Withdrawn proposal

To withdraw, go to Find Work, Proposals and offers, open the proposal and choose Withdraw proposal. The client can no longer see it. Upwork is explicit that "Connects you used to submit your proposal won't be refunded".

Resubmitting. An ordinary proposal can be sent again while the job is open, at the full Connects price. Two kinds cannot: a boosted proposal and a proposal that included an Uma video interview. Withdraw either and you are out of that job, even if the post is still open, and a withdrawn boosted proposal is still charged as if it had stayed.

When withdrawing makes sense. The usual reasons are a wrong rate, the wrong team member on an agency bid, a client who turns out to be a poor fit, or a job you can no longer staff. Before withdrawing to fix the rate, check whether editing is enough: the terms can be edited until the client accepts or rejects the proposal, which keeps the proposal's place and its Connects.

Agencies. A freelancer invited to join an agency as an exclusive member must first withdraw all their active individual proposals. A non-exclusive invitation does not require it.

How Upsight uses it. Upsight keeps withdrawn proposals in the Connects spend, because the Connects were spent, and leaves proposals withdrawn before the client read them out of the reply rate denominator, since the client never had the chance to answer. A withdrawn boosted proposal also stays in the connects refund picture: it is charged, not returned.