Freelancer Ltd., the operator of online staffing firm Freelancer.com, reported cash receipts increased by 4% year over year in the third quarter to approximately AUD 13.0 million (US$9.2 million).

Project fees rose 22% year over year; the Sydney, Australia-based company added that in the last 28 days, project fees hit record highs and are expected to continue to trend upward for the rest of the year. Freelancer.com also reached 30 million registered users during the third quarter.

The company reported that cash receipts from Escrow.com for the third quarter were up 15.4%.

Freelancer.com also announced in the quarter that it and other human cloud firms received cease and refrain orders from the California Department of Business Oversight for unlicensed escrow activity.

“Freelancer.com is in dialogue with the [Department of Business Oversight] and is confident that it can be resolved to the department’s satisfaction,” according to Freelancer’s filing. “The Freelancer Group has been proactive in seeking financial regulation, has a good relationship with the DBO and has a wholly owned California licensed escrow business, being Escrow.com.”

The company said other firms receiving cease and refrain orders from the state include Fiverr, People per Hour, Workana, 99Designs, ShortTask, Design Crowd, Bizreef, Crowdsite and DoJobsOnline.com.

Also, Freelancer reported that it closed a channel partnership with MSP firm TAPFIN, a part of ManpowerGroup Solutions.