Approving work, revisions, and completion
How to review a submission, use your revision rounds well, what auto-release means for you, and how a project closes.
Reviewing a submission
When an expert submits, review the deliverables against what you agreed — not against what you have thought of since. If it meets the agreed scope, approve it and that portion of escrow releases. If it genuinely does not, request a revision with specific, checkable feedback.
| Your options | What it does | Effect on the money |
|---|---|---|
| Approve | Accepts the milestone as delivered | Releases that portion to the expert |
| Request a revision | Sends it back with your notes | Escrow stays held; the clock stops |
| Open a dispute | Escalates to us for a decision | Escrow stays held pending the outcome |
| Do nothing | The review window expires | Auto-releases to the expert |
The review window is real
A submitted milestone auto-releases after the review window (7 days by default) if you do not respond. If something is wrong, request a revision or open a dispute before it closes — both stop the clock, and silence does not.
Using revisions well
Revision rounds are stated in the proposal or offer, so you both know the number before work starts. A round is one pass of feedback, not one comment — so gather everything before you send it back. Two rounds used carefully go further than four used a sentence at a time.
Feedback that gets fixed
- Points at the requirement it misses.
- Is specific: which field, which case, which step.
- Is complete — everything in one pass.
- Separates "wrong" from "I have changed my mind".
Feedback that stalls a project
- "Not quite what I wanted."
- New requirements presented as fixes.
- Arrives one message at a time over days.
- Sent after the review window has closed.
Beyond the agreed scope
If you want something that was not agreed, that is a change, not a defect. The clean routes are a new milestone, a custom offer for the extra work, or a paid extra revision round (15% of the milestone by default, with a small floor). Any of those is better than pressing an expert to absorb it — an expert working unpaid is an expert who stops answering.
Completion and reviews
When every milestone is approved the project completes and the final escrow releases. Both parties can then leave a review. Reviews are how the marketplace stays useful, so write the one you would have wanted to read before hiring: what the work was, what went well, what to know.
Hiring the same expert again is quicker every time — they already know your systems, and you already know how they work. Their profile and services stay available to you after a project closes.
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