Freelancing is not everyone’s cup of tea. Despite its flexibility, the profession demands constant motivation and productivity. It is not easy to have that when you are working on your own. When I started freelancing in 2017, the ‘being your own boss’ thing hit me like a truck. I would spend days without doing anything productive.
Plus, there was so much to do besides doing the freelance work. I had to find jobs, write proposals, draft contracts, keep track of payments, and calculate my working hours. These tasks would take up the majority of my time, and I was left with barely any time to do the assigned work. This did not change until I adopted some tools that helped me save my time.
But the problem with these tools is that they come in so many shapes and sizes. Deciding which one to go for is a complete task in itself. Over the years, I have used a gazillion of these and can tell which ones are useful and which ones are not. I have compiled a list of the best of these tools that I think every freelancer should use. These tools have helped me optimize my time, organize my workflows, and make me more productive.
- CozyCal
Scheduling meetings is a major feat of freelancing and sadly there is no assistant to do that for you. Using a scheduling tool is a great way to keep everything organized. CozyCal lets users book appointments in a simple manner. It has a user-friendly interface, which will not leave your client confused. It even syncs the appointments with your own calendar like Google or Outlook Calendar.
If you are into branding, you can customize the booking page in CozyCal according to your brand. It lets you add logos, choose themes, and customize the booking message sent to your clients after they schedule an appointment. The best part? It comes with a Stripe integration, so if you charge for appointments, then you can set up payments on the booking page. Its basic plan will cost you $20/ month.
- Notion
Don’t take notes in your notebook. It takes ages to find them. Do that in a digital tool like Notion, which organizes your notes and lets you search through them easily. It also lets you create simple to-do lists and add photos and hyperlinks. Notion comes with several templates that you can use to create meeting notes, track habits, and even finances.
Notion also has Artificial Intelligence (AI), which you can use for ideation and brainstorming. Even though the app is available offline, you will need a stable internet connection to use its AI features. You are dependent on reliable and high-speed internet for your freelancing anyway. I use Xfinity and highly recommend it. From speed to reliability, it checks all the requirement boxes. You can call the Xfinity customer service number to inquire about their various internet plans.
- DocuSign
As a freelancer, you will find yourself relying on e-signatures a lot due to having clients from around the globe. DocuSign lets you electronically sign contracts and agreements, in a safe and secure way. You can also use it to create documents using a variety of templates. Moreover, some documents are only valid for a certain amount of time. DocuSign also lets you manage these documents and notifies you when it is time for another approval.
- Bidsketch
Landing a client requires making an immediate proposal and sometimes you are too overworked to properly create one. You can save time and energy by using proposal software to create professional proposals in minutes. Bidsketch is a great tool for proposal making. It comes with a variety of customizable templates for each kind of project. All you have to do is provide a rough sketch, your fees, and choose a design. In turn, it makes a highly persuasive proposal, which you can review and send to the client.
It lets you build custom landing pages for clients and provides web-based proposal analytics. You also get notifications when your clients open your proposals or request a follow-up. It also lets your clients electronically sign these proposals, which saves time on both ends.
- Xero
Managing finances is hard especially when numbers are not your strongest suit. Xero is a popular choice in accounting software among freelancers. It makes bookkeeping and compliance seem easier than ever. You can use it to automate invoicing and reporting. It also helps you in tax filing. The best part is that you don’t have to manually enter data, as no one has time for that. You can connect it to your bank account and let your transactions flow in Xero for easy viewing.
- Rocket Lawyer
When working as a freelancer, it is a good idea to bind everything in legal contracts. You can use Rocket Lawyer to create Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), business agreements, and independent contractor agreements. You can also seek legal advice to make contracts without any loopholes. You can define due dates, and payment terms clearly.
To make the contracts, you need to put in information like dates, contract information from both sides, project description, payment information, confidentiality clauses, and insurance requirements. These contracts protect from non-payment and various liability issues.
- timeTracko
It is a great tool for managing your precious working hours. It calculates the hours you spend working on different sites and apps. All you have to do is clock in and clock out. This gives you an idea of how many hours it takes you to do a job. This will also give you an idea of how to charge your client.
What is better is that it also allows you to get insights into how you do your work, which can help you better manage your time. It also easily integrates with various platforms, like Trello and Google Calendar.
In a Nutshell
These tools are great for making things easy for you as a freelancer and saving time to do meaningful work. However, it is important to know that using these tools does not guarantee success. These are just there to make your processes more productive and time-efficient. Your success is dependent on how driven you are to grow and achieve your goals.