Lesson Learned from Enterprise Client project

[brenda_mollohan]

Just wanted to share a recent lesson learned.  When working with an Enterprise Client be sure to ask when their main contract with UpWork expires.  Make sure that date is after your project is expected to end.

I have been waiting over 2 months to be paid for work completed becuase the Enterprise contract expired before the project end date causing the client to be locked out of his account and unable to approve submitted milestones.  The platform auto-rejected the work submitted as a result.

To make things worse the account manager quit, the new one did not notice the date changes and now the project is marked as "suspended" for a problem with the original account manager's account. So, I cannot dispute the rejection of the submitted work. And the account was suspended after I completed all deliverables/milestones; it was literally waiting for client approval.

Since the account is suspended, there is no one to contact on the UpWork side that knows the specifics.  Only option is general support that has provided a wide range of vague responses.  Primarily, it is being worked on with no projected date for resolution.

[celgins]

A series of issues and you (the freelancer) pays for it. That's ridiculous.

Many freelancers do not work with Enterprise clients, so most probably don't know that Enterprise clients have a main contract.

Do you know if the person who created the job listing knew about the main contract expiration date, but still created the job listing using a project end date beyond the main contract expiration date?

[brenda_mollohan]

I don't think he did or he forgot about the contract end date.

[django_expert]

what is mean by main contract?
I am also about to work with an Enterprice client so what should I keep in mind to work for them?

[feed_my_eyes]

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Abubakar A wrote:

what is mean by main contract?
I am also about to work with an Enterprice client so what should I keep in mind to work for them?

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If it's a long/complicated project, break it down into smaller milestones; don't wait until everything is finished before you get paid. Pay attention to the due date and ask the client to extend it if you need more time (at least two weeks in advance, because it takes time to get approval).

[feed_my_eyes]

IME, both the client and the freelancer get multiple warnings that the project is going to close on a specific date, but the contract then stays open for at least another month beyond the deadline. I don't think the client has any control over the end date (I think it automatically sets to no more than three months), but I don't see any way that they could have been unaware of it either.

[mwiggenhorn]

I pinged the moderator that you need upper level Customer Service help with an Enterprise client. Hopefully, you will get somewhere with decent help.

[brenda_mollohan]

Thank you!

[bilsim]

Whoever posted the job should have been aware of the main contract expiration date. It's not your job to think about it.

That's the thing, enterprise clients often have underqualified project managers.

Hopefully you'll get the right kind of help soon.

[759e32fa]

Hi Brenda,

I'm sorry to hear that this has negatively affected your experience using Upwork. I checked on your support ticket related to this issue and can see that our support team is working on getting in touch with your client.

I followed up with them so they can update you on any progress regarding this case. Feel free to also update your ticket should you have any additional questions.

[feed_my_eyes]

That sounds awful - I'm sorry that you're going through this. Yes, it's a real nuisance that contracts with Enterprise clients auto-expire; I've had problems with this myself. I think it's got something to do with compliance issues in some states (i.e. to prove that you're a freelancer and not an employee). But I don't understand why the client wasn't approving and paying for each milestone as you submitted the work? It's always been the case that you shouldn't start working on the next milestone until the previous one is approved.