Note:
Bulk Actions are currently being tested with a limited group of Business Plus clients only on fixed-price contracts. If you don't see this feature on your account, it isn't available to you yet.
When managing multiple fixed-price contracts, Bulk Actions help you complete common milestone tasks more efficiently. Instead of updating contracts one at a time, you can work across multiple eligible contracts in a single workflow.
With Bulk Actions, you can:
- Add milestones
- Fund milestones
- Release milestone payments
- Complete all three actions in one workflow
Bulk Actions currently support eligible fixed-price contracts only. The following do not yet qualify:
- Hourly contracts
- Closed contracts
- Project Catalog contracts
- Net30 contracts
- Any Hire contracts
- Contracts with milestone proposals waiting for approval
Keep in mind:
- There is a max of 30 milestones per bulk action.
- Only one Bulk Action can process at a time. Once your current Bulk Action is complete, you can start another one.
- If a contract already has adequate Project Funds, its milestone will be funded and activated using those existing Project Funds.
- Some actions have additional eligibility requirements.
Getting started with Bulk Actions
- Go to your All contracts page > select Bulk Actions.
- Choose Select contracts for bulk actions.
- Choose the eligible contracts you want to update.
- Select the action you'd like to complete:
- Add milestones
- Fund milestones
- Release milestone payments
- Complete the full milestone cycle
- Review your selections.
- Confirm the action throughout the remaining steps.
Depending on the action you choose, you may be able to:
- Add milestones for multiple contracts
- Fund multiple milestones on one page
- Release payments for multiple funded milestones
- Add an optional bonus for each freelancer when releasing payments
When funding multiple milestones
When you request to fund multiple milestones, the request continues processing in the background. You don't need to stay on the page for it to complete. You’ll receive an email and an Upwork notification when processing is complete.
For funding requests, the notification will let you know if:
- All actions were completed successfully
- Some actions were completed successfully
- Some actions couldn't be completed
If only some actions are successful, the completed actions are processed, and you'll be able to review any items that couldn't be completed.
Reviewing your payments
Funding multiple milestones uses a single checkout experience, but each milestone payment appears as its own separate, itemized transaction in your Transaction History and on your billing/bank statement. Charges are not combined into a single total on your payment method statement. This makes it easier to review and reconcile payments for individual contracts.
Frequently asked questions
What are Bulk Actions?
Bulk Actions let eligible Business Plus clients manage multiple fixed-price contracts at the same time, so you can complete common milestone tasks more efficiently.
With Bulk Actions, you can:
- Add milestones
- Fund milestones
- Release milestone payments
- Complete all three actions in a single workflow
Who can use Bulk Actions?
Bulk Actions are available to eligible Business Plus clients/organizations.
We're rolling out this feature gradually, so it may not be available for every Business Plus account yet.
Which contracts are eligible for Bulk Actions?
Bulk Actions currently support eligible fixed-price contracts.
Bulk Actions are not yet available for:
- Hourly contracts
- Ended contracts
- Project Catalog™ contracts
- Net30 contracts
- Any Hire contracts
- Contracts with milestone proposals waiting for approval
Eligibility may also depend on the Bulk Action you're performing.
You can process up to 30 milestones per bulk action. You can also have only one bulk action processing at a time. Wait until your current bulk action is complete before starting another one.
Why am I not able to perform Bulk Actions on some contracts?
Only eligible contracts are available for Bulk Actions.
If you can't select a contract it may be because:
- It's an hourly contract
- The contract has ended
- It's a Project Catalog contract
- It uses Net30
- It is a Any Hire contract
- It has a milestone proposal waiting for approval
Note: Some actions have additional eligibility requirements.
What happens if some milestone payments can't be processed?
Bulk Actions support partial success.
If some milestone actions can't be completed, successful actions will still be processed. We'll identify any milestones that weren't completed so you can review them and decide what to do next.
Can I start another Bulk Action while one is already processing?
No. Only one bulk action can be processed at a time.
If you or your team already have one in progress, you’ll need to wait until it's complete before starting another.
How will I know when my Bulk Action is complete?
For funding requests, we'll notify the person who started the action when processing is complete. The notification will let you know whether:
- All milestones were funded successfully
- Some milestones were funded successfully
- The milestones couldn't be funded
For other Bulk Actions, you'll see the results in the flow when the action is complete.
How do Bulk Action payments appear in Transaction History?
Although Bulk Action payments use a single checkout experience, each milestone payment appears as a separate transaction in your Transaction History.
Can I add bonuses when releasing milestone payments?
Yes. When you release milestone payments in bulk, you can add a bonus for each freelancer.
For each bonus, enter:
- The bonus amount
- A description
Note: Milestone releases and bonuses are processed as separate transactions. Milestone releases qualify for Dispute Assistance, whereas bonuses do not.
Is there a limit to how many milestones I can process at once?
Yes. You can currently process up to 30 milestones in a single Bulk Action.
How do I find Bulk Actions?
Go to your All Contracts page and select Bulk Actions. From there, choose the eligible contracts you want to include and select the action you'd like to complete.
Are Bulk Actions available for Basic clients?
No, Bulk Actions are only available as a Business Plus benefit at this time.
Does this cost extra, beyond a Business Plus subscription?
No, Bulk Actions are included as part of your Business Plus plan at no additional cost.
Which payment methods can I use for Bulk Actions?
All standard payment methods available to you are supported, except for contracts that may be using Net30.
Will this become available for hourly contracts?
There are plans to expand Bulk Actions to hourly contracts in the future, though we can't confirm a timeline at this time.
Will anything change for freelancers I work with?
No, this doesn't change anything on the freelancer side. Bulk Actions simply let clients manage milestone actions across multiple contracts more efficiently Freelancers still see their individual contracts, milestones, and transactions exactly as they do today.
Can I cancel or undo a bulk action?
No. Once initiated, bulk actions cannot be canceled, reversed, or recalled. Funded milestones immediately allocate funds into escrow for that contract. If you funded or added a milestone in error, you will need to manage, request a refund, or edit that milestone directly on the specific contract's page.
Will other Bulk Actions be launching soon?
We're continuing to build out more ways to help clients manage contracts and freelancers efficiently, but we don't have specific timing to share on additional Bulk Actions at this time.