Freelance Tools Must Haves

Business
1

Hello all,

I’m looking to move into the freelance arena (web design) and was wondering what tools you can’t live without.

I’m thinking I’ll need something for:

  • Invoices
  • Timekeeping
  • Email management

So what tools do you recommend and what tools do you think I’m missing.

Thanks

– Michael

2

basecamp is great for task management if you are small.

tickspot is great for time tracking.

mila.com for invoicing :smiley:

3

Hmm. Not that I can’t really live without them, but these are the tools I use on a daily basis (I deal with freelancers every single day):

  1. For collaboration, we use Basecamp.
  2. For communication, Skype is best.
  3. For time tracking and monitoring, we use Time Doctor.

Start with those three. They should be enough to get you started. Or, you can also add split testing tools since you are into web design.

4

I use Google Calendar for timekeeping and different GMail accounts for email management. They can all be linked to one account, so that you don’t have to log in or out (or, you can have different mailboxes set up for your employees and still be able to access them). Then, each one can be filtered, so that there is a label attached to a mailing that arrives to/from a particular account.

5

Yes, this is really good idea to use Google. It has so many features which would work as tools.

And in freelancing, these are the main tools:

Communication
Discipline
Knowledge of Work
Completing work on time
Understanding Your Clients
How to manage over work
How to manage assistants under you
How to provide quality work at competitive prices.

6

I use Google documents to share files. Skype for communication and Google calender for timekeeping.