How to submit work for payment when no milestone has been created?

[gaucho76]

I have been hit by the definition of "client from hell". I won't go on extended details, but after a couple months of continuous requests for more work, at some point I told the client that unless he released the payment for the whole project I wouldn't give him the sources for some designs (which, by the way, is the usual procedure). He tried to dispute this, made promises and the whole expected behavior in this situation. After a week he realized that that I wouldn't bite and agreed to create a milestone , but only for 75% of the agreed amount, and then I'd need to do only one last request and he'd release the final payment.

I admit that I saw this coming, but I was so fed up and he was causing me so much stress I agreed. And of course, after giving him the last design, he disappeared and never answered any other message.

I remember there was a button to submit work for payment (honestly never had to use it), but I can't seem to find it. I assume it's because he didn't create a new milestone for the remaining money, because I see the button on another project with an active milestone.

Anyways, is there a way to submit work for payment or otherwise get paid? Or should I just cut losses, stop wasting time and forget about the money?

[petra_r]

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Fabio D wrote:

I remember there was a button to submit work for payment (honestly never had to use it), but I can't seem to find it. I assume it's because he didn't create a new milestone for the remaining money, because I see the button on another project with an active milestone.

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He never funded the milestone so yes, that's the end of that.

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Fabio D wrote:

Anyways, is there a way to submit work for payment or otherwise get paid? Or should I just cut losses, stop wasting time and forget about the money?

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There isn't really anything that can be done now.

[michael_skaggs · Accepted solution]

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Fabio D wrote:

I remember there was a button to submit work for payment (honestly never had to use it)

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Then you're not using the system the way it was designed. You should always be using the "Submit Work And Request Payment" button on every milestone and for every fixed price project.

This not only protects you, but it protects your client as well. If the escrow is used as intended, then releasing a milestone is concrete proof that both parties upheld their end of the bargain. The client gets what they requested, and the release of payment means they don't need revisions.

Even if you're delivering work via another method, using the submit work button with a mention of how they're getting everything is a concrete signal that, "Hey, just letting you know I'm completely finished with this project/section and am ready for you to review it and make sure it's what you asked for."

In short:

• Always use the "Submit Work" option
• Never do more work than is specced (stick to your guns)
• Never, ever do any work unless it's backed by a fully-funded milestone.

[gaucho76]

Yes Michael, I fully understand what you mean. As for that button, I never used it because I never had to do it, all my clients pay immediately without any problem, this specific person was the first to make me notice the possible consequences of not having a button.

As for the milestones / projects not funded, this scammer created and eliminated several milestones in rapid succession. Between the stress and this distracting maneuver of creating / financing / deleting several times in a row, I really didn't realize that the rest was not funded. And to be honest, I didn't care much because the Upwork system is really misleading and I had the impression that the milestones were only parts of a whole, and the remaining fixed money should be considered automatically (as in any other existing system on Earth) .

Well, lesson learned. I could really unleash hell on this scammer, but it's not even worth it, it's only a couple hundred dollars

[tlsanders]

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Fabio D wrote:

Yes Michael, I fully understand what you mean. As for that button, I never used it because I never had to do it, all my clients pay immediately without any problem,

Unless what you mean by this is that all of your clients pay you before you submit any work to them (which seems unlikely), you are not understanding how the system is meant to work. You shouldn't be sending any work to the client without clicking that button. That's how you are meant to submit work--you click that button and attach the work to that message.

A lot of freelancers seem to think they should send the work ahead via messaging or some other method in case the client has revisions. The milestone system is set up to handle that--that's why it takes 14 days for a milestone to auto-approve. At any point during that 14 days, the client can click "request revisions," let you know what they're requesting, and stop the clock until you resubmit.

[gaucho76]

Yeah, well, the nature of my work requires constant back and forth with clients, or work delivered/installed before payment. Think about it like this: let's say I'm a house painter or a psyhcologist: how would I paint your house without painting it? How would I provide you treatment without providing it?

At least 80% of the work I do happens on the client's side, and I did pretty fine until now