support · faqs

questions we get
a lot.

68 things people ask before signing up, during their first gig, or right after they get paid. organized by section, written like a human.

🚀

getting started

8 questions · ~5 min read
what is gigstaan, in one line?

a no-BS marketplace for indian talent. post a gig or skill, get matched, work via milestones, get paid through escrow. flat 4.9% fee — that's the whole pitch.

is it free to sign up?

yes, fully free. browsing, chatting, KYC and creating a profile cost zero. you only pay ₹5 when you submit a bid (to keep brief quality high), and 4.9% on completed escrow milestones — split either side.

how long does KYC take?

most aadhaar verifications come back in under 24 hours, usually within 2. if your name has a typo or your aadhaar details mismatch, it can take up to 72 hours while a human reviews. you'll get an in-app + email notification at every step.

can i sign up without aadhaar?

not for paid bidding/working — RBI escrow rules require aadhaar-based KYC. you can still browse, save gigs and message clients without it, but you'll need aadhaar before you can place bids or hold escrow.

which cities do you operate in?

we're live across all 28 states + 8 UTs for online/remote gigs. for in-person work (events, photography, home services), we're active in 14 cities right now: bengaluru, bombay, delhi-NCR, pune, hyderabad, chennai, kolkata, ahmedabad, jaipur, kochi, chandigarh, indore, lucknow, guwahati. 36 more by end of 2026.

what languages does the app support?

10 right now: english, hindi, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, marathi, gujarati, bengali, punjabi. assamese and odia are in beta. you can switch language anytime from settings.

do i need to be 18 to use it?

yes, 18+ for paid work — that's a payments compliance hard line. minors can browse with a guardian-linked account but can't bid, post, or hold escrow.

i'm new. where do i start?

three steps:

  • sign up + finish KYC (5 mins of your time, 24 hours of ours)
  • fill out your profile — skills, portfolio, rates. quality here = quality bids.
  • browse the discover page or wait for matches in your inbox. apply to 5-10 briefs to learn what works.
💸

payments & escrow

12 questions · ~8 min read
how does escrow actually work?

when a milestone kicks off, the client funds it via UPI/netbanking/card. that money sits in a regulated escrow account (held by our partner bank, not us). when the gigstar delivers and the client approves — or 7 days pass without dispute — escrow releases the funds to the gigstar's bank within 10 minutes.

RBI compliantPA-PG licensed

what's the fee, exactly?

two fees, that's it:

  • ₹5 flat per bid you submit (charged to bidder only, on submit)
  • 4.9% on escrow per completed milestone — split either side, you choose how at gig setup. there's no subscription, no payment-gateway add-on, no withdrawal fee, no GST surcharge from us.
how do i withdraw earnings?

linked UPI ID = instant (under 10 min, 24/7). bank account = NEFT/IMPS, usually under 30 min during banking hours. there's no minimum, no max, and no fee. you'll see the withdrawal reflected in balance & payouts in your dashboard.

my milestone has been "in review" for >48h. what now?

nudge the client from the milestone page (one tap). if it stays in review for 7 days with no action, escrow auto-releases to you. for active disputes, our trust team takes over within 1 working hour of you raising it.

can i get a refund on the ₹5 bid fee?

not generally — the fee exists to keep the marketplace spam-free. but: if a brief is removed by us for being fraudulent or duplicate, every bidder gets an automatic refund within 24h.

why is escrow holding 4.9% extra?

that's our platform fee, not a hold. by default it's split 50-50 (so you see 2.45% deducted from your earnings). the client and gigstar can agree on a different split during gig setup — 0/4.9, 4.9/0, anything that adds up.

do i pay TDS? does the client?

for individual gigstars earning >₹30k/year from a single client, the client deducts 1% TDS (section 194O) at payout. we issue you a TDS certificate quarterly. for clans, it's deducted before the split. corporates have separate TDS flows — see the corporate squad section.

which cards / methods do you accept?

UPI, all indian credit/debit cards (visa, mastercard, rupay, amex), netbanking from 60+ banks, and corporate vbills for squads. no crypto, no foreign cards (yet).

can i pay in installments?

yes — that's basically what milestones are. break a ₹2L gig into 3 milestones, fund the first, then top up before milestone 2 begins. no credit checks, no interest.

what happens to escrow if a gig is cancelled?

before any milestone starts: 100% refund to client, no fees. after milestone 1 starts: depends on what's been delivered. our trust team mediates the split based on submitted work — usually within 48h of cancellation.

do i get an invoice?

yes, automatic GST-compliant invoice on every completed milestone. download from the gig page or get bulk CSV from tax & documents. corporates get consolidated monthly invoices.

my UPI withdrawal failed. what do i do?

the funds bounce back to your gigstaan balance within 30 min — never lost. usually it's a wrong UPI ID or your UPI app being down. retry from balance & payouts after fixing. still stuck? billing@gigstaan.com replies in <1 hour.

📝

gigs & briefs

10 questions · ~6 min read
how do i write a brief that gets quality bids?

five things matter, in order: (1) clear deliverables — what does "done" look like? (2) realistic budget range, even an order of magnitude helps. (3) a timeline. (4) sample work / references. (5) preferred tools or skills. briefs with all five get ~3.4× more bids and 80% higher accept rate.

can i edit a gig after posting it?

yes, until someone's bid is accepted. once accepted, edits need both sides to approve (no sneaky scope creep).

how many bids should i expect?

median is 18 bids in 24 hours for a well-written brief in a popular category. niche skills (3D, vernacular content, specific compliance work) average 6-8 — quality over quantity.

can i invite specific gigstars to bid?

yes — search profiles, send a private invite. they get a push notification. private bids are exempt from the marketplace ₹10 fee.

what's the difference between a fixed-price and hourly gig?

fixed-price: defined deliverables, escrow per milestone. hourly: tracked time, weekly approvals, escrow against agreed hour cap. fixed is better for output (deliver a video). hourly is better for ongoing (manage my socials).

can a gigstar work on multiple gigs simultaneously?

absolutely, that's the point of freelancing. there's no exclusivity. some clans run 6+ gigs in parallel.

how do i handle revisions / scope changes?

build revisions into the brief upfront ("3 rounds included, ₹2k per extra round"). for genuine scope changes, add a milestone — both sides approve, escrow funds, work resumes. don't do scope creep over chat without milestones; you lose escrow protection.

can i hire the same gigstar again?

yes, and you should. repeat-hire bids skip the ₹10 fee and get priority placement. ~38% of gigs on the platform are repeat hires.

what counts as "completed"?

final deliverables submitted by the gigstar + client approval (or 7-day auto-release without dispute). after completion: invoice generated, escrow released, ratings unlocked for both sides.

can i delete a gig that didn't go well?

you can archive it from your dashboard (hidden from your public profile). but reviews and the audit trail stay — that's how trust works for everyone else.

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clans

8 questions · ~5 min read
what's a clan?

a small team (up to 8 humans) that bids on briefs together, splits payouts proportionally, and shares one combined rating. think of it as a freelance collective with built-in payment plumbing.

how are payouts split?

set fixed percentages once (e.g. 40/30/20/10). escrow auto-distributes to each member's UPI on milestone release — to the rupee. you can change splits per gig too if roles vary.

can clans bid as one and get one invoice?

yes — clients see a single bid, get a single invoice. internally, the clan's payout split is invisible to the client. great for keeping things simple on the client side.

what if a clan member ghosts mid-gig?

the clan lead can flag it. that member's share moves to a held pool. either redistribute among active members, or refund proportionally to the client (with their consent). full audit log of the change.

is the clan rating shared, or per-member?

both. the clan has its own rating (visible on its profile), and each member's individual rating updates from clan gigs too — pro-rated by their share. you carry your reputation with you.

can a freelancer be in multiple clans?

yes, up to 3. most multi-disciplinary folks are in 2 — e.g. a video editor in a content clan + a wedding-films clan.

do clans pay extra fees?

no — same flat 4.9% on escrow. there's no per-member fee, no clan subscription. the only "extra" is each member needs their own KYC.

how do i invite people to my clan?

start a clan from your profile, name it, then invite by phone/email/in-app. they accept, do KYC if they haven't, set their share. takes 5 minutes if everyone's online.

🛡️

trust & safety

9 questions · ~6 min read
how does the dispute process work?

raise a dispute from the milestone page. our trust team gets a notification, pulls the chat history + deliverables, contacts both sides within 1 working hour. resolution within 7 days, 94% of the time. escrow stays locked the entire time.

do you verify everyone?

aadhaar required for paid bidding. additionally, profile pic match (selfie verification), phone OTP, and skill-tier checks for premium categories (legal, finance, medical). zero anon profiles can hold escrow.

what if i'm scammed off-platform?

we can only protect funds inside escrow. if work or money moves outside (whatsapp, direct UPI), gigstaan can't recover it. that's also a TOS violation — both sides risk account suspension.

how do i report an abusive user?

flag from their profile or any chat. attach screenshots if helpful. our trust team reviews within 24h. severe issues (harassment, fraud, threats) get same-day action.

is my data sold to anyone?

no. ever. we don't sell data, profiles, ratings, or contact info. period. read our privacy page for the legalese.

can i delete my account + data?

yes. settings → privacy → delete account. all PII is removed within 30 days. completed gigs become anonymous (we keep payment audit trails for 7 years per RBI rules — a tax law thing, not a us thing).

what's your stance on AI-generated work?

disclosure required. clients can opt-in/out. AI-assisted ≠ AI-only — humans must add real judgement. fully automated AI deliverables sold as bespoke = TOS violation, refund + suspension.

are payment disputes covered by RBI?

yes — escrow is held by our PA-PG-licensed banking partner. RBI rules + ombudsman cover it. you're not relying on gigstaan's solvency for your money.

i lost access to my account. help!

recover via phone OTP + aadhaar match. if the email is also lost, trust@gigstaan.com gets you to a human within an hour, 24/7. you'll need ID match — for your safety.

🧾

tax & invoicing

7 questions · ~5 min read
does gigstaan handle GST?

yes — every completed milestone generates a GST-compliant invoice automatically. for gigstars with GSTIN, GST is applied + collected from the client. no GSTIN? we still issue the invoice; you handle your own thresholds.

what if i don't have a GSTIN?

you don't need one until you cross ₹20L/year (₹10L in special-category states). below that, no GST applied. your invoices show "unregistered" — totally legit.

how does TDS work?

section 194O kicks in: e-commerce operators (us) deduct 1% TDS on payouts to gigstars earning >₹5L/yr through the platform. you get a TDS certificate quarterly + form 26AS reflects it for ITR.

can i download a year-end summary for ITR?

yes — tax & documents → annual summary. one PDF: gross earnings, TDS deducted, GST collected, invoice list, withdrawal log. drop it into your CA's inbox.

which form should i file? ITR-3? ITR-4?

we can't give tax advice (not CAs). but most gigstaan freelancers under ₹50L/yr go ITR-4 (presumptive). over that or with mixed income, ITR-3. always check with a CA — it's like ₹2k for peace of mind.

can i use my registered business name?

yes — sole prop, partnership, LLP, pvt ltd all supported. add your business KYC docs once, invoices auto-generate in that name. great for separating personal from business income.

do you collect tax from international clients?

not yet — international payments are coming Q3 2026. when live, we'll handle FIRC + LUT for export of services (zero-rated GST).

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account & security

8 questions · ~5 min read
do you have 2FA?

yes — phone OTP + optional TOTP (google authenticator etc). recommended for everyone, mandatory for accounts with >₹50k in held escrow.

can i change my registered phone number?

yes, from settings → account. requires OTP on both old and new numbers + email confirmation. takes ~5 minutes.

i forgot my password.

reset via OTP → email link. if you lost both phone and email access, contact trust@gigstaan.com — recovery via aadhaar + selfie match within 24h.

can i have a separate gigstar + client profile?

same account, two modes. toggle from the top nav. ratings/history are separate per mode. one KYC works for both.

can i make my profile private?

partial — turn off public discovery, you'll only show up to clients you've worked with or are actively bidding on. invite-only mode is coming Q2 2026.

are conversations end-to-end encrypted?

encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). our trust team can read chats only when invoked into a dispute. true E2EE coming when we ship file/voice.

can i export my data?

yes — settings → privacy → request data export. JSON + PDFs of everything: profile, gigs, chats, payment history. delivered within 72 hours.

is there a desktop app?

web works great on desktop (chromium-based browsers, firefox, safari). PWA for offline drafts. no native desktop app planned — the web one's chunky-good.

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corporate squads

6 questions · ~4 min read
what's a corporate squad?

a tier built for HR/procurement teams sourcing freelance talent at scale. bulk gig posting, consolidated monthly billing, dedicated account manager, SOC2-ready audit trails.

do corporate squads pay the same 4.9%?

same flat rate. no enterprise upcharge. volume rebates kick in at ₹50L+/year — talk to partners@gigstaan.com.

how does consolidated billing work?

one GST invoice per month covering all gigs. PO-matched. integrates with SAP, oracle, quickbooks via CSV / API. payment terms net-15 or net-30 available on approved accounts.

can we bulk-onboard preferred vendors?

yes — invite-only vendor pools. your existing freelancer network gets a fast-tracked KYC, lands directly in your private gigstar pool. no public discovery needed.

do you support master service agreements?

yes — MSA + per-SOW workflow. our legal team can review your standard MSA in 5 working days. e-signed via national e-stamping.

which compliance certs do you have?

ISO 27001 (info security), SOC2 type 2 (in audit, expected Q2 2026), DPDP-compliant data handling, RBI PA-PG license via partner bank. enterprise procurement docs available on request.

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we'll reply <4 working hrs. payment / escrow stuff: <1 hour, 24/7.

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