A few questions

[creative_v7]

Hello!

I am new to Upwork.

1.  What should I put in Legal Name of Business in tax information?

Should this be my first and last name?

2.  Can I simply answer that I don't have a VAT number (I live in EU)?

I also have a question about hourlies. As a freelancer I have forever worked on fixed-time projects. My question is if I should use the desktop app each time when I have an hourly project.

I also want to know if I can skip using the app when working on fixed-time projects.

My last question is if I can use unverified paypal until I get to verify it.

[AveryO · Accepted solution]

Hi Vesela, 

Please see my answers to your questions below: 

1. On the Legal Name of Business field, please write your legal name that matches your Upwork profile. 
2. Yes. Upwork doesn't require anyone to have a VAT number but we will charge VAT on the services above to freelancers and agencies within the EU unless they provide a valid VAT number. If you don't have a VAT number, you may read up on this help article for more information on how your taxes will be computed for.
   
   
3. It would be best to use the Upwork Desktop App to track time for your hourly contract, as it makes you eligible for the Upwork Payment Protection Program. Make sure to write your current actvity on the Memo section of the Upwork Desktop App when tracking time.
   
   
4. Yes, there is no need to track time while working on fixed-price contracts.
   
   
5. That should be fine. However, if you plan on hiring through Upwork, and using Paypal as a billing method, you will need to have a verified Paypal account. You may read more about using Paypal as a payment method here.

[creative_v7]

Thank you a lot. 🙂

[florydev]

On hourly projects if you use the app (and I believe you should) you need to be decenly descriptive of what you are doing with the memo and change it when you change what you are doing.  The purpose of the memo and the the screenshot, beyond just giving a client a sense of how you are progressing, is to aide you in case a client disputes your work.  Some people run the app and don't do a very good job with the memos.

Just because you should use the screenshot, don't be afraid to add manual time.  I have had occasions where I did not turn it on, or really it just didn't record my activity and I added manual time.  If you have a good project with a good client and manual time is allowed they will likely approve it without question.  But know that in a dispute, manual time is going to be lost (this is from what I have gleaned, haven't had one...yet).

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