When work is completed on a fixed-price contract and no further milestones are required, you can end the contract and leave feedback on your freelancer’s performance.
A few reminders before you end your contract
- Confirm with your freelancer that you are on the same page about closing the contract
- Make sure you are closing the contract properly so you don’t risk losing access to Upwork and the tools that help protect you if a problem arises. In most cases, we know contracts are closed simply because the work is done. However, if you are closing a contract to avoid Upwork fees, that puts us in the difficult position of having to permanently close your Upwork account due to circumvention, which is against our Terms of Service
- Freelancers and agencies can give a refund on any active or ended contract for payments made within the past 180 days
To release a final payment
Before you end a contract, you will want to consider releasing any funds you’ve already placed in escrow as part of the agreed-upon contract with your freelancer/agency. If you choose to close the contract without releasing the money in escrow, we’ll email your freelancer/agency and request an escrow refund on your behalf.
PRO TIP
To release a final payment of any remaining funds in escrow, it needs to be part of an active milestone.
To release the final payment of the remaining money in escrow
- Go to Jobs > My Jobs to locate the contract
- Create a milestone by choosing the Add new milestone button
- Add details and set the amount. You can choose to release a full or partial payment (including if you set the milestone at the $5 minimum) from the contract’s remaining escrow funds. Remember, if any funds are left in escrow we will automatically send a refund request to the freelancer/agency you worked with
- Select Save
- Approve and release the final payment
- Choose Pay now. When you approve the milestone, you will be asked if you want to end the contract or keep it open. You can then choose to close the contract
End a fixed-price contract
- Go to Jobs > My Jobs to locate the contract. Be sure to activate and release a milestone for any final payments before ending your contract. See above to learn how
- Choose the End contract button
- Hover over the (...) options menu and select End contract
- Choose End Contract to confirm and close
Important steps to take after the contract ends
- Change or revoke any passwords or special access that you gave the freelancer during the contract
- Ensure you’ve received all related work from the freelancer and any work-related materials and equipment of yours that you allowed them to use during the contract
- Remind the freelancer to remove any property of yours that they used or created for you, such as documents, files, or software, from their equipment
- You and your freelancer/agency can leave feedback. It is a double-blind system, which means your freelancer or agency will see the feedback you left them once they have left feedback for you
Note:
Your feedback is incredibly valuable to all clients who use Upwork, as it helps them see honest opinions about a freelancer’s work on Upwork. Because it’s so important, we hope you’ll take the time to provide it.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you accidentally end the contract without activating a milestone or releasing funds, an escrow refund request is initiated. To pay the freelancer, ask the freelancer to reject the refund request. Doing so will start a dispute process you can accept or reject. If you accept, the funds are paid to the freelancer. If you reject, a dispute agent will review the case.
