If you and your freelancer want to switch your contract type from hourly to fixed-price (or vice-versa), you’ll need to start a new contract.
To do so:
- End your current contract (for additional details on ending a fixed-price contract, click here.)
- Rehire the freelancer under a new contract, with the updated terms you both have agreed to.
As always, once you close the contract you will both have 14 days to leave feedback for each other — we hope you will!
Frequently Asked Questions
If I close a contract and create a new one to switch from fixed-rate to hourly, or vice-versa, with the same freelancer, will I pay another Contract Initiation Fee?
That depends on whether you have already activated the contract with a payment to the freelancer. Here’s how it works for hourly and fixed-price contracts:
- For contracts that started as hourly:
- If the freelancer hasn’t logged any hours yet, you can cancel without a Contract Initiation Fee on the initial contract, since we don’t charge the fee until you make your first hourly payment.
- If the freelancer has already logged hours, you will pay the Contract Initiation Fee on both contracts. You will need to pay the freelancer for the hours they already logged, and we will charge this fee. Then you will pay another Contract Initiation Fee when you fund the first milestone of the fixed-price contract.
- For contracts that started as fixed-price:
- If you haven’t funded any milestones yet, you can cancel without being charged the Contract Initiation Fee on the initial contract.
- If you have already funded a milestone or purchased a project but have not yet released a payment to the freelancer, you can get a full refund from escrow as long as your freelancer agrees.
- If you’ve already released at least one payment to the freelancer, you will have to pay a Contract Initiation Fee on both contracts.
