Fiverr “Cash Advance” is a loan that is given to some of the selected freelancers. They charge a little amount of fee/interest to settle the loan. There are some other factors that you should consider while thinking to take this opportunity.
But in this post, I am not about to discuss what it is or how to get a Fiverr cash advance. You can learn these common topics on Fiverr.
I will only discuss whether you should take the “Cash Advance” or not, what happens after taking this loan, if it’s helpful or harmful, the settlement process, and something along these lines.
Let’s get started!
How did I get the Fiverr cash advance?
Many sellers on Fiverr want to receive cash advances. Even some of them are eagerly waiting for it. And they try to tie all the bells & whistles to be able to get selected for this cash advance.
I never knew about this cash advance feature of Fiverr. One year back from now (August 05, 2021), I saw that Fiverr invited me to take some cash advance up to $4,000 (four thousand). However, I took 2,000 instead.
I have to pay $2,272 to settle the $2,000. That means Fiverr will make $272 profit from me.
In another post, I explained why Fiverr takes so long (clearing period) to pay the freelancers. And I suspected/proved that Fiverr is doing other types of businesses with freelancers’ money. This “Cash Advance” is one of them.
Two main advantages of Fiverr’s cash advance
There are two main advantages I found in Fiverr cash advance. It took me very hard to find the second advantage. However, the two main advantages are as follows:
- No exact time limit to settle the amount.
- Fiverr will not fire you from their platform.
1. No exact time limit to settle the amount
The good thing about Fiverr’s cash advance is there is no exact time limit. You can settle the loan as you complete orders on Fiverr. It could be one month or one year or so on and so forth.
2. Fiverr will not fire you from their platform
The cash advance may also have another advantage for sellers. But I am not sure about it and this is just an assumption. Fiverr will never fire you until you settle the cash advance.
All we know is that there is no guarantee of your account on Fiverr. Aside from the shoddy sellers/buyers, scammers, spammers, many good freelancers also have been fired from Fiverr and without any valid reason. And it could be done by their system bug.
But if you take the cash advance, Fiverr may not fire you. At least they will review your account manually & think wisely before doing it. So it will give your account an extra layer of security. Is not it a good thing?
How does Fiverr settle the Cash Advance?
All we get an 80% of the order on Fiverr. And then the amount is added to a clearing period. Once the security period ends, Fiver will take another 40% of the remaining amount and send it to your balance (Available for Withdrawal).
For example, you completed a $100 order. First Fiverr will take 20% of their commission as they do for all freelancers. Now you have $80 in the “Clearing Period” with a status of “Pending Clearance.”
After the 14 days pass, Fiverr will take another 40% of the $80 and give you $48 to withdraw. And $32 will be settled for the cash advance.
That means if you worked for $100, you will receive $48.
If you completed $1,000 (one thousand) orders in a month, you will receive $480 to withdraw. And $320 will be settled.
In a nutshell, Fiverr will deduct 40% of your earnings (after charging 20% commission) for the cash advance settlement.
Fiverr cash advance interest
Fiverr will not charge you any interest for the cash advance. However, there is a settlement fee.
If you think of this settlement fee as the interest, then it’s 13.6% interest for the cash advance you have to pay.
And this is a very similar percentage to any bank loan.
I took a $2,000 cash advance and I have to pay $2,272. If you calculate the interest from this amount, the interest is $13.6%.
Should you take the cash advance from Fiverr?
No matter where you live in this world, all we need is money for living & lifestyle. And sometimes we may feel insecure because of the lack of money.
Also, we need money to fix our problems, urgencies, and many more reasons. And you may take the cash advance to fix your issues without much thinking.
But Fiverr’s cash advance is not the solution to your problems in the long run. Because it will create other problems and continue to grow these issues if you’re dependent only on Fiverr.
Below I have listed the top issues with the cash advance:
- It makes you indolent.
- Very hard to manage your living.
It makes you indolent
Taking a cash advance from Fiverr may solve your urgency. But it will make you indolent and force you away from working.
Because you’re not getting enough money for your work at the current time. You have to give up 60% (20% commission + then 40% settlement) for each order. That means 52% of the total order.
That means you can withdraw 48% of the total order value. And this low withdrawal will make the work not interesting. Also, it may force you to work somewhere else or something else.
Very hard to manage your living
You have to give up 52% of the order value after taking the cash advance from Fiverr. That means you’re able to withdraw 40% less than in the past. Because you were able to withdraw 80% in the past (before taking the cash advance). And now you can withdraw 48%. That means 40% less withdrawal than previous.
However, you may have fixed some of your issues with the cash advance but this less amount of money is very hard to manage your living at the current time.
What is my opinion on Fiverr cash advance for the 2nd time?
I don’t know about you, but I will not accept any opportunity to take Fiverr cash advance for the 2nd time.
Because it gave me pain after taking the advance money.
Not everyone’s case is the same but in my case, I was earning $1,200 to $2,000 per month from Fiverr (without the 20% commission). But after taking the cash advance it discouraged me to work on their platform. And I earn almost nothing from Fiverr (after taking the cash advance).
And I think it will be very similar to many of you.
However, if Fiverr would take a 10% or lower settlement fee from each order, I may think about it again. Until then, I don’t have the desire to take the cash advance for the next time.
Conclusion
I had been working on Fiverr since 2017 ( as far as I can remember). One of my friends and coworker influenced & forced me to create an account on Fiverr. Also, I got 3 orders from 2 buyers and then I never used it until the middle of 2018. Most of my clients and revenue come from this blog. So I was always serious about the business through my website.
Also, I had been working on Upwork before then & I was top-rated there. However, I took Fiverr as another side hustle aside from Upwork.
Anyways, as time passes, I noticed that many folks have an interest in Fiverr. And also one of my gigs was noticed by many of them. I completed more than 200 orders and many of them were large projects. And sold a lot on Fiverr within a short time.
I always tried to explore new features on Fiverr and write about my personal experiences. Fiverr cash advance was one of them. So if you’re still thinking to take a cash advance, I would suggest thinking wisely.
