payment

[#1]

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Danny B wrote:

What does Earnings are automatically withdrawn mean?

Why would up work withdraw from my account if I'm the one who's supposed to be paid?

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It simply means that Upwork has withdrawn the amount in  your account and sent it to whatever outside account you have specified - PayPal, your bank etc. 

ETA: For example, I have specified that Upwork should automatically send money in my Upwork account to my PayPal account  when my earnings reach $1000. 

[#2]

Hi Danny,

After setting a payment schedule, your earnings will automatically be released based on the schedule you have set and the balance limit (i.e withdraw earnings after they reach $100). However, you can withdraw your earnings whenever you choose by clicking the 'Get Paid Now' option. Please check out this article for more information.

Thank you!

[#3]

Hi Danny,

Unfortunately, because Upwork is not a bank or payment transfer agency, we cannot maintain balances for more than 180 days, per our Terms of Service.

Thank you!

[#4]

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Danny B wrote:
Yeah that seems crooked. This is why I **bleep**ing hate freelance and why I
never even wanted to try to do it in the first place.

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It is not crooked. But you don't  have to freelance either off or on any online platform. Freelancing is not for everyone. 

[#5]

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Danny B wrote:
I don’t know the way things are now out here you kind of have to do
freelance or you don’t get to work in the industry. And I don’t know where
else to go to get work but online platforms.

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OK so stop with the accusations and read all the help pages on this site. Start here: https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/Getting-Started-on-Upwork/m-p/264214#M2460

And then once you have grasped the basics start applying for jobs. 

[#6]

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Danny B wrote:
I already did both of those things. I mean obviously that’s why I’m here. I
read those pages and applied for jobs and still am unclear why I would have
money taken out of my account when I’m the one that should be receiving the
payment.

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Are you even trying to listen to what they're telling you? NO money is being taken. It's only being transferred to your bank. You ARE the one recieveing payment. 

[#7]

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Danny B wrote:
It says “earnings will be withdrawn to your primary payment method“
How can you withdraw things to something?
If I’m being paid why is anything being withdrawn?
If you’re not interested in helping me understand this why are you even
responding?
And if it’s just to be insulting and condescending to me whatever that’s
not helpful it’s just toxic.

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The earnings are being withdrawn from UpWork and being transerred to your primary payment method, i.e the bank you listed. Don't let the word 'withdraw' confuse you. Nothing's being taken away. I am interested in helping but it doesn't seem like you're interested in listening. (Also, I hate condescedning people and never wish to be one.)

[#8]

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Danny B wrote:
I mean why do they use the word withdraw then if it’s not a withdrawal?

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Because it technically is a withdrawl. Money is being withdrawn from your Upwork account and being deposited to your bank. So there's no money lost, only $2 for the withdrawl fee.

[#9]

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Danny B wrote:
I don’t have any money in an up work account and I don’t understand why
they would have to take my money away to pay me. That seems scammy and A
means for me to make a mistake for them to capitalize off of.

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Check your bank statements. I'm sure you'll find that UpWork hasn't taken any money. They only charge you if you purchase connects or sign up for a Freelancer Plus membership.

[#10]

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Danny B wrote:
I haven't even had a contract yet so there be no money for them to take.

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Exactly.. So what case are you trying to make? 

[#11]

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Danny B wrote:
I don’t have any money in an up work account and I don’t understand why
they would have to take my money away to pay me. That seems scammy and A
means for me to make a mistake for them to capitalize off of.

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Please explain how you intend to get your money from your Upwork account to use to pay your bills. It has to make it to your bank account, correct? So your money is automatically TRANSFERRED from your Upwork account to your bank or your PayPal account. A "transfer" is a set of two actions: a withdrawal from one account and a deposit into another. Upwork is not withdrawing anything. YOU are withdrawing the money from Upwork and depositing it into your bank or PayPal. It is an automatic process after a certain amount of time because legally Upwork cannot hold the money in your account over a certain period of time. 

Why do you feel there is something scammy about Upwork giving you your money? 

[#12]

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Danny B wrote:
Usually when I pay bills I just use my credit card or have it automatically
deducted from my account or “withdrawn” I don’t know why I have to have
Upwork hold my money In the first place. I don’t know why the people that
are paying me can’t just send the money to my bank account.

Like what happens if I go under $100 are they gonna send me a fee like the
bank would?

Furthermore your condescending tone and hyperbolic responses aren’t helping
anything so I don’t really understand why you continue to berate me when
you could just tell me what I need to know . if you know.

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Clients can't send money directly to your bank account because all payments have to go via Upwork; they deduct a service charge in order to cover their advertising costs and all of the other services that they provide. If you want to find clients via Upwork, you'll need to follow their terms of service or your account will be banned. If you want clients to pay you directly, then you'll need to find your own clients. 

But no, you won't be penalised if your account is below $100. Where did you get that idea?

[#13]

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Danny B wrote:
Usually when I pay bills I just use my credit card or have it automatically
deducted from my account or “withdrawn” I don’t know why I have to have
Upwork hold my money In the first place. I don’t know why the people that
are paying me can’t just send the money to my bank account.

Like what happens if I go under $100 are they gonna send me a fee like the
bank would?

Furthermore your condescending tone and hyperbolic responses aren’t helping
anything so I don’t really understand why you continue to berate me when
you could just tell me what I need to know . if you know.

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No one is being condescending. You are being unclear on what your question actually is, so we are trying to understand why you are missing what is really a quite simple concept. No one is being hyperbolic either - except you, unfortunately, as you cannot see that many people are trying to help you understand how Upwork works. 

Let me break this down for you further. Yes, clients that you find on your own, not through Upwork can pay you directly. However, if you sign up for Upwork and agree to their TOS, which you did, you agreed that you will not take direct payment from clients that you met on Upwork outside of Upwork. You agreed when you signed the TOS to take all payments through Upwork. Upwork does this because it is the only way they can ensure that their fees are paid. The fees you pay when you do get a job on Upwork are to pay Upwork for giving you access to their diverse client base and their contracting/invoicing services. 

If you do not want to use Upwork's services, that is perfectly fine; however, you cannot use Upwork to find clients, then take them off platform to contract outside of Upwork and receive payment outside of Upwork. You can only do that with clients you meet organically on your own, and not through the job bidding process on Upwork - since that is what you agreed to when you signed up. 

The reason Upwork does not allow you to do this - directly get paid outside their system, is because they would never get paid their fees that as freelancers we agree to pay when we sign up.  They would go bankrupt very fast, and then none of us would have jobs. 

I hope this explanation helps you understand what you agreed to when you signed up, the service you actually signed up for when you created an account on Upwork, and why you cannot directly get paid by clients.