Adding Manual Hours in Upwork

Unfortunately, Upwork does not support manual hours entry for hourly contracts. All hourly work on Upwork is tracked through the Upwork Desktop App. This tool captures your work as you progress and uploads it automatically to your Work Diary.

Understanding Upwork Desktop App

This application not only allows Upwork to verify the work done for clients but also offers protection to freelancers through the Hourly Protection program. It documents your hourly work by taking screenshots randomly (six times per hour), and also records your activity level, which is based on your keyboard and mouse activity.

Note: Be cautious and refrain from entering sensitive data while the Desktop App is running as it may capture sensitive information during its random screenshots.

Working with Fixed-Priced Contracts

If you have a fixed-price contract, you do not need to add hours manually. Instead, you’ll discuss and agree on the deliverables and deadlines with your client. Once you complete these deliverables to the satisfaction of your client, you will submit your work through the ‘Submit Work/Request Payment’ button on the contract page. Depending on your agreement, this can be done all at once or in ‘milestones.’

How to Track Time effectively?

How to effectively track your time?

• Ensure the Upwork Desktop App is correctly installed and running.
• Select the appropriate contract from the ‘Work Diary’ option.
• Hit the ‘On’ button to start tracking your time.
• When you want to pause or stop, click the ‘Off’ button.
• Do not forget to add a memo to each screenshot to describe the tasks you were working on. This will give your client a summary of the work done during that time period.

In summary, manually adding hours is not possible on Upwork for an hourly contract, but the Upwork Desktop App makes it easy to track your time and provide transparency for your client.