twago help & support center

help center

Welcome to our help center! The help center is designed to explain the different steps and processes in the system. Please read the provided information carefully. We know that we cannot predict all upcoming questions, so feel free to contact us at support@twago.com if you could not find a satisfying answer to your question. We will do our best to update and expand the help center along with your needs.

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buyer

• 1. how can I post a project?

  To post a project, you have to be registered as a customer. If you are registered and logged in you can simply click "Post a project" in the customer menu. You will be directed to a form which allows you to define all project relevant information.

  Tip: More detailed project descriptions are usually getting more precise proposals.

• 2. how do I select a provider?

  Selecting a provider is your first key decision with great affect on your project success. That's why twago suggests evaluating all potential providers carefully. Review licenses, references, and feedbacks the provider has received so far. Additionally, it can be very valuable to speak to former clients of the provider. Professional providers will have no problem sharing the contact information of their references with you.

• 3. how do I sign a contract with the provider?

  The contract between customer and provider is concluded on the platform when each party has confirmed the terms of the project. Thereby, the project description as well as the terms and conditions are a part of the service contract. Please ensure that any amendments are agreed in writing by both parties.

• 4. how do I pay the provider?

  Payments are agreed and organized directly between buyer and provider. During the project awarding process you can discuss the terms of payment (frequency of billing, due dates). The payment methods a provider is accepting can be seen in his public profile.

  You can already indicate your default preferred methods at Buyer ? My Financials ? Manage payment methods.

  Request an invoice from the provider if required and pay according to the agreed method.

  Typically all providers accept bank wire transfers. Please check with your bank for any applicable fees, especially for transfers outside of your country. PayPal and credit card are other convenient methods, but may not be offered by all providers. Bank wire transfer needs to be initiated at your local bank. PayPal can be initiated on the PayPal website, www.paypal.com.Credit card payments can be initiated on the platform Buyer → My Financials → Make payment. Select escrow for increased safety, see help section on Help — General — What is escrow and how does it work? More information on the different methods can be found under Help → General → What are the differences among the payment methods?

• 5. what fees do I have to pay?

  twago membership is free of charge for buyers.

  twago only charges a service fee to the providers every time a project is awarded to a provider.

• 6. which value added services (VAS) does twago offer and how can I pay twago?

  twago also offers Value Added Services (VAS). Currently we offer the following Value Added Services (costs according to the table below):

  Fee schedule for Value Added Services (VAS)

  In EUR	Description	Costs	Frequency
  Non-disclosure agreement	A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) helps customers to protect project details of getting share with any non-involved third party, legally binding. Providers have to sign the NDA in order to see the full project description. A brief overview of the description can be specified when posting the project and will be visibile to everyone. The customer can select from all providers having signed the NDA-document, those providers who should be able to see all project details. Only the selected providers will be able to make an offer for the project.	79.00 EUR	One-time cost (per project)
  Private Project Posting	twago cares about your privacy. This is why you can define the visibility of your project posting. A standard project is visible for everyone, so it will also appear in search engines. With twago you can restrict the visibility to registered users / registered providers / invited users.	5.00 EUR / 5.00 EUR / 10.00 EUR	One-time costs (per project)
  User- Verification	twago verifies your user account. Users with a verified user account enjoy a higher degree of trust and usually get more bids for their projects.	25.00 EUR	One-time costs (per User-Account)
  Customer Interest Seal	The "customer interest seal" proves that the customer has a high interest in getting the project done. Projects with the customer interest seal usually get more and higher quality bids.	29.00 EUR	One-time costs (per project)

  All fees are net and in EUR.

  twago accepts Visa and Mastercard.

  If you decide for a value added service, you will automatically be forwarded to our payment section.

  You can review all your invoices in your membership section under open invoices. There you can also initiate the payment.

  If you experience any problems with an invoice please mail to invoice@twago.com and describe your problem and tell us your invoice number.

• 7. how can I protect a project with a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)?

  The process to use a NDA to protect a project works as follows. When posting a project on twago, the customer opts for NDA-protection. Then, the customer can select whether the twago standard NDA is sufficient or an individual NDA-document should be uploaded, which has to be done in pdf format. It is also possible to customize the twago standard NDA according to individual needs. The customer has the possibility to give a brief description of the project, which is visible to every user on the platform. The complete, more detailed description is only visible to providers after they signed the NDA document and the customer has agreed to let them see the project description after he reviewed the signature. After that, the provider is also able to make an offer. The signature is given by typing the last name in a text box. This is legally binding.

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provider

• 1. how can I bid for a project?

  To bid on a project you have to be registered as a provider. Registering at twago is of course free of charge. If you are registered and logged in you can use the provider menu to navigate to the project search. Once you have found a project where you want to make a bid for, you can simply click on the "Make a bid" icon for the respective project. You will be directed to a form where you can enter all relevant information for your bid.

   

• 2. how does the payment and invoicing work?

  Payments are agreed and organized directly between buyer and provider. During the project awarding process you can discuss the payment terms (frequency of billing, due dates). You need to indicate at least one payment method that you accept for receiving money in the menu Provider → My Financials → Manage payment methods. This will be visible for the buyer in your profile.

  Typically all providers accept bank wire transfers. To attract more buyers consider registering for a Moneybookers account and/or PayPal to offer more convenient methods for the buyer to pay. In the menu Provider → My Financials → Manage payment methods you can save your account information for the buyer to access.

  twago has a special cooperation with Moneybookers that allows buyers to pay you via credit card without registering themselves for a Moneybookers account. This increases convenience and acceptance from buyers. Find more information under Help — Providers —

  Provide an invoice if requested by buyers and request the payment according to the agreed method.

• 3. what is the cooperation with Moneybookers and what are the conditions?

  twago cooperates with Moneybookers to provide a convenient payment method for both, buyer and provider. Buyers can pay providers conveniently, safely and at no cost via their credit card: logon twago and go to → My payments → Make payment and select a project to follow the instructions in the credit card form. No registration is required for the buyer.

  As a provider you can accept credit card payments easily by registering for a Moneybookers account at www.moneybookers.com. Opposite to standard credit card acceptance and terminal contracts, registration is for free and you will not have to pay any setup fees. There is no minimum volume, you pay 2.9% of the transaction volume plus 0.29 EUR per transaction. All incoming money transfers will be directly added to the provider's credit balance of his Moneybookers account. An account overview is accessible anytime.

  Process for provider:

  1. Register an account with Moneybookers at www.moneybookers.com

  2. Save your Moneybookers E-mail address on twago: go to Provider → My payments → Methods. When saving the E-mail address you are requested to “confirm” and with your confirmation an automatic request is sent to Moneybookers to activate your account as merchant account and request a password.

  3. Moneybookers will check your account and activate it within 48 hours.

  4. Log in to moneybookers.com upon receipt of the confirmed activation. A new section called “Merchant settings” is now available. Please choose a password in this section to encrypt payments.

  5. Enter this password on twago at Provider → My payments → Methods and confirm. twago Moneybookers Quick Checkout is now fully activated and the connection is encrypted. You can now receive credit card payments from buyers.

  6. Select credit card as accepted method in your twago payment methods.

  About Moneybookers Ltd.

  Moneybookers Ltd. is one of the leading online payment systems in Europe with localized services in 12 languages. With > 8 million account holders, Moneybookers is also among the leading e-wallet providers worldwide. The company was founded 2001 in London and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom (FSA).

  back to beginning of the help center

  what fees do I have to pay and how can I pay those fees to twago?

  twago basic membership is free of charge for buyers and providers. Basic membership is automatically offered during the registration.

  twago charges a service fee to providers every time they are awarded for a project. The fee accounts for a specific % of the contract volume. The fee is intended for the posting, the operation and the maintenance of the platform as well as for all other kind of services offered by the platform.

  Providers can choose between different membership models which enable them to access and use diverse features of the platform. Depending on the membership providers have a certain number of bids within a month. After using all bids providers can no longer make more bids but they have the chance to upgrade to the next membership level in order to acquire more bids. The fee has to be paid after a contract has been closed. The membership status will also be visible for all other twago users via an icon for each respective membership. Provider with a Medium or a Premium Membership usually have a higher chance of being awarded for a project. The membership will be automatically renewed under the same conditions (model and duration) in case the user does not cancel his membership before 12:00 CET (Central European Time) of the last working day of the running month. A downgrade to a lower membership model or to the basic membership has to take place before 12:00 CET of the last working day prior to the expiration date of the existing membership and will be valid after the expiration date of the existing membership. Changes on the membership have to take place on the platform under Profile → Account and Settings. We will not accept other forms of membership changes in order to avoid misunderstandings or confusion.

  	Beginner	Medium	Freelancer	Most Popular Premium	VIP
  	Register	Register	Register	Register	Register
  Bids / month	2	7	20	unlimited	unlimited
  Service Fee	7%	7%	5.5%	4%	0%
  twago safePay fee	3%	3%	3%	2.5%	0%
  Duration	1 month	3 months	3 months	6 months	6 months
  References in Profile	1	3	6	9	9
  Contact possibilities	via twago	via twago	via twago	YES directSearch contact data visible	YES directSearch contact data visible
  possible project volume	< 1,500 EUR p. project	< 3,000 EUR p. project	< 6,000 EUR p. project	all projects	all projects
  Costs per month	FREE	9.90 EUR	29.00 EUR	59.00 EUR	125.00 EUR

  All fees are net and in EUR.

  twago also offers Value Added Services (VAS). Currently we offer the following Value Added Services (costs according to the table below):

  Fee schedule for Value Added Services (VAS)

  In EUR	Description	Costs	Frequency
  User- Verification	twago verifies your user account. Users with a verified user account enjoy a higher degree of trust and have a higher chance of being awarded for a project.	25.00 EUR	One-time costs (per User-Account)
  Reference-Verification	twago also verifies your references. Verified references increase the trust into a reference and of course into you as a provider. Providers with verified references have a higher chance of being awarded for a project.	39.00 EUR	One-time costs (per Reference)

  All fees are net and in EUR.

  twago accepts Visa and Mastercard.

  If you upgrade your membership, accept a project or decide for a value added service, you will automatically be forwarded to our payment section. You can review all your invoices in your membership section under open invoices. There you can also initiate the payment.

  If you experience any problems with an invoice please mail to invoice@twago.com and describe your problem and tell us your invoice number.

  Remark: For fairness reasons, twago will only use only 80% of the volume for the service fee calculation of hourly projects.

• 4. what is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and how is it used?

  Customers can protect their projects with a NDA. Thus, they can deter uninvolved third-parties from seeing sensible project details, they do not want to share. Projects, being protected by NDA carry the NDA icon. Basic project details are visible to everyone on the platform. The complete project description however, can only be seen after signing the NDA document. To do so, service providers have to read and sign the NDA in the project view of the specific project. They sign by typing their last name into a text box; this is legally binding. The customer reviews all service providers who have signed the NDA and select the ones he wants to accept. After being accepted, the service providers are able to make an offer for the project.

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general

• 1. what are the differences among the payment methods?

  what are the differences among the payment methods?

  Detailed fee schedule

  Method	Fees for sending money (buyer)	Fees for receiving money (provider)	Applicable countries	Typical limitations	Requirements and process
  Credit Card	0.00 EUR (eventually charges of your credit card e.g. for foreign currency payments)	2.9% plus 0.29 EUR per transaction	worldwide	∼1500 EUR per transaction dep. on local bank	Provider needs to register for the twago Moneybookers account, provide verification and then indicate his account data on twago Without registration, buyer can pay the provider with Visa or Mastercard on the platform, credit card data is processed on the verified Moneybookers terminal
  Paypal	0.00 EUR (depending on the method selected on paypal, eventually charges of your credit card e.g. for foreign currency payments)	Up to 3.9% plus 0.35 EUR per transaction depending on overall volume with PayPal and location, check www.paypal.com for the detailed fee schedule	worldwide	Dep. on selected method Above certain annual volume, add. verification required	Buyer and provider require a PayPal account, provider is either requesting payment via PayPal with a link for the buyer or buyer can pay on PayPal to the provider's PayPal e-mail. PayPal offers various different payment methods.
  Bank wire transfer	0.00 EUR within EU (IBAN), outside pls. check with your bank and provider on fee contribution (full fee / shared fee)	Depending on buyer's bank and agreed fee contribution (full fee / shared fee)	Check with your bank	n/A	Buyer requires a bank account, provider requires a EUR account with his local bank or accepts exchange to his local currency.

  Tip: indicated fees are net and according to our latest status of information. twago does not guarantee fees of external payment providers.

• 2. what can I do if I do not agree with the evaluation provided?

  Both, buyer and provider are requested to evaluate the other party in an objective way. In general, twago does not delete evaluations except in case of clearly justified violations of the intentions of the evaluation system or false statements.

  If you believe that the received evaluation is not justified pls. contact us at evaluation@twago.com. twago will contact you and (if necessary) request additional information before making a specific case by case decision. Possible cases to delete evaluations are for example:

  • if the evaluating user cannot be contacted via his indicated contact details
  • if the evaluation itself contains contact information or advertising
  • if the evaluation is not related to the specific project via twago
  • if a written verdict is provided that confirms falsity of the evaluation.

  If you have reason to believe that somebody is undermining the purpose and intentions of the evaluation system (e.g. withholding service delivery or payment until a positive evaluation is provided or evaluating himself via a different user account), pls. contact us at violation@twago.com.

• 3. What is twago safePay?

  twago safePay is the escrow service for the twago online outsourcing community for secure payment between buyers and providers on twago. After posting a project on twago, buyers will award their project to the best provider. To secure payment and ensure quality results, buyers are requested to deposit the payment for their project to a third-party trust bank account. In that way, providers know that the buyer has already made the payment and that they will get paid once the project is finished. Once the provider has completed the project successfully, the buyer can release the funds and the provider will receive payment.

• 4. How much does twago safePay cost?

  Buyers can use twago safePay free of charge.

  Providers pay a twago safePay fee between 0% and 3% depending on their membership plan.

• 5. Do I have to use twago safePay?

  twago highly recommends using twago safePay for extra peace of mind. However, it is not mandatory to use twago safePay.

• 6. What are the advantages for me using twago safePay?

  Increased security when collaborating online

  • As a buyer you will never lose a pre-payment or deposit again.
  • As a provider, you know you will always get paid for your work.

  Easier way to pay

  • As a buyer, you no longer need to concern yourself with what payment methods your provider requires. Simply use safePay and your provider can withdraw the payment in their own way.
  • This also gives you the chance to work with providers abroad

  Work with peace of mind

  • As a provider, you can start work immediately, knowing that your payment is secure.

  Plan your income

  • As a provider, you can plan your income better as you don’t have to run after your money.
  • Plus, you can choose to be paid to your preferred account (PayPal, Moneybookers, or bank account).

FAQ

Welcome to our FAQ pages! Find answers to the most frequently asked questions in this section and learn more about tips for searching and posting projects.

We thank you for your interest in twago and hope you will find what you are looking for. In case you have further questions feel free to contact us anytime: support@twago.com

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general questions about twago

• 1. what is twago?

  twago means "Teamwork Across Global Offices". twago is a platform that provides high quality services worldwide over the Internet.

  Until today, mainly big companies are playing on field of outsourcing (processes outsourcing) and offshoring (relocation of processes abroad). With twago, outsourcing & offshoring becomes easier for small and medium-sized businesses.

  twago facilitates team work. Companies, freelancers and individuals work together with service providers in a virtual team. The main advantages are cost savings and increased flexibility, while maintaining quality.

  twago helps businesses and freelancers to decrease their costs significantly. This results from the transparency of the bidding phase and the associated savings as well as if desired from externalizing non-core work to countries with lower costs.

  Companies that use twago can finish the cooperation with a service provider if the services are no longer needed, which is an increased flexibility in working relationships. Workload fluctuations are easier to handle – a solid cost situation is ensured and layoffs of permanent employees can be avoided.

  twago is a trademark of Team2Venture GmbH. Our headquarter is in Berlin (Germany). Team2Venture GmbH is privately owned by the three founders Gunnar Berning, Maria Lindinger and Thomas Jajeh.

• 2. is twago a typical website for job seekers?

  twago connects freelancers and service providers to customers such as small/medium sized companies, agencies and individuals. Buyers can easily ramp up experts without having any risks and terminate the cooperation (and occurring costs) once they are not needed anymore. Jobs can last months, depending on requirements of the buyer and the project.

  twago is no typical job page for people looking for permanent positions.

• 3. how does twago differ from competitors?

  twago focuses on the German and the European market. Compared to many other platforms in Germany or Europe, twago offers worldwide outsourcing opportunities with providers located anywhere worldwide. This often leads to significant cost savings for customers up to 70% . Furthermore twago offers important safety features as an escrow-service for buyer/provider in Germany and Austria with a significantly increased safety for buyer and provider. In contrast to many other platforms, twago offers professional features as a detailed project management tool, which increases transparency of the current project status for the buyer at any time during the implementation process.

• 4. what are the advantages of using twago?

  For buyers:

  • Cost savings

    • From transparency about competitive prices, based on the offers of several providers

    • If desired, additionally from relocation of your required services to countries with lower cost levels

  • Increased flexibility

    • Contract twago resources only to the extent and for the duration required (no fixed costs)

    • Balance fluctuations of your workload and react flexibly to peaks or downturns

  • Market transparency

    • You can actually see what experts are out there on the market and which ones match your required skills and availability

  • Increased trust with escrow

    • The escrow service for Germany and Austria ensures safety for buyer and provider to a much higher extent than fulfilling the project without escrow

  • Efficient project management

    • Thanks to twago's professional project management tools a high transparency for every phase of the project can be achieved

  • Easy search and selection process

    • The bids for a project will be automatically delivered to buyer's inbox and the buyer chooses the most suitable provider

    • Bids and providers can be compared in the shortest time based on different criteria

  • Time savings

    • No extensive search for service providers – you post the project and receive offers

    • No time-consuming phone calls or troublesome recruitment efforts

  For service providers:

  • Increased sales and revenues or securing of current volume

  • New customers and access to new market segments

    • Win new customers in your home markets as well as other countries

  • Lower sales costs / higher sales efficiency

    • No need for cold-calls and no expensive campaigns

    • Direct access to specific customer demand

    • Higher hit rate of winning projects based on good reputation at twago

    • Complete cost control

  • Increased trust with escrow

    • The escrow service for Germany and Austria ensures safety for buyer and provider to a much higher extent than fulfilling the project without escrow

  • Increased customer satisfaction

    • Through professional project management tools

  • Increased flexibility

    • Acquiring customers and working online allows you to live anywhere

    • You decide when and how much you work

    • Avoid idle times or not fully utilized capacities

  • Increased market transparency

    • You can see the price levels for specific services in different countries

    • You receive direct information and feedback on customer demand and the services you offer

• 5. what is offshoring and outsourcing?

  Outsourcing is defined as subcontracting a process to a third-party company. Offshoring describes a company's relocation of a business process from one country to another.

• 6. do I have to work with international service providers?

  Of course not! Each buyer has to decide which provider fits best to the specific requirements of his project. For some projects it might be better to hire a local provider ( for meetings, etc.). On the other hand it might be an option to hire service providers from low-cost countries in order to make use of cost advantages up to 70%.

  If you are thinking about Offshoring to other countries, twago recommends you to post your project in English language.

  Tip: Invite your preferred service provider to bid for your project posting

• 7. who is using twago?

  twago is being used by different customer segments. Target groups include:

  • small and medium-sized enterprises

  • startups

  • freelancers, self-employed

  • associations, clubs

  • consumers

• 8. how does twago handle my personal data?

  Responsible handling of your personal data is of utmost importance for us. For further details please read our privacy policy.

  For questions beyond this declaration or for individual inquiries you can contact our data protection officer at privacy@twago.com or send your request to the company address of Team2Venture GmbH as listed on the website on Contact Us.

• 9. who can I address if my copyrights or other proprietary rights were violated?

  Please address twago via E-mail at violation@twago.com and request the deletion of the content on our platform if applicable. It is in our interest to prohibit violations of law. Please be aware that for content of third parties only the respective third party can be hold responsible. Therefore you should address this third party directly for any measures beyond the deletion of the content.

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working with twago:

• 1. which type of projects can I find or post at twago?

  On twago you can post and find the following projects:

  1. Fixed-priced projects where buyer and provider agree on a fixed price for the clearly defined service
  2. Hourly projects that are billed on an hourly basis. The provider is working depending on the time required by the buyer and is also paid depending on the hours worked for this project.

• 2. what is the difference between a fixed-price and an hourly project?

  When a fixed price has been agreed right from the start then this is called a fixed-price project. The provider needs to provide the agreed deliverable at this price. In contrast, only a price per hour is agreed in case of an hourly project. The total cost can thereby only be estimated at the beginning of a project as it depends on the actual hours worked. In case of fixed-price projects the complexity is typically lower and the total budget easier to estimate than for hourly projects.

• 3. i want to suggest a new category, how can I do that?

  Please send us a short message at support@twago.com. We will promptly check your request and get back to you as soon as possible. Feel free to post your project and we will change the category for your project.

• 4. can I work via twago when I am unemployed?

  twago undoubtedly supports your options to terminate your unemployment. To work as a freelancer on twago please ensure that your activity is registered with the respective authorities. Your local employment agency will be happy to inform you about the necessary steps to work as a freelancer or a contractor.

• 5. can I work via twago as a side project?

  Of course. In case you are employed by a company, please clarify with your employer if and to which extent side jobs do not conflict with your current employment contract. To offer services on twago you need to have the necessary registration with your locally applicable authorities.

• 6. how can I give feedback or suggest improvements and can I recommend twago to a friend?

  All are welcome. Click on the link "Give Feedback" on our homepage and let us know your thoughts! Under the menu "Recommend us!" you can send twago as a link to a friend's E-mail address.

• 7. what is the evaluation system for?

  Evaluations are a major element of our philosophy. We want to provide the highest level of security to our customers. Evaluations help you to learn more about the success of your business partner's completed projects. Thereby you can better judge whom you are dealing with. Please make use of the evaluation function that twago offers to provide more transparency and security to all users.

  On twago, buyers evaluate their service provider and the service provider evaluates his buyer for each specific project. These evaluations are visible to other users.
  Please pay attention to evaluate as objective as possible. Be aware that where applicable affected users can take legal actions against illegitimate and defamatory feedback if wrong evaluations were made and confirmed by court.

  The evaluation system only works if every one of our users acknowledges its purpose and value and thereby provides true feedback. Hence it is prohibited to for instance threaten the other user to provide wrong feedback or withhold deliveries / payments until a positive evaluation is provided or any other actions. twago cannot automatically monitor evaluations. When you believe an evaluation is violating our regulations you can address your request to violation@twago.com.

  twago reserves the right to delete evaluations from the website. This does not imply any legal claims and no right exists to demand deletion of evaluations.

• 8. how safe is twago?

  Safety is our highest priority. twago applies up to date SSL certificates for all sensitive transactions and cooperates with VeriSign as the world market leader. To protect your stored user data we use up to date firewalls for our system. In addition, we ensure that your data is only used for purposes as indicated in our Terms & Conditions, including our Privacy Policy.

• 9. how does twago protect intellectual property?

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special topics for buyers:

• 1. who can register?

  Consumers as well as companies or associations can register as buyers at twago.

• 2. how do I write a good project description?

  As a buyer you should only post seriously minded projects and specify those as detailed as possible. Inquire about usual prices for your required service and indicate realistic budget expectations to attract good service providers.

  Contact twago at support@twago.com in case of questions or whenever you are not sure how to proceed best.

• 3. can I also find a provider on twago to design my private homepage?

  Yes, please register as buyer and describe your requirements and scope for our homepage as best as possible.

• 4. how do I communicate with the provider?

  Professional communication is truly important! Please ensure you address any unclarity as soon as possible and please answer to questions as soon as possible. Unprofessional comments on the platform may be deleted by twago.

  Do not enter your personal contact data in project postings or other fields that are not designated contact fields as this violates your contract with twago.

• 5. are projects visible outside of twago?

  This is under your control as it depends on your settings for the project posting. To receive more potential bids you can make your posting visible to search engines. According to your needs you can limit the visibility to the following options: to providers upon invitation only, to all registered users, to registered providers or to everyone on twago and search engines.

• 6. which project visibility setting should I choose?

  On twago you can determine who can see your project posting, from all twago visitors and search engines to invited providers only. The latter is most suitable for sensitive projects when you do not want to disclose all details to everyone. For projects that should receive many bids it is better to make the posting visible also to search engines.

• 7. what is a good price and how high are typically the hourly rates of the providers?

  There is no general answer to this question. The hourly rates vary according to the industry, the qualifications and the location of each provider. Your project volume can also significantly influence the hourly rates.

  Tip: search for comparable projects or providers and check the indicated hourly rates.

• 8. how can I change my open project posting?

  If you have entered a project the bidding period starts. During the bidding period projects cannot be modified anymore. You can close the posting or award a provider at any time. This will lead to an earlier end of the bidding period. If a project posting has been closed you can repost it at any time.

• 9. how good are the providers?

  As you probably know from your own experience there are always providers who have satisfied your expectations more than others. Due to this, it is even more important that you select your provider very carefully. Review the already provided feedback and read through old projects of your preferred providers. A personal contact always helps and provides additional information. Please remember to provide detailed feedback after your project is finished, so that other buyers can benefit from your experience.

• 10. what should I consider when selecting a provider?

  The selection of the provider is one of the most crucial decisions which affect your desired result. Therefore it is very important that you weigh your choice carefully. For that reason please check old reviews, licenses and references of the relevant provider. Even a brief contact with previous customers and references of the provider could provide important information. Please remember to evaluate the provider after your project is finished so that other customers can benefit from your experiences.

• 11. who is my contracting party?

  For the usage of the platform, twago is your contracting party. For individual service contracts the respective provider is your contracting party.

• 12. do I have to pay upfront or after project completion?

  You have to agree this between you and the provider for each project individually. twago does not recommend full upfront payments. Instead, we recommend agreeing on milestone based payments.

• 13. do I receive an invoice and about VAT?

  Please inform the provider if you need an invoice. At twago consumers cannot register as providers. Still, it depends on the specific legal form and country of the provider and the buyer which taxes apply and which details are required on the invoice.  Please contact the provider in advance to ensure that you receive an invoice that reflects the necessary tax requirements.

  Indicated prices, fees or rates on twago are net, except otherwise stated.

• 14. how do I check the status or progress of my projects?

  twago assists you with proven project management tools from internationally successful consulting firms. We have developed a status page which informs you about the progress, results and potential risks. This status page is being updated on a regular basis by your provider. Additionally, we recommend a regular contact (e.g. via our messaging system or via telephone) between you and your provider to keep yourself updated about the progress of the project.

• 15. can I stop a running project and how?

  There are several ways to stop a running project. If the provider fulfilled the task to your satisfaction, you will be able to declare the project as finished. Therefore please go to the section "My projects" and then click on "My running projects". In order to finish a specific project, click on the project and afterwards click on "Finish project". Moreover, you have the possibility to terminate a running project. This is similar to the procedure described above. However, you have to click on the respective link "Terminate project" and specify a cancellation reason.

• 16. what if I do not accept the delivered result of the project?

  If you do not accept the result of the project, you should give honest feedback to your provider. The provider will certainly try his best and implement your requests. If there was an insolvable problem between you and the provider, you can terminate the project. Please note that twago is not responsible for payments already made between you and your provider or any outstanding debts.

  Tip: Define milestones and ask the provider to deliver intermediate results. This will help you to react as early as possible and minimize the risk of being unsatisfied with the end result.

• 17. does twago guarantee the quality of the results?

  twago brings together demand and supply for projects. The service contract is concluded between the two parties (buyer and provider). If you do not accept the quality of the results, please contact the provider directly. twago does not guarantee the quality of results.

• 18. How do I transfer money to deposit a payment for my project when using twago safePay?

  Simply transfer the money via bank wire transfer. You only need to transfer the money by using an EU standard transfer within Germany or the European Economic Area. Please refer to the payment deposit request which you will receive once you have awarded your project to a provider. All necessary bank details are provided in this document. Note: In the payment deposit request you will also receive a unique transaction ID for your payment. Please make sure to use this transaction ID as a payment reference when you fill out the transfer slip.

• 19. How can I transfer money to deposit the project payment from outside the European Economic Area when using twago safePay?

  Please use a regular foreign bank transfer to deposit your project payment. Note: In some countries, both parties may have to share for the cost of transfer fees. In this case, a certain percentage of the fee will be deducted from the amount of the money being transferred, although the percentage may vary from country to country. To deposit your project payment correctly, please make sure that the full expected amount will be received by the trust account – taking into consideration this issue. If you have any questions, please refer to your bank for any information on the shared cost of transfer fees.

• 20. To which account will I have to transfer the project payment deposit when using twago safePay?

  The account you have to transfer the money to is a third-party trust account which is not controlled by the twago team, and to which only an authorized lawyer has access to. Please refer to the deposit request which you will receive once you have awarded a provider. All necessary bank details are provided in this document. Note: In the deposit request you will also receive a unique transaction ID for your payment. Please make sure to use this transaction ID as a payment reference when you complete the transfer slip.

• 21. What happens if I deposit a project payment with an incorrect amount when using twago safePay?

  If your payment deposit for the project is too low, you will get an email notification requesting you to pay the remaining amount. Please contact your provider to finalize the starting date for the project, taking into account any delays present until the project has been correctly funded.

  If your payment deposit is too high, the project will start right away. The surplus amount will be immediately credited to your twago safePay account balance. You can use this surplus amount for future projects or you can withdraw the surplus amount at any time.

• 22. What happens if I use twago safePay and I do not put the correct transaction ID in the bank wire transfer when funding the project?

  In this case, your Bank Wire transfer cannot be allocated to your project, since the transaction ID is the unique identifier for your project. If this happens, please contact us, we’re here to help.

• 23. What happens if I use twago safePay and I have already deposited the project payment but the budget changes later on?

  If you need to adjust your budget once you have already deposited the project payment, please contact us at support@twago.com and we will change it for you.

• 24. Do I have to pay even if i’m not satisfied with the work when using twago safePay?

  The release of the payment will not be made before both parties are satisfied with the result. In case you believe the delivered results do not match the agreed requirements, make sure to decline the provider’s request to finish the project. By doing this, no funds will be released before an agreement has been found. We urge both the buyer and the provider to find a mutually agreeable solution. As long as there is no common agreement, the project will remain in the dispute status and no money will be released, neither to the provider nor to the buyer. If you do not decline the provider’s request to finish the project, the funds will be automatically released to the provider after 30 days. We are here to help. If you need assistance in reaching an agreement, please contact us at support@twago.com.

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special topics for providers

• 1. who can register at twago?

  As a provider all legal persons are allowed to register no matter if you are a freelancer or large enterprise. It is important that you act as a company. Private users are not allowed to register as providers. Please consider your local legal and fiscal responsibilities.

• 2. what kind of buyers are using twago?

  The variety of twago users is large. The following groups are using twago:

  • Small and medium-sized enterprises

  • New entrepreneurs

  • Freelancers

  • Associations, clubs

  • Individuals

• 3. how do I know which buyers are reliable?

  To ensure that you work with a reliable customer it is important that you gather detailed information about the buyer during the bidding process. Please read all the evaluations and try to contact the buyer. Please remember to evaluate the buyer after your project is finished to let other providers benefit from your experiences.

• 4. how long does it take to get a project?

  The bid period for projects is determined by the provider. However, during the bidding process the buyer has the possibility to select a provider and end the project posting earlier.

  Tip: The higher the quality of your bid is the higher the probability that the customer will select you for the project (even earlier).

• 5. how can I communicate with the buyer?

  Professional communication is very important. As a provider, please ensure that you answer inquiries from your buyers promptly and address potential lack of clarity or dissatisfaction.

  Do not enter any contact details in fields that are not dedicated contact fields, such as bids as this violates the Terms and Conditions of twago.

  Unprofessional comments on the platform may be deleted by twago.

• 6. how can I avoid conflicts with the buyer?

  Apply and bid only for projects that fit your companie's capabilities. Additionally make sure that you have enough capacity to handle the project properly. Don't make bids that are unrealistic, neither unrealistically high nor unrealistically low. Please take your time to understand the description of your potential buyer in detail, ask clarifying questions or help the buyer to better describe his requirements before you make your bid. Make realistic plans and manage your buyer's expectations. Also ensure that all relevant contract elements from payment terms to liabilities are agreed before you start to work on your project.
  Deliver as promised and give an objective evaluation after the project is finished.
  In case of eventual delays or problems, please inform the buyer early and proactively and offer a solution. If the success of the whole project is endangered please contact also twago, so we can offer support to the buyer.

  Please don't hesitate to ask the twago team (support@twago.com) in case of questions regarding any step of the process.

• 7. what is a status report and how can I use it?

  A status report is informing your buyer about the current progress, results and risks of the project. It is important to make potential problems transparent as early as possible, so that you can find solutions together with your buyer. You can use the status report to gather important feedback from the buyer as early as possible. This can extremely reduce the efforts for corrections after the project is finished.

• 8. is it allowed to sub-contract a project to another provider?

  If you are contracted for a project, you commit as a provider to deliver the requested end product in time, budget and quality. This means that you are responsible to achieve the defined goals. If you have not specified it differerently in your service contract you can assign parts of the project to a sub-contractor.

  Tip: Please check in detail whether your selected sub-contractor has the qualifications and the resources to deliver the defined end product in the time and in the quality you expect. You are legally responsible towards the buyer.
  Also talk to your buyer who has chosen you especially due to your evaluations and competencies.

• 9. can I finish or terminate a running project?

  To finish a project you have to fill out a final status report and request the end of the project . The buyer is asked afterwards to confirm that the project is finished. Additionally, you have the possibility to terminate a running project. To terminate a running project you have to specify a reason.

• 10. how do I get paid?

  Payment terms and conditions have to be clarified between buyer and provider. twago suggests not to use 100 percent upfront payment. In fact, payment according to achieved milestones gives additional safety and is much more convenient for both parties. Together with your customer you should also define the payment method. In Europe many customers prefer to pay with credit card. Thanks to our cooperation with Moneybookers we can offer you an easy way to accept credit card payments. More information about this offer can be found under Help → Providers.

• 11. which membership models does twago offer and how can I change my membership?

  Providers can use twago in the basic membership for free. The medium and premium membership enable the providers to make more bids. When all bids are used up you cannot make any new bid for a project. Alternatively you can upgrade to a membership with more available bids.

  The membership contract duration is 30 days. If the user does not inform twago (via My Profile → Change Membership) that he wants to change the current membership model until the last day before the membership ends (before 12:00 p.m. CET/CEST) the contract will be extended by another 30 days in the same membership model. A change to a lower membership model / to the free basic membership has to be done before 12:00 p.m. CET/CEST of the last day before the current membership contract ends and will be effective as soon as your higher membership period is over. A change to a higher membership model will be effective immediately. There will be no refund and there will be no offsetting of already paid fees. Any remaining no. of bids is not transferred to the new period. The new membership period is again 30 days from the day on when the upgrade has been made.

• 12. when and how do I pay twago?

  twago accepts payments via Visa or Mastercard. When you upgrade to a membership model you are directed to the payment terminal and requested to pay the indicated amount. The same applies for the service fee, where you are directed to the payment terminal after accepting a project. In cases of a service fee >500 EUR, twago splits the amount in two rates. twago is issuing invoices for the occurred fees, available for download in your provider section.

  For German providers: For questions regarding German VAT handling or invoice translations please contact invoice@twago.com.

• 13. How do I get paid when using twago safePay?

  Once both the buyer and the provider have marked the project as finished, the released funds are credited to your twago safePay account balance. You can withdraw your payment to your personal bank account at any time.

• 14. When using twago safePay: Do I get my money even if the buyer doesn’t mark the project as finished?

  Once 30 days have passed since the provider has marked the project as finished and the buyer does not take any action, the payment will be automatically released to the provider’s twago safePay account balance. The buyer will receive email notifications prior to the expiration of the grace period, reminding him or her to take action. If the buyer takes action and declines to approve payment to the provider, the funds will be held in the third-party trust account for the time being.

  The payment will not be made before both parties are satisfied with the result. We urge both the buyer and the provider to find a mutually agreeable solution. As long as there is no common agreement, the project will remain in the dispute status and no funds will be released, neither to the provider nor to the buyer. We are here to help. If you need assistance in reaching an agreement, please contact us at support@twago.com.

• 15. When will I receive the payment after the project is completed when using twago safePay?

  If the project is confirmed as finished or the grace period has expired (see Question: Do I get my money even if the buyer doesn’t mark the project as finished?) you will see their released payment on your twago safePay account balance, signifying that you can withdraw the money.

• 16. Where do I store my bank details to receive payments when using twago safePay?

  Please log in and navigate to “My financials” > “My payment methods” > “bank wire transfer” to enter your bank details in order to receive payments.

• 17. How can I withdraw money after the buyer has released a payment for my project when using twago safePay?

  Simply withdraw money from your twago safePay account balance to your personal bank account. All you need to do is click on “withdraw” in your account balance and select to which personal account you want to withdraw the money to. twago does not charge any additional fees for the withdrawal, as these are already covered in the twago safePay fees. However, please inform yourself of any fees charged when receiving your money, according to the terms and conditions of your personal bank account. These external fees are out of twago’s control.

• 18. How long does my withdrawal request need when using twago safePay?

  This depends on the method you choose. Below, please find typical processing times (for reference only)

  • Paypal: within one working day
  • Moneybookers: within one working day
  • Bank Wire transfer: 3 to 5 working days

• 19. When using twago safePay: What happens if I only withdraw a part of my payment? What will happen to the amount which is not withdrawn?

  If you only withdraw a certain amount of your twago safePay account balance the rest will remain right there as withdrawable funds. You are free to withdraw them at any time.

• 20. Will my twago safePay account balance or my twago credit account balance be charged interest?

  No.