How Does Upwork Work? (Description)

How Does Upwork Work? (Description)

Upwork allows clients to interview, hire and work with freelancers and agencies through the company's platform. The platform now includes a real-time chat platform aimed at reducing the time it takes to find and hire freelancers.

On 3 May 2016, Upwork announced that the service fee for freelancers will change from flat rate of 10% to a "sliding service fee" of 5% to 20%.

As of 21 June 2016, freelancers pay a "sliding service fee" based on total lifetime billings with each client: 20% for the first $500 billed to the client across all contracts, 10% for total billings with the client between $500.01 and $10,000, and 5% for total billings with the client that exceed $10,000. Clients pay a 2.75% per payment processing fee; some clients are eligible to pay a monthly flat processing fee of $25. Payments can be made using credit cards, PayPal, or bank transfer.  Payments are made through Upwork's escrow system, which transfers the funds to freelancers after a 6-day period.

As of June 2016, Upwork reported $1B in annual freelancer billings.  Freelancers can be hired for jobs on web, mobile, and software development, engineering and data science, creative services such as graphic design and writing, sales and marketing, customer service, virtual assistants, and accounting and consulting.  The company provides voluntary skills tests in various disciplines from English aptitude to specific programming skills, and profiles include a feedback mechanism.

To ensure the freelancers are billing fairly for jobs billed hourly, the platform offers a time sheet application that tracks time and takes screenshots while the freelancer is working.

Upwork has a mobile app for both Android and iOS, as well as a time-tracking app for Windows, OSX, and Linux.