Your client may have times when they do not respond or communicate as quickly as usual for many reasons — busy on several projects, technical issues, a family emergency, etc. However, if you are working with a client and they become unresponsive for a long period of time, you may want to stop working on the project and wait for a response.
On an hourly contract, you have the option to end your contract with an unresponsive client. We will invoice the hours that you already logged as usual, but you shouldn’t expect any other further payment on the ended contract. Even if your client fails to pay you for the hours you invoiced, you will still be paid if you are eligible for Upwork Hourly Protection.
On a fixed-price contract, if you end the contract, you forfeit any funds that remain in escrow. Instead, we recommend that you complete your last milestone and submit the work for payment before you end the contract. If your client fails to respond to your submission, we will automatically release the funds after 14 days. If they respond but refuse the work and you believe that you have completed the work according to the agreed terms, you have the option to file a dispute.
Will my Job Success Score drop if a client doesn't leave feedback?
No. Contracts without any feedback do not negatively impact your Job Success Score.
I’ve not been paid the full amount for a fixed-price contract, what can I do?
We cover fixed-price contracts with Upwork Fixed-Price Protection. If you submitted work, we will release the funds in escrow to you after 14 days if the client does not take any action. Fixed-Price Protection only covers funds in escrow (milestone) and not the entire project.
