Frequently Asked Questions - Programmers/Sellers

Please also review and agree to our Terms and Conditions before you sign-up.

General Questions

How does this work?
This works just like a reverse auction or if you are familiar with how the RFQ/tender/bidding process works in large firms and government institutions. Small businesses are looking for business and office service providers but do not know how to find professionals who can do quality work at an affordable price. This is an opportunity for you to provide your services and build your own small business. Simply sign-up, create an account and bid on the projects of your interest/expertise. If you are the winning bidder you will be notified.

What is the cost associated?
There is no cost to sign-up and currently no cost to bid on projects. If you are the winning bidder, you will owe us a commission of 7% with a minimum commission of $7.95 per closed bid. For example, say you were the winner of a bid for a logo design project and your charge is $150 for the project. Once the bid is closed an amount of $10.50 will be deducted from your account. If our commission is less than $10.50 then you will be charged $7.95 as our referral fee.

Why should I use you?
If you provide services to small business owners or if you are freelance professional, you know how hard it is to find quality leads. This is the best way to get qualified leads without having to spend any money upfront for advertising your services. You are in control as you decide which projects to accept. Besides, you do not pay anything upfront and there are no contracts to sign or a membership with us and we stay behind the curtain and let you do your work.

There are a number of other job sites that provide similar services wherein one can post a resume and call for bids from employers or vice versa and this often does not have the flexibility of choosing projects based on your schedule and experience. Our goal is to create a central point and a meeting place for both programmers and small business owners. We are unique as anyone from a college student to an experienced professional or even a small consulting outfit can utilize our services. Also, because our users are small business owners and as most of them are looking for repeat services this can quickly and cost-effectively help you build your business by bringing in additional leads.

Signing-up as a Bidder

Who can register?
You can be an individual (freelance, part-time, contract) programmer, designer or a consulting company. If you have a close-knit group or if you have the connections to collaborate on larger projects then you can do so.

What kind of projects are available?
Here is a list of currently available categories. The projects can range from a simple logo design to a complex enterprise software development.

What kind of experience is required to be a bidder?
It varies by project - some projects may require a minimum but specific expertise, while a few projects may require a group colloboration or coding by several programmers with solid experience. The buyers should be able to provide you specifications and if not you can ask questions in the project message board.

When you bid, you should be able to deliver. If you can not deliver according to requested specifications, then do not bid. Other than that there is no specific amount of experience is required. You will be rated by the buyer when your work is delivered and may be judged by your ratings from future buyers.

What categories can I register - can I select multiple categories as my expertise?
You can check one or more of the currently available broad categories, when you register (click here to view a list of available categories). If you need a new category added, just let us know. However, most people are looking for an expert in a few areas and hence though you can list under multiple categoires, it is not in your best interest to select more than 5 areas of expertise.

Projects and Bidding

It is not clear to me what the buyer is looking for - can I contact the person who placed the project to get additional information?
No. You are strictly prohibited from contacting anyone. If you need clarifications or need additional information, you can use the project message board to ask for more information. You can post a public or a private (visible only to the buyer) message.

I only charge an hourly rate - can I use it or do I have to provide the total cost?
You can use your hourly rate to estimate the total amount for the project. As most of our users are small business owners and are budget oriented, they are usually a looking for a total cost bid.

Can I make an estimate of the cost if I can not determine the exact cost?
Yes. You can make an estimate. This is how it is done when contractors and bidders bid on large scale governmental projects.

How do I change or update a bid that I already place?
Just submit a new bid and your old bid will be automatically removed.

How do I cancel a bid?
Just log into the account management area, click on the project and click on "retract bid" link.

Why can't I see the "Place Bid" button on some projects?
This doe not show up for closed projects and frozen projects (temporarily stopped).

Payments and Fees

Do I have to add money to my account when I sign-up?
Not necessarily. However, anytime you close a listing by selecting a winning bid, you must have enough funds in your account to cover our commission. If you have a zero balance for over a 30 day period, your account will be frozen and you will not be able to create new projects.

How do I add money to my account?
Just login and click on the "deposit" button in the account management area. You can currently pay with visa, mastercard, american express, discover by credit card on our site or use paypal to transfer money.

What happens if I do not use all my funds in my account or if I have a balance?
You can withdraw money. Just click the "withdraw money" button in the account management area. You can currently request a payment through a PayPal account. Please note that you cannot withdraw less than $15.00 at a time.

How and when do you charge me for your commission?
Once you select the winning bid, the listing will be closed and the commission you owe us will be deducted from your account. The commission is based on 5% of the winning bid you select, with a minimum of $7.95 per closed bid.

Do I have to pay the amount through my account?
Yes, you have to use our system.

How do I pay for the project?
You can transfer money from your account to the programmer's account by clicking on the "transfer money" link in the account management section.

What is the minimum amount I can transfer (between accounts)?
Currently the minimum is $5.

Is there a fee to transfer money?
No. Currently, there is no fee besides any charges associated with our credit card provider.

I still have some questions before I get started - how I can contact you?
Just contact us and enclose the nature of your contact, your name, email and explain the issue/question.