0% fee when you bring your own client

[indrajitsinh-ray]

Where can I find my BYOC link?  (I need it ASAP so that I can start  working on the contract from tomorrow) 

[JoanneP]

Hi Pavel,

If you are interested in Bringing your Client to Upwork, you can do so if you upgrade your Plan to the Freelancer Plus Plan. One of the Perks is to be able to invite your client to Upwork. Once you have upgraded your membership plan, you can go to your Community profile settings and click "Submit a request" under the Freelancer Plus tab. You will be contacted directly with more information on how to move forward. 

I have also requested our team's assistance. One of our team members will contact you directly for more information. 

[140copywriter]

So, upon reading lots of confusing information on Upwork Help Center, Community, and Google, I need someone with accurate knowledge to enlighten me on a few matters to clear the fog and outdated information around this topic: (I believe many people would benefit from clarifying these)

1. Is the "Bring Your Own Client" program still available?
2. Who is eligible to benefit from the program?
   • Some sources claim that "Profiles with Top Rated, Top Rated Plus, and Rising Talent badges can benefit from the program by emailing to BringYourClient@upwork.com" while others claim "it's available only for Freelancer Plus plan members regardless of their badges".
3. When you bring a new client by using this program, the service fee you pay for contracts with this client will be 0%. We know this. BUT! Will any other fees be paid by a freelancer or the client other than the 0% service fee? 

NOTE: This whole thread is about the "Bring your Own Client" program, not the "Bring Your Own Talent" program.

[89d1828a]

My client joined Upwork 2 days ago via bring your own client program.  He hired me on the contract. But till today there no 0% service fee offered by Upwork at all. I think it's no longer offered.

[140copywriter]

You need to reach out to Support to apply 0% service fee if all requirements are met. It's not applied automatically.

[89d1828a]

They have also removed my community post regarding this issue. 

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Support-Forum/Please-apply-0-service-fees-on-my-contract/td-p/150178...

[bobafett999]

Bringing your own personally developed client to Upwork is a huge mistake.  Why show him that he can buy same services at cheaper price?

[140copywriter]

1) You don't trust them with payments, so use Upwork Escrow Protection.

2) It may be easier to handle the payments for you or the client or both.

These are the only reasons I can think of.

[759e32fa · Accepted solution]

Hi Kamran,

We appreciate you bringing this up and we want to clear this up for everyone in order to avoid any confusion moving forward.

The Bring Your Own Client program is offered to both Freelancer Plus members and freelancers who have the Top Rated, Top Rated Plus, or Rising Talent badge.

Freelancers with the mentioned badges are notified via email when they first receive the badge and are informed that they can take advantage of the BYOC program.

Before, this was limited to these freelancers but in order to extend this perk to other freelancers, we also made it available for those subscribed to Freelancer Plus.

The 0% service fee only applies if the clients sign up using the unique link for the freelancers. If you have not received a personal invitation link, please email BringYourClient@upwork.com.

[yasinsarkar]

Hello, I am interested in joining two new clients on Upwork. Could you please tell me how can I contact support and get the Unique link? 

[140copywriter]

Just email BringYourClient@upwork.com.

[b608f3ff]

Hello support team, I am a newbie to freelancing and this platform. I am from Pakistan and have a client currently residing in Italy. I give him SEO Services for his website, and he pays me directly through bank transfers, but my question is: I want him to hire me on Upwork. What is the best method to make him hire me on Upwork and how much fees do we both have to bear? 

[spectralua]

Client was never registered? Buy FLPlus, invite client via referal link and get huge discount for Upwork fee with this client. Read more detail about inviting.

[b608f3ff]

They havnt talked about buying FPlus program in the support email I receive in response to same question

[b608f3ff]

I emailed the support, they are saying something else???

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[140copywriter]

So, to clarify it even further for everyone, here's the comprehensive answer I got from Upwork Support. It answers all questions:

To answer your question, yes, our Bring Your Own Client (BYOC) is still available.
 
Just a reminder, the main idea of the Bring Your Own Client program is for you to bring your off-platform client here in Upwork, which means you have worked with this client outside Upwork and wish to bring him over to take advantage of the features and the 0% service fee program. The client must be an entirely new user and should not be connected to another existing client account on Upwork.
 
The 0% service fee is not applied automatically on contracts once your client hires you, please follow the steps below accordingly.
 
Here’s how to get started:
 
1. Send your client your personal invitation link above
2. Have them hire you on a job so a contract will be established.
3. Email BringYourClient@upwork.com with your client's name and contract ID.
4. We’ll review and apply the 0% fee on your contract within 3 business days.
 
Here are some few reminders and additional information:
 

• You can use this same link to invite another off-platform client you wish to invite here in Upwork provided you remain Top Rated | Rising Talent
• If you’ve brought a client to Upwork, you’ll continue to be eligible for the reduced 0% fee on all contracts you have with that client.
• This discount only applies to any client you bring that is entirely new to Upwork from the time you received the message about Bring Your Own Client. We cannot honor the 0% service fee if they already have an existing account on Upwork.
• The 0% service fee is only applied to you as the Freelancer, necessary fees will be applied to your client when they make payment to you. To know more about this:  Client Marketplace and Contract Initiation Fees
• If you are operating as an Agency, only your Exclusive Agency Freelancer will benefit from this program.
• The BYOC program cannot be combined with other existing programs such as Direct Contract here in Upwork.
• In the event you lose your Top Rated | Rising Talent badge and still wish to enjoy the 0% service fee perks for Bring Your Own Client - you may want to try our  Freelancer Plus that offers the same promotion.

[usmansurda]

I brang client from BYOC. He made a job post sent me invitation. I accepted it and sent back proposal. He accepted it and sent me offer but I havent received the offer he sent yet. can you please guide me. 
I even opened case its been 15days since i opened it noone responded yet

[ArjayM]

Hi Usman,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting this. However, I see that the team handling your case has responded to the support ticket you raised with more information and further instructions for resolving the issue. Please continue coordinating with the team through that same ticket so that the team can assist you more efficiently.

You may access your ticket on this page or your email for updates.

[usmansurda]

Hello Ajay, There is no update yet, You can check the ticket

[LuiggiR]

I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to you, Usman. I notified the support team of this and they'll be sharing an update with you soon via your ticket. 

[ammarsiddique1]

How do I get a 0% fee waiver for new clients I bring on upwork?

I have a freelancer plus subscription.

[JoanneP]

Hi Ammar,

I can see that you already have an open ticket regarding your request. One of our agents will update your ticket and assist you further. 

[89dd4a94]

Hi I want to bring a new customer to the platform and make use of the 0% fee for me and for the customer.
Is it like this? For the client it will also be 0% fee?

Please let me know how I can make use of this.

[541efd09]

I heard that there is a BYOC (Bring Your Own Client) feature where we have 0% fees. I want to invite my new client to Upwork he is not on Upwork. So from where I can get the  BYOC link which I can send to my client so he can register and start working with me.
From where I can get the link. Kindly guide.

P.S. I am not talking about direct contract, I know about it.

[ArjayM]

Hi Razi,

Please know that this is a program we’ve introduced to only a few selected freelancers. The Bring Your Own Client program is offered to both Freelancer Plus members and freelancers who have the Top Rated, Top Rated Plus, or Rising Talent badge.

Freelancers with the mentioned badges are notified via email when they first receive the badge and are informed that they can take advantage of the BYOC program.

You may consider upgrading your plan to Freelancer Plus and take advantage of the perks of bringing your own client to Upwork. I hope this clarifies. Best of luck!

[aureate_ramos]

i brought a client to upwork and you have a policy that if we bring a client, service fee will be waived, i need the fees to be refunded.

[8da98d13]

So how does that work exactly and does the client need to make an account? I want to utilise Upwork's simple time tracker and payment protection.

I read about Bring Your Own Client and it's 0% fee and on some forum posts you were suggesting freelancers link their profile to their client... I am just confused and need a simple answer from the kind community here.

Thank you in advance,

Diell

[celgins]

Diell,

You can simply direct your client to setup an account on Upwork. Once setup, they post a job, and invite you to submit a proposal for the job. To me, this is the easiest way.

Link to Upwork: Post A Job

Your client could also review the steps to Bring Your Own Talent.

[wlyonsatl]

Diell M.

DO NOT ask your client to set up an account at this point. If that happens first you will not get the perk of no fees to Upwork using Bring Your Own Client.

You should email BringYourClient@upwork.com and get their instructions for bringing your client to Upwork.

Assuming the program is still available, it used to only be available to Top Rated and Rising Talent freelancers.

[8da98d13]

Thanks Will,

I just wrote to that adress and now waiting for them to message me back. I would much rather have the job affect my JSS, so BYOC is a better solution for me.

[a1d96694]

Hi, 

I have a question here if such a client be able to leave feedback & rating on order completion? 

[wlyonsatl]

Every client you sign an Upwork contract with has the permanent ability to leave feedback for you.

In some (apparently rare) cases, Upwork doesn't include such feedback in calculating your Job Success Score. But if this would be a client new to Upwork, I don't expect excluding their feedback for you would be likely.

[25005175]

Since you are not Top Rated (Plus), your best bet is to use Direct Contracts. In my opinion, the Hourly version of Direct Contracts has better promise of payment (erroneously described as "protection", like that for fixed-price) than the standard Upwork Hourly contracts. That is because the client has to fund an entire week of payment into escrow, meaning that there is no question that some funds are available (although there is no protection against chargebacks, because any credit/debit card transaction is vulnerable to chargeback). For anybody who charges more than $62.50/hr, that means that the escrow for a single week promises more than the $2,500 maximum on standard Upwork Hourly contracts.

ETA: strikethrough erroneous information

[wlyonsatl]

That's an interesting option, Jonathan, but if client chargebacks are still a possibility it isn't an option I'd recommend to any new freelancer when an hourly cpntract is also a possibility. 

It is my understanding (thanks to Preston for confirming) that with fixed price contracts funds are also available (the client's payment method/credit card has been charged) when shown in escrow on Upwork. And that offers the freelancer no assurance against chargebacks.

Does Upwork mediation also come into play if the client disputes payment or requests a refund under a direct contract?

Thanks for any insights in how direct contracts reduce the chance of disputes and refund requests compared to fixed price contracts.

[25005175]

Hi Will. There is an entire ToS agreement dedicated to Hourly Direct Contracts that answers your questions regarding dispute mechanics. As for reducing the chance of disputes, refund requests, and chargebacks - I don't have any stats on those. Like I said in my initial reply, it is strictly my opinion based on the info in the ToS agreement and the recent discussions on the inconsistent enforcement of Hourly Protection in this forum.

[wlyonsatl]

OK, Jonathan. I don't care enough about learning about direct contracts to read through any documentation. I was just wondering how you think that contract arrangement can reduce freelancer losses due to client fraud or disputes.

[8da98d13]

Let me try to understand what you said there, me not being TR+ means I don't have a high chance of getting into the program? How does the payment procection of Direct Contracts differ from the one in BYOC?

[25005175]

Actually, upon further review of the Support pages, I can't find any BYOC program. There are just the BYOT/Any Hire programs for clients to use. So you may only use Direct Contracts with clients who don't yet have an Upwork account.

[8da98d13]

Hello Joanne,

I know this is a really late reply to your comment, but I am interested in brining my outside client to Upwork so could you also give me a link to invite them? I am worried about payment security so bringing them to Upwork would be a really good solution.

Thank you in advance,

Diell

[zelikoff]

I hope thread starter will not mind if I ask my question here )

I just asked a client of mine to create an account on upwork and then I get information that there is "bring your client" program is.

What is the workaround to use this program with this client?
Should I ask him to delete account and create new one?

Thank you!

[LuiggiR]

Hi Vsevolod,

I want to clarify that this offer is only limited to Freelancers who are either subscribed to the Freelancer Plus membership or have the Top Rated, Top Rated Plus, or Rising Talent badge. At this time, you won't be able to advantage of the program with the client you are referring to.