How an order works
Last updated: 23 October 2026
On Sawa you are not charged the moment you order. The seller accepts first, you pay second. That way nobody pays for work a seller has not agreed to take on.
The steps
- You send a request with your requirements. No money moves.
- The seller accepts or declines it. Declining costs them nothing, so a decline is not a judgement of you.
- Once accepted, you pay. You can message the seller before and after this point.
- The seller starts work. If they have not started within 8 hours of your payment, Sawa starts the clock anyway so the delivery deadline cannot be stretched by waiting.
- They deliver. You accept it, or ask for a revision if the service includes one, or open a dispute.
- When you accept, the order completes and you can both leave a review.
If you do not pay
An accepted order that has not been paid for is a reminder on day 3 and day 6, and is cancelled on day 7. Nothing is charged and nothing is held against you — the seller is simply released to take other work.
Keep it on Sawa
Dispute resolution, order tracking and the protection on your payment all exist because the order ran through Sawa. Moving the conversation or the payment to WhatsApp, a bank transfer or anywhere else removes all of it, for both of you, and is against our terms.
Posting a request instead
If you would rather describe a job and have sellers come to you, post a request. It stays open for 14 days and you can extend it once by a further 7 days. You see how many proposals have arrived, and you choose one — proposal amounts stay private between you and each seller.