Straight From the Terms of Service
For Hirers & Providers
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers on Showcases, gigs, pricing, contracts, escrow and more — organised by who you are and what you're trying to do on SenseiGigs.
Browse by Topic
A. Getting Started
SenseiGigs is a marketplace that matches experienced, senior professionals ("Providers") with businesses ("Hirers") who need specific expertise for a defined project or gig. You post a gig or invite Providers directly; Providers showcase their expertise and bid; once you've chosen someone, they draft the contract terms, you fund escrow, and work proceeds through platform-tracked milestones until completion and payment.
A gig is your description of the work you need done. A showcase is a Provider's presentation of a specific service they offer — a targeted capability aimed at a business outcome, not a general resume. The platform matches your gig to relevant showcases using shared tags.
SenseiGigs is accessible through a web browser, so you can use it on your computer or access it from your phone's browser. A dedicated mobile app is in development.
If you represent a business or company, register the company — unless you'd prefer to be personally liable for the performance of your obligations. Registering as a company shifts the onus for performance, and any adverse consequences, onto the company rather than you personally. You'll need to register a work email address and be ready to prove your authority to represent the company when asked. There's currently no Master User/Delegate User functionality allowing multiple people to share one account — that's planned for a future build. For now, each person who needs to act on the account should register their own. (SenseiGigs is also developing Corppass registration for company sign-ups.)
Register with your email and basic details, then complete SenseiGigs' identity verification (KYC) process, which may include a government-issued ID or Singpass, and — for a business account — your UEN and other business registration details. You'll need to complete KYC within 14 Business Days to keep full access to the platform's features.
Generally, anyone able to enter into a binding contract and who successfully completes KYC verification can register and transact on the platform. SenseiGigs may decline or deactivate a registration where verification can't be completed or required information isn't provided.
You can hold both a Hirer and a Provider identity. There's currently no functionality to formally create an agency or project team on the platform for pooling multiple Providers under one engagement — that's in development.
You won't be able to complete registration or use the platform. Accepting the Terms of Service is a condition of holding an account.
B. Posting Gigs & Finding Providers
Click "Post a Gig." You can either upload a text file if you already have something written out, or type in the key details directly. We ask for a brief description and a few key details — how much detail you go into is up to you, but the more you include, the easier it is for the right Providers to be matched to your gig.
Not sure how to put your problem into words? The AI-assisted tool takes a rough description and turns it into a clear, specific gig that attracts the right Providers. You're always free to edit, tighten, or completely rework anything it suggests before you publish.
Yes — save your gig as a draft at any time and come back to it later.
It's what powers the matching. The more precisely you describe the problem or opportunity you want addressed, the more accurately we can connect you with a Provider whose showcase is a genuine fit — saving you time in landing the right person.
Yes — you can edit a live gig's details at any time, and you can cancel it as long as it hasn't moved into a contract yet.
Yes, and it's a smart move for bigger projects. Splitting a large assignment into smaller gigs lets you get parts of the work done faster, test a Provider before committing the whole project, or spread the work across multiple Providers if that suits you better.
When you publish your gig, we guide you to identify criteria to tag it with, using which the system finds a matching showcase. Providers whose showcases share matching or similar criteria are brought to your notice for you to invite a bid, so you'll typically see relevant candidates within moments.
Yes — Providers can browse open gigs and submit a bid even if their showcase wasn't automatically matched. It's entirely up to you whether to consider them.
It happens occasionally, especially for very niche asks, and it's not a dead end. Try broadening your gig description slightly, or double-check that all the relevant details are filled in, since that's what powers the matching engine.
Definitely — smart Hirers don't just wait passively. You can directly browse showcases, or narrow them down using criteria you specify. You can shortlist and chat with them using the built-in messaging tool, and invite them to bid directly.
C. Evaluating & Shortlisting Providers
Every bid you receive comes with the Provider's showcase, so you can review their focused capabilities alongside their proposed approach. Assess objectively: relevance of experience, evidence of real work (not just buzzwords), clarity of their proposal, the quality of questions they ask before committing, and their communication style. Don't default to charisma — experience recognises complexity quickly, so favour pattern recognition over enthusiasm.
Not necessarily — price is information, not the whole story. A lower fee can mean less relevant experience, a longer delivery time, more revision cycles, or a higher management burden on your side. An experienced Provider may solve in weeks what others take months to diagnose, and prevent costly strategic mistakes. Outcomes often outperform hourly savings.
D. Contracting
Once you've chosen a Provider, they'll draft a contract customised to the gig using the platform's Contract Form template — scope, deliverable, timeline, and payment terms, for you to review and agree. These sit on top of the General Conditions every SenseiGigs user already agreed to when they signed up, covering things like IP, confidentiality, and dispute resolution.
Yes — nothing is locked in until both sides accept it as final, on the platform. If a term doesn't sit right, discuss it with your Provider and agree changes before finalizing. Don't be surprised if the final contract looks quite different from your original gig description — that's often a sign your Provider is applying their expertise to shape the right solution.
By default, your Provider keeps any pre-existing IP they bring to the project, and you receive a non-exclusive licence to use what they deliver. If you need full, exclusive ownership of the deliverable, you can negotiate that into your contract's Special Conditions — just expect the pricing to reflect it.
You can terminate a contract for convenience at any stage, but you'll need to pay for work already completed and cover any committed costs — termination isn't a refund mechanism, it's a structured exit. If escrow has already been funded, those funds get applied accordingly. The one exception is a genuine Force Majeure event: if notified within 48 hours, the affected obligations can be suspended without penalty while the event lasts — this doesn't remove your obligation to pay for work already properly completed, which is a separate and unconditional duty.
E. Invoicing & Escrow Funding
After your Provider sends a proforma invoice, you'll be prompted to fund escrow using convenient payment methods. Your funds stay safely held by SenseiGigs until you approve the finished work.
No cause for concern — we'll let you know right away so you can try again with the same or a different payment method. Your gig simply stays paused until funding is confirmed.
Escrow is a secure holding account: your payment is deposited there before work begins and released to the Provider only as agreed milestones are approved. It protects both sides — the Provider knows the funds exist before starting, and your money isn't released until you're satisfied the work meets what was agreed.
Yes. Payment processing and escrow are handled through the platform's secure infrastructure, and SenseiGigs does not ask you to share payment details outside of it.
Your Provider can't begin work until escrow is funded, so the gig will stay on hold. We'll send reminders to help keep things moving, but it's ultimately in your hands to fund it when you're ready to get started. We'd suggest informing your chosen Provider of any such delays.
F. Reviewing Deliverables
When your Provider submits their work, you can review it and either accept it as-is or request specific revisions — just let them know what needs adjusting. We'd recommend reviewing within 48–72 hours to keep the project moving.
You can request as many revisions as needed to bring the deliverable in line with the acceptance standard you agreed on in your contract — though it helps to be as clear as possible early on, since that agreed standard is what revisions are measured against.
We'll send you reminders to review it, since your Provider is waiting on your feedback to get paid. Staying responsive helps keep the gig — and your working relationship with the Provider — on track. In line with the Terms of Service, if a deliverable doesn't see a response from you within up to 10 Business Days, SenseiGigs will release the payment from escrow for the Provider's work.
G. Communication
All project communication — instructions, submissions, approvals — must go through SenseiGigs' built-in messaging system. This isn't just a convenience: if a dispute arises, only what's recorded on the platform will be considered as evidence. Conversations held off-platform are disregarded unless a summary of them is recorded in the platform's messaging system and acknowledged by the other party.
You'll be notified of key events such as new matches, messages, and milestone activity. Currently only email notifications are available, so keep an eye on the email address registered to your account.
H. Trust, Safety & Disputes
Every User completes an identity verification (KYC) process before their account is fully active. Note that this confirms identity, not the quality or suitability of a User's work — badges, ratings, and profile claims are not an endorsement or guarantee by SenseiGigs.
Report it to SenseiGigs at [email protected] promptly rather than handling it informally. Keep the relevant conversation on-platform so there's a record to review.
First, try to resolve it directly with your Provider through on-platform messaging — most issues sort themselves out this way. If you still can't agree, either of you can escalate to SenseiGigs' Dispute Resolution Service (DRS), which reviews the contract terms, the deliverable, and your conversation history to reach a binding decision. Since disputes are decided on what's recorded on the platform, keeping your discussions and agreements there works in your favour.
The DRS is SenseiGigs' internal process for resolving disagreements that can't be settled directly between the parties. Both Hirers and Providers agree, as a condition of using the platform, to go through the DRS before pursuing external mediation or court action. DRS decisions are binding, based on the contract terms and the platform record, and the underlying agreement is governed by Singapore law.
I. Ratings & Reputation
Once you've accepted the final deliverable, you'll be prompted to rate your Provider. Focus on their performance against the agreed scope rather than personality — it only takes a moment, and it helps other Hirers, and the Provider, going forward.
A missing rating doesn't block payment or completion — those are governed separately by the Completion Certificate process. Missing ratings will, however, affect the other party's Project Completion Rate.
J. Billing, Fees & Records
Everything lives in your account's billing section — every proforma invoice, payment receipt, and escrow transaction is stored there for you to reference or download anytime.
Both sides pay a fee on completed contracts: you pay a Platform Fee and your Provider pays a Provider Commission, each applied automatically at payout. Current rates are set out in the Fee Table Schedule to the Terms of Service.
No — fees are transaction-based (a percentage of each Service Fee), not subscription or listing charges. Posting a gig is free.
K. Account Settings & Privacy
SenseiGigs collects the information needed to verify your identity, process payments, and operate the platform, and handles it in line with applicable data protection law, including the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. For full details, refer to the Privacy Policy.
L. Getting Help & Support
Any current, up-to-date web browser.
A greyed-out button usually means a required earlier step hasn't been completed yet (for example, KYC not finished, or escrow not yet funded) — check the relevant prior step first. If you're still stuck, contact SenseiGigs support at [email protected].
Contact SenseiGigs support at [email protected] for technical issues, bugs, or feedback.
Browse by Topic
A. Getting Started: Your Showcase & Positioning
No — and trying to will hurt you. A Showcase that lists everything you can do reads as generic, and a Hirer scanning for a specific problem won't see themselves in it. Break your expertise into distinct, narrower services, each aimed at one business need. You're not offering your time — you're offering a portfolio of services, each solving a particular problem.
No. A resume describes what you are — your history and credentials. A Showcase describes what you can do for the Hirer — a specific outcome, in their language, right now. Your resume is the raw material; your services are how you package that material into something a Hirer can actually evaluate and buy. Lead with the outcome, not the job title.
Ask what recurring problem that skill solves, and name the solution, not the skill. "HR expertise" becomes "Build a performance management system for a growing business." The skill is the means; the service is the deliverable and the business benefit — describe the second one, not the first.
Yes. Reflect on the persistent problems your field solves, and the tangible results your methods have produced elsewhere; then package that into a repeatable offering. Specialised, even niche, knowledge routinely becomes a service once it's framed around a business outcome rather than a subject area — this applies as much to a historian or a physicist as to an accountant.
You can create up to five. Use them to separate distinct service areas rather than combining everything into one — a single Showcase mixing "Tax Compliance" and "Brand Strategy" tags looks unfocused and can actually cost you Hirers who want a specialist. Give each service area its own Showcase, its own tags, and its own tightly matched description.
A clear, benefit-driven headline (not a job title), a short tagline stating what problem you solve, and a professional photo — profiles with a real photo read as more credible than anonymous ones. Keep it visually simple: one strong image or icon set beats a cluttered banner.
Cover four things for each one: what it involves, who needs it (if not obvious), why it matters to their business, and what your approach/process looks like. Briefly back it with your relevant qualifications — not your whole career, just the part that supports this specific service.
Almost always a tagging problem. Hirers often don't know the technical term for what they need — they might type "help me raise capital" instead of "equity financing strategy." Tag using a mix of professional titles, the "job to be done" in plain language, and the formal subject-matter term, using the Industry / Functional Expertise / Subject-Matter pairing system in the Competency Carousel.
Senseigigs reviews all new and edited Showcases before they're published, to check they're accurate and appropriate for the platform — not to judge the quality of your offering. Reviews are currently manual, so allow some time between submitting and it appearing publicly.
Where confidentiality or lack of prior samples is a problem, build mock case studies, sample deliverables, or before/after scenarios that demonstrate how you'd solve a typical problem in your field. Host these in an organised cloud folder (one sub-folder per service, view-only access, no blanket access to your full drive), and link it from your Showcase.
When you create a Showcase, we guide you to identify criteria to tag it with, using which the system finds matching gigs. Gigs from Hirers follow a similar tagging process, so a sharply defined Showcase reaches Hirers who actually need exactly what you offer, rather than getting lost in a general pool. You can also bid on a gig your Showcase wasn't automatically matched to — the Hirer will simply see it as a voluntary bid, and it's entirely their call whether to consider it.
B. Pricing Your Services
Start from your target annual income, add your business overhead (software, insurance, professional development, taxes, etc.), then divide by your realistic billable hours — not your total working hours. Most consultants are only billable 50–75% of their time once you account for sales, admin, and downtime, so this step alone usually surprises new Providers.
Possibly not — but check two things. First, have you added a profit/contingency margin on top of your break-even cost-per-hour (commonly 15–30% combined)? Second, have you grossed the rate up for the Senseigigs platform commission, so the net amount you receive still matches your target? A rate that only covers cost, with no margin and no gross-up, will always feel too low.
All three are legitimate, and the right one depends on the work: hourly suits open-ended or evolving scope; project-based (fixed price) suits clearly defined deliverables and gives Hirers budget certainty; value-based pricing works when you can tie your fee to a measurable outcome (e.g. cost savings, revenue opportunity) rather than time spent. Many Providers use an hourly rate internally even when quoting fixed price, just to sanity-check the number.
Yes, but only with explicit conditions attached — otherwise it looks like a bait-and-switch and undersells your experience. State the reduced rate clearly, tie it to a defined reason (first project together, a testimonial in exchange, or a fixed scope that reverts to your standard rate if it expands), and always frame it as a deliberate offer, not your real rate.
It's a legitimate strategy if done deliberately and communicated honestly — tell the Hirer this is a temporary introductory rate given your actual experience level, not your standard rate. What you should avoid is discounting without a stated reason, since that reads as inexperience rather than strategy, and makes it awkward to raise your rate later.
Review it every 6–12 months, or whenever your experience, ratings, or market conditions shift meaningfully. Your rate isn't fixed — treat it as something you adjust based on market feedback, not something you set once and defend forever.
Almost certainly the unpaid "project overhead" time — the chats, emails, status calls, and report-writing that a fixed price has to absorb. Experienced Providers either build a markup (roughly 20–40%, depending on the work) into their rate for this, or explicitly cap the included interaction (e.g. one hour of progress reporting per week) and charge extra beyond that.
C. Proposals & Quotations — Winning the Work
A Proposal is a qualified offer — what you'd do, a ballpark cost, and what you still need to know before you can commit to a firm number. A Quotation is a binding price for defined work. If you haven't yet seen the data, scope, or working environment, you're still in Proposal territory — don't quote firm until you actually know what you're pricing.
No — firm means the price is fixed for exactly what's described, not unlimited. State your assumptions and exclusions plainly, and name what would trigger a re-quote (for example, scope changes requested after kickoff). A firm price with no stated boundaries is the version most likely to end in a dispute.
Not if you balance it. Naming what you don't yet know is a strength — it shows you understand the job and protects you if a dispute later turns on what you knew. The failure mode is the opposite direction: stacking so many "subject to" and "accepts no responsibility for" caveats that you read as someone who doesn't want the job. Flag real limitations; don't hedge everything.
Nine things, at minimum: why you're the right Provider for this work, how you'd approach it, when you can start and how long it will take, how you'll report progress, what's still open and needs clarifying, an indicative cost (and whether it covers expenses), what facilities or access you'd need from the Hirer, your proposed milestones and any advance-payment justification, and your honest limitations on time, resources, and guaranteed outcomes.
Pre-build templates for your recurring gig types, then customise the specifics per gig. A fast, same-day Proposal reads as organised and available, and a template also protects you from a rushed Proposal that skips something important under deadline pressure.
Decline politely with a brief, plausible reason. Never ghost an invitation — it costs you nothing to send a short decline, and Hirers remember Providers who go silent. A graceful "no" keeps the relationship open for future gigs that are a better fit.
Yes — it becomes part of the platform record, and is often the clearest evidence of what you intended and what limitations you flagged upfront. Treat it as testimony, not marketing copy.
For your standard, reusable templates, a one-time review is often worthwhile — particularly around how you phrase limitations and clarification requests. You don't need a full law firm for this; there are Providers on the platform with legal backgrounds who will be able to help and will probably cost you less than consulting a law firm, and who already understand how the General Conditions work.
D. Contracts & Special Conditions
On Senseigigs, the Provider always drafts the Special Conditions, because you're the expert in the field best placed to define the scope, timeline, and deliverables accurately. The Hirer reviews and comments, but you hold the pen — treat it as a position of leadership, not an inconvenience.
Think of it as a building: the General Conditions (in the Terms of Service) are the foundation — governance, IP protection, confidentiality, payment mechanics, and dispute handling — and you don't need to write these; they protect you automatically. Your Special Conditions are the roof and walls you add on top: scope, timelines, milestones, rates, and expenses for this project. If the two conflict, General Conditions prevail unless you expressly modify them — and some clauses (IP, confidentiality, data protection, governing law) can never be modified.
Very. Most disputes come from scope creep, not bad work — so explicitly list what you won't do, not just what you will. "This project does not include tax filing or audit representation unless negotiated under a separate SOW" is the level of specificity to aim for.
Yes, as a drafting assistant — but never paste its output straight into the Contract Form. AI can tighten scope language and improve clarity, but it can also introduce obligations, warranties, or jurisdiction-mismatched terms you didn't intend, and it has no visibility into your actual risk exposure. Draft a short outline yourself first (scope, deliverables, payment terms, exclusions), prompt specifically, then review the output line by line against the General Conditions before using it — and never feed confidential client data into a third-party AI tool.
Financial security and leverage. Milestones give you a built-in feedback loop, mean you're not carrying the full risk of a single end-payment, and — importantly — a milestone acceptance is proof of "accepted work" that's hard to dispute later. If the project does end in a dispute, you've already recovered a meaningful share of the fee.
That's what "deemed approved" protects against: if you state in your reporting terms that feedback is due within a set window (typically five business days) and none arrives, the milestone is treated as approved and you move forward and trigger payment. Build this into your reporting clause explicitly rather than assuming it.
By default, pre-existing IP remains yours, and the Hirer receives a non-exclusive licence to use what you deliver — not outright ownership, unless you state otherwise. A useful practice is to tie final IP transfer to full payment, and to explicitly state that your pre-existing templates, frameworks, and methodologies remain yours — you're selling the result, not the factory.
Avoid it. The General Conditions already cap your liability for indirect losses, but a Special Condition that promises a specific business outcome can accidentally expand your exposure beyond that protection. Promise services and effort, not guaranteed results — outcomes ultimately depend on decisions the Hirer controls.
Genuine incapacity, not inconvenience — sudden illness, accident, natural disaster, major infrastructure failure, or a government action that prevents work. It does not cover taking on too much work, poor time management, losing interest, or anything you could reasonably have planned for. If it applies, notify the Hirer and the platform within 48 hours; silence removes the protection.
No — a Hirer terminating for convenience must still pay for completed work and committed costs. This is another reason to structure payments in milestones: it means you're paid proportionately as value is delivered, rather than exposed to an all-or-nothing final payment.
No — wait for the platform to confirm that payment has landed in escrow before you begin. This isn't just process for its own sake: it's what protects you from investing your time before the money is actually there.
If they request revisions, you'll see exactly what needs adjusting against the acceptance standard you both agreed to, and you can resubmit. If they go quiet instead, you're not left waiting indefinitely — with no response from the Hirer within up to 10 Business Days, SenseiGigs automatically releases your payment from escrow, in keeping with the Terms of Service.
E. Milestones, Payments & Project Closure
When you finish a piece of work, you submit a Notice of Completion, which starts a short review period (five working days) for the Hirer to confirm, request reasonable corrections, or raise a dispute. If they confirm — or the window passes without dispute — an Interim (or Final, for the whole project) Completion Certificate is issued, platform fees are deducted, and the balance is released to you. Separately, once completion is confirmed, both sides have up to ten business days to submit a rating; if the Hirer doesn't, the Services are deemed fully accepted and escrow is released without further notice.
Make sure every agreed deliverable is actually uploaded or shared, and add a short summary of what's been completed. This small step makes it much faster for a Hirer to confirm, since they're not hunting for missing files before they can sign off.
The escrow system holds Hirer funds until milestones are approved, and up to 10% of Service Fees may be withheld as a Project Guarantee across the project — if the Dispute Resolution Service confirms failure or abandonment, that withheld amount can be applied to compensate the wronged party. This is also why you should never accept off-platform payment requests; they fall outside this protection entirely.
Beyond sending the final deliverable, provide a short handover note (access details, documentation, next steps), confirm each milestone is formally marked complete on the platform, and only request escrow release once the work is verified — don't hold work back as leverage. A clean, prompt handover is one of the strongest predictors of a Hirer marking the project "Complete" quickly and rating you well.
No — and you shouldn't accept work outside your declared competence or actual availability. Misrepresenting capacity or skill doesn't just risk one bad review; over-promising damages trust across the platform, and disputes tied to non-delivery hit your completion rate directly.
F. Communication, Ratings & Reputation
Within 12–24 business hours as a norm — and even if you're declining or unavailable, send that response rather than going silent. If you can't give a full answer yet, acknowledge receipt and give a timeline. Non-communication is the single biggest predictor of disputes on the platform, more than the quality of the work itself.
Send them proactively either way — weekly or bi-weekly, covering status, progress, and any blockers, exactly as agreed at scoping stage. Never wait for the Hirer to chase you; a Hirer who has to ask for an update is already losing confidence, regardless of how the work itself is going.
Address it objectively rather than defensively, even if you think it's unfair. Avoid dismissive or hostile language, and treat it as something to work through professionally rather than argue against — your response to criticism is itself part of what's being evaluated, on top of the underlying work.
Rate honestly and proportionately, based on observable behaviour — communication, clarity of brief, payment discipline — rather than emotional reaction. If they were difficult but ultimately reasonable, reflect that nuance rather than defaulting to a purely negative or purely positive rating; and avoid retaliatory ratings after a dispute.
Overpromising and under-delivering — either bidding for work outside your real competence, or letting silence stand in for progress. Both are recoverable from occasionally; a pattern of either is not, since your Project Completion Rate and rating history compound over time, positively or negatively.
Get the key expectations made explicit in the contract upfront, rather than leaving them implied — and use your professional standing to set realistic boundaries, citing specific past experience if it helps. Most "unreasonable Hirer" situations trace back to scope that was never pinned down clearly at the start.
G. Platform Rules, Fees & Escrow
Because it's the official record the Dispute Resolution Service relies on. A verbal agreement, a private WhatsApp thread, or an off-platform email carries far less weight if a disagreement arises later — if it isn't recorded on the platform, it may not count contractually. If you agree to a change informally, go back and record it as a formal Variation.
It's treated as if it never happened — verbal or off-platform agreements are not binding. Any change to scope, timeline, or fee needs a recorded platform Variation, agreed by both parties, to actually take effect.
You're not restricted from meeting, communicating, or working together off-platform if you choose to. However, any such off-platform communications, agreements, or work product won't be considered by the Dispute Resolution Service if a Dispute arises — only Platform records count. This is separate from off-platform payments, which remain prohibited: all payments must be made through SenseiGigs Escrow to preserve your payment protection rights.
Providers currently pay a reduced platform commission rather than the platform's standard headline rate — the current rate is set out in the Fee Table Schedule to the Terms of Service, since promotional or introductory rates can change. When calculating your charge rate, remember to gross up your fee so the commission doesn't erode your actual target income.
No — all disputes must go through the Senseigigs Dispute Resolution Service first; external mediation or court action is only available after that process is exhausted. DRS decisions are binding, and the contract is governed by Singapore law.
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