Is a contract required?

[6bbd3384]

I have submitted a propossl for a couple projects. If a proposal gets accepted, I am not sure of the next steps. Do I create a contract within Upwork, or do I send a contract outside of Upwork? 🤔 

[pgiambalvo · Accepted solution]

Clients will make an offer (contract) if they want to hire a freelancer and then the freelancer can either accept or decline it.

[90679461]

What does a [Upwork] contract look like? Is it sent/received in the Upwork messenger? 

I am also a bit confused. All I ever receive from clients is a message to contact him/her via Telegram or WhatsApp, asking me for my name, email, and country.

And when I reply that I am waiting for the Upwork contract, they stop communicating with me.

[JoanneP]

Hi Dax,

Please know that it is a violation of Upwork TOS to communicate outside the platform before you have an active contract. Once your client has decided to hire you for the job, you will receive an offer on your Upwork account which you need to accept. Once accepted, it will show as an active contract under your My Jobs section. You might want to read this post and the freelancer resources to help you get started on Upwork. 

[90679461]

Joanne, thank you for the clarification and the helpful links. Now I am no longer in the dark on things. Have a nice day.

[tagrendy]

Those are scammers.

[90679461]

Thanks. I really needed to know.

[6bbd3384]

Thank you Peter. That's good to know. I will keep submitting proposal until I get a contract then.