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fouziabatool105
Community Member

Payment outside the project

Hi, can anyone suggest how my client can make payments to me outside the project. As my client and i ,stared working on her project without starting/initiating contract. Now my client wants to pay me but she is unable to make payment to me as there seems no option.
Appreciate your timely response.
5 REPLIES 5
LuiggiR
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Fouzia,

 

If you're referring to having the client pay you for work that was done before starting a contract, they can pay you with a bonus. You can share this help article with them for more details on how they can do this. Just note that bonus payments don't qualify for payment protection and we recommend that you do not start working on a project until a contract is in place. 

 

Since you're new to the platform, you may also want to check the resources in this post to help you get started. As a reminder, you should not accept payments outside the platform, as this is a serious violation of the Upwork TOS

 

Thank you.

~ Luiggi
Upwork

Hi, can anyone suggest how my client can make payments to me outside the project. As my client and i ,stared working on her project without starting/initiating contract. Now my client wants to pay me but she is unable to make payment to me as there seems no option.
Appreciate your timely response.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Fouzia:

You could have your account terminated and you could be permanently blocked from using Upwork if you are caught accepting payments made outside of the platform.

 

You could have your account suspended simply for DISCUSSING off-platform payments. I know that seems extreme, but here in the Forum, I have read first-person accounts of that happening.

m_terrazas
Community Member


Fouzia B wrote:
Hi, can anyone suggest how my client can make payments to me outside the project. As my client and i ,stared working on her project without starting/initiating contract. Now my client wants to pay me but she is unable to make payment to me as there seems no option.
Appreciate your timely response.

I suppose that one way to do it (some mod can tell us if it would be a valid solution) could be: client creates the contract now, she finances a milestone for all the work, you send the work with the button to send work and ask for payment and the client releases the pay.

 

If this is allowed, in addition to charging, you would have a job in the history and a review.

 

And for next time, don't start a job until you have a contract and a funded milestone.

Hi Maria,

 

Thanks for your input! I can confirm that accepting payments outside of Upwork is in violation of TOS if the client and freelancer met on the platform. In this case, the client can send an offer, in order to create a contract and send a payment for the work done. That said, going forward it is always best if no work is done before a contract is in place as having an active contract is key to qualifying for Payment Protection.

 

Thanks!

~Andrea
Upwork
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