Close out Paused Contract?

sjulius09 · ‎08-24-2021

Hi Good People,

From my reading around, this has been discussed a number of times. But I'm still not informed how to move on from my particular scenario.

Here is what is going on in my case. I have a contract that started on 19 Feb and was paused on 29 March by the client. He communicated swiftly about this and all was good. This was my second contract on the platform. Since then, things have changed and I have moved on, even from my rate.

I have patiently contacted the client to ask him to close the contract, suggesting that in case he needs me, I'll be an invite away.

This guy has gone mute since. He never replies, and never takes any action, Yet he is Online sometimes. I have sent him polite reminders, once a week for the last four weeks. Clearly, I should just close out the contract. But before I do that. I'd like to understand what this will mean for my account. Specifically, what are the benefits of closing out the contract versus leaving it Open? I've had little success with securing new contracts lately, so I am doing whatever I can to clean my house.

Thank you, in Advance.

martina_plaschka · ‎08-24-2021

It doesn't really matter. It's more a question of preference. It's always better if the client ends the contract because you are guaranteed feedback that way. Too many in progress jobs can look weird on a profile, and I find they accumulate really fast if you are not diligent in asking clients to close them soon after the work is done. If you decide to end some of them because the client has become unresponsive, do them one at a time so that you don't have a string of no-feedback jobs, which also isn't a good look.

So in short, it's all about the optics of your profile.

2a05aa63 · ‎08-24-2021

Martina P wrote:
It doesn't really matter. It's more a question of preference. It's always better if the client ends the contract...

Only if you feel that the client is happy. If time has passed or you feel it didn't go well it's better to close the contract yourself since the client might just ignore the feedback email.

sjulius09 · ‎08-24-2021

I gave dates for a perspective in the time dimension. In your opinion, does that time qualify as "time has passed"?

2a05aa63 · ‎08-24-2021

Julius S wrote:
I gave dates for a perspective in the time dimension. In your opinion, does that time qualify as "time has passed"?

Whenever I finish all tasks I always ask the client to close the contract if they don't plan anything new for the next 2 weeks. If 2 weeks have passed and there's nothing, I ask them to close the contract and reopen one when they want to work again. If they don't reply for few days I just close it myself.

jr-translation · ‎08-24-2021

Julius S wrote:
Hi Good People,
From my reading around, this has been discussed a number of times. But I'm still not informed how to move on from my particular scenario.
Here is what is going on in my case. I have a contract that started on 19 Feb and was paused on 29 March by the client. He communicated swiftly about this and all was good. This was my second contract on the platform. Since then, things have changed and I have moved on, even from my rate.
I have patiently contacted the client to ask him to close the contract, suggesting that in case he needs me, I'll be an invite away.
This guy has gone mute since. He never replies, and never takes any action, Yet he is Online sometimes. I have sent him polite reminders, once a week for the last four weeks. Clearly, I should just close out the contract. But before I do that. I'd like to understand what this will mean for my account. Specifically, what are the benefits of closing out the contract versus leaving it Open? I've had little success with securing new contracts lately, so I am doing whatever I can to clean my house.

Thank you, in Advance.

I would stop messaging the client. He knows where to find you and can reach out if he needs you again. At the moment you are risking a negative feedback for pestering.

Sometimes it can be usefull to have some dormant contracts in case you need to close 10 contracts to use the Top Rated perk.

I also recommend to refrain from replying to clients feedback.

sjulius09 · ‎08-24-2021

Thank you for the tip about replying to the client's feedback.

Any particular reasons why you would refrain from that?

martina_plaschka · ‎08-24-2021

Julius S wrote:
Thank you for the tip about replying to the client's feedback.
Any particular reasons why you would refrain from that?

You waste valuable space on your profile. A potential client will have to spend more time scrolling down your prior history, and he does not care what you have to say to your prior client.

christopherbudde · ‎08-24-2021

Personally I would never ask a client to close a contract. With an open contract they are free to start a new project with zero hassle. I saw a comic once of 2 guys in jail. Eating one of the bars is a strange little winged creature. The caption was" no I don't know what it is but for God's sake don't scare it away! ". My clients are the little winged creatures.

sjulius09 · ‎08-24-2021

Thank you, Christopher.

I wonder, how do you handle the fact that contracts that run too long without activity may negatively affect your JSS?

Also, by not asking your clients to close their contracts, do you close them out yourself, or do you leave them as open as possible. In the case of the latter, how do you maintain a more realistic interpretation of your Jobs in progress, while accomodating dormant contracts that have not been closed by clients, and you won't ask them to close them?

I ask to know because I've got a couple of more contracts that are open with no activity. This particular one was of interest because it has been open for so long, the client is unresponsive and I've since raised my rate.

Thank you again.

petra_r · ‎08-24-2021

Julius S wrote:
I wonder, how do you handle the fact that contracts that run too long without activity may negatively affect your JSS?

They don't.

Julius S wrote:
I ask to know because I've got a couple of more contracts that are open with no activity. This particular one was of interest because it has been open for so long, the client is unresponsive and I've since raised my rate.

Just close it and be done with it. Chances are that the client is gone for good. Don't close several such contracts at a time, it doesn't look nice on the profile.

2a05aa63 · ‎08-24-2021

Christopher B wrote:
Personally I would never ask a client to close a contract. With an open contract they are free to start a new project with zero hassle. I saw a comic once of 2 guys in jail. Eating one of the bars is a strange little winged creature. The caption was" no I don't know what it is but for God's sake don't scare it away! ". My clients are the little winged creatures.

Don't you worry that clients will look at 42 contracts in progress and think you are too busy? How do you filter your tracker with that many of them? How often do you accidentally click on a idle contract?

martina_plaschka · ‎08-25-2021

Christopher B wrote:
Personally I would never ask a client to close a contract. With an open contract they are free to start a new project with zero hassle. I saw a comic once of 2 guys in jail. Eating one of the bars is a strange little winged creature. The caption was" no I don't know what it is but for God's sake don't scare it away! ". My clients are the little winged creatures.

I find they accumulate really fast, and after a certain number, it's not a good look on a profile. Potential clients might think you're too busy, or wonder what is going on why so many are open, the least of which is that you don't care about feedback.