Please disclose your fees

[676c7fca]

Hi. I don't have any problem with your fee structure.
In fact, they're fine.

But I do have a problem with the fact that they don't seem to be disclosed up front.

I sent the escrow funds for the 1st phase of a small project: $100.
I would swear that when I went to PayPal, it said $100.
(It's possible I didn't look closely enough.)
So I recorded $100 in my register.

When I saw the email'd receipt, it was for $102.75.

Again, I'm fine with the amount, and the illustrator I connected with stellar.

But when I was sending funds, I remember wondering: How do you guys get paid?
I had thought it would be me, but nothing in the checkout process alerted me to that fact.

I'd like to know what I'm paying, if only to put the proper amount into my register,
preferably before seeing the receipt.

[AveryO]

Hi Eric, 

You should be able to see a list of your transactions, specifically payments that you have made on your Transactions page (Reports > Transactions). This will list the payments that went to your freelancer, and the Upwork service fees. 

You may read more about the client service fees here.

[676c7fca]

Yes. But my report is that the total amount that would be
billed was not disclosed, up front, before I made the payment.

The question is not about finding out what the fees are,
it's about knowing what you're paying as you're making
the payment.

[VladimirG]

Thanks for sharing your feedback in the Community Eric.

In regards to understanding the additional charge on your receipt, I can confirm it's the standard 2.75% processing fee which is applied on all payments a client's billing method is being charged for. I can see where the confusion came from and will share your suggestion with our Product team. In the meantime, you can find more information about the client payment processing fees in this Help article.

Let us know if you need further clarification and I'd strongly suggest to review the client resources we've compiled here.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

I do no think there is any desire whatsoever on Upwork's part to hide information about their fees.

But if original poster Eric - who seems like a typical client - was surprised by the fees, then it means there is room for improvement in Upwork's user interface, so that the existence of these client-side fees is more readily apparent.

When I create a website, and my users don't understand a key element of how the site works, it means I need to do better.

[676c7fca]

I totally agree, on all counts.
I'm happy the issue is understood, and is being looked at.

[676c7fca]

Drat. It appears that the "solution" I accepted was from a fellow member of the community. It's still not clear than anyone in the organization understands the problem or plans to do anything about it.

I just funded the next milestone. What it said: "Do you want to fund the next milestone? ($100). I click yes. It then says, "Funded".

The attached image shows the Project page. Again, the message is "Milestone Active -- $100 (funded).

At NO TIME are fees disclosed at the time you are actually making a payment.
That is not right. Both the amount of the milestone and the amount to be paid should be displayed.

 
I'm glad this is a small contract, because the amount is insignifcant. But for a large project, this would drive me nuts. I would need to remember your percentage, or go find it, and calculate it...