How to purchase and manage a consultation on Upwork

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How do I find a consultant?

To search for freelancers who offer consultations:

Enter the area of expertise you need in the search bar
Select Offers consultations within filters

For each consultation, you can see details about what the freelancer offers and the price per 30 minutes
You’ll also see what documents they provide after the consultation — like a project plan, time and cost estimate, and a meeting summary, for example

Pro Tip: Need help with AI? You can also find freelancers who are available now on the AI Services page.

How do I book a consultation?

Select Book a consultation
You see the freelancer’s pricing and whether they are able to Meet now or Meet later
Make your selections and follow the instructions on screen
Be sure to Confirm & fund the consultation to book
If you are meeting right away, select Join meeting. If meeting later, be sure to send any information that the freelancer has requested within 24 hours. A consultation can’t proceed if you don’t.

Note: In some cases, the consultant may not be able to assist you. In those cases, they'll cancel, and you'll receive an automatic refund.

What happens after the consultation?

After your meeting, the consultant will send any promised documents, and we’ll notify you when they do
You’ll have 14 days to review and approve payment, or it will be released automatically
If you and the freelancer agree to skip follow-up documents, you can approve and pay immediately
Opting out means you also agree not to dispute the payment, as there would be no documents to review

How do I reschedule a consultation?

You can reschedule a consultation up to 24 hours in advance in the contract’s workroom. Select the Reschedule consultation button. Choose a new date and time from your freelancer’s calendar that falls after their minimum booking notice, and we’ll send them a message that you rescheduled.

If the freelancer needs to reschedule, they'll contact you to discuss a date and time that works for both of you and meets their minimum booking notice. Then they can reschedule on their calendar—freelancers don't have access to your calendar.

How do I cancel a consultation?

You can cancel your consultation up to 24 hours before the meeting and we’ll refund your money automatically.

However, if you cancel within 24 hours of the meeting or don’t show up to the meeting, we won’t refund the money and we’ll send your payment to the consultant.

To cancel, go to the contract's workroom and select Cancel order.

What happens if someone doesn’t show up to a consultation?

If you don’t show up, the freelancing consultant still gets paid
If the freelancer doesn’t show up for a scheduled consultation, please wait at least five minutes. If they're more than five minutes late, you can contact support for assistance in getting a refund.

Important: Do not cancel the contract if the freelancer doesn’t show up — canceling less than 24 hours before an appointment, including after the appointment, automatically releases funds to the freelancer.

What happens if I don't get any value from the consultation meeting? Can I request a refund?

Yes. You can request a refund of your payment from the freelancer. If they reject your request, please contact our support team so we can try to help resolve the matter.

Note: The consultant will have the opportunity to show what they provided. Since value is subjective, we encourage you to work this out with the consultant and provide feedback about your experience.

What happens if the freelancer is late for the consultation?

Please wait at least five minutes. If the freelancer is more than five minutes late, you can consider them a no-show and contact us for assistance in getting a refund.

What happens if I’m running late to a consultation?

If you’re more than five minutes late, the consultant can consider you a no-show. They’ll still get paid even though you didn’t attend the meeting.