PROVIDER PROFILES

FINDING JOBS

• Searching the Jobs Index
• Getting Alerts
• Receiving New Email Job Alerts
• Receiving Invitations to Submit Proposals
• Screening Jobs
• Submitting Proposals
• Communicating with Employers 

WORKING WITH THE EMPLOYER

• Getting Hired
• Accepting Jobs and Agreeing to Terms
• Providing Services
• Communicating with the Employer Privately
• Using Status Reports
• Delivering Your Work 

GETTING PAID

• Sending Invoices to the Employer
• Requesting Escrow Payment
• Confirming Payment
• Withdrawing Funds 

VIEWING MEMBERSHIP & CONNECTS

• Viewing Current Membership
• Upgrading Membership
• Adding Connects
• Setting Up a Team Account 

SUPPORT

• Minimum System Requirements
• Getting Help

 

PROVIDER PROFILES

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To submit proposals for jobs, you must sign up for an Elance provider membership and create a profile. Your profile will indicate all the categories in which you or your firm specialize.

 Your profile allows you to promote your marketing message and samples of your work tailored to each category.

 

To sign up on Elance:

1. Click on the Provide Services link at the top of the Elance home page.

2. Click on the   button.

3. Choose your plan type, Free or Paid Plan.

  

5. Review the membership plans and benefits, and choose which one is right for you.

6. Click the Sign Up button

 Paid membership plans offer several benefits, including the ability to purchase additional Connects and service categories, eligibility for the Premier Provider Program, and Elance Chat (IM) and Elance Call, which enable employers to contact you instantly.

 Connects are the Elance currency providers use to submit proposals on jobs and receive new business leads. Providers receive a certain number of Connects every month based on their membership plan. Connects will rollover as part of our Professional, Small Business, and Large Business memberships. The maximum number of Connects that you can carry over to the next month is limited to the number of Connects that are given to you in your monthly membership.  The number of Connects required per proposal varies according to the value of the job and its posting type (e.g. Featured or Business to Business). Learn more about connects.

8. Enter your account information and primary contact information, and click Continue button to proceed.  The username you choose will appear on your provider profile.

9. If you selected a paid membership plan, choose your payment type, enter the appropriate information and click the button at the bottom of the page. 

The selected payment method will automatically become your default payment method and will be used to pay your monthly membership fee. Should your default payment method fail, your membership will be automatically downgraded to a free membership plan.  To edit your payment method(s) at any time:

11. Click on the Save Your Profile button when you are finished. You will be taken to your profile page, where you can add and update information.

12. The last steps to complete your setup is to pass the Elance Admission Test and Verify your phone number.

 To submit proposals on jobs and appear in search results, you must pass the Elance Admission Test. This quick assessment ensures that all providers understand how the Elance system works prior to engaging with potential employers. The Admission test is "open book," so you may refer to any material on the Elance site while taking the test.

12. To take the Elance Admission Test, click on the Pass Elance Admission Test link.

13. Review the Elance University provider courses, the Terms of Service, Provider Guide and Help. When you are ready, click on the Take Test button.

14. To Verify your phone number, click on the "Verify your phone number (Unverified) link

15. Select when you want to be called, click the Continue button and we will dial the number you entered on your account to complete the phone verification.

 If you have not passed the Elance Admission Test before you attempt to verify your phone number you will be prompted to complete the test first. Click the Continue button to go to the Elance Admission Test page.

16. Click on the  Profile link, and you will be returned to the Edit View of your profile.

  Complete all areas of your profile to provide potential employers with as much information as possible. Include information such as your minimum hourly rate, employment history, number of employees, year your company was founded, payment terms, detailed service description, your credentials such as certifications, references, licenses and education, and skills (More Info).

 17. Optionally, you may also upload photos and videos to further distinguish your profile.

 To upload a photo or video which will be displayed on your profile page:

• Click on the Edit link in the upper right sidebar of your profile page.
• Select the radio button to display either a photo or YouTube video on your profile.
• If you choose to display a photo, click on the Add a Photo link to upload your photo.
• If you choose to display a YouTube video, copy and paste the YouTube URL in the text field provided. If you would like your video to play automatically when it loads, check the box labeled "Autoplay when video loads".
• Click the Save button when you are done.

 

 

To upload am image to display next to your company name in search results listings:

• Click on the Edit link in the upper right sidebar of your profile page.
• Click the Click here link in the Search Results Image section.
• Click on the Upload Thumbnail button to upload your image. Click the Save and Continue button when you are done.

  Your thumbnail image must be either .jpg or .gif formats to be compatible with the Elance system. It is limited to a physical size of 40 x 50 pixels and may not contain URLs, email addresses or other contact information.

 18. You may also include links to your external profiles on LinkedIn or Facebook if you have a paid Elance membership.

 To add LinkedIn or Facebook URLs to your profile:

• Click the Edit link next to the External Profile Links section in the right sidebar of your profile page
• Type or copy and paste your LinkedIn and/or Facebook URLs in the appropriate fields.
• Click Save.

 19. You may update or add information to your profile at any time by:

NOTE:  If you do not have access to your Provider Profile, please see your company account administrator.

When you register for a new membership, you will be asked to verify your phone number.  To ensure that your information is accurate and up-to-date, we use telephone number verification. 

To verify your telephone numbers, please log into your account and follow the steps below:

• Click on Settings link in the upper right corner of the Elance
• Click the My User Info link on the left panel.
• Next to your telephone #, click the "verify" link.  You will see a Phone Verification pop-up box. If your phone number is correct, please click "continue".  If not, please click the "edit phone number" link.
• Now, you will receive an automated phone call from Elance.  You will be prompted to hit # key on your keypad to acknowledge you were expecting the phone call.  Then, you will be asked to speak the confirmation code displayed on your computer screen.
• Once you have said the code successfully, you should recieve a message that your phone number has been verified.

Note:  This number will not be shared with third parties without your explicit consent and will only be used by Elance for the following purposes:

    * To contact you for questions or issues related to a job on Elance
    * For any Customer Support matters related to your account
    * For occasional input on the Elance platform and initiatives

 

Elance recommends that you upload samples of your work to the Portfolio section of your Service Provider Profile.

 A comprehensive portfolio is especially important for service categories such as Design & Multimedia and Writing & Translation.

 

To create your portfolio:

1. From Find Work > My Profile in the top navigation.

2. Click the Edit Profile link.

3. Click the Portfolio link.

4. Click Edit Current Folder.

5. To add items to the current folder, click Add Items. Click the Browse button to navigate to the location on your computer for the file you want to upload. Double-click on the file icon to select it.  Enter a title and description. When you are finished uploading files, click the Add Items button.  Thumbnails will automatically be created for image files and common applications.

6. To organize your files into folders, click Add Subfolders. Enter a subfolder title and description.

7. To arrange items within a folder, click Arrange Items. Click on an item you want to move, then click on its new location.

8. You may also arrange items within folders and delete, edit or move folders and items. More Info

 

Referring Your Profile to Friends or Potential Employers

After you have completed your profile, you can refer it to selected friends and potential employers.

To refer your profile:

1. From your profile page, click the   link.

2. You can then select which method you would like to use to share.

FINDING JOBS

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After you have created your provider profile, passed the Elance Admission test and verified your phone number, you can start submitting proposals for jobs.  You can find and evaluate jobs by browsing the Elance site or by receiving invitations from potential employers to submit proposals for their jobs.

To browse jobs:

1. On the provider home page, type in what you're looking for, select a category and click the Search button.

 

2. You can browse jobs by a number of criteria:

• Category
• Job type (fixed or hourly)
• Time left, When the Job was posted, budget
• Posting type (Featured, B2B, Escrow)

3. Click the Details+ link to view a particular job description.

4. For additional information about a client, mouseover the employer's username or the number of proposals received.

 

In addition to actively browsing Elance for jobs, you can also sign up to receive daily email notification of jobs in your categories of interest.

To sign up for New Job Alerts, please log into your account and follow these steps:

1. Click the Settings link in the top right corner of the Elance home page.

2. Click Email Notifications from the left control panel.

3. Select the categories in which you want to submit proposals.  You will receive a daily email containing links to jobs posted in the categories that you select. Hold down the CTRL key to select multiple categories. If you select a category by mistake, while still holding the CTRL key, click on it again to remove the highlighting and deselect it.

4. Click the Update Preferences button.

NOTE:  If you do not have access to your Provider Preferences, please see your company account administrator.

 

You can use the Elance RSS feature to receive daily feeds on jobs based on your specified tags or keywords.

To receive an RSS feed:

1. Go to the Elance homepage.

2. Click on the Find Work tab in the top navigation.

3. Enter in your desired tags or keywords in the blank field, then click Search.

4. On the search results page, click on the RSS icon  located at the top of the page and, when prompted, click on the Subscribe Now button. At this step, you may also choose to have the RSS feed sent to your My Yahoo! portal.

5. When you return to the Elance site later, simply click on Bookmarks > Feeds. 

 

Employers may also invite you to submit proposals on their jobs. When this happens, the following will occur:

• You will receive an email notification that you have been invited to submit a proposal.
• The job will appear in your 'Invites' list.

 

To review and submit a proposal on a job to which you are invited:

1. From the Manage tab, click the Invites link on the left panel. 

2. Click the job name to view the description and any attachments related to the job.

When you find a job that interests you, Elance recommends that you review the employer’s Elance job history.

To review the employer's Elance history:

1. On the Project Description page, you can see the employer's name to see their job history and feedback:

2. Review the number of Elance jobs posted by the employer and the number of times they hired a provider.  You may also click the employer's username to see more details on their job history.

 

For an employer to use Elance’s Billing and Payment system to pay you, they must first activate their Elance account. You will know if an employer has done this step if the Billing and Payment System confirmed icon  appears near their username. If an employer has chosen to pay for a job using Escrow, you will see the Escrow icon next to the job title.

 

 Be wary of employers who consistently leave negative feedback for many service providers, as their expectations may be unrealistic.

 

After you have reviewed the job, you are ready to submit a proposal:

 

To submit a proposal:

1. Click on the job name.

2. Complete the proposal form on the right hand side, including your amount.  In determining your proposal amount, keep in mind Elance’s Service Fees of 4% - 6% plus 2.75% to cover payment processing costs.  Remember, if you have any confidential information or questions you want to share with the employer, be sure to enter that information into the Workroom Messages.

Elance has proposal minimums and you will not be able to submit a proposal below these minimums regardless of category.  

In your proposal summary, describe your relevant experience, qualifications, and what value you will bring to the job.

 

 If you need clarification on the job details before completing your proposal, you may ask the employer a question first by placing a PreBid.  A PreBid uses the same number of Connects as any other proposal. After submitting your PreBid, you may complete that proposal or submit a new proposal or PreBid for the job without using additional Connects.

 Alternatively, you may use the Public Messages to ask the employer questions about the job requirements without using Connects. Messages posted to the Public Messages are public and cannot contain information such as promoting or offering your services or placing a proposal.

 

3. The employer can request proposals based on a single fixed amount or an hourly rate.  If the job is hourly, the system will automatically calculate the total proposal amount based on the hourly rate and closest approximation of the number of hours required to complete the job.

4.Optionally, you can click Attach Files to upload a more detailed proposal in a separate document.

5. Indicate the amount of time you need to complete the job.

6. If the employer has chosen Escrow as their payment preference, this is the only method they will use to pay a service provider. If the employer has not chosen Escrow as their Payment Preference, but you will only accept Escrow payments, click the checkbox to 'Use Elance Escrow'.

7. If you would like a sponsored placement for your proposal, check the box labeled "Yes! I want a sponsored placement for my proposal". Your proposal will be highlighted and appear at the top of the employer's proposal list. Only 2 sponsored placements are available per job (on a first-come, first-served basis). To see how many Connects are required for a sponsored placement, click here.

8. Click Continue to proceed.

9. Review your proposal, then click Confirm.

Once you submit your proposal, you can view the job on your Workroom List page, by filtering on the status 'Hiring Open' link on your left panel.  This link will shows all the jobs for which you have submitted proposals, where the bidding period is still open. 

Note: If the employer has requested Elance's 1099 service on the job, you may need to complete your W9 information before you will be able to submit a proposal. (Typically, this step will only apply if both you and the employer are located in the United States.)

10. Go to Settings in the upper right corner of the Elance home page.  Click W9 Information on the left panel.  

11. If you are a provider based in the United States, select the option "I am a US Person" and click Continue.

12. If you are a provider based outside of the United States, select "I am NOT a US Person" and click Continue.

13. Enter your information on the W-9 Request for Taxpayer Information page and click Submit.

14. Review your information on the W-9 Information Preview page and click Confirm when you are done.

After you submit your proposal, the employer may contact you via the Workroom Messages to discuss the job in more detail. When this happens, you will receive an email notification.

 

To respond to the employer's message, follow step 1 or steps 2-4.

1. Reply to the email notification you received from Elance by following the instructions within the email.  Your response will be posted directly to the Private Message Board.

2. Log into your account, click Manage > Workrooms in the top navigation bar. 

3. Click the message icon (i.e. the envelope) under the job name. 

4. In the message dialog box, enter your reply, add any necessary attachments, and click Post Message.

 

 

WORKING WITH THE EMPLOYER

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If the employer selects your proposal and hires you for the job, the following will occur:

• You will receive an email notification informing you that you have been selected.
• The job can be found on your My Jobs page, by clicking on 'Finalizing Terms' link in the left panel.  This view will display all jobs that have been awarded to you, indicating you and the employer are negotiating the Terms.
• Your contact information on your profile becomes available to the employer.
• The job’s status will change to 'Finalizing Terms'.

You must then accept the job selection on Elance before the job can begin.

 

To accept the job:

1. Click Manage in the top navigation. 

2. Click Finalizing Terms link on the left panel.

3. Click the Review Terms link under the job name.

Until terms are accepted by both you and the employer, the job is not be considered active.  The employer may have submitted an initial set of terms with the award, which you may choose to accept or modify these terms or decline the job.  If you accept the Terms presented, the job will start immediately.   If you change any milestones in the appropriate fields and/or upload your job agreement contract document on the Terms page, these modification will be submitted to the employer for their review.  Your employer will review and either accept, modify or decline your business terms.  Until the the business terms are accepted, the job will not be fully awarded, and the job is not considered started. 

4. Review the job and proposal details on the Accept Terms page. If you accept the terms as outlined on this page, click the Accept button.  Upon accepting the terms, they become active immediately and no further approval is required from the employer.

5. If you would like to upload a contract agreement specifying the requirements and deliverables or edit the job milestones, click the Attach Files button.

• To upload an Agreement, click Upload to find the file on your computer and upload it.
• Define key milestones, delivery dates and related payment. The total amount field will automatically update to reflect the sum of all the milestone amounts. Click Preview when done.

 Both you and the employer can modify the terms to reflect a job fee less than the original proposal amount.

6. Review your terms and then click Submit to send them to the employer for approval.

 
When you submit your business terms, the employer will be notified by email and will either modify them, decline with comments or accept them as submitted. You can communicate via the Workroom Messages to discuss the changes. If the employer modifies the Terms, you will be notified by email and can either accept the employer's changes, make further modifications or decline the job.

 

 You or the employer can initiate modifying the Terms after the job is has been started. When this happens, you will be notified by email and can either accept the employer's changes or make further modifications. If you makes changes, the employer will be notified by email and will either accept the changes or modify them.   When the updated Terms are accepted by both parties, if a milestone amount is changed or a milestone is deleted, the system automatically refunds the appropriate milestone amount currently held in Escrow back to the Employer's original form of payment. If the milestone is deleted, the entire amount will be refunded to the Employer.  If the milestone amount is changed, the difference between the new and original Terms will be refunded to the Employer.

 Once both parties accept the Terms, the following will occur:

• The employer will be notified that you accepted the job.
• The job will be fully awarded to you.  You can view on your My Jobs page, by clicking the Manage tab in the top navigation. 

Once you have accepted the job, you can contact the employer directly to discuss the job before beginning work.  You can communicate in the following ways:

• Via Elance, through the Workroom Messages (required in order to keep a written record of communication), Elance Chat and Elance Call.
• Directly via email, phone, Instant Messenger, etc. (always transcribe key elements of the discussion to the Workroom to maintain a record)

 Elance recommends that you request full contact information upon acceptance.

 

When working with an employer, it is important to document the job progression using Status Reports.  With Status Reports, you can send weekly updates to your employer with the overall status of the job, including tasks performed, hours worked, journal entries, attachments and plans for the upcoming week. 

When posting a job, employers have the option to state if weekly Status Reports are required for their job, but you can always still send one as a best practice and help manage the employer's expectations.

To submit a Status Report:

1. Click the Manage tab from the top navigation and then click Status Reports link on the left panel.

2. Click the Create link to the far right for the particular job you want to create a weekly Status Report. 

3. Click the Create link for a particular job for which you want to create a Status Report.

 

4. After you complete your Status Report, you can either click Submit or Save Draft. 

When milestones are marked as 100% complete and the “Add to Billing” box is checked, the amount of the milestone will be added to the billing section at the bottom of the status report. 

Note: When a Status Report is required, you have until Sunday night at 11:59 AM ET of the following reporting week before your Status Report is considered overdue.

 

 

When you have completed a job, you may upload your files or work product to the Workroom.

 

1. Click Manage from the top navigation.  

2. On the right side under the current job status, click Select Action > Files link.  (You may also click the project name, then on the next page, click the Files link on the left panel.) 

3. Choose the Folder to upload your File to (Shared is visible to all parties, Private is only visible to you)

 4.  Click Upload New File.

 

 

 

5. Click the Browse button to locate the files you want to upload.

6. Click the Upload File button to save your file. 

 

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At key milestones or when you have completed the job, you will need to invoice the employer through Elance’s Billing and Payment system to receive payment for non-Escrow jobs. Once the employer receives your invoice, they will send payment via Elance’s Billing and Payment system.

To invoice the employer:

1. Click Get Paid > Send Invoices in the top navigation.

2. Select the job for which you want to send an invoice and click Next to proceed.

3. Click the Create New Invoice link at the top of the page.

 If you require your invoices to include the employer's address, please advise your employer to specify an address before creating the invoice. You can do this by sending your employer a Private Message.  To add your own address details for all invoices:

• Click Settings link at the top of any Elance page.
• Click Billing & Payments on the left panel and enter in your details.

4. Enter the invoice details including payment terms, the item(s), description(s) and amount(s) you are invoicing for, invoice notes and an optional provider reference. Click Continue when you are finished to preview your invoice.

 5. Review the invoice details on the Preview Invoice page and click Send Invoice.  If you need to make changes, click the Back to Edit Invoice.

6. Enter your Elance password on the Send Invoice page and click the Send Invoice button. Your employer will be notified that they have received a new invoice.

7. To print a copy of your invoice for your records, click the Print Invoice link on the confirmation screen that appears when your invoice has been sent, or click the Print button from the view invoice screen.

 

To request payment on an Escrow job, you need to: 

• Request funding for each of the job milestone(s)
• Request the release of funds for each of the job milestone(s)

 

For Escrow jobs, once the employer and provider have accepted the terms, the Elance system automatically requests funding for the first milestone from the employer. To request funding for subsequent Escrow milestones:

1. Click Get Paid > Send Invoices in the top navigation. 

2. Click the radio button next to the job you want to request funding and then click Next.  .   

3. On the Billing page, you will see a list of milestones, contract amounts and the funding and release status of each milestone under the Fund and Release tab. Click the Request Fund button under the Fund Escrow column.

4. Review the information on the Enter Funding Request Details page. Click Continue to preview your funding request. When you are satisfied, click Submit, or click the Back button to make changes. The employer will receive an email notification requesting the funding of the specified milestone. When the employer funds the milestone, the Funding Status column will change to reflect the date it was funded.

5. After the employer has funded a milestone, you can request release of that milestone amount once you have completed the work.  On the Billing page, click on the Request Release button. The current week's Status Report will be shown and the chosen milestone will automatically be marked as 100% complete and added to the Billing section. Enter any comments for the client if desired. 

6. Click the green “Submit” button. 

7. If the employer does not respond to your release request, contact them through the Private Messages.  If they do not respond to the Private Message, click on the Request Dispute Assistance link at the top right side of the Terms page.

 

Once the employer submits payment, you will receive an email notification. 

1. You may confirm the payment by going to the individual job's Billing page to review the payment details.

2. To confirm your overall account balance:

You can withdraw funds from your Elance Account at any time.

• If you are in the United States, you can withdraw by Automated ClearingHouse (ACH) bank transfer, check, the Elance Prepaid MasterCard or PayPal. More Info
• If you are in Canada, you can withdraw via wire transfer, check, the Elance Prepaid MasterCard or PayPal. More Info
• If you are outside the United States and Canada, you can withdraw by wire transfer, the Elance Prepaid MasterCard or PayPal. More Info

 Please carefully review the instructions for withdrawing funds by clicking on the appropriate More Info links above.

To withdraw funds:

1. Click Get Paid > Account Activity from the top navigation.

2. Click the Withdraw Funds link in the left panel.

 

3. Enter the amount you want to withdraw.

4. Select a withdrawal method, then click Continue.

 NOTE:  If you do not have access to your Account Details, please see your company account administrator.

VIEWING MEMBERSHIP & CONNECTS

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All Elance providers have monthly memberships.  With each membership plan comes a a set of Connects to use for submitting proposals.   At the start of each billing cycle, your monthly allotment of Connects with your plan is reset. Connects will rollover as part of our Professional, Small Business, and Large Business memberships. The maximum number of Connects that you can carry over to the next month is limited to the number of Connects that are given to you in your monthly membership  

 

To view your current membership details, click on the Membership link in the upper right corner of any Elance page.

 

 To upgrade your current membership:

1. Click the Membership link in the upper right corner of any Elance page. 

2. Click the Edit Membership Plan button on the right. 

3. Update your plan details.  (The monthly cost will update at the bottom of the page) 

4. Click Continue.

5. If appropriate, select if you wish to have the changes take effect immediately or at the next billing period.  

6. Select your payment method and authorize the payment.

 

If you have a paid membership, you can purchase additional Connects to add to your monthly subscription or for the current month only. 

To add Connects to your current membership plan:

1. Click Membership in the upper right corner of any Elance page. 

2. Click the Add Connects link on the left panel.

3. Select how many Connects to purchase. 

4. If you are purchasing for the current month only, uncheck the 'Add these Connects to my monthly membership plan' box. 

5. Click Continue

6. Select your payment method and authorize the payment.

NOTE:  If you do not have access to your Membership Status, please see your company account administrator.

 

 

If you have multiple users at your company that need to access Elance as one group, you can sign up for a Team account.   A Team account is available to those providers with a Small or Large Business membership.  The original person who signed up with Elance is the account Owner.  Any additional Team members are assigned the role of an Administrator, Manager or Consultant. 

• The Owner has complete control of the account and cannot be deleted. 
• An Administrator also has the same access as the Owner, except their accounts can be deleted and they are unable to update the company profile.  
• The Manager role is designed for Team members who need access to jobs, but not to the company profile, Team administration or payment details such as credit card information and withdrawing funds.
• A Consultant works with the project leaders to submit the job deliverables to the employer.  This role can only access the job Workroom, shared Files, Private Messages, Tracker and submit time via the Status Reports.

To create a Team account, you must first update your membership to a Small or Large Business membership.  

To administer your Team account:

1. Click Manage > Team from the top navigation. 

2. To add users, click the Add Team Member link.

3. To edit or delete users, click the Edit or Delete links as needed.

Each Team member you add can also be assigned to be a Project Leader.   For each job you are hired, a Project Leader is assigned to that job.   By default, the Project Leader will be the person who had submitted the proposal.

The Project Leader is the point person for the employer on the job and will receive all the notifications about the job, including notifications for the Business Terms, Status Reports, payments made and Private Messages.

 

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Elance supports the following browsers:

• Internet Explorer 7.0 and 8.0
• Firefox 3.5.X
• Mac Safari 4.0.x 
• Chrome 3.0.x.x

We also recommend that you have latest version of Adobe Flash installed.

Other things to do if you find issues:

• Ensure that Javascript is enabled in your browser
• Clear your browser cache and restart your browser

 

If you have checked the above settings and are still having difficulty viewing any Elance pages, please click on the 'Contact Us' link above.  Send us your browser type and version, PC or Mac, and the links or screens you were trying to access.

 

Additional information about using Elance may be obtained in the following ways:

• Elance Help - You may also click the Help link on the top right of any of our web pages to see our online help topics.  You can read the top questions, browse the top questions, browse the help topics or enter a keyword or phrase in the Search field. 

• Elance FAQ's -  Read the most Frequently Asked Questions to find a resolution to your issue.  

• Elance University - Watch videos to help you learn more about using our site.  

• Elance Customer Service - Click the Contact us link on the top right of any of our web pages to send an email to Elance support.