I've talked to many workers and found that while some are excited about the growing # of pay-for-time projects on the system, while others are adamantly against bidding on them. I also noticed that some of the latter don't fully understand how the system works, nor the differences between the two payment models (and what those differences mean to them). So I'm writing this to get all the information out to those people and bridge the communication gap.
First, you have (and always will have) the ability to choose to only bid on whatever type of projects you want. Pay-for-deliverables is not going anywhere; because it is still the safest model of the two for the employer (they get many more guarantees). So if you don't like pay-for-time, you will always have the option of avoiding it.
Having said that, there are some advantages of pay-for-time that you may not be aware of:
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Advantages of pay-for-time
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1) It's cheaper:
The vworker fee on pay-for-deliverables ranges from 7.5%-15% (depending on the services we offer). On pay-for-time, that drops to 6.5%-10%. And if you are working with a repeat employer (which is one of the best uses of pay-for-time), the most you can ever pay is 9%. (Incidentally this is 10% cheaper than the leading competitor also offering pay-for-time). Obviously, the larger the project the more you save.
Click here for more info on the fee.:
2) You don't have to do as much to get paid:
Which of these seems like a better setup to you?
2a) You will not get paid until you:
-Deliver everything in the contract
-Deliver it by the deadline
-Deliver it in the industry expected manner
2b)You will not get paid until you:
-Press a button to tell the employer when you are working on their project, and when you have stopped.
Obviously, 2b is much easier because you don't guarantee to do as much to get paid. Well, 2a is pay-for-deliverables and 2b is pay-for-time. It's pretty easy to see which is more difficult to do.
Now, I know some people have said they don't feel that 2b is easier because the app monitors them. I'll explain why and talk about what this truly means to you, below.
3) No costly estimate mistakes
The #1 reason that workers run into problems that prevent them from being paid on pay-for-deliverables, is that they underestimate (sometimes drastically) how difficult the project is and underbid. If you make this mistake, then you are still contractually committed to deliver the project at the price you bid. So you end up working harder and longer than you first thought, but without getting paid for it. This can't happen on pay-for-time. In pay-for-time you are guaranteed to be paid for every hour you work on the employer's project. So instead, you get paid.
4) Much easier to deal with scope/contract disagreements
The #2 reason that workers run into problems on pay-for-deliverables are scope/contract disagreements. An example: You felt that feature #1 was the equivalent of building the employer a house, but they thought you were going to build them the Taj Mahal and neither one of you realized what the other thought. Now you're at the end, and the employer doesn't want to pay. So you have to choose between doing the work for free, or taking it to arbitration to get more money for it.
Wouldn't it be nice if there were a better way? There is. With pay-for-time, one of two things happens:
4a) If the two of you agree to continue, you will be paid for it (under the normal pay-for-time payment guarantee). There's no possibility of having to do work for free.
4b) If you can't agree to continue, you can stop, knowing you were fully paid for every minute up to that point. Unlike with pay-for-deliverables there is no rating penalty for either of you to withdraw early.
5) Other
5a) Less competition = more chance of winning and more money: This is something that will not last forever, but right now it is something you can take advantage of. The typical pay-for-deliverables project receives 12.5 bids in 24 hours. However, on pay-for-time that number is below 4. So you have 2/3rds less competition. Obviously, less competition means a better chance of winning and more money for you.
5b) Can stop at any time with no ratings penalty: You can stop a pay-for-time project at any time without any penalty or hassle (just click a button). On pay-for-deliverables, this involves an arbitration, and if you do not have a good reason for stopping you may not get paid for the project.
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Disadvantages of pay-for-time
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1) The main complaint from workers that I hear is: "I don't want a camera watching what I do". And it's true the app takes random snapshots of your desktop (several times per hour) to show the employer you are working on their project and not billing them for playing a game, or doing something else. The webcam is no longer required, but optional (see the postscript). However, if the employer requires it, then it is true that it is doing the same thing. And I can understand that some people are shy and others simply feel antsy about being monitored.
If you are in the small minority of workers that overcharges buyers for what you do, or likes to bill buyers for time that you're not working, then this complaint is completely legitimate and I can understand why you don't like pay-for-time. However, if you are like the vast majority of workers who are hard working and do their job properly, a desktop snapshot (or optional webcam shot) is not going to catch you doing anything bad. That's becauase you will be doing exactly what you are always doing...working. And in exchange for that you are getting all the advantages of the above (more money, less commitemnt, more flexibility, etc.)
And unlike the leading competitor you are guaranteed to be paid 100% for mental tasks that don't involve moving around on the desktop. This is an important part of your work, and deserves to be guaranteed just like all the rest. (For more on this, see #3 at this link.)
I hope this information helps explain better what pay-for-time is.
You can also click here for more information on pay-for-time.
Ian Ippolito
CEO vWorker.com
P.S. Here are the latest changes in the pay-for-time application (based on the survey conducted 2 months ago):
1) (Previous release): App installation is no longer required to bid on pay-for-time-projects. This allows you to avoid having to make the time investment to install the program, until you know you actually have paid work coming your way.
2) (Last release): The webcam is optional (only required if the employer requires it). This will allow those without webcams to do pay-for-time projects. The app was changed to no longer require a webcam when you start it up.
3) (Next releases): A cached mode so you can still bill when you have an intermittent connection, or if the site is down for maintenance. Also, Linux and Mac versions will be available as well.
