Learn how payments for fixed-price contracts work — from funded milestones to client review, security hold, and withdrawing your earnings.
How do payments for fixed-price contracts work?
You'll get paid after you submit work for each milestone or project. You can track the fixed-price process in your financial overview dashboard. You can also see your earnings and withdrawal statuses on your transactions dashboard.
Here’s how it works:
1. Client funds the milestone or project — funds show under Work in progress
To help make sure your payments are secure, clients must fund each milestone or project upfront.
2. Submit your work — funds move to In review
Go to Deliver work > Your active contracts and select Submit work on the contract page. You can include a short message to your client.
Even if you’ve already shared your work elsewhere — like in Messages, email, or directly on a client’s doc or website — you still need to click Submit to start the 14-day review period. You don’t have to re-upload the work.
3. Client reviews your work — funds stay under In review for up to 14 days
The client can:
- Approve the work – and release full, partial, or extra payment
- Request changes – if they do, the review period resets when you resubmit
- Take no action – if there's no response within 14 days, funds are automatically released
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Request a refund – if this happens, you have 7 days to respond or dispute
4. Five-day security hold — funds move to Pending
Once payment is approved or auto-released, the funds move to Pending for a five-day security hold. This step helps protect freelancers and clients from fraud and chargebacks.
5. Withdraw your funds — find funds under Available
Once the five-day hold ends, you can withdraw your funds manually or based on your automatic withdraw schedule.
How long does it take to get paid for fixed-price contracts?
It depends on your client’s review. After you submit, your client has 14 days to approve or request changes. Then, your funds go through a five-day security hold before becoming available to withdraw.
Why is there a five-day security hold on fixed-price payments?
To help keep our platform secure. This hold helps reduce the risk of fraud or chargebacks. It also applies to bonus payments.
How do I get paid for fixed-price contracts as an agency freelancer?
Payments for agency contracts are sent directly to the agency. You’ll need to arrange your payout with them.
Do fixed-price qualify for faster payments that skip the review period?
No. Only eligible hourly contracts qualify for faster payments. Fixed-price contracts always follow the standard review and release timeline.
What do I do when a client requests a refund on a fixed-price deposit instead of releasing it as payment?
If a client asks for a refund on a fixed-price deposit — either full or partial — you have two options:
- Approve the refund directly from the request
- Dispute the request — but you’ll need to do it within seven days of the client’s refund request.
Learn more about how to file a dispute on a non-release of payment.