Weekly billing cycle

Upwork's hourly billing cycle spans Monday to Sunday, with payments becoming available 10 days later, typically by the following Wednesday. Clients have until Friday to review logged hours. Manual payments clear after a 5-day security period. Payment protection applies to logged hours and approved milestones, but not to bonuses.

What is the weekly billing period?

For hourly contracts, except for Upwork Payroll contracts, the billing period begins on Monday at 00:00 midnight UTC and ends on the following Sunday ends Sunday at 23:59 UTC. Your funds become available 10 days later.

Since people from all over the world use Upwork, we base all Earnings Reports on this standardized timing.

At 12 noon UTC on the Monday following the close of the billing period, we automatically invoice clients for all the time that you log in your work diary. We charge their primary billing method and send them a reminder to review the contract’s work diary.

Here's the invoicing schedule:

• Week 1 — You log time using the Upwork Desktop App and work diary
• Week 2 — Your clients receive their invoices on Monday and have until Friday to review the work
• Week 3 — Your earnings become available on the following Wednesday

Freelancer review period

Monday at 00:00 midnight to 11:59 a.m. UTC — After the billing period ends, you have a few hours to look over your work diary and make any final adjustments. 

Client review period 

Monday at 12 noon UTC to the following Friday at 23:59 UTC — Clients can review the work diary and file a dispute if there is a problem.

Security period

To help protect everyone using the platform, Upwork maintains a security period for all transactions — payments and refunds. It gives us time to process and clear payments and resolve any disputes before releasing your funds.

All manual payments, including milestones and bonuses, become available five days after the payment is successfully processed. A little cheat sheet:

• Processed Monday — Available Saturday
• Processed Tuesday — Available Sunday
• Processed Wednesday — Available Monday
• Processed Thursday — Available Tuesday
• Processed Friday — Available Wednesday
• Processed Saturday — Available Thursday
• Processed Sunday — Available Friday

Since hourly payments enter the security period after the client review period closes on Friday, funds typically become available the following Wednesday.

Automatic vs. client-initiated invoicing

Hourly contracts are the only contract type with a weekly billing cycle, and we automatically invoice hours logged during the week. Other payments, like milestones, projects, bonuses, or miscellaneous charges, are client-initiated and invoiced once approved.

Delayed payments

During the security period, the amount paid to you appears in your "Pending" funds on your financial overview page. Each payment lists the date we expect it to be available. 

If your funds don’t become available on the expected due date, there was a problem with the payment (such as a declined card) and it’ll remain pending until your client resolves the problem. The total outstanding account balance is re-charged daily until the invoices are paid. Continued failure by a client to pay invoiced hours triggers a review to qualify for Hourly Payment Protection.

If Hourly Payment Protection is triggered, the client will be suspended and your contract will be paused until the balance is paid. When the issue is resolved, which usually doesn’t take long at this stage, the contract is automatically resumed. It often helps speed the process if you contact the client to discuss the delays and a timeline for resolution so your payment can be completed and, if you want, the project can continue.

Payment Protection

Invoiced hours, fixed-price milestones, and projects may be eligible to be covered by Upwork Payment Protection. Bonuses, miscellaneous payments, and set weekly payments aren’t covered by these programs.