Megan:
It is wise for you to come to the Community Forum to seek advice.
You need to keep a few things in mind:
- Upwork is not going to manage this for you. You need to manage this.
- You are in charge of what you agree to do, not the client.
- You are in charge of your rates, not the client.
- You are here to make money. It is not Upwork's intention that you enter into indentured servitude.
If this is an hourly contract, then you have little to worry about. If the client wants you to do more work, then you will be paid for more time.
But from context of your message, I feel like this is a fixed-price contract. Is that correct?
If that is the case, then you need to be firm, but polite. If you were supposed to do account cleanup for one year only, and you have done that, then you stop. You don't do any more work. You inform the client that it is now time for them to release the money in escrow, and after they do that, you will be able to work on account cleanup for additional years.
Don't work without getting paid. Don't let them add work to the agreement. That is "asking for free work," and it is a violation of Upwork ToS for a client to do that.
If you have not already clicked the green "Submit Work and Request Payment" button then of course you must do that immediately.
If the client is "not very good at communicating," then that is fine. You can still get paid. After you click that green button, don't send them any messages. Leave this alone. If they do nothing, then you will get paid AUTOMATICALLY.
If the client DOES communicate with you, then the only way you should respond should be something like this: "Yes, I agree. That is what we should work on next. I will start work on that immediately after the current payment has been released."
Feel free to come here to this thread to ask for additional advice about how to handle the situation.
