We know that getting paid for your work in a timely fashion is important to you. We also know that administrative tasks like invoicing can take time away from submitting proposals and distract you from doing your best work. That’s why we make getting paid, including for hourly contracts, as simple and hands-off for you as we can.
Hourly contracts may be covered by Upwork Hourly Protection. For all of your hourly contracts, your clients are automatically invoiced and billed for the hours you log according to the weekly billing cycle.
However, if you log time that goes over the weekly limit that you and your client set, it won't be invoiced. Your client can see it in your Work Diary, and you can discuss the possibility of a bonus payment for that time.
All applicable time that you log in your Work Diary, whether tracked or added as manual time, is invoiced to your client according to the schedule below:
- Week 1 — You log time using the Upwork desktop app (Time Tracker)
- Week 2 — Your time is invoiced to your client on Monday, and they have until Friday to review your work
- Week 3 — Earnings become available on the following Wednesday
Some contracts are eligible for faster payments! Learn more here.
Weekly payment
A weekly payment is an automatic, recurring payment for a specific amount. The client is invoiced this amount each week in addition to the billable hours in your Work Diary. Unlike the hours you bill in your Work Diary, weekly payments do not undergo a review period, and they become available after the standard five-day security period.
The weekly billing period begins on Monday at 00:00 midnight UTC and ends on Sunday at 23:59 UTC, at which point your earnings are In review. Once this review period ends, there is a five-day security period after which your earnings, less Upwork fees, will become Available for withdrawal. You can read more about the weekly billing cycle here.
When your payment arrives depends on your withdrawal method, but can take more than eight business days. If you haven't received your payment after eight business days, let us know and we’ll see what we can do to help.
All of your contracts are paid to your agency. You’ll need to arrange payment from your agency directly.
Clients can issue a bonus payment to you manually at any time while the contract is active or within 365 days of the contract end date. As long as there are no problems with the client's billing method, these manual earnings, minus Upwork fees, will become available after the five-day security period. Bonus payments do not qualify for Upwork Hourly Protection.
If a contract is paused for any period of time in the week, including because of a dispute, the corresponding weekly payment won't be issued.
When a contract includes a weekly payment, how much of it you get paid upon starting the contract depends on which day the contract began. The percentages break down like this:
- Monday — 100%
- Tuesday — 80%
- Wednesday — 60%
- Thursday — 40%
- Friday — 20%
If your contract begins on Saturday or Sunday, you will not receive a weekly payment until the following week.
When a contract that includes a weekly payment ends, how much of that weekly payment you receive depends on the day the contract was ended. The percentages break down like this:
- Monday — 20%
- Tuesday — 40%
- Wednesday — 60%
- Thursday — 80%
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday — 100%
The weekly payment terms are set in the advanced options when the client makes you a contract offer. To add, remove, or change the amount of your weekly payment, your client must end your contract and offer you a new contract with different terms.
Cleared payments are released by 11:59 PM UTC on Fridays. If you live in another timezone, please calculate the time difference to determine when your payment will be available. We will also email you after your payment is applied and ready to be withdrawn.
Note that only your hourly contracts are eligible for faster payments. If you have both hourly and fixed-price contracts, only the payments for your hourly contracts are included in faster payments.
If you issued a partial refund for your client, the rest of their payment to you will not be released according to the faster payouts schedule. A payment impacted by a refund will be subject to the 10-day wait on payments.
