Secondary time tracker/biller

breanne-joyce · ‎06-18-2019

Hello,

I have been working for a company for 3 months now. All of a sudden my boss wants me to switch from upwork time tracker and biller to Time Doctor. Is this allowed?

breanne-joyce · ‎06-18-2019

Also if there is a section on this in the Terms or Help desk please provide one.

prestonhunter · ‎06-18-2019

re: "All of a sudden my boss wants me to switch from upwork time tracker and biller to Time Doctor. Is this allowed?"

There is absolutely no rule prohibiting you from using Time Doctor or any other time-tracker.

You may also STOP using the Upwork Time Tracker and log time manually if you choose to do so.

Most experienced Upwork freelancers would NOT choose to STOP using the Upwork Time-Tracker. They would use BOTH the Upwork time-tracker and Time Doctor.

Because Upwork does NOT pay you for time you log using Time Doctor.

It would pay you for time you log manually.

But there is no payment protection.

If a client chose to NOT pay you for time you logged using manual time, that would be her choice. There would be nothing you could do to stop her from getting all of your manual time from the previous week dropped or refunded to her.

So as long as you trust the client 100%, then using manual time would be okay.

Using ONLY Time Doctor and NOT Upwork time-tracker or Upwork manual time would not be wise. If you did that, then the only way the client could pay you would be using the Pay Bonus tool, and that would only be done on the honor system.

Meaning:

If you worked 40 hours this week, logging your time using Time Doctor, and then the client decided she did not want to pay you for your work this week, that would be her choice. Upwork wouldn't do anything about it.

wescowley · ‎06-18-2019

On an hourly contract, you'll only have payment protection if you use the Upwork tracker. If you use another tracker, you either have to get them to agree to have you enter manual time or pay you with bonuses. Either way, you won't be covered with the payment protection.

breanne-joyce · ‎06-18-2019

Do I have the right to refuse to use a secondary?

prestonhunter · ‎06-18-2019

re: "Do I have the right to refuse to use a secondary?"

You 100% DO have the right to refuse to use a secondary time-tracker.

And the client has a right to stop working with you.

You ALSO have the right to use a secondary time-tracker, but increase your hourly rate in order to do so.

tlsanders · ‎06-18-2019

Breanne J wrote:
Do I have the right to refuse to use a secondary?

You can refuse whatever you want, but understand that either you or the client can simply end the contract at any time. If you refuse and it's a deal breaker for the client, then you lose the gig.

I can't see how tracking time outside of Upwork could possibly be considered circumvention as long as payment is made through Upwork, but if you use only the outside tracker you will lose Upwork's payment protection (huge--don't do that unless you really have a strong basis for trust with this client) and if you use both you are almost guaranteed to run into issues, since Upwork's tracker counts differently than most time trackers and the results from the two trackers will likely be inconsistent (This may be why the client wants to use a different one)

gilbert-phyllis · ‎06-18-2019

Breanne J wrote:
Do I have the right to refuse to use a secondary?

Of course you have the right to refuse. But the client also has the right to end the contract at any time for any reason, or for no reason at all. You are a freelancer, an independent contractor, and the person paying you is not your boss, she/he is your client.

Do you know why they want to switch to a different timekeeper? If not, ask them. That's the first step toward finding a win-win solution. As others have said, you only have payment protection if you use UW's desktop tracker. Personally, I've earned a lot of money here logging hours manually. But my eyes are always wide open to the fact that a client could simply decide not to pay one week, and there would be nothing I could do about it.

And as Virginia pointed out, if they are looking to move the whole timekeeping and payment transaction off the platform, that's a huge ToS violation and you should not only refuse to do it but if they insist, then you need to report them to UW. Take that conversation one step at a time, though, because it's entirely possible the client is not aware of the rules. Incredily, many people just leap in here--FLs and clients--without completely understanding how the platform works.

mtngigi · ‎06-18-2019

Breanne J wrote:
Hello,

I have been working for a company for 3 months now. All of a sudden my boss wants me to switch from upwork time tracker and biller to Time Doctor. Is this allowed?

No. If you want the payment protection Upwork offers, you need to use time tracker. What your client (not boss) is asking you to do could be considerred circumvention ... a big no no.

breanne-joyce · ‎06-18-2019

Thank you for your help! Can you provide me with a link for this?

prestonhunter · ‎06-18-2019

Also:

Remember that if you do NOT use manual time, and do NOT use the time-tracker, and the client pays you using the Pay Bonus tool (through Upwork)... This IS allowed.

But you would NOT accrue hours on your profile.