We use escrow payments to establish a secure financial environment for you and your experts on fixed-rate jobs.
🚀 In this article
How escrow works for fixed-rate jobs
The escrow account safeguards your payment and gives your expert payment confidence, allowing them to concentrate on your job.
In the escrow process, you must place funds in an escrow account when you send the job offer for a fixed-rate contract. You can deposit an amount for the entire job contract or a lesser payment for the initial milestone (minimum $5 USD for each milestone). Once you’re satisfied with the job, the escrow amount is sent to the expert.
After the expert sends the work for your review and approval, you’re given 14 days to approve the payment or request edits. If you don’t reply after 14 days, the system automatically completes the work, and the escrow balance is transferred to the expert.
📡 Remember: When you add an escrow payment, you must clearly describe the work deliverables for the each milestone of a fixed-rate job. Add as much detail as possible. The job description establishes the contract between you and the expert for work deliverables. The recommended details include the scope of the work, deadlines, and the cost of the deliverables. In case of any future disputes, your work deliverables will serve as the foundation for resolving the issue.
Sending offers for fixed-rate job contracts
Your escrow payment adds three entries to your account transactions:
| Type of transaction | Credit/debit | Description |
| Payment | Credit | Deposit into your account with your payment method |
| Fixed-rate | Debit | Escrow payment for milestone (or entire job contract) |
| Service fee | Debit | Cad Crowd service fee to maintain the platform provide client support |
Questions and answers
âš¡ What happens to my escrow payment if the expert fails to complete a milestone or doesn’t provide work that satisfies the task deliverables?
We recommend that you chat with the expert and work to resolve the issues with the contract. You can ask for edits or a refund within a 14-day timeframe after the expert submits the work for your approval. If the expert does not agree to a refund, we provide mediation to help resolve the disagreement. If mediation is unsuccessful, our arbitration process determines if the job is eligible for a refund. The refund is based on your job contract and active milestone description.
âš¡ Can I prepay more than one milestone at a time?
You can only pay for a single milestone at a time ($5 USD minimum). You need to approve and pay your milestone in progress before funding your job’s next milestone.
âš¡ My expert said I could pay less than my full milestone or get a discount for the work. Am I able to edit the milestone payment?
You can’t change a payment amount when you activate a milestone. After you fund a payment, you can only change the payment amount when you approve the work. When you approve a milestone, you can release a smaller payment and add the balance to a new milestone (or ask the expert to refund the unused funds).
âš¡ Is a bonus payment deducted from my escrow payment balance?
No, bonus payments are separate from your escrow balance and billed instantly.
