Writing contract correctly

[993e32ad]

This is my first time to use Upwork. The prospective freelancer wants me to pay a $200 deposit and then she will bill me each week for the time she's worked. I don't see how to make that work with the options in the offer. If you've done this with a freelancer, please let me know how to make the Upwork system match what she's asking. Thank you.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

$200 upfront deposit?

No.

Almost never for any Upwork client.

Definitely not for a new Upwork client.

When you have more experience you can talk to us about when it might be okay to pay an upfront payment.

It is certainly not okay now.

That is NOT how Upwork intends for the fixed-price contract model to be used.

You need to create an hourly contract. Limit the number of hours that the freelancer may work to three hours per week. After the freelancer has done some work, review it carefully. If you love the freelancer's work, increase the number of hours and continue working with the freelancer. If you don't love the freelancer's work, then close the contract and work with others.

[prestonhunter]

On Upwork, freelancers understand how hourly contracts work, and they understand the way that escrow funding works within fixed-price contracts.

Most (not all) freelancers who ask for upfront deposits on Upwork are not real freelancers. They are just scammers and will not do any real work.

[993e32ad]

Thank you for your suggestion and willingness to help me.

[993e32ad]

Thank you for your recommendation. I appreciate your willingness to help me.

[lysis10]

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Annie B wrote:

This is my first time to use Upwork. The prospective freelancer wants me to pay a $200 deposit and then she will bill me each week for the time she's worked. I don't see how to make that work with the options in the offer. If you've done this with a freelancer, please let me know how to make the Upwork system match what she's asking. Thank you.

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You shouldn't do this and the freelancer has protection using tracker. This is fishy tbh unless you have the freelancer buy something for you or something. It doesn't make sense to take a deposit on an hourly contract.

[993e32ad]

Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom with me.

[993e32ad]

Thank you. I'll choose someone else.

[AveryO]

Hi Annie, 

It looks like you are new to Upwork. Welcome to the Upwork Community! Since you are new, you may want to check out the Hiring Resources we compiled here to help you get started.

I'd like to share the help articles for the Payment Protection program we have that Jennifer mentioned in her post. You should be able to access it here. When working on Upwork, it's always best to make sure that you are payment protected so that you and your freelancer have peace of mind when collaborating on projects. Here are also some help articles from Upwork Help to help you get started. 

If you have other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us here in the Community. 

[993e32ad]

Avery, thank you for reaching out to me. Here are the latest messages I've had with this freelancer. She's worked over 1,000 hours (150+ jobs, $100K+ earnings). In a previous message, she said she requires the deposit for any job that will go over $500, which mine definitely will. She seems like she'd be really good, but I'm not in the mood to throw away $200. 

**Edited for community guidelines**

[prestonhunter]

Annie:

There is a big difference between a freelancer with a track record like you describe ($100k+ earnings, 150+ jobs)... and a freelancer with no track record.

This may very well be a freelancer who is so successful and in-demand that she honestly doesn't pay much attention to how the rest of the Upwork platform works.

If she says that she requires a $200 deposit for all new clients, I have no reason to dispute that she does indeed do this regularly. If that works for her, then that's great.

I do not personally agree with this practice. This is not the intended way to use Upwork. But this does not violate any Upwork rules, as long as the deposit is paid through the Upwork platform.

I don't know the freelancer in question. Even if she has a great track record, I recommend that you hold off on paying an advance deposit to any freelancer until you have more experience using Upwork the "normal" way.

[993e32ad]

Thanks, Preston. It's very puzzling to me as to how to make it work, but I will figure it out. I don't see any way to pay her a deposit within Upwork because it's an hourly contract. I see how it could work on an hourly contract if she initiated a Direct Contract, but not using the standard Upwork system.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I don't see any way to pay her a deposit within Upwork because it's an hourly contract."

It is very easy to pay any freelancer a deposit within Upwork.

- Hire the freelancer

- Navigate to the contract listing

- Click on the "Three Dots" icon

- Click on "Pay bonus"

[993e32ad]

I wish that was written out somewhere! It would have saved me so much frustration and time.

[lysis10]

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Annie B wrote:

Avery, thank you for reaching out to me. Here are the latest messages I've had with this freelancer. She's worked over 1,000 hours (150+ jobs, $100K+ earnings). In a previous message, she said she requires the deposit for any job that will go over $500, which mine definitely will. She seems like she'd be really good, but I'm not in the mood to throw away $200. 

**Edited for community guidelines**

It makes no sense to ask for a deposit on hourly work just because why not? You're getting scammed for $200. Hourly has protection and there is no guarantee she just takes the money and bails. Does she have current contracts? Like ongoing work where she currently works on Upwork? This sounds like a scam.

[feed_my_eyes]

This does sound a bit peculiar. Once you pay her the money as a bonus and then she starts billing you hourly, you'll get charged for all the hours that she works, on top of what you've already paid - your deposit won't be automatically applied against this. So at what point has she agreed to refund your deposit, and do you have this in writing?

Also, if she does this all the time, I'm surprised that she wasn't able to assist you with how to make the payment. Somebody who's been around for awhile should know how the system works.