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badorl
Community Member

Direct contract

I tried to login into my account today to send someone who wanted to give me a job outside upwork a direct contract proposal, but to my disappointment I notice Direct contract is not functioning on my account again? What could be the cause?

Could it be that the upgrade/maintenance that upwork team want to carry out is the reason it's not functional, or the feature has been axed from my account.


Please I need a quick response.


Thanks
Regards
ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi Constantin,

 

I would like to clarify that the process you're referring to is working as designed. 

With Direct Contracts, you can create and send contract proposals to your clients that don't have Upwork accounts. Your client will be asked to create an Upwork account. Just like your other contracts on Upwork, your client deposits project funds in escrow before the contract starts. When you've completed the work, you'll request payment from your client.

 

To learn more about how Direct contracts work and how to manage them, check out this Help Article. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork

View solution in original post

176 REPLIES 176
zhoic
Community Member

Thanks Andrea 👍

globaloutreach
Community Member

Hi,

I had a direct client and he deposited $600 into upwork, the contract lasted 3 days, mon, tue, wed

The client called to end the contract, I have recorded the 3 days worked in the upwork time sheet, It says hours will Hours will be processed on May 23, 2022.

 

My question is do I have to invoice the client directly or do nothing as it says "hours will be processed on 23rd May" Or do I have to end the contract on my end then bill the client? 

 

Thank you

Hi, do you have an hourly contract of fixed price contract?

Hi, its an hourly contract at 30 usd per hour

 

Hi Jonathan,

 

For hours you work on an hourly Direct Contract, we’ll bill the client weekly on Mondays and release funds to you on Fridays after your client has had a chance to review your hours. This happens automatically and you can learn more about it here.

 

~Andrea
Upwork

Hi Andrea, thank you for your reply, so do I have to do anything on my end? Does that mean I do not need to "end contract"? and payment for the 3 days will automatically go into my account next week? 

 

Thank you

That's right, Jonathan! There is no need to end the contract in order for the payment to be released.

 

~Andrea
Upwork

OK thank you Andrea, I shall wait into next week for the money to arrive into my account 

smkiger
Community Member

I have submitted two different projects and both were rejected saying 'cover contains plain text'. Both project covers are .jpg images that are screenshots of the website / landing page product I am selling. They are not 'plain text'. They are .jpg images.

 

This is so very disgusting to wait three to four days while I am paying UpWork fees to use the platform to sell my services and then get a vague nonsense rejection of my product that is a very professionaly done HTML/CSS/TAILWIND landing page. 

 

I do not work for UpWork. The clients that hire me are MY clients. Not UpWork's clients. I pay money to use the UpWork platform but constantly treated like I am an UpWork employee that has to qualify for every jot and tittle of everything I do on UpWork. 

 

I am looking at the UpWork contract and having the Missouri Attorney General look at this situation also. This is not a true contractor situation when UpWork personnel constantly reject my products and efforts to succeed here on UpWork. I have been on the platform about two years now and only have made about $600 because UpWork work very hard to keep their top freelancers on top and new freelancers have to practically kick scratch and fight just to get a few 'hires'. 

 

This system is not fair and I am hoping for an investigation.

 

Respectfully,

Michael Kiger

Hi Michael,

 

I certainly understand why you're upset and I'm really sorry to hear about this unpleasant experience. I have checked your account and I can't seem to find a Direct contract. Since no contract was created on Upwork, this doesn’t fall under Payment Protection, and we will not be able to help you chase after the client to pay for the work you've submitted. 

 

With Direct Contracts, you can create and send contract proposals to your clients who aren’t on Upwork. Just like your other contracts on Upwork, you can have a fixed-price or hourly contract, and your client will deposit project funds in escrow before the contract starts. When you’ve completed work on a fixed-price contract, you’ll request payment. We’ll release fixed-price funds to you after the client accepts your request. In general, please don’t start working on the project unless a contract has been created. 

 

Don't hesitate to check this help article to be more acquainted with how Direct Contract works.

 

 

 

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
sangeetaseopro
Community Member

Hello,

 

I am struggling, can someone help me?

 

Actually I have invited a direct client to upwork but not able to find that project in my account under contract, even client is not seeing any option to message me.

 

Please help me to find the issue or how to see that project under Contracts?

 

Just to give you an idea, I used direct contract option.

Hi Sangeeta,

 

You can see your Direct Contracts by clicking on the paper plane icon here. Please let us know if you find the contract you're looking for there.

 

~Andrea
Upwork
hussein_shafik
Community Member

Hey Guys,

I recently worked with a direct contract and I sent my cliient the contract but he didn't make an account he just accepted the contract.

Now I sent him a payment request but he gets a blank screen everytime he tries to access the link. I told him to access his account but he has something called a limited account!

What is the proposed solution

Hi Hussein,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. It would be best if your client would reach out to our support team in order for us to troubleshoot the issue from their end. Kindly refer them to this link for guidance on how to contact support.


~ AJ
Upwork
a4c935e2
Community Member

One of my clients sent me a direct contract through email, and I approved it, but now it is asking him to verify him, but there is no verification option for him to proceed with. What is this issue? 

Hi Hira,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. I shared your report with our team and one of our agents will reach out to you using a support ticket to assist you further. You can access your support tickets here.


~ AJ
Upwork
azizamir
Community Member

Hi,

Hope you are doing well!

I have some basics questions if you guys can help me it will be appriciated.

1. How much Deduction on freelancer end on whole payment Via Direct Contract?

2. How much Dedection on Client End on whole payment or it will be at your end and Escrow ?

3. What is the time Duration of payment releasing when the Client accepted the Contract.

 

Regards 

Amir

Hi Amir,

 

Thank you for your message. Here are the answers to your questions:

 

1. Freelancers are charged a 3.4% payment processing fee. For example, if your earnings are $100 you’ll be charged a payment processing fee of $3.40 USD. You are not charged a freelancer service fee, only the 3.4%. 

 

2. Clients do pay a payment processing fee. It’s 3% of the freelancer’s fee when you use a credit card, debit card, or PayPal. For example, if your freelancer invoices you for $100 and you pay with a credit card or PayPal, you’ll pay a $3 processing fee (3% of $100). If you use your checking account, you’ll pay a flat $0.50 USD for each payment you make.

 

3. Client will have 14 days after the freelancer submits the payment request to accept or decline and request changes on the contract.

 

Feel free to message us if you need further assistance.

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork

hi Pradeep

 

My client is trying from last 2 hours to make a payment from Direct Contract which i sent to him bu he gettinig tha error again and again. 
Client need to setup an account on Escow as well?

 

Screenshot is attached

Hi Amir,

 

Please note that for privacy reasons, we cannot share information about another’s user’s account which we hope you understand. Please ask them to contact us directly on any social media they prefer and we will be happy to help.

~ Nikola
Upwork
5a6a72c5
Community Member

Can i use Upwork contract for my outside client of Upwork clients?

Hi Zabibu,

 

Thank you for your message. Direct Contracts makes it easy to get paid by your clients who don’t have a full account on Upwork and just need access to review your invoices and make payments. With Direct Contracts you also get the protection of escrow and if a dispute arises we will be happy to help. Check out this help page for more information. 

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork
0a27608b
Community Member

Can a client who does not have an account on Upwork buy my project?

Yes. Use dirrect contact option to start contract.

https://www.upwork.com/ab/flservices/contracts/

Yes. It is possible. 

bd968337
Community Member

Hello, I am trying to create a new milestone in a direct contract, however, the direct contracts section does not load correctly (attached screenshot)

 

Checking the browser console, I see that there are some requests with a 403 status.

 

 

Thanks,

Jalil

Hi Jalil,

 

I tried but wasn’t able to replicate the issue you’re describing. Could you please try using a different browser or the incognito mode of your current browser? You may also try clearing your browser’s cache and cookies. Also note that we only officially support the latest two versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. Let us know if the issue persists and we'll look further into that for you.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
bd968337
Community Member

Hi Arjay, thanks for replying.

 

I just did a test clearing cache and cookies, but the problem persisted. I also did a test with Safari and got the same error.

 

The Chrome version that I am using is: Version 106.0.5249.103 (Official Build) (arm64)

Hi Jalil,

 

Thank you for your confirmation. I shared your report with our team and one of our agents will reach out to you using a support ticket to assist you further. You can access your support tickets and coordinate with the team here.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
530800bb
Community Member

I need to refund a client, he paid me using a direct contract, how can i do that? Please help me out! 

Hi Kiara,

 

I have escalated your concern to the relevant team and one of the members will be in contact via a support ticket. You can access your ticket and coordinate with the team here once been set up.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
vinowork
Community Member

Hi respected Upwork team.

My name is Vino.

I appreciate if you answer my question.

I would like to know "Direct Contacts".

If I have a client who I had an offer outside of Upwork, can I require working via Upwork and then send the direct contact?

Thanks for reading my post.

Hi Vino,

 

With Direct Contracts, you can create and send contract proposals to your clients that don't have Upwork accounts. (However, you can also invite them to sign up at any time as well.) Just like your other contracts on Upwork, your client deposits project funds in escrow before the contract starts. When you've completed the work, you'll request payment from your client.

 

To learn more about how Direct contracts work and how to manage them, check out this Help Article. Thank you.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
vinowork
Community Member

🙏Thanks, Arjay

pearlescapes
Community Member

That's it really?

 

Anyone know?

 

Thanks, Pearl

Hi Pearl,

 

Thank you for your message. Yes, Direct Contracts are available to freelancers and their clients in the 180+ countries where we operate.

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork
dsmgdesign
Community Member

I am looking into Direct hourly contracts for one of my clients. They are a large global corporation, as such their payment terms are terrible, and they are consistently 10-15 days late paying my invoices. 

 

I'd like to hear from others who currently use or recently used Direct hourly contracts. Besides the lower 3.4% fee and Upwork's note that there is no Upwork time tracker, what are the differences between Direct hourly contracts and regular hourly contracts with clients found on the platform? What are issues that I may need to consider that Upwork support won't tell me? I'm not talking about technical glitches, I searched the community and saw a bunch of posts with isolated cases about  billing and payment glitches, so I don't need anyone to rehash any of those. 

 

Thanks, 

Dave 

Hey David, I have billed $850k by using Milestones to avoid issues and billed only 3 hours separately. Yes, I have billed non-Upwork clients via Upwork's billing because most of my billing is now consolidated. Have a great day!

c919384b
Community Member

Hello! Yesterday I sent a Direct Contract to one of my clients in Canada, But he's facing an error while funding this contract. "We're sorry! We are experiencing a technical problem and cannot process your request right now". He tried again today and he got a notification from PayPal that "You paid $***** USD to Upwork Escrow Inc. What is happening? Please help me with this problem asap.

Hi Umair,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. I can see that you opened a support ticket regarding this issue and are now being assisted by one of our agents. Should you have more questions or concerns, please feel free to update the same support ticket.


~ AJ
Upwork
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