for jobs, worldwide.

Now I see that it is a LOT more formal than that.  That's OK by me, as long as the formality doesn't get in my way too much.

[lysis10]

---

James W wrote:

Just joined, as an employer, for a short one-time errand job, and I can't figuire out if UpWork is going to insist that I pay the contractor through UpWork or not.

Is this how they make their money, i.e. by taking a cut of every job payment?  If so, I may have to go elsewhere because this REALLY isn't what I had in mind and I do not like it one bit.

I am also going to be REALLY angry if they are going to insist on me filing out 87 different IRS tax forms just in order to hire an errand runner in another country for a teeny tiny little errand job. (This is NOT my idea of "frictionless e-commerce.)

---

Are you trying to donate to an orphanage too?

[colettelewis]

---

James W wrote:

Just joined, as an employer, for a short one-time errand job, and I can't figuire out if UpWork is going to insist that I pay the contractor through UpWork or not.

Is this how they make their money, i.e. by taking a cut of every job payment?  If so, I may have to go elsewhere because this REALLY isn't what I had in mind and I do not like it one bit.

I am also going to be REALLY angry if they are going to insist on me filing out 87 different IRS tax forms just in order to hire an errand runner in another country for a teeny tiny little errand job. (This is NOT my idea of "frictionless e-commerce.)

---

_______________________________

We freelancers pay, you clients pay. Name of the game. You should have read the small print before joining to hire an "errand runner in another country". 

And we freelancers don't do "employers", which is why we are freelancers.