What is the fastest way to get paid?

[59180799]

Hi,

I'm new to Upwork and my first (and only client so far) is someone I had an existing relationship with outside of Upwork. They told me about Upwork and we decided to use this platform as a way to help me in my new freelancing career. It's been an average experience so far, and I'm convinced it has mostly to do with my understanding of how to use Upwork as the tool it was created for (although I'm not a fan of some of the fees). I'm still learning and exploring Upwork, but is there any way to receive funds faster? I opted for the weekly automatic payout, direct to my bank account option, but in total it takes almost half a month (around 15ish days) to receive payment. I'm averaging around 6-10 hours a week and would love to be able to get paid faster; am I doing something wrong, is there a better option to access my funds quicker, or is this what I can expect going forward?

Thanks!

[gilbert-phyllis]

You can withdraw funds whenever they are available, you don't have to wait for the weekly payment. 

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Phyllis G wrote:

You can withdraw funds whenever they are available, you don't have to wait for the weekly payment. 

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But hourly contracts are paid out weekly on Wednesday anyway so it makes no difference.

Dymonique, fixed-rate contracts, once a milestone is approved, get the money in your pocket more quickly, but can take even longer if a client drags their feet.

Weekly works fine once you get into a rhythm. You get a chunk of money every week, it doesn't really matter if it's this week's or last week's...

[59180799]

Thanks for responding. So, should I change the Automatic Payment setting on my account? Right now it shows as pending, and once the client approves, it takes about 5ish days to be deposited into my account. If I remove the Automatic payment option, could I just go in and process the funds once the client approves? Will it still take 5ish days to be deposited into my account?

Thanks!

[petra_r]

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Dymonique C wrote:

Thanks for responding. So, should I change the Automatic Payment setting on my account?

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No, it makes absolutely no difference. On hourly contracts, clients don't approve the hours, they are paid automatically. Whether you set your automatic withdrawals to weekly or not, funds become available on Wednesday.

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Dymonique C wrote:

If I remove the Automatic payment option, could I just go in and process the funds once the client approves? Will it still take 5ish days to be deposited into my account?

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It always goes by the weekly billing cycle- Once you become top-rated, the "pending phase" for hourly contracts is removed so you get paid on Friday.

But there is no way to shorten the cycle and no way to change the settings to speed it up.

But really, for as long as the hourly contract lasts, does it really matter if the hours are this week's or last week's? It's the same amount this week as it was a week ago...

[marikadienes]

The 5 day hold is only on newer freelancers if you are a top rated freelancer there is no hold. Top rated freelancer gets paid weekly. This is not a good policy. Everyone should be treated equally. When you work for a company they don't have different employee's getting paid different times becuase of your status in the company. You did the work you get paid period!

[martina_plaschka]

There is really no good reason to take a contract with an existing client to upwork, since you have to pay fees that you wouldn't incur before.  

[59180799]

Agreed. We went this route to help me get an established track record on Upwork and we thought it'd help. Hindsight is 2020!

[christopherbudde]

It will help if you have your client close the job, leave feedback and open a new job. You just need some feedback in the mix. You have good earnings to start.