What is reserve balance?

[ezz_youssef]

What is reserve balance? is it an extra withdrawal fee?

Also, can't I withdraw money unless it is more than 100$?

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[mwiggenhorn]

You can always withdraw any amount that is available.  $100 is your threshold for automatic withdrawal. You can set that for any amount that you like. "reserve balance" is an amount that you can set to always keep that much on Upwork.

[NikolaS]

Hi Youssef,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I would like to clarify that the purpose of the Maintain A Reserve Balance option is to reserve some of your balance to buy Connects. You should be able to withdraw your available balance at any time using the "Get Paid Now" option. 

• Go to the Settings › Get Paid.
• Choose the Get Paid Now button.
• Choose the amount to withdraw.
• Choose Get Paid Now.

You can find more information in this help article. Let us know if you need further assistance. 

[ezz_youssef]

So Reserve Balance is not extra upwork fee taken from my balance?

[AveryO · Accepted solution]

Hi Youseff, 

Reserve Balance means that it will be deducted from the available balance and will be kept in your account. For example, you have a $100 balance in your account, and you have set up a $15 reserve balance in your payment schedule. The $15 will be retained on your Upwork account whenever a withdrawal is processed, and only the $75 dollars will be withdrawn to your chosen payment method. 

I hope that clarifies this for you. Let us know if you have other questions, and our team will be happy to assist you further. 

[ezz_youssef]

So clear, thank you.
What about this one, can't I withdraw money unless it is more than 100$???

[JoanneP]

Hi Youssef,

You can withdraw any amount manually; however, if you select to set up your account this way, then once your account reaches $100.00 or more, the funds will be automatically withdrawn to your chosen withdrawal method. Please check out this help article for more information. 

[ezz_youssef]

Thank you
I know that Upwork fee is 20%. I was paid 40$ for a project, so after the fee I should be paid 32$, right? But now it is going to take 2 more dollars (that makes it 25%)!!!

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[PradeepH]

Hi Youssef,

Thank you for your message. The $2 seen in the screenshot shared by you is for initiating a Paypal withdrawal from your Upwork account. The withdrawal fees are charged separately on a per withdrawal basis and they are not included in your Upwork freelancer fees.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[ezz_youssef]

So this 2$ fee happens only in the very first withdraw but won't occur again? Right?

[AndreaG]

Hi Youssef,

As Pradeep mentioned, the PayPal withdrawal fee is per-transfer. You can learn more about PayPal Fees and Timing here.

[ezz_youssef]

But it clearly says that these 2$ are aside from paypal charge. So these 2$ go to upwork, so upwork fee is 25%, right?

Does this extra 5% occur in every project?

[AndreaG]

Youssef,

The Freelancer Service Fee (starting at 20%) and the Withdrawal Fee for using the PayPal payment method ($2) are the fees charged by Upwork. The dollar amount of fees we charge then will always vary for the Service Fee but not for the Withdrawal Fee. In this case, if making the calculation backward, it does look like you paid 25% in general Upwork fees.

That said, if you earned $100, the Service Fee would be $20 and the Withdrawal Fee would still be $2. You would pay a total of $22 in general fees, which would be 22%, not 25%. So it doesn't follow that Upwork's fees are 25%

I hope that helps and please let us know if you still have any questions,

[ezz_youssef]

So it's always 20%+2$+paypal charge fee, right?

[ArjayM]

Hi Youssef,

Arjay here stepping in for Andrea. As a freelancer, you’ll pay a sliding fee based on your total lifetime billings with a client. Because we want to give you the flexibility to change contract types as you work together, we count all your contracts with a client –– whether hourly, fixed-price, or a Project Catalog project. (There are a few exceptions, see here). This is on top of the Withdrawal Fee for using the PayPal payment method ($2), which is the fee charged by Upwork.

Here’s how it works:

• $0-$500 in earnings from a client: 20% service fee applied to earnings
• $500.01-$10,000 in earnings from a client: 10% service fee
• $10,000.01 or more in earnings from a client: 5% service fee

I hope this clarifies that it's not always  20% for the Service Fee. You can check your progress toward reduced fees under Reports › Lifetime Billings by Client. Feel free to review this article to familiarize yourself with how the procedures work.

[ezz_youssef]

I understand this. so this 2$ is for using the paypal method, right?
and there is no way to avoid it, right?

[PradeepH]

Hi Youssef,

Thank you for your message. Yes, the $2 is the withdrawal fee using the Paypal method. Since this is charged on each withdrawal, you can save on withdrawal fees by withdrawing earnings together. 

Thank you,

Pradeep

[ezz_youssef]

Thank you.

can I then tell the client to end the project without pressing the get paid button and transferring the balance t paypal. I mean can he end the project and I keep my balance on upwork. Or will I lose if I did not transfer it to paypal before ending the project?

[PradeepH]

Hi Youssef,

Your clients do not have access to send payments directly to your payment method while ending the contract. When a contract is ended, your earnings are added to the Upwork balance after 5 days security period. You will need to initiate a fund withdrawal manually by clicking the 'Get Paid' button when you would like to transfer funds to your payment method. 

Thank you,

Pradeep

[ezz_youssef]

So if the project ended before I transfer the 32$ to paypal, the 32$ remains in my balance on upwork (even after the client ends the project) and I can transfer them to paypal anytime later, right?

[PradeepH]

Yes, that is correct. You can also withdraw together with the earnings from your other contracts. Please note that Upwork cannot keep the funds for over 180 days. So, you will have to initiate withdrawal before that or the funds will be automatically transferred to your chosen payment method.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[ezz_youssef]

Would you please tell me how many connects I earn every week? How many after completing a project?

And most importantly, what are ways to get new connects? 

[759e32fa]

Hi Youssef,

Thank you for reaching out to us. Free Connects aren't given on a weekly basis. But here are some ways on how you earn Connects:

• Register for the first time. You’ll receive 40 Connects to get started. When you complete the Upwork Readiness Test, you’ll receive another 40 Connects — that's 80 FREE Connects!
• Win an interview. When you submit a proposal to a client, win an interview, and reply, you’ll get a bonus of 10 Connects. You can earn up to 50 Connects every seven days.
• Complete an Upwork Skill Certification. If you earn an Upwork Skill Certification, you’ll enjoy a one-time Connects bonus.
• Earn a badge. If you qualify for an Upwork Talent Badge, you may receive bonus Connects with it!

We also give 10 free Connects on a monthly basis. 

You can check this article for more information.

[ezz_youssef]

"You can earn up to 50 Connects every seven days." If I do what I can earn thos 50 connects per week?

And does an interview mean chatting with the customer or a video call?

[LuiggiR]

Hi Youssef, 

I'm not sure I understood your question, but if you're in doubt about how you can earn Connects for winning interviews, here's how it works:

1.  You submit a proposal to a job.
2. Win an interview from a client when they respond to your proposal.
3. Respond back to the client and win a bonus of 10 Connects.

Don't hesitate to let us know if you have further questions.

[d98880f2]

Hi I'm starting on Upwork. Does this mean, that the available balance is pulling from my bank account? Or is is it the amount I make for a project for 1 company?