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nadinabuzaid
Community Member

Hourly Contract without Tracking

Hi,
I have been hired for a project for the first time on Upwork. I accept the offer ( hourly contract). I have finished the job without using the tracker because I didn't know that it's hourly or fixed price. I have also sent it to the client and she haven't replyed yet. 

What should I do? Is it my problem or the client's?

Thank you, 

12 REPLIES 12
martina_plaschka
Community Member


Nadin A wrote:

Hi,
I have been hired for a project for the first time on Upwork. I accept the offer ( hourly contract). I have finished the job without using the tracker because I didn't know that it's hourly or fixed price. I have also sent it to the client and she haven't replyed yet. 

What should I do? Is it my problem or the client's?

Thank you, 


It is your problem, because you did not take the time to educate yourself on how the platform works, how to stay safe, and how to get paid. Read everything in the help section and the forum. 

so karen

prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Is it my problem or the client's?"

 

If the client received what she wanted (the work that you did).

 

And you did not receive what you wanted (money)...

 

Then wouldn't that mean you have a problem, not the client?

 

It IS DEFINITELY POSSIBLE for a client to pay you for your time using the "Pay Bonus" tool.

That is what I do, as a client, when Upwork newbies fail to track their time.

Many clients will indeed do that.

 

But Upwork doesn't require that they do that.

 

Nadin: THIS IS ALL GOOD NEWS FOR YOU.

Because it means that you have control over this.

Now that you know how to use Upwork hourly contracts properly, you won't make the same mistake again.

 

MANY new freelancers have made this mistake.

You have nothing to be ashamed of, and there is nothing you are REQUIRED to do about this contract.

 

But there may be things you are allowed to do, which would be a GOOD IDEA:

If the contract is still open, and if it allows manual time, then you may simply log into your work diary and add the time manually. That way you will get paid.

 

If you can't do that, then you may send a message to the client, in which you apologize for your mistake and ask if she can pay you using the "Pay Bonus" tool.

 

But only one message. After that, don't worry about this.

Now, thw contract is placed on hold. I have sent her a message to know whether she paused it or there is a problem with her account, and she haven't replied yet. It has been 4 days without any reply.

What should I do, please?

re: "What should I do, please?"

 

When a contract is placed on hold, it means that you do nothing, except wait.

 

Do NOT do any work on the contract.

 

A contract placed on hold means there is no way to log time or get billed right now.

 

Often a contract placed on hold will be restored and you can begin working again. Sometimes it will not.

 

There may well be a problem with her account.

 

But this is a matter for the CLIENT to resolve. Not you.

 

You have no obligation to work for this client right now. Don't send messages to the client. Don't worry about this.

I have the same problem, my client is very unresponsive about my payment, I asked him how do I get about my payment but he did not answer, then I already worked 3 days passed and that was just the time he told me about the tracker. So now, I don't know what to do about the working hours I have worked without the tracker, I need to get paid. Upwork should have this support to their freelancers. This is totally painful!! We pay upwork in applying jobs, we pay upwork some fees from our salaries.Freelancers paid so much to upwork!! So, we need to be protected from clients like this. 

Hi Janine,

 

I`m sorry to hear about the bad experience you`ve had. I would like to confirm that we have hourly protection for freelancers. To learn more about this check out this Help Article


However, please keep in mind that our hourly payment protection does not cover promised funds and manual hours. For the hours you have worked, you can communicate further with your client about receiving a bonus payment or adding manual time. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork

No, my client never replied to me anymore. This is so disappointing. I have worked so hard and this is nor fair!

re: "I have the same problem, my client is very unresponsive about my payment"

 

Clients are not required to respond to freelancers.

Freelancers should understand how payments work. Freelancers should not ask clients questions about payments. Payments are handled the same for everybody. If a freelancer has questions, she should research Upwork's Help documents or search for answers in the Forum or ask questions in the Forum.

 

re: "I asked him how do I get about my payment but he did not answer"

 

Don't do that.

 

re: "then I already worked 3 days passed and that was just the time he told me about the tracker."

 

It sounds like the client is trying to help you out by telling you about things that you (as a freelancer) should know about it.

 

It is not the client's responsibility to educate the freelancer about the time tracker. If the client is providing you with information, then be grateful to him.

 

re: "So now, I don't know what to do about the working hours I have worked without the tracker"

 

You made a mistake. The payment is not the important thing here. The important thing is the knowledge you have gained about how to use Upwork properly.

 

re: "I need to get paid. Upwork should have this support to their freelancers. This is totally painful!! We pay upwork in applying jobs, we pay upwork some fees from our salaries.Freelancers paid so much to upwork!! So, we need to be protected from clients like this."

 

This client has done nothing wrong.

 

If this freelancer is experiencing "pain," it is self-inflicted.

 

Janine:
I want you to succeed here on Upwork.

The only way that you can move forward is to learn and embrace your POWER.

Embrace the fact that you already have all the power you need to succeed. All you need to do is use the time-tracker properly. It is a very good thing that the bad things that happened here were your fault. That means that YOU can change things on your own. You don't need anybody else's help.

Then, these statements above are just a confirmation that Upwork is not a
safe platform for skilled freelancers to work for. And this is good
feedback so other freelancers can read this and a warning to them. Upwork
is totally a PRO CLIENT and does not care with its freelancers.


Janine B wrote:
Then, these statements above are just a confirmation that Upwork is not a
safe platform for skilled freelancers to work for. And this is good
feedback so other freelancers can read this and a warning to them. Upwork
is totally a PRO CLIENT and does not care with its freelancers.

You are making quite broad statements about upwork and other freelancers. Can you back this up with empirical evidence? Further, should I call the NYSE and tell them to de-list upwork immediately?

colettelewis
Community Member

Message removed as the post is too old. And the latest post meaningless; 

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