Support page

General tips on using Upfront Pay

Creating a new job
Once you click on the ‘New Job’ button you’ll need to fill in the details of the project and your customer. You’ll need a brief description of the work to be done – including the cost and start date, the name of your client, along with their email address and phone number.

If you don’t have all the details at the time you can save it as a draft to finish later. Once you’ve finished and clicked ‘Next’, you can review the job to make sure it’s right, then click ‘Send to Customer’ at the bottom right hand corner of the page.

An email is then sent to your customer with all of the job details and payment instructions. Give them a heads up to look out for it, including in their junk folders.

How do I know when the customer has paid?
Once the customer has paid the money into the secure holding account, we will email you to let you know that you can start work on the project, comfortable in the knowledge that your hard earned pay is sitting their waiting for you.

I’ve finished the job, now what?
Go back to your Dashboard, find the job and click the ‘view’ button on the right, then click ‘job complete’ (at the bottom right of the page).

An email will be sent immediately to your customer asking them to confirm that the job is satisfactorily complete, and as soon as they confirm your payment will be released. Depending on your bank, it may take up to three working days for it to hit your account.

What if there’s a dispute and they don’t want to confirm that the job is done?
Take a look at our dispute resolution tips below on how to navigate disagreements, if you need more help, check out our dispute resolution page.

• Stay calm and talk it out
  It can be frustrating when things aren’t going to plan, but your best bet is to remain calm. Sometimes it might be worth leaving and coming back once you’ve cooled off and thought the problem through a little more.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate
  Be in constant communication with your tradesperson about how the job is progressing. If there is a bigger issue, arrange a mutually agreeable time and place for you both to sit down and talk about the issue calmly, rationally and with the sole intention of resolving the issues at hand. This may involve some negotiation and compromise from both of you. You will need to discuss the nature of your complaint, the outcome you want, and what action you think will settle the dispute.

• Write a letter reiterating your discussion
  Once you have both voiced your concerns around the issues, write a letter outlining what you have both agreed to do and by when, date and sign it. Provide your tradesperson with a copy and keep one for your records. This ensures your meeting is summarised on paper and will be a valuable resource should further action be necessary.If there is a dispute between the parties whereby one party does not wish to release payment to the other, one or both parties must immediately notify Upfront Pay of the dispute and Upfront Pay will safely hold the payment, and not release it until either:

• 1. Both parties agree to the release of all or part of the payment; or
  2. Upfront Pay is directed by a court or other authority to release the payment to a party.

• Check your agreement for a dispute clause
  Some contracts contain clauses that deal specifically with dispute resolution, so it’s wise to check this before you take any further action. Usually such clauses will outline a prescribed dispute resolution process, which you are compelled to follow if you’ve signed the contract, before initiating any other action.

• I only have an issue with part of the job
  If only part of the job is under dispute, you will need to release the payment for the portion not under dispute. If you are disputing “part” of the job, email us at [email protected] and include in your email how much you will be releasing and how much you will be withholding from the payment.If you both agree on a lower amount to be paid for the job, the Tradie will need to issue a partial refund. We will help them with this process.

If the Tradie does more work than originally planned, and you both agree on a higher amount to be paid for the job, the Tradie simply needs to create a ‘new job’ for the difference, stating in the job description that it’s a variation of the original job.

• You may need help resolving your dispute
  If, after a prescribed period of time (which may vary from state to state and contract to contract) from issuing your letter to the tradie you haven’t had a response or reached a resolution, you may need the help of a mediator in resolving the issue. For more information in this regard, see the dispute resolution page. This is a guide only as states change their rules and procedures from time to time.  It may also be very sensible at this point to seek your own legal advice.