A secure deal reaches you as a link from the freelancer, with the tasks, the deadline, and the price all set out on the page. The freelancer starts work only once you’ve paid for the deal and Mellow has put a hold on the funds.
There are three steps:
1. Review the deal and confirm your email – you don’t need a Mellow account, though you’re welcome to sign up and work from one
2. Complete company verification
3. Pay for the deal – Mellow then holds the funds until the work is complete
Our video guide covers the whole process, from sign-up to payment.
Step 1. Review the secure deal
The secure deal page
The freelancer creates the deal and sends you a unique link. Following it opens the deal page.
The page shows:
The contractor – the freelancer who created the deal
The deadline for the work
A description of the services, with the category and a breakdown of the prices
The total price of the deal
The available payment methods and the fee for each – the fee and the final amount both depend on the method you choose
The current status of the deal and the next step for you to take
If the terms work for you, select Confirm details. If anything looks wrong, select Reject deal and explain what's wrong in the window that opens. The freelancer gets a notification and can either change the terms or create a new deal.
Working from the deal page or your account
If your company is already registered with Mellow, sign in and you’ll find the deal in your account under Invoicing –> Secure Deals.
If you’re not registered yet, you can complete every action on the secure deal page instead. Select Confirm details, and a window opens where you enter a one-time code.
We send that code to the email address the freelancer entered when creating the deal. It’s valid for a limited time and works only for this deal and this address.
You’ll confirm your email before each of these actions: verifying your company, paying, accepting the result, requesting revisions, extending the deadline, and declining the deal.
Step 2. Complete company verification
Before you can pay, we need to verify your company. This section is also where you review the legal documents: completing verification counts as accepting them.
To get verified, you’ll need to provide:
The country where your company is based
The company’s legal address
The registration number
TIN/VAT (EU and US companies)
A W-9 form (US companies only)
The operating address (US companies only)
If a company with the same registration number and country has already been verified, we reuse the details on file and you can skip this step.
Step 3. Pay for the deal
Once verification is complete, two payment methods become available:
Bank transfer
Bank card
The final amount can differ depending on how you pay. Even if the freelancer is covering the Mellow fee, the 3% card processing charge for paying by card always stays on your side.
Important! When you pay by card, the money isn’t taken right away. The deal amount is held on your card and stays unavailable for other transactions while we review the payment, which takes up to four business days.
If the payment passes review, we confirm it and charge the deal amount. If it doesn’t, the hold is lifted and nothing leaves your account.
Card payment isn't available for every deal. Deals over 3000 EUR or USD go through bank transfer only. Right now, clients based in Cyprus, Turkey or Indonesia can only pay by bank transfer, not by card. The freelancer can also turn off card payment for a specific deal — if they're the one covering the Mellow fee.
Mellow reserves the right to restrict card payments for specific freelancers or secure deals at its own discretion.
Once Mellow confirms the funds have arrived, the deal moves to the In progress status, and the money is set aside until you accept the work. The freelancer gets a notification and can start.
Important! If sanctions regulations prohibit the service, the deal can’t be paid for. Message our support team if you’d like to know more.
What’s next
The freelancer starts work. Once they finish and submit what they’ve done, the deal moves to the Client review status and you have 14 days to accept the work or request revisions. If you don’t decide in that time, it’s accepted automatically.
If you’re happy with the work, accept it – Mellow releases the funds to the freelancer and the deal moves to the Paid status.
If something needs changing, request revisions – the freelancer gets a notification, reworks the result, and resubmits it, which starts a fresh 14-day review period. There’s no limit on how many revision rounds you can go through.
If the freelancer can’t deliver on time, you’ll get an email asking whether you’d like to extend the deadline or decline the deal. If you choose not to extend it, the funds go back to your payment method.
If you still have questions, message us through the chat on our website or at [email protected].