Set up Upwork consultations to showcase your expertise as a freelancer. Manage pricing, availability, and deliverables to connect with clients and build trust.
In this article
- What are consultations and how do they work?
- Who can offer consultations?
- How do I set up a consultation?
- How do instant consultations work?
- What are the consultation policies that freelancers are expected to follow?
What are consultations and how do they work?
Consultations are one-on-one paid meetings where you share your expertise with a client.
With consultations, you can:
- Offer expert advice in your field
- Choose when you’re available
- Set your rate (per 30 minutes)
- Create up to three consultations, in any available work category
- Deliver follow-up materials or advice post-call
Who can offer consultations?
Freelancers who are:
- Rising Talent
- Top Rated
- Top Rated Plus
- Expert-Vetted
If you’re eligible to offer consultations, you'll see the option by going to Find work > Your services.
How do I set up a consultation?
Get started:
- Go to Find work > Your services
- Select Create a consultation
Complete your project overview:
- Select the category from the drop-down menu that best describes your services
- Choose up to five areas of expertise — these are the topics you can give advice on during a virtual consultation
- Add custom topics if you'd like to offer additional areas of focus
- Choose Save & continue
Set your price and scope:
- Select your consultation length. You can offer 30-minute meetings, 60-minute meetings, or both
- Set your rate per 30 minutes
- Enter a description of the advice and information you can provide
- Select which documents you’ll give the client - you’ll need to provide at least one to qualify for Upwork’s Payment Protection
- Enter the number of days you’ll need to deliver your documents after the consultation
- Choose Save & continue
Enter your availability:
You can set your availability by connecting your Google or Microsoft calendar or use the “available hours” feature (or both). Select Edit by each feature to enter your details:
- Calendar: Connect your Google or Microsoft calendar (optional). Note: Apple iCal is not supported, and custom domains are only supported for valid Google and Office 365 accounts
- Available hours: Set your time zone and available hours
- Other settings: Set your minimum booking notice and how far in advance clients can book. One hour is the least amount of time for minimum notice—the option to be available immediately is later in the process
Set client requirements and add FAQ for them to review:
- Ask clients for information you’ll need to prepare (free text, multiple choice, or file uploads)
- Mark any necessary requirements as mandatory
- Add FAQ if you get asked the same questions often (optional but helpful)
Create a gallery:
You can show clients what you can do with a customized gallery:
- Intro video and additional video (under 60 seconds is best). Learn how to make a great introduction video
- Up to 20 images (JPEG or PNG, max 10MB each, 4:3 ratio). Learn more about how you can make your gallery amazing
- Two PDFs (max 2MB each; only first 3 pages show). Learn about adding PDFs on Upwork
Review policies:
- Agree to the policies and terms
- Hit Publish when ready
How do instant consultations work?
If you’ve earned your Top Rated or Top Rated Plus talent badge and have sold a consultation on Upwork, you can offer instant consultations to clients. Learn how to let clients know when you are available to meet now.
What are the consultation policies that freelancers are expected to follow?
Learn more about policies for consultations, including what happens if there are no-shows, here.