Client only deposited half of agreed payment in escrow

[michaelapadilla]

Hello everyone,

I've just accepted a job offer from a promising client, it's a digital art job, and he seems to have good reviews. However, I saw that he only deposited half of the agreed payment on escrow. Should I be worried about this? Or will he be prompted by upwork to deposit the other half upon approval of work? The offer states:

"Est Budget: $120

Amount in escrow: $60"

Many thanks.

[kinector · Accepted solution]

There will be no prompt.

The only thing matters is the amount in the escrow. The budget could be anything. You will only get the amount in the escrow. The rest of the project might or might not happen.

If you have been discussing different milestones, the client probably deposited the money only for the first milestone.

If there is no discussion and the only price ever mentioned is $120, there must some mix-up that you should proactively clarify.

If the clarification doesn't result in either a) agreement on splitting the job into milestones $60 each, or b) increasing the amount in the escrow to the full amount, it could be the case that the client is trying to trick you into doing more work than paid for.

If the client has a good track record of paying for that kinda of budgets, it's probably just a misunderstanding. Talk to the guy. 😉

[petra_r]

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Mikko R wrote:
If the clarification doesn't result in either a) agreement on splitting the job into milestones $60 each, or b) increasing the amount in the escrow to the full amount, it could be the case that the client is trying to trick you into doing more work than paid for.

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a) doesn't help because there is nothing in Escrow for any second milestone (so having one is completely pointless at this stage) and nothing can be put in escrow for the 2nd milestone until the 1st is released

b) you do know and understand that this is not actually possible? If so, why suggest it which would cause frustration to the client unneccessarily should they try to do this? 

[michaelapadilla]

Hi Petra,

Thanks for the input. Is it not possible for the client to deposit more money into the current milestone?

[michaelapadilla]

Thank you very much for your input Mikko.

I also had a feeling that the estimated budget doesn't really mean much. I guess I just feared only getting half cause of the escrow amount. Thanks for confirming that there will be no prompt!

There were no discussions of milestones, it's just a single painting with a fixed price of $120. The client also has a good record of ratings and earnings on upwork. You're right, it's probably just a misunderstanding, specially since it seems that English isn't his first language. I will try to communicate with him. Thank you very much!

[prestonhunter]

There is nothing to be worried about.

If a client funds $60 in escrow, it means that he expects you to do $60 worth of work.

"Est. budget" means nothing. Ignore that.

A freelancer talked to a client about drawing two pictures: one of a rabbit and the other of a bear, for $120. The budget for the contract says $120. The client funded a $60 escrow payment. The freelancer drew a picture of a rabbit and submitted it. The client released the $60 payment. The client still wanted a picture of a bear, so she funded another escrow payment for $60. The freelancer drew the picture of a bear. The client released the final payment.

But as Mikko said: TALK to the client to make sure that he understands what is going on... to verify that this is what he wants.

[michaelapadilla]

Hi Preston,

Thanks for the assurance and analogy! Although in my case, it's just one single illustration. I get what you mean though. If he really only intends to pay $60 then I wouldn't work on the full thing unless he deposits more. Maybe I'll just send him 50% of the progress.

English doesn't seem to be the client's first language, but he has good reviews. I will try to communicate with him to understand better why he only deposited half.

Thanks and have a nice day!

[melikee]

Pay attention to the description of the first milestone: If your client described the whole work for the first milestone, you should ask him to change it. If he wants to see the quality of your work first, before funding the full amount, both of you should agree on what you can complete within the funded budget. You can first submit some part of the work you agreed, then wait for the client to fund the rest of the amount then you can complete the work and submit it. I'd advise you not to assume that the client will pay the full amount anyway. 

I had a very problematic client when I was new to Upwork and wasn't fully aware of how everything works. The client had 1-2 good reviews and was nice at the beginning, and I thought he could be trusted. (But those reviews were from software developers, and our contract was for an architectural design job). It appeared that the client was expecting me to work endlessly to satisfy his non-sense requirements without even releasing the first milestone, and he had no skills to evaluate an architectural design job. And the description of the first milestone he wrote was actually for the whole work, I realized that only after problems appeared. In the end, I decided that client would not worth spending more time, he was not willing to pay the full amount anyway and had started to be really rude, so I closed the contract, without getting any payment. I had not completed the full work yet and it was a point I could give away. Most of the clients are not like him, but please keep in mind that these kinds of people also exist and it is best to clarify everything and make contracts/milestones according to the ToS.

[michaelapadilla]

Hi Melike,

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience! I've had a client too who expected unlimited revisions but never got content with anything. I just stopped working on it cause it felt like it wasn't working out. He eventually ended up closing the contract. I guess from the start we just need to establish a limited amount of revisions, or as mentioned in the other reply, ask the client to switch to an hourly contract. (If the client isn't rude and arrogant about it)

Thanks for the advice! Though he didn't really put much in the milestone description, it just described the subject of the painting im supposed to do. You're probably right though, he might just want to see the quality before funding the full amount. He has a lot of good ratings and earnings here on Upwork. I assume it might just be a misunderstanding since he doesn't speak english as fluently. I will try to communicate with him about only giving him 50% of the progress for the funded budget.

Thank you very much!

[wlyonsatl]

Michaela,

Whatever you do, don't submit the full amount of work involved in the project with escrow only funded for half the value of the project.

If you do, the client can release the amount currently in escrow then close the project, leaving the other half of the full value of the project permanently unpaid to you.

[prestonhunter]

re: "It appeared that the client was expecting me to work endlessly to satisfy his non-sense requirements"

That is what we refer to as "an hourly contract client."

[michaelapadilla]

Hi Will,

Thanks for the warning! I also fear this happening, that's why i asked here if the client will be prompted to deposit a full amount based on the "estimated budget". It seems that won't happen. I guess I will only send him half progress until he completes the deposit, or until he approves the milestone and funds the other half of the payment. It's probably just a misunderstanding cause he has a lot of good ratings. Thanks again!