Quick question about the Upwork hiring process

[enkiernan]

Hi. I'm new to freelancing on Upwork and I've received a response that I'm not sure is normal. Is it normal for Upwork recruiters to use third party tools to monitor work? The person that contacted me expressed that they had the fee usually charged for hiring waived. Thus, they're using another tool to count the hours worked. I'm fine with doing so, but I'd like to know if this is something typical or if I'm not being careful enough. 

[JoanneP]

Hi Emily,

You might want to discuss this with your client so that you can discuss using another tool. I'd like to let you know that once you use a different tool other than the Upwork Time Tracker App to log your hours, it is not covered by Upwork payment protection. To learn more about this, please check the following: 

Fixed-Price Protection 

Hourly Protection

[feed_my_eyes]

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Emily K wrote:

Hi. I'm new to freelancing on Upwork and I've received a response that I'm not sure is normal. Is it normal for Upwork recruiters to use third party tools to monitor work? The person that contacted me expressed that they had the fee usually charged for hiring waived. Thus, they're using another tool to count the hours worked. I'm fine with doing so, but I'd like to know if this is something typical or if I'm not being careful enough. 

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If your client told you that they had paid the Upwork "opt out" fee and therefore they don't need to pay you through Upwork, then they are lying and trying to scam you. Or, if this is an hourly project and they told you not to use the time tracker, then I wouldn't agree to that either - you would have no protection for getting paid. Can you clarify what they said so that we can advise you further? And did this client insist on interviewing you outside of the Upwork platform (on Skype, for example?).