Guaranteed Payment from oDesk

• What is oDesk's payment guarantee?
• What is Properly Logged Time?
• What about Fixed Price Jobs?
• What if there is a dispute?

What is oDesk's Payment Guarantee?

Please note that the guarantee does not apply to an hourly assignment until the buyer's payment method has been verified. oDesk cannot release any funds to you until the verification process is complete.

oDesk guarantees payment to providers for properly logged work performed on hourly jobs with verified payment methods. Work must be done in accordance with all oDesk policies. Please be aware that buyers may dispute hours worked in accordance with the oDesk Dispute Resolution Policy. Note that some restrictions apply and policies may change.

Offline hours, fixed price work, bonuses, adjustments, and reimbursements for expenses are NOT guaranteed. These types of bills are subject to receipt of payment from the buyer, potentially delaying payment to the provider. For further clarification, read the Billing & Payment Policy. If you have any questions about a specific payment, please submit a help ticket.

What is Properly Logged Time?

To qualify as properly logged, the time must:

• be logged online through the use of the oDesk Team client and be visible in the Work Diary.
• include adequate work memos.
• have an average activity level of above 5.
• be related to the assignment.

Additional restrictions may apply. For reference, please look at the snapshots below taken from the oDesk Team's Work Diary feature.

Properly Logged Time that Guarantees Payment

Improperly Logged Time that does NOT Guarantee Payment

What about Fixed Price Jobs?

Fixed price jobs do NOT carry any guaranteed payment from oDesk. The buyer has total discretion regarding when, how much, and even if you are paid for a fixed price job. You should only bid on fixed price jobs if you feel comfortable with the buyer and are confident you will be paid by the buyer for quality work performed.

Please note that it is especially important on fixed price jobs to make sure the buyer's payment method has been verified. oDesk cannot release any funds to you until the verification process is complete.

What if there is a dispute?

Buyers do have an opportunity to dispute time logged. Once your Work Diary / Time Log is frozen (Monday at 12 Noon GMT), a buyer has 48 hours to review it. A buyer must approve of all offline time, and has the opportunity to dispute time he/she suspects was not spent working on the assignment. If the buyer disputes any hours, oDesk will evaluate the time in question based on the criteria below:

1. The time must be logged online through the use of the oDesk Team client and be visible in the Work Diary.
2. The time must include adequate work memos.
3. The time must have an average activity level of above 5 (This means that an average of over half of all billed minutes included keyboard or mouse click - scrolling isn't recorded).
4. The time should appear to be related to the Buyer's projects.

Once oDesk makes its final decision, the time, billing, and payment will adjusted accordingly. Please read the oDesk Billing & Payment and Dispute Resolution Policies carefully.