How do I communicate with employers through Elance?

Elance encourages open, complete and professional communication between employers and service providers. Employers and service providers can use the Private Messages, Elance Chat, Elance Call, as well as email and telephone to clarify job descriptions, scope or any specific requirements. Open communication helps provider develop accurate proposals, and employers make informed hiring decisions.

You are required to use MyElance to manage your jobs and are required to use the Elance Private Messages to maintain an electronic record of all written communication including clarifications and agreements around scope, deliverables, milestones, timeframes, price, feedback on deliverables, requests for revisions, acceptance of deliverables and completion of milestones. Also, transcribe or summarize relevant emails, instant messages, telephone or in-person conversations between the employer and provider on the Private Messages to maintain a record of what is agreed.

In the event of a dispute, all written communication on Elance, including job postings, proposals, business terms and Private Message communications will serve as the record for resolution of the dispute. A communication that is not referenced on the Private Message cannot be submitted as evidence in non-judicial dispute resolution after a dispute is reported.

Always remember to respond to your employer's inquiries at least within 1 business day, send weekly status reports, and communicate regularly with job status updates on the Private Message to avoid miscommunication.

NOTE: If a provider is not hired for a job, Elance will delete all uploaded files attached to job descriptions, proposal comments and Private Messages after 6 months. If a provider his hired for a job, all uploaded files for that job will not be deleted.