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laramill
Community Member

Benefits to Working with Enterprise Clients?

Hi,

 

I have been working with an Enterprise client for several months and just hit $10K in earnings. I learned today that I will not be dropping to 5% commission to Upwork because they are Enterprise.  The customer service person gave me nebulous benefits to me like I can apply for other jobs with them. I'm highly specialized in what I do and am the only one doing the job, for this company which is under 200 people. Also, its justified because I didn't pay 20% on the first $500 I earned, which I earned in the first week.  Can anyone tell me why it's worth paying $1000s of more dollars a year to Upwork than I would pay on normal contracts?

 

 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Lara, you raise a valid point. I have never worked for an enterprise company and probably never will. I tend to take on long-term contracts that reach the 5% rate and I love it. It's like getting a raise. To be honest, I prefer working with start-ups and smaller companies because there is more flexibility and they are more receptive to rate negotiation and suggestions. If you have a specialized field then definitely explore your options. Personally, enterprise clients don't fit my business model. I think some freelancers feel it gives them an advantage but I find my advantage is definitely with start-ups and smaller companies that value my skillset, appreciate my professional feedback, and will allow me to grow with them as they grow. I really appreciate those clients that others may shy away from.

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32 REPLIES 32
petra_r
Community Member


Lara M wrote:

  Can anyone tell me why it's worth paying $1000s of more dollars a year to Upwork than I would pay on normal contracts?


If you don't think it's worth it, feel free to end the contract.

laramill
Community Member

Petra, 

 

I am paying more to work with this client than I would normal clients and there are 0 benefits to me. Being snarky and telling me to end the contract doesn't address my question. What are the benefits to me to work with an Enterprise client outside of a normal client? 

petra_r
Community Member


Lara wrote:

What are the benefits to me to work with an Enterprise client outside of a normal client? 


Well, if there are no benefits to you, don't do it. It really is as simple as that.

 

For me, personally, the hundreds of thousands of $ I made working with various Enterprise clients were the benefit.

 

For you, it may be something else, or there may be no benefit, in which case you may want to decide not to do it. That is a decision you need to take based on your own business-model.

 

If you can get above $ 10k with so many non-Enterprise clients, go ahead and work with them instead.

Nothing to do with snarky, there is no other answer.

 

If you don't consider it worthwhile for your particular business model, don't do it. It really is as simple as that. The tiers are what they are. How you optimize them for your own business model is ultimately up to you.

 

To me (your mileage may vary) the benefits are:

 

  • established clients who know what they are doing
  • (usually) a lot of work available
  • long term relationships, ability to be part of a team
  • organized clients, less chance of work suddenly drying up unexpectedly
  • they don't come with the issues of many other clients of scope changes, suddenly not able to pay, running out of funds, scope creep, payment method hassle
  • volume. It is more profitable to run one ongoing contract than 10 smaller ones (where it takes you 10 times as long to get to  $ 10k anyway)

Sure, it is sweet as hell when the percentage drops to 5% - but he vast majority of non-Enterprise  contracts never get there in the first place.

 


I will not be applying to any other jobs there because there aren't any other jobs. So again, what benefits are there for me

In that case: The advantage is perfectly clear: It is earning money v. earning nothing at all if there are no other clients who would pay you for what you do.

It seems you answered your own question. It's earning 90% of the money billed versus earning none at all.

 

kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Hi Lara,

 

That's correct, on an Enterprise contract, the freelancer fee is a flat 10% for the duration of the contract. The freelancer fee does not start at 20% and does not drop to 5%.

 

Working with Enterprise clients gives freelancers access to more quality opportunities through the clients Talent Cloud network. Many freelancers who work with Enterprise clients end up spending less time searching and applying for jobs and more time working.

~ Valeria
Upwork

That doesn't really answer my question. I'm in a highly specialized position and there are no other positions like it at the company (only 200 people work for them as it is) I will not be applying to any other jobs there because there aren't any other jobs. So again, what benefits are there for me to pay more to work with an Enterprise client. I noticed that it does benefit the client because the 3% payment fee is waived. That fee seems to be passed on to the freelancers. 

Petra's answer wasn't very nice, but Valeria's was. If you read about the cloud opportunity, it does state there what Valeria told you. In your specific case, it might not be worth it, if you are the only one who can do the job. But in that case, you can discuss with your client the chance to raise your salary stating the same reasons you are giving us here.


To answer your question, for other freelancers, working with other enterprises, the benefit might be that you can apply for better jobs and that you can have a better stream of jobs, which is what they state in this article.

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/218373797-Join-a-Talent-Cloud

No snide remark on my part, but at this point, if you still think you are losing money, maybe you should take petra's advice and quit the contract in case you can't reach a better agreement with the client. Whether we like it or not as freelancers, UW's information on these clouds is pretty clear.... maybe it is true that in some cases it's more worthy than others. But then, it's on you to decide whether you want to stay or not.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for your well thought out response, Laura. I already messaged the client and asked them to cancel their Enterprise contract. I am the only contractor that they have working from Upwork and I'm actually losing money by working on this contract as my non-Upwork clients (some a year-plus) obviously don't charge me anything and I could have other clients that are not on Upwork. I can swallow 5%, but 10% is just outrageous. 

Lara, you raise a valid point. I have never worked for an enterprise company and probably never will. I tend to take on long-term contracts that reach the 5% rate and I love it. It's like getting a raise. To be honest, I prefer working with start-ups and smaller companies because there is more flexibility and they are more receptive to rate negotiation and suggestions. If you have a specialized field then definitely explore your options. Personally, enterprise clients don't fit my business model. I think some freelancers feel it gives them an advantage but I find my advantage is definitely with start-ups and smaller companies that value my skillset, appreciate my professional feedback, and will allow me to grow with them as they grow. I really appreciate those clients that others may shy away from.

Your questions are valid, but raising them at this point in time is not very professional. The commission structure was known to you from before starting the job.
Starting the contract meant you knew and agreed to all these terms, and that you correctly included all associated costs into your rate. You didn't protest against not paying 20% on the first $500, now you have to keep your part of the deal even if it's not pleasant.
You can ask to renegotiate the terms of the contract, but that's just between you and your client.

laramill
Community Member

I'm confused, are you telling me it's unprofessional to ask in this forum the question? I thought that's what it is here for.  That's a strange judgment for you to make when literally every question in this forum is asking about something with contracts, payments or clients. 

 

 


Lara M wrote:

I'm confused, are you telling me it's unprofessional to ask in this forum the question? I thought that's what it is here for.  That's a strange judgment for you to make when literally every question in this forum is asking about something with contracts, payments or clients. 

 

 


I could be wrong, but I think what he's saying is that it's not very professional to do $10,000 worth of work on a contract before bothering to learn how it works and then indignantly come looking for justification of the terms you agreed to months ago.

It's strange how all of you "gurus" really get personal in all of your comments. I was simply asking what the benefits are, as I wasn't even aware that enterprise contracts were different. Upwork does a good job or hiding the fact that Enterprise clients aren't charged the 3% transaction fee and that this is passed on to the freelancers.


Lara M wrote:

It's strange how all of you "gurus" really get personal in all of your comments. I was simply asking what the benefits are, as I wasn't even aware that enterprise contracts were different. Upwork does a good job or hiding the fact that Enterprise clients aren't charged the 3% transaction fee and that this is passed on to the freelancers.


You were the first one to get personal, when you took exception to Petra's blunt but honest response.

 

You earned $10k on a contract and yet, weren't "even aware that enterprise contracts were different"? And you believe that UW "hides" the fact that enterprise clients aren't charged the 3% transaction fee? I've never had an enterprise client and I knew that. It seems like you would probably be happier working off the platform, where you don't need to bother learning about fundamentals like that.

Ok, cool Phyllis. 

Lara, I have never worked with or even considered working with an Enterprise client. I don't even really know what the program is all about or how you get into it. Yet, I've seen the difference in the fee structure many times in many different places. If Upwork is "hiding" that information it seems they're doing a very bad job of it.

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Lara, 
I would just like to clarify that the in this help article here notes that 3% payment processing fee does not apply to clients of Upwork Business, Upwork Enterprise, or have another agreement that provides for different terms. I'm sorry if you feel that this is passed on to freelancers.

Freelancers have 'sliding' service fees. These sliding fees don’t apply to contracts with Enterprise clients because Upwork negotiates individual contracts with those companies on a case by case basis. In general, Enterprise contracts have a flat 10% service fee. This fees help us support our customers better.

 

To everyone, 
W
e encourage our Community members to be professional and respectful to one another when posting here. Please be mindful of the Community Guidelines when participating in a discussion. 


~ Avery
Upwork
laramill
Community Member

I just spoke to my boss with this particular client and she said that she had no idea that Upwork was doing this and is going to have their HR department address it immediately. If anything, they are going to request that Upwork drop me to 5% or they will end the contract. 

 

Thanks for all of your help. 

 

 

If they can't get Upwork to budge then maybe they can raise your rate by 5%.

Thanks, Catherine and thanks for being nice and not getting personal in your responses. This is supposed to be a professional forum and I'm frankly appalled at some of the responses that your fellow community leaders and gurus have given me. 

re: "It's strange how all of you 'gurus' really get personal in all of your comments."

 

One needs to keep in mind that the Community Forum is not staffed by Upwork employees. It literally is a "community" of Upwork users - who come from all backgrounds - who are participating voluntarily.

 

For people new to the Forum, posting questions and interacting with other Forum users CAN BE JARRING.

 

Once a person is accustomed to the distinct vibe here, and no longer expects it to be precisely the same as some other social media sites or corporate customer service tools they may have used previously, then most people appreciate how much the Forum has to offer. And the various voices here no longer seem so inappropriate.

Yes, I can see that. By looking at the comment history for some of these people, they really really need to get a hobby or something that will make them nicer people. Maybe step away from their laptops for a bit. Thanks for being nice Preston!

 

 

re: "Maybe step away from their laptops for a bit."

 

LOL.

Well, I'm one of the worst offenders... I'm a straight-up Forum addict.

 


Lara M wrote:

Yes, I can see that. By looking at the comment history for some of these people, they really really need to get a hobby or something that will make them nicer people. Maybe step away from their laptops for a bit. Thanks for being nice Preston!

 

 


It's a little bizarre to deem people who take time away from their own workdays to answer questions for strangers "not nice" because they don't provide the answers you were hoping for. The answers you get are the ones that will make you successful on Upwork, but not necessarily the ones that will make you feel warm and fuzzy.

I am new to upwork and working with an enterprise client. I kept reading this forum to find the answers you were looking for and I am surprised to see such personal comments. Some people need to learn professionalism. I don't know how they are surviving here.


Preston H wrote:

re: "It's strange how all of you 'gurus' really get personal in all of your comments."

 

One needs to keep in mind that the Community Forum is not staffed by Upwork employees. It literally is a "community" of Upwork users - who come from all backgrounds - who are participating voluntarily.

 

For people new to the Forum, posting questions and interacting with other Forum users CAN BE JARRING.

 

Once a person is accustomed to the distinct vibe here, and no longer expects it to be precisely the same as some other social media sites or corporate customer service tools they may have used previously, then most people appreciate how much the Forum has to offer. And the various voices here no longer seem so inappropriate.


Only to those who are personally affronted when they encounter anything other than unconditional positive regard; mistake constructive criticism for an attack; and confuse plain speech with "snark". 

Frankly, Lara, I am appalled at your postings.


Joan S wrote:

Frankly, Lara, I am appalled at your postings.


She's in public relations.

tta192
Community Member

The higher commisions are actually needed for these opportunities to exist on the platform.
Clients of this type don't just "sign up"; they're much more expensive for Upwork to acquire and maintain. They get higher level of support, an easier way to create jobs and select freelancers etc., which can only be covered through the modified commissions. Waiving the 3% fee is just the tip of the real costs that have to be offset.


Lara M wrote:

I just spoke to my boss with this particular client and she said that she had no idea that Upwork was doing this and is going to have their HR department address it immediately. If anything, they are going to request that Upwork drop me to 5% or they will end the contract. 

 

Thanks for all of your help. 

 

 


Since it seems like you're not fully up to speed on how Upwork works...you do know that if they drop the contract through Upwork, you can't continue working with them unless they pay a pretty large buy-out fee, right? 

Laura - I thought Petra gave an excellent response. Better than yours. How snide. And then you suggested that maybe Petra's advice should be taken. 

Hello Lara,

 

Thanks for sharing such information, but I'd like to know how a freelancer can get into Enterprise Talent Cloud?

 

Can you share some tips?

 

--

Sukh

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Sukhwinder, 

There are two ways to be part of an Enterprise Talent Cloud: 

  • Submit a proposal to a publicly-posted Enterprise project.
  • Accept an invitation to be a member of a Talent Cloud network.

You may read more about it here.


~ Avery
Upwork
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