Question 1

What is the 1-week (168-hour) freshness cycle rule and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Every listing on Operis remains live in the feed and search for exactly 168 hours (7 days) from the moment of publication. At the end of 168 hours, it automatically moves to archive. The listing owner can renew it for another week with a single click at zero cost. This ensures the feed is never cluttered with abandoned ghost postings, so engineers only invest time in genuinely active opportunities.

Question 2

Who can post a listing? Is there a posting limit or cost?

Accepted Answer

Any person, startup founder, or enterprise with a verified email can post listings 100% free of charge. To uphold curation quality and deter spam bots, each account may have up to 3 concurrently active listings. Once a listing is closed or completed, the quota slot immediately frees up.

Question 3

Is there an approval queue or moderator delay? When does a listing go live?

Accepted Answer

There are zero bureaucratic approval delays. Once submitted, your listing passes automated security and spam heuristics and immediately enters the live 168-hour radar within seconds. Qualified engineers can inspect the brief and submit encrypted proposals instantly.

Question 4

Is specifying a budget mandatory? What budget types are supported?

Accepted Answer

Yes, stating a budget range is required to ensure realistic expectations. You can specify a 'Fixed-Price' range or an 'Hourly Rate' tier. Listings with clearly stated budgets receive 85% faster responses and significantly higher quality proposals from seasoned engineers.

Question 5

Can I edit my listing or withdraw it before the 168 hours expire?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can edit your listing scope, budget range, or technology stack tags at any time from your dashboard. If you've already found your engineer or put the listing on hold, you can close or archive the listing immediately with one click.

Question 6

How does the 0% commission model really work? Are there hidden cuts or subscription fees?

Accepted Answer

There are strictly zero commissions (0%), no bid token fees, no payout deductions, and no hidden monthly fees. Clients and engineers contract and settle 100% of the agreed amount directly with each other. Operis operates as an open matching infrastructure that preserves full earnings for creators.

Question 7

Does Operis hold funds in escrow or act as a payment intermediary?

Accepted Answer

No. Operis is not a financial intermediary or escrow custodian. We do not hold client funds in a custody pool. This eliminates multi-week payout holds and avoids the traditional 10-20% intermediary fees. Parties settle directly through their own bank accounts.

Question 8

How are payments safeguarded without platform escrow? What payment schedule is recommended?

Accepted Answer

We recommend the standardized '3-Stage Milestone Payment Model': Stage 1: 30% upfront advance upon contract signing and architecture approval. Stage 2: 40% interim payment upon live staging/prototype demo. Stage 3: Remaining 30% upon final acceptance, source code handover, and production deployment.

Question 9

What if the client refuses to pay an upfront advance and offers 100% on completion?

Accepted Answer

Never start coding without an advance payment (minimum 30%) and a signed agreement. Promising '100% upon completion' is the single most common cause of freelancer non-payment disputes. Point the client to Operis's 3-Stage Milestone Standard: phasing payments protects both client cash flow and developer engineering effort.

Question 10

Can we transact in foreign currencies (USD/EUR) or use cross-border rails (Wise/SWIFT)?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Operis does not restrict your payment currency or transaction methods. You may contract in TRY, USD, or EUR, and settle payments using any legal banking rail such as FAST, SEPA, Wise, or SWIFT as agreed in your mutual bilateral contract.

Question 11

Why are proposals encrypted (AES-256 blind bids)? Can competitors see my proposal or rate?

Accepted Answer

No. Your proposal is completely invisible to competitors, search engines, and third parties. Proposal text, rate, and delivery timeline are encrypted with AES-256-GCM at rest and can only be decrypted by the listing owner. This eliminates bid scraping and toxic undercutting, empowering engineers to price based on true merit.

Question 12

Do I have to pay to submit proposals (like Upwork Connects or tokens)?

Accepted Answer

Strictly no. Submitting proposals on Operis is 100% free. We never charge for connects or proposal tokens. Spam prevention is enforced through automated content heuristics, developer credibility scores, and intelligent rate limiting.

Question 13

Can I edit or withdraw my proposal after submitting it?

Accepted Answer

As long as the listing creator has not yet accepted your proposal, you can freely update your pitch, proposed rate, and timeline, or retract the proposal completely. Once accepted, the proposal snapshot is locked to ensure contract integrity.

Question 14

How can I increase the acceptance chances of my proposal?

Accepted Answer

1. Avoid generic copy-paste templates; address the client's specific architectural pain points directly. 2. Share 1-2 focused live links or GitHub repositories showcasing identical tech stack experience. 3. Outline your phased milestones and delivery schedule clearly. Engineers adopting this tailored approach experience a 4x higher acceptance rate.

Question 15

How do I choose the best developer from the submitted proposals?

Accepted Answer

1. Evaluate the engineer's architectural breakdown and problem comprehension in their proposal. 2. Review their provided live demos and open GitHub repositories for matching tech stacks. 3. Look for verified social trust badges (GitHub, LinkedIn). 4. Request a quick 10-15 minute discovery video sync via the bilateral workspace prior to awarding.

Question 16

What happens when the client accepts my proposal? How is communication unlocked?

Accepted Answer

The instant the listing creator accepts your proposal, a private 'Bilateral Handshake Workspace' unlocks. Verified phone numbers, email addresses, and communication preferences (WhatsApp, Slack, Google Meet, Zoom, Teams) are revealed to both parties.

Question 17

Is off-platform communication prohibited? Can we communicate via WhatsApp, Slack, or Phone?

Accepted Answer

No! Unlike restrictive platforms that ban users for exchanging contact details, Operis strictly encourages direct communication. You have 100% freedom to connect via phone, WhatsApp, Slack, Google Meet, Zoom, or face-to-face meetings without penalties.

Question 18

What is the Quick Ping feature and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Quick Ping is an instant notification trigger inside your mutual workspace for urgent project checkpoints. To prevent spam fatigue, it features a 15-minute cooldown between pings and a night courtesy guard (silent delivery between 00:00 and 08:00 in the counterparty's timezone).

Question 19

What should I do if the counterparty becomes unresponsive after matching?

Accepted Answer

You can trigger the 'Report Unresponsive' action in the workspace. Our system sends an automated high-priority reminder. If no response is received within 48 hours, the listing owner can reset the match and resume radar discovery, while the engineer is freed without penalties.

Question 20

Am I legally required to issue invoices? (e-SMM, e-Archive, Youth Entrepreneur exemption)

Accepted Answer

Under Turkish tax regulations: Independent contractors providing regular development services should issue electronic receipts (e-SMM) or corporate e-Archive invoices. First-time entrepreneurs aged 18-29 can leverage the Youth Entrepreneur tax exemption. Irregular one-off projects below annual statutory limits may qualify as occasional income (arızi kazanç). We recommend consulting a certified CPA.

Question 21

Who owns the intellectual property and source code? (FSEK Article 52 transfer)

Accepted Answer

Under Copyright Law (FSEK), moral authorship rights remain permanently with the creator. However, economic exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public transmission) are assignable via written contract under FSEK Art. 52. Our standard contract stipulate that full economic rights and source code ownership transfer to the client upon full payment clearance.

Question 22

Is there a bug warranty period for the delivered software?

Accepted Answer

Our standard contract templates recommend a 14 to 30-day post-delivery 'Defect & Bug Warranty Period'. During this window, the engineer is obligated to remedy technical bugs contradicting agreed specifications at zero additional charge. This does not cover out-of-scope feature additions, which require separate billing.

Question 23

Should we sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)? Does Operis provide templates?

Accepted Answer

For proprietary algorithms, trade secrets, or unreleased product concepts, executing a bilateral NDA before code inspection is essential. You can download our legally vetted 2026-compliant 'Standard Bilateral NDA' and 'Software Services Agreement' templates directly from our Legal Hub.

Question 24

Is Operis a legal party or guarantor in commercial disputes between users?

Accepted Answer

No. Under Law No. 5651 and Law No. 6563, Operis operates strictly as an 'Intermediary Hosting Provider'. Operis is never a party, guarantor, or surety to commercial obligations, code defects, or payment defaults between users. Parties protect their legal standing through their mutual written contracts.

Question 25

What happens if the developer causes delays or abandons the project?

Accepted Answer

The 3-Tier Milestone Model mitigates this risk by ensuring you only pay for verified, completed stages. Your contract should stipulate reasonable delay penalties and formal termination terms. If a contractor defaults, you terminate pursuant to contract terms, retain all deliverables to date, and re-allocate remaining capital to a new hire.

Question 26

How can freelancers protect themselves from non-payment and fraudulent clients?

Accepted Answer

1. Never write code without a written contract and a verified advance payment (minimum 30%). 2. Never hand over raw source code, repository admin rights, or production server credentials until the final payment clears. 3. Host interim demos on your own staging environment or screen-share. 4. Reject uncompensated 'spec work' or free trial assignments.

Question 27

What if a prospective client asks me for an upfront deposit or verification fee?

Accepted Answer

STRICTLY NEVER SEND FUNDS. Any listing creator requesting an upfront 'security deposit, registration fee, insurance charge, or software license fee' is 100% fraudulent. Legitimate clients NEVER ask contractors for money. If you encounter this, report the profile immediately to our Abuse Desk.

Question 28

What happens if a client demands endless revisions or complains about deliverables?

Accepted Answer

Prevent scope creep by defining strict boundaries upfront. Include a clause in your agreement: 'This milestone includes up to 2 rounds of minor revisions; features beyond the original brief are billed at the agreed hourly rate.' Measure deliverables strictly against mutually signed Acceptance Criteria.

Question 29

What should I do if I encounter a malicious actor or bad-faith counterparty?

Accepted Answer

Integrity and professionalism are non-negotiable on Operis. If you encounter harassment, breach of trust, or fraudulent behavior, click 'Report Abuse' and submit relevant logs or screenshots. Upon investigation, verified violators have their accounts, phone numbers, and IP ranges permanently blacklisted.

How Operis Works & Master Guidelines

0% Platform Cut

168h Freshness Radar

AES-256 Blind Bids

2026 Legal Compliance

Hire & Ship Software in 3 Confident Steps

1. Clear Brief & 168-Hour Radar

2. Review Encrypted Blind Bids

3. Handshake & 3-Tier Milestone Settlement

Frequently Asked Questions by Clients

Ready to Find the Ideal Software Engineer?

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