New at Upwork - How to be sure on how escrow work and where can i withdraw the money

[wordbywordgirl18]

Hi, this is Veronica, I'm new at Upwork, and I haven´t gotten my first project yet, but, I do have a question, even thought it is a fixed price or and hourly project, how can I know if I already have an escrow account? It is automatic? and how does it work when it comes to withrawals? I'm from Guatemala, and not sure if I'm able to take the money or if I need to do something else?

Thanks in advance for your support, I know my questions are like really basic, but I took the freelancer course, and they didn't got too far into the account topics. jejeje! 

Thanks again and read you later! 

[michael_skaggs]

For fixed price projects, the escrow is automatic. What happens is the client funds the project/milestone, then the freelancer begins work. Once the freelancer submits their work, they can request the funds be released from escrow. At that point the client can release the funds, in which case they will be transferred to you after the five day security period. Otherwise, they have 14 days to dispute the work or request changes. If they say nothing, then the funds are automatically released after 14 days.

The important thing to remember as a freelancer is not to do any work on a project or milestone until it's funded, as being funded is your guarantee that the funds to pay for your work are available. Any work done without a funded milestone is not guaranteed.

[AveryO]

Hi Veronica, 

Michael's answer about Escrow are spot on. 

For withdrawing money to your account, please go to your Get Paid page (Settings > Get Paid) and setup your payment method to manage how you get paid. 

Since you are new, I would like to invite you to read up on the freelancer resources we have compiled to help you get started on Upwork. You may also want to read up on these tips for avoiding questionable jobs to help you work safely on Upwork. 

Good luck, and welcome to Upwork!