How To Use Upwork To Make Money

Remote work is on the rise. Small businesses and enterprises alike are beginning to realize that you lot don't take to be physically present in an office to get results. In the ever-evolving quest to remain competitive through agility, freelancing is shaping up to be the active talent-sourcing solution of the future.

"So what is the best fashion for me to pay for freelance piece of work?"

Information technology's a question that's probably popped into your mind on more than ane occasion, and the answer isn't as clear cut as you lot might call back. Should you go with PayPal to handle your freelancer payments? Paper checks? Wire transfer? Maybe give Venmo a effort?

All the same options are viable, just at that place are other solutions worth your consideration, such as using Upwork's marketplace, which comes with our Upwork Payment Protection.

In this article, nosotros'll tell you everything yous need to know nearly freelance payment methods and, specifically, how to pay freelancers on Upwork so that you can worry less nigh bounced newspaper checks and more near getting smashing work done past our professionals.

And if you're a professional doing freelance work exterior of the Upwork market place, stick effectually because we'll be covering information that'south as relevant to you lot as information technology is to your clients.

Worker classification: independent contractors vs. employees

Before we can dive into our list of freelancer payment methods, it'due south important to clarify the difference between independent contractors and employees.

While it would exist prissy if at that place were a simple black and white answer to this question, the truth is the definition varies from court to court across the globe.

As a consequence in that location are many tests to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.

Common tests include: the economic realities examination, the "ABC" test, the common law "right to control" test, the IRS 20-gene test, and the Restatement (Second) of Agency test, to name a few.

Generally speaking, the stardom has to do with the caste of control a client has over the person performing the work.

A freelancer or independent contractor has the freedom to decide when, where, and how they work, and are responsible for their own tools and equipment. They ordinarily have a finite contract that terminates when the piece of work is completed. In the United States, contractor taxes are handled via a 1099 course.

An employee has a required work schedule and location. They may be required to use the tools and methods prescribed by the employer and can be terminated at any fourth dimension. In the Usa employee taxes are handled with a W2 form.

The more than control over a worker's methods you have equally a client, the greater the likelihood that a court might rule that they are an employee.

As you can see, there is a lot of greyness area near worker classification depending on your location and the context of your working arrangement. Fortunately, Upwork has the legal experts you need to assist y'all with worker classification. Yous can learn more from our free ebook: Your Guide to Nailing Worker Nomenclature.

Paper checks

The traditional arroyo to sending payments to hired talent—sending checks—may be dated, but it is still effective. Sending a cheque will help you avoid whatever service fees that come with other payment options.

On the flipside, paper checks come with a number of disadvantages in the mod era. They take time to become to your hired talent and may fifty-fifty get lost during delivery.

What'southward more, you have no way to secure your payments and guarantee work is performed. Inconvenience and security concerns are major reasons why forgo checks for electronic payment options.

PayPal

PayPal is amidst the nearly common methods clients apply to pay hired talent.

Opening an account is free, and their services make it easy to send invoices to freelancers. When you make a payment, the freelancer receives the funds immediately in their PayPal business relationship.

Everything is done electronically, and then y'all don't take to worry about your check non arriving on fourth dimension.

And then why isn't PayPal the go-to for every client and freelancer akin? Well for one, PayPal is the bare-bones pick for payment transactions.

It doesn't cost anything for you to transport money via bank transfers or via your PayPal balance inside the United states of america—even so, if yous're using a debit or credit carte du jour to make a payment, you can expect to face a 2.ix% transaction fee, as well as another stock-still fee.

More than importantly the overhead of sending ane-off payments to a distributed team of remote freelancers is not to exist understated. PayPal lacks the organizational tools, escrow accounts, security services, and other features that are useful for effectively tracking and paying your freelancers.

The more freelancers y'all work with, the more likely you will desire to invest in a more than comprehensive payment platform.

Straight Contracts

This is Upwork's payment solution, but keep in heed that you can use Straight Contracts even when paying professionals that don't take an Upwork account.

Direct Contracts lets you lot enjoy the benefits of our escrow services, simple contract management, faster payments, and dispute assistance, even when working with freelancers exterior of Upwork's marketplace.

Our escrow service ensures your coin is protected and will but be released when the hired talent has completed your work. And if at whatever time y'all're dissatisfied with your contract, you can abolish the contract, then long as you do and then before you lot corroborate the payment. Once canceled, your funds will return to your original payment method inside seven business days.

Every Direct Contract is managed via email and so that we tin can provide you simple and easy-to-follow instructions through every step of the process. All relevant contract details, such as the contract's name, description, price, your company proper name, and the freelancer'due south name, are delivered straight to your inbox past united states.

There are no fees associated with this service every bit a client, so you can rest easy knowing that you'll merely be paying the value of your contract.

Work marketplaces

By using work marketplaces, such as Upwork, you tin securely and hands pay freelancers from around the world. In that location are more than than a few work marketplaces to choose from, simply for the purposes of this article, we'll be using Upwork to illustrate what this method of payment looks like.

Setting up your account

You tin can sign upwardly for Upwork with Google, Apple tree, or by entering in your work email. You'll have to add a billing method to your account before you lot can hire whatever of the talent on our marketplace. To practice so, head over to your Account Menu, select Settings, and and then click on Billing Methods.

As a client, you have iii billing methods available to you:

1. Credit carte du jour: Visa, Discover, Mastercard, and American Express.
2. A verified PayPal account.
3. A banking concern account for qualifying clients within the United States.

To avoid whatever account disruption in the issue of a transaction failure, consider adding more than 1 billing method to your account.

Paying for hourly contracts

You lot have three options when information technology comes to paying hourly contracts.

1. Weekly billing: Every Monday, you will be invoiced for the previous week's hours based on your hired talent'due south Work Diaries. This is charged automatically to your default billing method.
2. Recurring weekly billing: This is a set, recurring weekly payment that is invoiced every week on tiptop of your hired talent's submitted hours.
3. Manual payment or bonus: This is an additional payment you lot can deliver to your freelancer. This may be to reimburse them for certain expenses, a completed milestone, to provide overtime pay, or simply to give them a bonus for all their hard work.

Paying fixed-price contracts

Fixed-cost contracts can be paid all at one time or by milestone, depending on which is preferable to you as the customer.

By using escrow, you can residuum like shooting fish in a barrel knowing that your funds are sent to your hired professional only after your milestones are completed and approved.

Upwork Payment Protection

Upwork Payment Protection adds a level of security to payments for both hourly and fixed-toll projects, assuasive clients and freelancers to interact on projects with peace of mind.

For hourly projects...

Freelancers can opt to employ the Work Diary time-tracking tool to automatically invoice for time worked. This enables yous to quickly verify that the freelancer's invoice just includes hours properly billed to your project. This characteristic underpins Payment Protection as proof of activity. See the Upwork Terms of Service and Hourly Escrow Instructions for total terms and conditions.

For fixed-price projects…

Work is submitted for your blessing before funds are released from escrow. You tin can enquire for changes to the work or request an escrow refund if necessary. Meet the Upwork Terms of Service and Fixed-Cost Escrow Instructions for full terms and conditions.

Learn more in What is Upwork Payment Protection? , with two videos to help explain how it works.

Refunds and disputes

In the event that y'all demand to asking a refund, yous'll take 180 days from the appointment of payment to get your money back through Upwork. Information technology should be noted, still, that your hired professional can then choose to issue the total refund, a fractional refund, or no refund at all. They can besides choose to proactively initiate a refund without your formal request.

If a freelancer approves your refund request, information technology will automatically be credited back to your billing method. If the freelancer does choose to decline your request, you can dispute the charges. For hourly projects, disputes must exist filed by Friday after a billing calendar week closes.

For any other frequently asked questions or concerns surrounding making payments on Upwork, please visit Upwork's Aid Center.

Credit cards

Nosotros mentioned in the terminal section that you lot could pay your hired talent via credit carte, but yous don't have to use PayPal to practice this.

In fact, your freelancer may already use their ain online payment solution like Freshbooks or Quickbooks. Then long as the hired talent is using a payment solution that allows for credit card payments, this method will be a feasible option for you.

On their own, credit card payments are as basic as it gets. From the freelancer's perspective, payments aren't secured earlier a project starts so they run the gamble of not being paid. And from a client'south perspective, the burden of managing multiple payments falls squarely on them. Both freelancers and clients alike stand to benefit from handling credit card transactions through more comprehensive platforms such as Upwork'south straight contracts.

Electronic funds transfer

What if your freelancer doesn't want to be paid via check or an online payment solution? In situations like this, y'all can reliably pay them through an electronic funds transfer (EFT).

This method is easy and doesn't commonly come with pesky service fees. Your payment simply travels from your banking concern account to the freelancer'southward; no credit card processing services or tertiary-political party apps necessary.

Like to check payments, there may be a ane–two day delay before your freelancer receives their funds, just you tin trust that it will get in safely and without any bumps along the fashion.

In that location is a catch, of course.

If you're sending funds from ane bank to another, y'all or your freelancer'southward bank will have to accommodate that transfer request, which is sometimes difficult and even costly.

So unless you or your company uses a robust payroll provider, a dissimilar payment method may be a better choice in the long-run.

TransferWise

If you've ever wondered how to pay freelancers who operate outside your land, you're going like this payment method.

TransferWise is an online money transfer service based in London.

If yous need freelance work from outside your state, this may be the solution for yous equally it makes sending international payments a simple procedure. Transferwise also does their all-time to save both you lot and your freelancers' money on said international payments.

Like other online solutions, TransferWise makes it piece of cake to send invoices and transfer coin, fifty-fifty if y'all want to exercise so via email.

On the other hand, TransferWise lacks freelance-payment-specific features such as escrow accounts and payment protection. Like PayPal you may want to consider using it with a more comprehensive platform if you crave automation or better security.

Venmo

Perhaps the all-time manner to think of Venmo is to consider it as an online wallet. With this online wallet, your hired freelancers tin receive your payments direct from your Venmo account to theirs.

To become started, merely sign upwards with Facebook or your electronic mail. And then connect whichever banking company accounts and or credit cards you want to utilise on the platform. Once you load money into your Venmo remainder, you'll be able to send payments to your freelancers.

Payments made via banking concern transfers within the United states of america and with well-known debit cards come with zippo service fees. If y'all aren't using a U.S. bank or a major credit carte du jour, you may have to pay upward to a 3% service fee.

Venmo'southward simplicity is a double-edged sword however, as you do non get the security and freelancer payment management benefits of more comprehensive payment methods.

Which payment method should you use?

At the end of the day, choosing which payment method to become with is a decision you have to brand based on your needs and preferences.

Each method has its pros and cons, merely if y'all're looking for a secure and convenient payment method that integrates seamlessly with our talent direction system, Upwork is absolutely a solution worth your consideration.

Source: https://www.upwork.com/resources/how-to-pay-freelancers

Posted by: ferrellanown1990.blogspot.com

Share this post