Here’s what I’m getting at: You’re going to need to tap into some assistance. After all, you need to keep the books, but that doesn’t mean you need to become a full-on bookkeeper. Here’s pretty much every tool and resource you need to get your freelance business off the ground.
Project Management
To succeed as a freelancer, you need to be organized when it comes to your work, whether it’s a solo project or you are working on a team of 20.
1. Asana
Asana is a game changer. This popular group collaboration tool is free to use for up to 15 people. You can also subscribe or unsubscribe to notifications regarding changes to the task so everyone knows what is going on. It looks beautiful and makes life easier.
2. Evernote
Everyone loves Evernote. Evernote can store notes, receipts, and other miscellaneous files associated with each project.
3. Trello
Get your collaboration on. For those of you who love to have a good organized brainstorming session, this is the tool for you. It is a free online collaborationtool that’s organized by boards, lists, and cards. You can attach files, images, etc., to each card and add as many people as you want on board for collaboration. Changes appear in real time.
4. Basecamp
One of the more popular project management tools. It starts at $20 a month for 10 projects at a time.
Money
You’re nothing unless you can keep track of the money you’re making and spending.
Wave is a Cloud-based invoicing, accounting, payroll, payments, and personal finance app for freelancers and people running businesses with nine employees or fewer.
6. Xero
This one offers online accounting, invoicing, billing, and banking. There’s a free trial where you don’t pay anything until you’re ready, and then you’ll pay $19/month.
7. FreeAgent
This is a bookkeeping and invoicing application specifically designed for small businesses and freelancers.
8. Outright
This is perfect for managing your small business finances. It lets you import data from your existing accounts, which makes setup quick and simple. It updates daily from your accounts and automatically categorizes your transactions.
9. CannyBill
An online ordering and invoicing service that’s great for selling things like digital downloads or web hosting.
10. FreshBooks
If you’re a freelancer, invoices will become the bane of your existence. Some days will just be spent writing and organizing your invoices. A great and simple invoice system will be a godsend. FreshBooks has been a great resource for me. It’s straightforward and free until you have more than three clients, but totally worth the $30 per month.
11. Expensify
With Expensify, all you have to do is photograph your receipts and upload them. It works on iPhone/iPad, Android, WebOS/Palm, and BlackBerry phones.
Time Management
The most important currency for a freelancer is time.
12. GetHarvest.com
Harvest offers pricing plans from free to premium and offers time tracking and invoicing. It works on iPhone, Basecamp, and Beanstalk, has a WordPress plugin, and offers both time tracking and invoicing.
13. MyClientSpot.com
This keeps track of your billable hours, helps you stay organized, tracks leads, and more.
14. Tickspot.com
This allows you to keep track of your time spent on a project and even see how close you are to using up your client’s allotted budget. It also offers a free iPhone application.
15. Toggl
If you charge by the hour or often wonder how long it takes you to do a certain task, Toggl will help you keep track.
16. Klok
Klok allows you to easily keep track of your time spent on multiple projects. You can easily start and stop tracking by just clicking a button for each project. You’re able to generate multiple reports based off of this information.
Ora allows you to track expenses, keep a list of your tasks, run a timer on your tasks, etc.
18. OfficeTime
Freelancer Laura Shin swears by OfficeTime because it helps manage a freelancers’ most important asset: time. It allows you to see exactly how much money you’re earning per hour. This is what every freelancer needs, especially in the beginning, because it’s going to show you who’s really paying you your actual worth.
19. Sundial
This keeps track of time spent on all your projects and clients and then generates reports based on any period of time.
Finding a Job
But first you have to find work!
20. DesignQuote.net
This is great for finding client design and graphic artwork. Freelancers can browse through and post bids to win contracts.
This allows you to bid on listed jobs for all aspects of programming and design.
This one provides a wide selection of computer-related work, from basic site design to developing full sites.
23. ScriptLance.com
You’re going to get a lot of programming assignments as well as listings for blog content creation.
Proposals
In order to get the client, you have to show off your goods.
24. Bidsketch
Creating a project proposal is a very important part of freelance life. But it can be a real pain if you spend hours working on a proposal for no money and then have it rejected. BidSketch provides you with a template which will cut your time in half.
25. SlideShare
Similar to the idea of BidSketch, this goes hand in hand with showing clients what you can do, but in a more organized and less laborious fashion.
26. Balsamiq
This is a rapid wireframing tool that you can use to produce mockups and UI concepts. You can work with product managers, developers, designers, and clients in real time.
Promotion
Get your name out there!
27. Contently
This blog seriously answers every question you have about freelance that you were too embarrassed to ask.
28. Aweber
This is a great service for launching an email campaign, which can help to maintain relationships with all your previous and current clients.
It looks a little like a Pinterest board. It enables designers to share their products and promote them as well serve as a source of inspiration.
Backup
Don’t lose anything!
30. Mozy
If there’s one mantra freelancers need to have, it’s backup, backup, and backup. Mozy offers Cloud backup solutions for individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.
31. iCloud
Backup and sync all your devices using your Apple ID.
32. DropBox
DropBox syncs with your computer locally, so you don’t have to worry about manually backing up files or remembering to sync.
Self Organization
If you’re organized, your business will be organized.
33. Wunderlist
There’s nothing more satisfying than crossing something off your seemingly impossible to-do list, and Wunderlist provides you with the ultimate to-do list. It syncs across all different platforms. Plus, you can assign tasks to other people! There’s nothing better than that.
34. Time to Note
Track communications with customers, suppliers, leads, and others. Keep your contacts in one place and shared, and create to do lists for multiple users.
Remember The Milk reminds you to take care of important tasks. You’ll never miss a deadline!
36. Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a web-based tool that allows users to organise their schedule, so you’ll always know exactly what you need to be working on.
37. Ta-da List
Show everyone what you have accomplished with this organizational app.
When you’re a freelancer your inbox becomes the hub of your business so, it had better be organized.
38. Sanebox
Keep that inbox under control with Sanbox. As we all know, your inbox is actually the hub of your business. It brings you joy, and it brings you sadness. Keep it together with this organization app.
39. FollowUp.cc
Do you always forget to follow up after meeting a client? Then this is the app for you. This automatically does it for you.
40. TheEmailGa.me
Getting to Inbox Zero will be super fun!
41. Inbox
This new app for Gmail is a more graphical, more organized email communication center (it will automatically categorize your email into basic sections like travel, purchases, finance, social, updates, forums, and promos). It’ll also include built-in snooze buttons, attachment previews, automatic labeling and filing, and intelligent search. This is email nirvana!
Blogs
One of the best ways for a freelancer to learn about how to run their business is just hearing stories and tips from others. These blogs have some of the most informative and helpful articles for freelancers.
42. One Woman Shop
This is the perfect site for someone who very much wants to be their own boss. From the site: “You were never meant for the mundane. You prefer to decide your own self worth rather than allow an employer to put a price tag on your work. You light up from the thrill of deciding when to shift gears, challenge yourself, and kick it up a notch. You are a solopreneur. The site provides you with a community of freelancers and businesswomen who are taking risks and changing their lives everyday. “One Woman Shop is your safety net.”
43. BufferApp
When you think of Apps, you don’t necessarily think they would have awesome blogs, but Buffer is an exception. Its blog is clever, entertaining, and super helpful for anyone with their own business. From articles on social media strategy to content marketing, you’ll learn something new here.
Every freelancer needs a strategy, and this site will help you develop yours. Focused on journalists but relevant for everyone, their about page claims: “We’ll find out what publications pay and how to pitch their editors; we’ll report on freelance success stories and helpful career advice; we’ll hold publishers, editors, and others accountable for freelance abuse; and, of course, we’ll focus on the daily quirks and eccentricities that are inherent to the freelance life.”
45. Lifehacker
This site is exactly like it sounds. It features recent technology and profiles on innovative thinkers and daily life hacks. Looking for productivity advice? Lifehacker is your new best friend.
A mecca for freelance web designers. This site provides free web designer kits, as well as articles on social media, html, branding, contests, and more. The how-tos and tutorials on everything from email template design to parallax are a freelance designer’s dream. And everyone will pick up handy web design and user experience tips!
47. Fast Company
For a little bit of entrepreneurship inspiration, this is the go-to source. With articles written by business leaders and professors, as well as top entrepreneurs, Fast Company covers the gammut from how to get more done to advice on writing business plans.
48. Good
Good is “a place to share creative solutions for living well and doing good.” Share information on what you are working on with the community, and how your work integrates with your life and the impact on the world. The blog also has content on technology, books, lifestyle, and design and recommendations for organizations and entrepreneurs to follow.
49. Pro Blogger
For those of you who aren’t blogging experts but need one for your business, this is a great resource. From how to organize your Google updates to ideas for blog posts, Pro Blogger has content that’ll spark your creativity and give you structure for blogging. This site is great for that freelancer personal brand building!
50. LKR Social Media
Need some help with social media for your site, blog, or business? This is your place. Laura Roeder is a social media marketing expert who runs a fantastic blog for creatives, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. From designing an effective sales page to top tools to organize your work, she’s got you covered. Plus, read amazing tips on building your (or your client’s) social media presence.
