Managing your orders: A freelancer's guide to the Fiverr order process

Understanding your order's status helps you track a project's progress from the moment it's placed until it's officially completed. By checking the status through the order page, you can ensure your work is delivered on time, the client's requirements are met, and your earnings are on their way.

Order process overview

After a client places an order with you, they need to submit the order requirements. Once they submit it, the order process starts, and you're expected to deliver the work within the specified timeframe. Once you deliver, the client reviews the delivery and completes the order. If the client has feedback and requires changes, they can reject the delivery and request revisions. You'll need to re-deliver the revised work.

Your revenue becomes available 14 days after the order is completed. For Seller Plus, TRS, and Pro Talent freelancers, the clearance period is 7 days.

Receiving an order

Once your Gig is approved, you become eligible to receive orders. You'll get a notification each time a client places a new order.

Freelancers cannot initiate contact with new clients. Clients must reach out first, either by placing an order directly or by sending you a message. After a client places an order, all communication takes place through the Inbox.

Clients can also contact you before placing an order. In these cases, especially for customized or unique requests, you can send a Custom Offer that the client can review and purchase. Another way to receive new orders is by responding to project briefs, where clients share their needs, and you can submit personalized offers.

Before the order starts

• The client needs to submit their order requirements before the order can officially begin. On the order page, you'll find an option to send a reminder prompting the client to respond. Until requirements are submitted, the order's status remains Incomplete and the order page displays Requirements Needed. If you already have enough information to get started, you can select Skip requirements to move the order status to In Progress.

  Tip: Carefully review the client's requirements to understand their vision. If something is missing or unclear, follow up with targeted questions. Aligning early helps you stay on track and produce a delivery that meets the client's expectations.

• Once the client submits the requirements, the order moves to In Progress status, and you're expected to deliver within the specified timeframe. A countdown timer on the order page shows the time remaining until the delivery date.

  Requesting a delivery extension

  If you need additional time to complete an order, whether due to changes in scope, unclear requirements, or unexpected delays, you can request a delivery time extension. This option provides added flexibility and helps ensure you deliver high-quality work.

  How to request an extension

  1. Go to the order page and click Extend delivery date, located under the Deliver Now button.
  2. Choose the new delivery date, add a brief explanation for the client, and click Send Request.

  What happens next

  • The client receives your request and has 48 hours to respond.
  • If the client doesn't respond within 48 hours, the request is automatically accepted.
  • You'll receive a notification once the client approves or declines the request.
  • You may request an extension more than once, but frequent changes can impact the client's experience. Use this option thoughtfully.
  • If the client declines, the original delivery time remains unchanged.

  Note: Extensions add time to the original delivery date, not the current date. For example, if the original deadline was the 1st and you request 3 extra days on the 4th, the new deadline becomes the 4th (3 days added to the 1st). You can request up to 60 days per request.

Sharing a delivery draft

The Share Draft feature lets you share work in progress with your client before your final delivery. This gives your client an early look at your work, keeps them informed, and helps you both stay aligned well before the final submission.

Eligibility

You can share a draft for any order amount for the following order types:

• Single payment orders
• Milestone orders
• Subscription orders

Note: Hourly orders are not eligible for the Share Draft feature.

How to share a draft

There are three ways to access the Share Draft option:

• From the order page
• From the regular Inbox
• From the Inbox drawer on the order page

To share a draft:

1. Click Share Draft.
2. In the pop-up window, add a message and upload the files you want to share. Adding a link is optional.
3. If you have multiple active orders with the same client, select which order the draft is for.
4. You'll receive a confirmation message once the draft is sent.

What to know about drafts

• Your client receives a notification and email when you share a draft.
• The client can reply to the draft from the order page or Inbox.
• A message is clearly displayed to the client indicating this is a draft, not the final delivery.
• Drafts do not change the order status in any way and have no expiry timeframe.
• Drafts are not considered revisions.
• Files and images shared as a draft are protected with a Fiverr watermark to prevent unauthorized use.
• Drafts are scanned for viruses using the same process as delivery files.
• File size limits are the same as for delivery files.
• Drafts do not affect your Success Score or any other account statistics.
• Drafts cannot be shared on the mobile app.

Submitting your delivery

Before submitting your delivery, make sure everything is complete:

1. Review your work to ensure it meets the agreed-upon scope and quality.
2. All requirements provided by the client have been addressed.
3. If anything is unclear or missing, contact the client for clarification before delivering.
4. Double-check that your files are correctly named, formatted, and easy to open.
5. All relevant files, documents, or screenshots showing the completed work are included.
6. Use the delivery message to summarize what you've included and any important notes for the client.

How to deliver

1. Go to My Business > Orders (or open the order directly from your dashboard) and select the order.
2. Click the Deliver Now button.
3. Attach your delivery files in the pop-up window by clicking Upload Work.
   • You can select a delivery file to use as a sample in your Live Portfolio.
   • A single file is limited to 1 GB. If you don't deliver a file, you'll be prompted to confirm that no file is attached.
   • If your file size is too large, you may use alternative methods (e.g., a Dropbox link).
4. Describe your delivery in the Describe your delivery in detail section.
5. Click Deliver Work.

Tip: You can save your progress by clicking Save draft. When you're ready to submit, reopen the draft and send it.

Note: The Deliver Now button should only be used to submit completed work or proof that work has been finished. Misusing the delivery button, such as sending empty, partial, or placeholder deliveries, may result in violations of our Terms of Service.

After your delivery is submitted

Once you submit your work, the order status updates to Delivered, and your delivery becomes available for the client's review.

The client has three days to accept the delivery, request revisions, or request an extension to the review period. If the client doesn't take action, the system automatically marks the order as Complete after three days. For Gigs that require shipping, the auto-completion period is 14 days.

If the client needs more time, they can extend the review period by up to 5 days. The order remains in Delivered status, and no re-delivery is required, as this isn't a revision request. The client can extend the review period again if needed.

Managing revision requests

If the client requests revisions, the order status updates to In Revision, indicating that additional work or corrections are required. You'll need to re-deliver the updated work based on the client's feedback.

• The number of revisions a client can request depends on what's included in your Gig package or agreed-upon order scope.
• While the order is In Revision, you can adjust the order (such as adding Gig Extras) or request a new delivery date.
• After completing the required edits, resubmit the updated files using the Deliver Now button.
• The order changes from In Revision to Delivered once you send the re-delivery.

Tip: Don't panic: revision requests are a common part of freelance work. Carefully review the client's notes, stay professional, and ask for clarification if the request is unclear. Communicate promptly if any revision falls outside the original scope, and provide a brief summary of what was updated in your re-delivery message.

Managing late or disputed orders

The Fiverr Resolution Center is designed to help you address and resolve disputes independently. If an order runs into issues or a dispute, it's reflected in the order status:

• The delivery time has passed. The client may cancel the order if you don't respond. A Late status affects your on-time delivery metric. If you expect delays, communicate with the client as early as possible and request a delivery extension.
• The order has been in Late status for 24 hours. At this stage, the client can cancel the order independently.
• The Resolution Center has been used to request a mutual cancellation, an extension of the delivery date, or an update.

Learn more with Using the Resolution Center.

Tip: Staying proactive helps you avoid these statuses. Communicate clearly, manage expectations early, and adjust timelines when necessary.

Order extras

You can offer additional work to your client through order extras during an active order.

How to add extras

1. From the Activity tab, select Offer more extras below the order page text box.
2. Choose to send existing extras or create a custom extra.
3. For custom extras: describe the extra, set a price, and include any additional days needed. Note that you must select an amount and time (even if 0 days), and extras cannot be priced at $0.

You can also send order extras from the mobile app. Clients can add order extras at the start of the order from the Activity tab, or during the order from the Details tab.

Completed orders

An order is marked as Complete once you deliver the work and the client accepts it. If the client takes no action within three days of delivery, the system automatically completes the order.

• After completion, you'll see a confirmation message showing the order is complete and displaying your earned revenue.
• Once an order is completed, its status cannot be changed or canceled through the Resolution Center.
• Revenue clearance: Your earnings become available 14 days after the order is completed. For Seller Plus, TRS, and Pro Talent freelancers, the clearance period is 7 days.
• If the client has already left a review, you'll be able to rate your experience with them as well.

Viewing & managing your orders

You can view and manage your orders on both web and mobile: My Business > Orders on the web, and Manage Orders on mobile.

• ​
  • Priority: Orders that require your attention.
  • Active: Active orders where you work on the delivery.
  • Late: Orders placed late or very late that you didn't deliver on time.
  • Delivered: Delivered orders waiting for the client to accept the delivery, or ask for a revision.
  • Completed: Orders that have been delivered by you and accepted by the client.
  • Cancelled: All canceled orders, either by Customer Support or mutually canceled orders.
  • Starred: Important orders marked by you.
• ​
  • Updates: Orders with new messages or notifications.
  • Waiting for details: Orders where the client needs to submit the requirements to you before the order can start.
  • Active: All orders in all active statuses.
  • New: New orders that just started after the client submitted the requirements.
  • Late deliveries: Orders placed late or very late that you didn't deliver on time.
  • Revision requested: Orders where the client declined delivery and requested revisions.
  • Completed: Orders that have been delivered by you and accepted by the client.
  • Waiting for rating: Orders where the client needs to review the delivery.
  • Cancelled: All canceled orders, either by Customer Support or mutually canceled orders.

Best practices

1. Review requirements carefully before starting work and ask targeted follow-up questions if anything is unclear.
2. Communicate proactively with your client throughout the order, especially if you anticipate delays.
3. Use the Share Draft feature to share work in progress and get early feedback before your final delivery.
4. Request a delivery extension as early as possible rather than letting the order go late.
5. Always deliver completed work. Partial or placeholder deliveries violate Fiverr's Terms of Service.
6. Stay professional during revision requests and provide clear summaries of what was updated in each re-delivery.

Best practices by category

•  
  • Upload a separate .jpg image file of the logo and select it for the Live Portfolio when delivering.
  • Fiverr can add a watermark to delivered image files (jpg, png, etc.), which will be removed when the client accepts the final delivery.
    
    Note: The watermark is only added to files in the delivery message. It is not added to files sent through the inbox or order messages.

• Follow these best practices for Digital Marketing Gigs:

  • Use Custom Offers and Milestones as a workaround for retainer/subscription-based work.
  • Provide a final report document in your delivery for Gigs that are more service-related than deliverable-related.

  Note: Orders should be marked as delivered once the full service has been provided. Evidence of the work done should be sent as proof of delivery.

• Use PDFs as an attachment to deliveries to show delivery samples in the Live Portfolio.
• Use Dropbox or other file-sharing sites to deliver files that exceed the Fiverr upload limit.
•  
  • We suggest providing a few screenshots or a screencast (video) of your final work to ensure you receive a client's final approval before fully delivering your website design and development work (ex: source files and code).
  • Have a website design or programming order that has a few stages and milestones before final delivery? We suggest creating a custom offer that includes milestones. For example: consider creating three milestones to reflect each phase of the project. (First: Working on the mockup for approval; Second: Delivering the project based on the design; Third: Revising the order, if required + extra services, like SSL, hosting set-up, etc.)

FAQs

• Your order automatically completes after 3 days (standard and hourly orders) or 8 days (milestone orders) if the client doesn't request revisions or accept the delivery.
• Yes. While your order is active (in progress, rejected, late, or very late), you can deliver as many times as needed.
• A draft is a work-in-progress share that doesn't count as a delivery, doesn't change your order status, and doesn't trigger autocomplete. A delivery is your formal submission that starts the 3-day review clock.
• No. Drafts have no impact on your Success Score or any other account statistics.
• No. Only you can request a delivery extension. Your client can accept or decline the request.
• Your client can extend the review period on their own without your approval. They can extend up to 5 days at a time and can do so an unlimited number of times.
• Revenue becomes available 14 days after order completion. For Seller Plus, TRS, and Pro Talent freelancers, the clearance period is 7 days.