Learn how Upwork weekly payments work — from setup to stopping them. Understand billing, paused contracts, and mid-cycle payments for freelancers.
In this article
- What is a weekly payment?
- How do I set up a weekly payment?
- How do I turn off the weekly payment?
- Can I pay my freelancer only a recurring weekly payment?
- If a contract is paused, suspended, or disputed, what happens with the weekly payment?
- Can I dispute a recurring weekly payment?
- How do payments work in cases where a contract starts or ends in the middle of the Upwork weekly billing cycle?
What is a weekly payment?
A weekly payment on Upwork is a set payment you agree to automatically send to a freelancer each week — typically in exchange for ongoing support, reserved availability, or flexible project work.
Instead of paying per task or tracked hour, you’re compensating your freelancer with a lump sum.
How do I set up a weekly payment?
When you offer a freelancer or agency a contract, you can add a recurring weekly payment amount, which will be added to your invoice each Monday. You'll see this option under Advanced Options on the offer form.
Important to know:
- Weekly payments are a great option if you want to set up a recurring weekly payment on top of the hours a freelancer adds to their work diary, or if you just want to pay your freelancer a set amount each week and not require the work diary
- The weekly payment amount is billed every week in addition to any hours billed from your freelancer's work diary
- It is also billed every week even if your freelancer has not logged any hours in their work diary
How do I turn off the weekly payment?
To end the weekly payment, you must end the current contract, rehire your freelancer, and set your new terms in the Advanced Options.
Can I pay my freelancer only with a recurring weekly payment?
Yes. To use a recurring weekly payment as the sole payment for an hourly contract:
- Set the hourly limit for a freelancer's work diary to zero
- Under the Advanced Options section, include the weekly payment you'll pay to the freelancer
If a contract is paused, suspended, or disputed, what happens with the weekly payment?
If a contract is paused, disputed, or your account was suspended for any reason (including warnings) during the week, the corresponding weekly payment will not be issued. You can make a bonus payment to the freelancer for any work completed.
Can I dispute a recurring weekly payment?
Recurring weekly payments are fixed amounts set in your contract terms and billed separately from the Work Diary. They are charged regardless of whether hours are logged and cannot be disputed through the hourly dispute process.
You have the following options:
- If you want to stop future payments: Pause or end the contract.
- If you’d like money returned for a past payment: Request a refund. The freelancer can choose to approve all, part, or none of your request.
How do payments work in cases where a contract starts or ends in the middle of the Upwork weekly billing cycle?
When the contract begins, we invoice a percentage of the total weekly amount based on the day the contract began:
- Monday – 100%
- Tuesday – 80%
- Wednesday – 60%
- Thursday – 40%
- Friday – 20%
- Saturday, Sunday – 0%
When the contract ends, we invoice a percentage of the total weekly amount based on the day the contract ends:
- Monday – 20%
- Tuesday – 40%
- Wednesday – 60%
- Thursday – 80%
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday – 100%