How bonus, expense, and misc. payments work

What are bonus, expense, and miscellaneous payments on Upwork?

These payments are extra money a client sends you through your existing contract. Clients often use these for things like:

• Meeting or exceeding expectations
• Completing work ahead of schedule
• Tackling a task that was outside the original scope
• Refunding expenses

My client sent me a bonus. When will I receive it?

When a client sends you a bonus, expense, or misc. payment, we charge their billing method within 24 hours. Like other payments on Upwork, these payments go through our standard five-day security period. During the security period, you'll see them as "Pending."
 

Important: If 24 hours have passed since the payment was sent and you see it labeled as “TBD” in your reports or transactions, it means:

1.  We haven’t received the funds from the client yet. This usually means there’s an issue on their side (like a failed payment method or account hold)

2. You won’t be able to withdraw the funds until that’s resolved

Key things to know

Here’s what to keep in mind if you receive a bonus, expense, miscellaneous payment:

• Not covered by Payment Protection. Unlike hourly work (which is covered by Hourly Protection) or fixed-price milestones with escrow deposits, bonus and miscellaneous payments are not protected by Upwork’s Payment Protection programs
• The freelancer service fee is charged on these payments, just like your other earnings
• Cannot be disputed. Because there’s no work diary or escrow tied to these payments, you won’t be able to dispute them if something goes wrong. Be sure you fully trust the client before doing extra work outside the agreed contract terms
• Should not replace normal contract payments. Bonus payments are meant for extra compensation—not for core project work. Clients should not use them instead of setting up milestones or logging hours