The estimate and the agreement

Once you have hired an AppHandler, the two of you agree the work before anything starts. You write what has to be true when the job is done, they reply with how long they expect it to take, and you agree to it. The contract lives in your conversation with them, under Contracts.

Write the requirements

Open the contract and write the Requirements: what should work when this is done. The box asks What should work when this is done?, and Save keeps what you wrote.

Write the result you want rather than the steps to get there. These words are the record of what the work is, so they are what everyone looks back at if something is questioned later.

You can change the requirements until the contract starts. After that they are fixed.

Read the estimate

The AppHandler answers in the Estimate section with the Hours they expect the job to take, and any Requests/Conditions that could change them. They send it with Send the estimate, and the contract shows it to you.

Agree with "Agree and start"

Once there is an estimate, the contract shows what the work costs, in three lines:

• Work — the hours at the agreed hourly rate.
• AppHandle fee — our fee on the work.
• Locked total — the two together.

Select Agree and start. The locked total moves out of your spendable balance and is held for the job, so the AppHandler is not working against a promise. Agreeing is what starts the work; until then nothing is charged.

The AppHandler keeps their whole rate. Our fee is yours, and it is paid on top of what they charge.

Where the held money is shown

While a contract holds money, your credits chip shows the amount locked, and the Credits dialog shows it under Locked for a job, with the line Held for work you have already agreed to. It is released when you approve the work.

The held amount is not a limit on the work. If the finished work costs more than the estimate, approving the bill takes the difference from your balance. If you stop the contract, the excess is simply not paid.

If your balance cannot cover it

The locked total has to be available before the contract can start. If it is not, you see The app owner needs enough balance to cover the estimate. Add credits and try again. Add credits and agree again; nothing else changes. Credits and top-ups covers adding them.

Adding hours

The estimate funds the work; it does not cap it. When the funded hours are nearly used, the contract offers Add more hours, which holds the money for the extra hours from your balance.

• Nearly used: The agreed hours are nearly used up.
• Already used: The agreed hours are used up. Hours are still billed — approving a larger bill takes the rest from your balance.

Only the app owner can add hours. The AppHandler can ask for more in the conversation, but they cannot commit your money themselves.

Where to go next

The work clock and your bills explains how time is counted and how a bill is approved.