How to Review, Shortlist and Accept Proposals (for Buyers)

Where proposals appear
You can see proposals in two places — both show the same data and the same actions. Use whichever fits your workflow.

On the project page (/projects/{your-slug}/)

When you visit your own live project, a banner reminds you it's yours and every proposal appears inline below the brief. Proposals are grouped into three sections:

• Shortlisted first (with an orange star badge)


• Pending submissions you haven't actioned yet


• Others (withdrawn or auto-rejected) collapsed at the bottom

This is the in-context view — you see each proposal next to the original brief, handy when you need to cross-reference what you asked for.

On your "Proposals Received" dashboard (/zinner-dashboard/?action=proposals-received)

A consolidated view across every project you've posted. Proposals are grouped by project, with status filter chips at the top (Pending / Shortlisted / Accepted / Rejected). This is the workflow view — better for triaging when you've got several projects running at once.

Both views share the same data, so shortlisting or accepting in one updates the other immediately.

What you see on each proposal
Every proposal card shows:

• The Zinner's name, headline, rating and avatar — clickable through to their full Freelancer Profile at /freelancers/{username}/


• Their cover letter (up to 2000 characters explaining why they're the right fit)


• Their proposed price and timeline


• Any Zinns they attached from their own shop (rendered as clickable product cards with thumbnails, prices, ratings)


• Their Custom Project Offer if they created one inline (title, what's included, price, estimated delivery)


• Action buttons: Accept, Shortlist, Message

Shortlisting proposals
Shortlisting is how you mark a proposal as a favourite without committing. Click the star on any proposal to shortlist it — the proposal gets an orange badge and moves to the top of the list. The Zinner is notified by email that you've shortlisted them, which often prompts them to follow up with more detail.

Use shortlisting when:

• You've seen a strong proposal but want to wait for more to come in


• You're torn between two or three and want to set them aside while you think


• You want to signal interest to the Zinner without accepting yet

Shortlisting is non-binding — you can still accept a different proposal later, or decide not to hire anyone at all.

Messaging Zinners before you decide
Every proposal has a Message button that opens a direct conversation with the Zinner through Zinn Hub's built-in messaging. Use this before accepting to clarify anything unclear: scope, revisions included, turnaround time, payment milestones, file formats, anything.

Messaging on Zinn Hub is unrestricted — you can share contact details, files, or jump on a video call if the Zinner has enabled it. There's no platform filtering or TOS worry that blocks you from discussing the job properly.

Messaging a Zinner does not auto-shortlist or accept their proposal — it just starts the conversation.

Accepting a proposal
When you're ready, click Accept on the proposal you want. A confirmation modal appears with a summary. Confirm, and three things happen at once:

1. That proposal's status changes to Accepted.


2. Every other open proposal on the project is automatically declined and those Zinners are notified by email (a polite "the buyer selected another freelancer — keep submitting proposals!" message). This is intentional — you don't need to reject each proposal individually.


3. Your project status changes from Open to Awaiting Offer, and the winning Zinner is notified to send you the paid offer.

What happens next depends on the proposal

• If the Zinner attached a Zinn, you'll get a direct link to buy it from their shop. Check out through the normal Zinn Hub process — the project auto-links to that order.


• If the Zinner sent a Custom Project Offer, it's auto-created as a live offer at the agreed price and sent to you as a payment link. Review the details, then pay through Stripe, PayPal or cryptocurrency at checkout.

Either way, as soon as your payment clears, the project status moves to In Progress and the Zinner can start work.

What if you don't want to accept any proposal?
That's fine — you're never obliged. You have three options:

• Wait — leave the project open and see if better proposals come in. There's no time limit.


• Edit — from your My Account → My Projects page, click Edit on the project to revise the title, description, budget range, skills, or deadline. Editing re-opens the project and any existing proposals stay attached (and you can still accept them).


• Invite specific Zinners — browse /freelancers/ directly, find Zinners whose profiles match, and click "Invite to Project" on their profile. They'll receive an email and Telegram notification with a link straight to your brief.

There's no need to explicitly reject individual proposals — when you eventually accept one, the rest are auto-declined.

Tracking your project from your dashboard
Your My Account → My Projects page is the command centre. Each project card shows:

• Current status — Open / Awaiting Offer / Awaiting Payment / In Progress / Completed


• The number of proposals received


• The accepted Zinner (once you've accepted one)


• Quick action buttons — View, Edit, Manage

Status changes are automatic as the linked order progresses through checkout, delivery and completion. You never need to update anything manually.

Leaving a review after completion
When the project is marked completed, you'll get a review prompt. Your review appears publicly on the Zinner's Freelancer Profile — star rating, review text, project title. Reviews help future buyers decide and are one of the main ways Zinners grow their reputation on the platform, so be honest and specific.