Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork

FREELANCER GUIDE
Bringing your Elance
profile to Upwork
We’re here to help Elance freelancers
get started quickly and easily on Upwork
Table of contents
Please read this document carefully for detailed information. Additionally, feel free to
contact our support team, or connect with our active community. We’ve also created
a self-paced online course that covers this material.
How can I bring my Elance profile to Upwork?
TIP 1
Click the page name
to jump to that page
What is happening to the Elance site?
What happens to my Elance profile after
I connect it to Upwork?
What Elance profile information will you bring
to Upwork?
Profile Information
Work History
Not Carried Over
How will my Elance clients find me on Upwork?
I already have accounts on both Elance
and Upwork. Should I combine them?
Combine (Suggested)
Replace
What should I do once my account
is successfully copied to Elance?
Where can I get an overview of the Upwork
product?
How to get started on Upwork
4 tips to keep in mind before submitting proposals
Finding jobs
Applying to jobs
Communicating with clients
Contract types on Upwork
Getting paid on Upwork
Tips for success
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
TIP 2
Click here on any
page to return to this
Table of Contents
How can I bring my Elance profile to
Upwork?
••
You’ll be emailed an invitation with a unique link to create a new account or combine
your work.
••
Already invited but can’t find your email? Access your invitation from My Jobs on
Elance.
••
If you wish to copy over your Elance reputation to Upwork, please wait for your
invitation.
••
We’re honoring the 8.75% Elance service fee for jobs begun on Upwork with clients
you’ve worked with before on Elance.
Honoring Your Fees
When you begin a job on Upwork with a client you’ve worked with on
Elance, we’ll honor the fee you paid before!
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
3
What is happening to the Elance site?
As we recently shared, we will soon wind down Elance to focus on a single platform.
Important dates for Elance freelancers:
••
New customers are now being redirected to Upwork to post jobs.
••
Starting in November, we’ll begin to limit the ability to post new jobs on Elance.
••
Through early 2016, you can continue your current projects on Elance. However, we
encourage you to begin all new contracts on Upwork and move existing contracts to
Upwork when possible.
••
Through mid-2016, you will still be able to access your messages, contacts, and files on
Elance.
What happens to my Elance profile after I
connect it to Upwork?
Nothing about your Elance account will be changed. The connection only runs
one way: from Elance to Upwork. We will continue to import your completed jobs and
feedback from Elance once per day so you get credit on Upwork for your work on both
platforms However, nothing from Upwork will be added to or shown on your Elance profile.
Ongoing Work Transfers
Any work you continue to do on Elance will be reflected on your Upwork
profile.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
4
What Elance profile information will you
bring to Upwork?
Profile information
• If you create a new Upwork profile (or replace an old one) by copying over your
Elance profile, we’ll carry over your:
Profile photo
Certifications
Title
Education
Overview
Employment history
Portfolio items
• If you combine your Elance account with an existing Upwork account, your other
Upwork profile information won’t be changed.
• By default, profiles are set to private on Upwork. We recommend you make your
profile visible to potential clients so they can invite you to jobs. You can update your
privacy settings via the Profile Settings page.
• By default, your language setting will be set to English. Take a look and change the
setting if you’d like.
• On Upwork, your hourly rate and earnings are displayed on your profile. This is
different than on Elance. We’ve found through testing that having visibility into
earnings gives clients confidence and leads to more hiring, so be sure to add your
hourly rate to your Upwork profile if you didn’t have one listed in your Elance profile.
Profile and Language Settings
By default, profiles are set to private on Upwork and your language setting will be set to
English. Take a look and change the setting if you’d like. On Upwork, your hourly rate and
earnings are displayed on your profile. You’ll also find that you have a Job Success score
on Upwork, which includes your Elance history.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
5
Work History
All linked Upwork accounts display your completed Elance jobs and client feedback on
your Upwork profile. Bringing over your Elance work history means your Job Success
score on Upwork reflects that history, so you can hit the ground running with a strong
score. This is the closest equivalent to your Level and % Recommend scores from Elance
(which cannot carry over directly). Top freelancers on Upwork typically have a score of
90% or higher, which reflects an overall track record of delighting clients and meeting or
exceeding work expectations.
Not Carried Over
Files, messages, funds in your account, withdrawal methods, tax forms, reports, skill tests,
Connects, and ongoing jobs cannot be imported to Upwork. You will still be able to access
them on Elance. Also note that while your work from Elance is shown on your profile, it is
not included in your Upwork account’s other records or reports.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
6
How will my Elance clients find me on
Upwork?
Clients will see a list of freelancers they’ve worked with on Elance in their My Jobs page
on Upwork. From this list, they will be able to re-engage you in one click, as long as you
have accepted an invitation to Upwork. We are working on a way to display a link to your
Upwork profiles on your Elance profile. In the meantime, we recommend you send your
clients your profile link.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
7
I already have accounts on both Elance
and Upwork. Should I combine them?
Combine
(Suggested)
••
Take advantage of both work histories to create one stellar
reputation on Upwork.
••
Combining allows you to display the strongest work history
and most complete reputation to attract the best clients.
••
We’ll import your work history from Elance, but your Upwork
profile information won’t be changed.
••
We’ll set you up with a new Upwork account containing only
your profile and history information imported from Elance, as if
you’d never had an account with Upwork (or oDesk) before. Do
this if your Elance account has all the history worth keeping.
••
Replacing means your existing Upwork profile, username,
relationships, reports, and history will all be gone.
Replace
Choose Carefully
Please wait for your invitation to bring your Elance reputation to Upwork, as simply signing
up for a new account using the same email address won’t allow us to carry over your
Elance history or profile information.
You’ll need to choose whether to combine or replace when you accept our invitation to
connect your Elance account with Upwork. Your Elance account can only be linked to
Upwork once, and Upwork accounts cannot be merged. If you previously chose to cross
the bridge and created a new Upwork account before combining accounts was offered, we
cannot combine your histories now.
We Suggest Combining Accounts
Please combine—rather than replace—an active account you still need.
You will not have access to any part of a replaced account. Even your
username will change, though you can use the same email address.
Welcome
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
8
What should I do once my account is
successfully copied to Elance?
Post-migration checklist:
Add a withdrawal method so you can get paid
Ensure your profile is complete and strong
Set an hourly profile rate and indicate your English level
Refer to our profile blog posts for tips
Stand out even more by adding a profile video
Set up your job feed
Set your message notification settings
Take this self-paced course to learn more about Upwork
Track your performance using My Stats
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
9
Where can I get an overview of the
Upwork product?
Our Hiring Headquarters provides a great overview of how to best use Upwork. In
addition to our general-audience content there, we’ve created a free self-paced course
specifically for freelancers like you transitioning from Elance to Upwork. Quick 5-10
minute modules will teach you everything you need to know, including:
••
How to copy your account and reputation from Elance to Upwork
••
Best practices for a strong Upwork profile
••
Tips and tricks from Elance freelancers who have already started making money on
Upwork
Though there are many similarities between Elance and Upwork, we’ve done our best to
outline the main differences so you can start applying today.
Should you still have any questions, please feel free to contact our support team or
connect with our active community.
An Online Course Specifically for Elancers
We encourage you to take our self-paced course in order to learn everything you’ll need to
know to hit the ground running on Upwork.
Chapter 8
Welcome
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
10
How to get started on Upwork
4 tips to keep in mind before submitting proposals
1
You’ll need to review your profile, set an hourly rate profile
rate, and designate your English level before you can apply
to a job on Upwork (click View or Edit your profile here).
2
Upwork has escrow protection, using pre-set milestones for
fixed-price work. Funds deposited for an active milestone
are held in escrow and released when work is reviewed and
approved by a client.
3
Upwork Hourly Protection is available for hourly work—
simply download and use the Upwork App for this coverage.
4
Upwork charges a 10% service fee from freelancers. We
understand this is more than you’re used to on Elance, but
Upwork provides access to more high-paying projects than
any other workplace and better innovations. Plus, when you
begin a contract on Upwork with a client you worked with on
Elance, we’ll honor the fee you paid before.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
11
Finding jobs
• You can apply to a job in any category on Upwork. This provides more flexibility,
and you don’t need to pay to have additional categories listed.
• We recommend that you create job feeds, which list recommended jobs based on your
profile information. Also, look for jobs that match your experience level, which can be
set by clients to give freelancers a good indication of what they are looking for.
• Jobs on Upwork allow you to view:
Other applicants
The number of applicants who have
submitted bids
A client’s last job post
Average hourly rate for the bid
The number of applicants
the job post has received
The number of freelancers who
have been interviewed so far
Client activity
• You can also review a complete list of the profiles of other freelancers who have
applied for the job.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
12
Applying to jobs
••
On Upwork, freelancers need to submit an amount when applying for a job. On
Elance, proposals can be submitted without an amount specified.
••
Clients may choose to add additional questions that a freelancer needs to answer as
part of the bidding process.
••
Upwork has a minimum rate of $3 for hourly jobs but no minimum payment for fixedprice jobs.
••
You’ll need Connects to apply. How many Connects you receive each month (or the
amount you can purchase) depends on your plan. Choose between the Freelancer Basic
(free) or Freelancer Plus plan. When you sign up, you’ll be defaulted to a free plan, but
you can change this at any time. You can learn more about Upwork plans here.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
13
Communicating with clients
There is no Workroom on Upwork. Instead, use your My Jobs page to:
Access your active contracts
Send a message to your client (expanded features available in Messages)
View your Work Diary and payments
Leave feedback
Contract types on Upwork
• Elance and Upwork both have hourly and fixed-price contracts.
• Similar to Elance, both hourly and fixed-price contracts are covered by Upwork
Payment Protection.
• Please note that for hourly contracts on Upwork, you will need to download the
Upwork Team App (as the Elance Tracker will not be able to track contracts you
begin on Upwork).
Upwork Payment Protection
Hourly and fixed-price contracts are covered by Upwork Payment
Protection, just as they are on Elance.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
14
Getting paid on Upwork
••
You’ll need to enter a preferred method to receive your earnings.
••
You can learn more about entering this payment method for your home country here.
••
Due to a security hold, getting paid for fixed-price contracts typically takes 3-4
additional days and 2-3 additional days for an hourly contract, as compared to
Elance. However, we are working to reduce this security period going forward. Enter
your payment method right away, since it takes 3 days to become active.
••
Upwork has a 10% service fee, which is higher than Elance. However, we’re honoring
the 8.75% Elance service fee for jobs you work on with Elance clients and bring over
to Upwork. We’ll honor that Elance fee automatically for clients you’ve engaged with
and started working with on the Elance platform.
Tips for success
While you’ll find Upwork and Elance to be similar in many ways, there are some nuances
to keep in mind. Here is a general overview of how to be successful on Upwork:
If you’re qualified, you can apply for a job in any category.
Your job feed shows projects Upwork believes will be a great fit for you, based on
your profile. When you do a job search and like the results, add it to your job feed
by clicking the button at the top right.
Filter your job search by your expertise in your field—entry level, intermediate, or
expert.
Check out a client’s work history on his or her job post. You’ll see feedback left by
other freelancers.
Look for a client with a verified payment method—you can see this in job searches
and on the job post.
You’ll need to submit a bid when you apply for a job. On fixed-price jobs, covered
by Upwork Fixed-Price Protection, enter an estimate (if you’re not sure, mention it
in your cover letter). For hourly jobs, enter the hourly rate you want to earn on the
project. Be sure to account for the 10% service fee when placing your bids.
An hour worked is an hour paid, with Upwork Hourly Protection. Use the team app
to log hours and write memos for each time period.
Bringing your Elance profile to Upwork
15