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Expert Dashboard

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Overview

The Expert Dashboard is your command center for managing opportunities, offers, and active projects on Fiftyknots. Browse jobs that match your skills, respond to offers with clear SLA deadlines, and track your earnings as you ship work that drives real ventures forward. This dashboard gives you visibility into your entire pipeline - from anonymous pre-offer conversations to completed projects with released escrow payments.

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Step-by-Step Guide

Accessing Available Jobs
  1. Log in and navigate to the Expert Dashboard (your profile must be activated first)
  2. View the job board showing all open opportunities matching your skill set
  3. Filter jobs by Hero’s Journey stage (multiselect) or required skills to narrow your search
  4. Review each job card showing title, stage badge, skills required, budget range, and estimated duration
  5. Click “Ask Question” on any job to start an anonymous chat with the client before applying
Responding to Job Offers
  1. Check the “Pending Offers” section at the top of your dashboard for incoming offers
  2. Click on an offer to view full details: job title, client industry, budget, deadline, requirements, and your match score
  3. Review the SLA countdown timer showing time remaining to respond (e.g., “23 hours left to respond”)
  4. Click “Accept” to lock in the offer and view next steps for project kickoff
  5. Alternatively, click “Decline” and select a structured reason (budget too low, deadline too tight, currently unavailable, lack of expertise, not interested) with optional notes
Managing Active Projects
  1. View all accepted and allocated jobs in the “Active Projects” section
  2. Click on any active project to see full job details, client information, and project timeline
  3. Check escrow status to confirm funding (shows “Funded” with amount held)
  4. Access the deliverables submission link when ready to ship work
  5. Monitor project deadlines - active projects sort by most urgent first
Tracking Your Earnings
  1. View dashboard stats at the top: Active Projects count, Available Jobs count, Total Earned, Success Rate
  2. Total Earned reflects the sum of all released escrow payments from completed projects
  3. Success Rate shows the percentage of projects rated 3+ stars by clients
  4. Review your performance metrics to understand your reputation on the platform
Managing Anonymous Conversations
  1. Navigate to “My Conversations” to see all chat sessions with clients
  2. View each conversation with job title, last message preview, timestamp, and unread count
  3. Click into any conversation to continue the dialogue before accepting an offer
  4. Once you accept an offer for a job you discussed, identities reveal and real names appear
  5. Access closed conversations (jobs filled or closed) for reference - they remain available but show “Closed” status

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Common Questions

What happens if I don’t respond to an offer in time? The offer expires automatically when the SLA deadline passes. You’ll see “Expired” status on the offer, and the accept/decline buttons disable. The system auto-refreshes to show current status. Offers sort by deadline (most urgent first) so you always know which ones need immediate attention. Can I see jobs I’m already working on in the job board? Yes, but they display an “Already Assigned” badge instead of the “Ask Question” button. This prevents duplicate applications and helps you distinguish between new opportunities and current commitments. What if I accept an offer but another expert gets selected instead? This can happen if a higher-ranked expert also accepts the same offer. You’ll see “Offer Withdrawn - Another Expert Selected” status. This protects clients from over-allocation while keeping the process fair and transparent. How do anonymous conversations work? When you click “Ask Question” on a job, the system creates an anonymous chat session. The client sees you as “Anonymous Expert #[ID]” with a stable ID per job. Once you accept an offer for that job, identities reveal and you see real names. All prior conversation history remains visible. Can I still receive offers if I’m at full capacity? Yes. Jobs matching your skills still appear in the job board even when you’re busy. You can set your availability to “Closed” in your profile preferences to stop receiving new offers while finishing current work.

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Troubleshooting

Dashboard shows blank or redirects to profile setup Your expert profile isn’t activated yet. Complete the profile setup wizard including skills confirmation, availability preferences, and payout setup before accessing dashboard features. The system redirects non-activated experts automatically. Offer response fails with network error The system queues your response locally and retries with exponential backoff. You’ll see a “pending” state while the retry happens. Don’t click multiple times - the response will process as soon as connectivity restores. Check your network connection and wait for confirmation. Job board filters don’t update or take too long Filter results should update within 1 second. If you experience delays, refresh the page. Clear your browser cache if the issue persists. The system uses client-side filtering for speed, so slow updates suggest a browser performance issue. Conversations show incorrect unread counts Unread indicators update in real-time. If counts seem wrong, navigate away from the conversations page and return. The system recalculates on page load. If the issue continues, log out and back in to reset your session state. Expert Payout Setup - Configure your Stripe Connect account to receive escrow releases. The dashboard shows earnings, but you need verified payout methods to withdraw funds. Set this up early to avoid payment delays when projects complete. Jobs Board - Browse the full marketplace of available jobs beyond your dashboard view. The dashboard shows jobs matching your skills, while the Jobs Board lets you explore all opportunities and apply filters across the entire platform. Project Messaging - Communicate with clients once projects start. The dashboard shows which projects are active, but detailed collaboration happens in dedicated project message threads where you coordinate deliverables and timelines.