Helpful tips on how to avoid cancellations

You might encounter challenges that make it seem like a cancellation is the best solution. However, we've discovered that there’s almost always a better solution for a Gig order—even one that’s not running smoothly.

Let’s review the best practices and different tips to help increase your order completion rate (OCR) and decrease cancellations.

General guideline for cancellations

Follow our cancellation management guidelines:

• Be clear about the pricing/scope of your Gig and provide Gigs that match your skillset:
  To ensure success and avoid misunderstandings, make sure you’re clear and direct about what's needed—and don’t offer services that you can’t or aren't qualified to do. Accurately display your latest and original work on your Gig page. 
• Communicate with each other and make sure you’re aligned on the service:
  Make sure that both parties have all the necessary information to start working when an order is placed and received. If you are confused about a project, contact your client for clarification.
• Set reasonable delivery times and don’t wait until the last minute to cancel:
  If cancellation is inevitable, do your best to communicate professionally and give an adequate warning.
  
  Learn more below about how to meet your deadlines.
• Use the Resolution Center to cancel an order:
  If a client is unresponsive or you need to cancel an order, use the Resolution Center to do so.

Preventing cancellations

Here are some tips to help ensure you successfully complete your orders and prevent cancellations:

• Clearly communicate all necessary info on your Gig description, requirements, and extras in advance.
  If one of your clients is unresponsive, initiate a mutual cancellation.
• If you find that you’re often tempted to cancel because you’re too busy, give yourself more time to deliver or ask to extend the delivery date.
• Make sure you have the project requirements from the client from the start so that you can start working effectively and efficiently. However, if you need to change the delivery date or add extra services, use the order page to modify the order and avoid cancellations.

How to increase your order completion rate

Here are some tips on how to problem-solve specific cases that can help increase your order completion rate (OCR):

1. You have completed a Gig, but the client needs more revisions.
   You can now offer additional revisions to your client via the order page (offer more extras).
2. You have multiple Gigs due at the same time.
   You can now mutually extend an order with a client on the order page (extend the delivery date).

3. You have multiple Gigs and need additional help managing, try to:

   • Activate the Setting your availability feature

     • Turn this mode on for the time you require to complete the orders you have already accepted

     • Adjust your available hours for the rest of the day, to avoid receiving more orders

   • Start simple and deliver the easiest orders right away
     Be mindful of your most time-sensitive tasks to avoid running over the confirmed delivery time.

   • Give yourself extra time for bigger projects
     For a larger request, start working on it earlier than you usually would. Remember, you can make any final tweaks during the revisions stage.
     If you require more time to deliver your service, communicate this clearly with the client through the order chat/inbox, and then the Resolution Center to cancel if necessary.

How to meet your deadlines

One of the best parts of freelancing is working the hours that suit you best. Let's review a few ways to master your time management and order intake:

• If you know you won’t be able to work on your Gig, pause it. Then, reactivate it when you’re available so that clients know that you’re able to complete it.

  Use the availability feature to inform clients of your available hours:

  1. Set the time/date you’ll be away.
  2. Add a short note/explanation.
  3. Activate the feature. The feature will deactivate itself at the end of your leave period (unavailable hours).

  Note: If you find yourself doing this often, consider limiting your order intake to avoid getting overbooked.

• To help make sure that you always do your best to deliver orders on time:

  • Plan your work and make sure your delivery time is realistic.
  • If on-time delivery is not possible, use the extend delivery date option from the order’s page.

  Important: Delivering an empty message or sending incomplete work to avoid late delivery are both a violation of Fiverr’s Terms of Service. This may result in your account being reviewed.

Tips for new freelancers 

If you’re a new freelancer and you’re nervous about completing your first order, don't worry, we're here to help! 

• There are lots of resources to help you and answer your questions, for example, these Helpful tips on how to avoid cancellations and the Forum—which is a great place to get support from the community.
• Remember: Cancellations can affect your overall performance, but it's just one of many metrics considered in your success score. Completing your orders is how you grow your business and cancellations are rarely the best solutions.
  
  

FAQs 

• Use the Resolution Center to work things out with your buyer before contacting Customer Support.

• We take our freelancers’ revenue very seriously. Buyers need to provide a satisfactory explanation, and proof, before canceling an order. However, we can’t force a buyer to accept an order delivery if they aren't satisfied. You can continue to communicate with the buyer to see if you are able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. We also suggest you create a list detailing the work you have done, that compares both your Gig description and the buyer’s order requirements.
• Use the order page to request an extension with the 'Extend delivery date' button. The buyer will have up to 2 days to accept or decline. If the buyer does not respond, the extension is automatically accepted, and the delivery date will be modified.
• No, only you can view your order completion rate.
• While cancellations typically affect your order completion rate, cancellations won’t affect under these circumstances:
  1. The buyer canceled while the order was in requirement status.
  2. There was a mutual cancellation, and the buyer reordered within 14 days.

  In addition, for other rare cases (i.e. fraudulent purchases, buyers ordering by mistake, etc.), cancellations won’t affect your order completion rate. If your order is canceled under these circumstances, reach out to Customer Support to investigate the effect of the cancellation on your account.
  
  Note: In the freelancer level system, the order completion rate metric is no longer a stand alone metric and a broader range of factors related to cancellations are assessed. This means that cancellations can still impact your performance, but they're just one factor in your overall success score. For more information, please refer back to our Success Score article.

• You can offer additional revisions and also extend the delivery time frame via the Resolution Center.

• Use the Resolution Center to mutually extend an order with your buyer. If you need extra help managing orders:

  • Activate 'Setting your Availability'
    Adjust your available hours for the rest of the day, to avoid receiving more orders.
  • Start simple
    Deliver the easiest orders right away.
  • Get it done
    For a larger request, start working on it earlier than you usually would. Remember, you can make any final tweaks during the revisions stage.

• For detailed information on reporting content or behavior, please refer to this article. 

  
  Please note: You can’t block a buyer who has an active order with you. Learn more with Blocking certain buyers.

  Whether you’re a new or seasoned freelancer or use the resources available to help you avoid cancellations, our Forum is a great place to get support from the community. Get answers to all your questions and learn our best tips and tricks.