How To Create Contract On Upwork

Whether you're looking for side gigs that can use your special interests and talents, or you want to freelance full-time and be your own boss, the internet is home to some powerful marketplaces.

UpWork is one such marketplace but, like any marketplace, you need to know how to navigate it.

What Is Upwork

UpWork allows anyone to look for work or to find the right person to do it. That's why it's different from other marketplaces since it gives users a chance to work together even on short-term projects or long-term contracts.

Users find one another on the platform, but they also have access to an onboard messaging service with voice and video support, tools for tracking hours, submitting projects, and sending and receiving payments.

How to Create an UpWork Account

Create an account with an Apple account, Google account, or another email by clicking the Sign Up button in the upper left corner of the homepage. Once your email is accepted, you need to fill out another form by entering your full name, your user name, and whether you are looking for work or talent.

Once your account is created, you can start browsing the platform, familiarizing yourself with tools, and looking at jobs and projects. However, your account isn't finalized yet.

You need to upload a high-quality photograph of yourself to use as your profile picture, confirm your identity (usually with a driver's license or state ID), and link a payment method. You can also set your desired hourly rate and your availability.

That's all you need to do, but the more work you put into your profile, the easier it is to find the right clients and projects. Personalize your profile with an about section, work history, links to work that you've done in the past, professional skills, "testimonials" from past employers or clients, and more.

How to Search and Filter Projects and Clients

To look for clients and projects, select Find Work from the banner at the top of the page. Select Find Work in the resulting dropdown menu. This brings you to the job feed that the site populates for you. The more you work, and the more your profile is complete, the better match these jobs will be for you.

The most basic way to look for clients and projects is with the search bar at the top of the page. You can also select the Advanced Search option under the search bar to search by keywords or exclude results that contain certain terms.

Job categories you indicated when you created your profile will appear along the left side of the window. You can select any of these to see only jobs in that category, or you can click the pencil icon to add new job categories.

Once you're on the page for a specific job category, you can toggle the filters on the left side of the screen for:

Experience Level (entry-level, intermediate, or expert)
Job Type (hourly work or fixed price per-deliverable)
Number of Proposals (how many other people are bidding the project)
Client Info (whether or not the client has verified their payment method)
Client History (how many jobs they have posted on UpWork)
Talent Clouds (organizations of recruiters)
Budget
Project Length
Hours Per Week (More or Less than 30)

Some things about the job, like a title, a brief description, and the client's budget, are visible at a glance in the feed. If you click on the heart icon on a card, it saves the job and helps UpWork show you similar jobs. A thumbs-down button lets UpWork know you're not interested and can remove the card.

When you've found an interesting job, click on it for more complete information. From this screen, select the green Submit a Proposal button to apply.

Submitting Proposals and Messaging

When you submit a proposal, you begin interacting with the prospective client by proposing a rate, writing a cover letter, and answering any questions they may have.

At this stage, you see a budget that the recruiter posted. Setting a rate within those boundaries is advised, though your proposed rate can be higher or lower. There is also a table to show how much money you will make from the project after UpWork takes a service fee. After all, the platform is free to join and use.

Once you start a conversation with a client, your interactions appear on your UpWork message board. Within the message board, you can type messages, initiate calls, and attach documents.

Submitting Work and Ending Contracts

When your contract requires deliverables, there are two ways to submit them. At first, the preferable method to communicate with your client is to use My Jobs from the banner at the top of the screen, then again from the drop-down menu. With the appropriate job selected, click the green Submit Work for Payment button.

When you are more comfortable with a client, you can send documents in the messages to workshop with them before requesting payment. After that, they can release the payment. They can also disappear with your work, so be careful with new clients.

Once a deliverable is in, the client can end the contract. Or, you can end the contract by going to the same page that you went to submit work but instead of clicking the green button, click the three dots in the upper right and then select End Contract from the dropdown menu.

After ending a contract, you and the client can submit feedback. You'll stay in one another's messages so that you can find each other again if you want to work together in the future.

What Jobs Are Waiting for You?

UpWork is one of the most complete freelancing platforms on the web. Getting started there takes some time, as you need to get accustomed to the community and tools it provides, but once you get started, it's a valuable tool.

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