In 2017, there were 57.3 million freelancers in the United States—a whopping 36% of the workforce. If that trajectory continues, more than half of the American workforce will be freelancers by 2027.
With numbers like that, the proliferation of tech tools designed to make freelance workers’ lives easier, more efficient, and more productive is no real surprise. While there’s something to be said for keeping things simple, some of these tools truly are essential (accounting, for instance), while others can be serious game-changers. I mean, just imagine what we could all get done if social media shut down for eight hours a day?
No matter what you do as a freelancer—consulting, graphic design, copywriting, ecommerce—you’re probably also a project manager. That means it’s time to upgrade from those random post-it notes on your desk to a real-deal project management system.
Asana is a web-based project management system that uses a flexible, card-based system to keep projects on track and team members aligned. It integrates easily with other systems, can be configured to send you reminders and updates, and lets you converse with collaborators in a single, convenient place. Plus, there’s it’s best feature: animated gifs of unicorns soaring through the air on a rainbow comet every time you check off a task.
If your crew is made up of 15 people or fewer, Asana is free. There’s also a premium paid version with more user accounts and some extra features.
Quickbooks is great, but it’s not the only accounting software out there. Wave is easy to use, integrates with your bank accounts, makes expensing super-easy (just snap a pic of your receipt with your phone) and the program does the rest, and best of all? It’s free for businesses with nine or fewer employees.
Wave also has integrated payment processing, letting you issue an invoice to a client with a “click here to pay” link. Like all credit card processing, they take a cut (2.9%, plus a $0.30 fee per transaction), but the convenience—and the ability to take away client’ late-payment excuses—can be worth it.
One of the perks of working for yourself is the freedom from time sheets, clocking in, and sitting at your desk until the clock strikes five. But that doesn’t mean you’ll never track time again. Even if you don’t bill hourly, all of us can benefit from a better understanding of how long our tasks really take.
If you’re ready to upgrade from the timer app on your smartphone, check out Harvest. This app makes it easy to track the time you spend on multiple different tasks from a single, simple, non-distracting interface (definitely not something that can be said about your smartphone). View reports, auto-generate timesheets for clients, or even view the hours your subcontractors work.
Nobody loves the legal side of small business ownership, but anybody who’s ever registered a business, created articles of organization, or experienced scope creep on a handshake agreement knows there’s no substitute for solid legal footing.
Most small businesses should have an attorney available for consultation, but for some tasks, like naming a registered agent or obtaining a business license, LegalZoom can make a DIY approach possible. It also offers template language for contracts and agreements that can be tailored to your needs. And if things get complicated, you can get connected to a real live attorney for assistance.
As a freelancer—really, as a human being—one of your greatest assets is your ability to concentrate your mind on the task at hand. Sometimes, it seems like the internet exists exclusively to undermine that ability.
For when the temptations of adorable puppy videos, political catfights, and baking plans for this weekend’s barbecue are simply too strong to ignore, it’s time to break out the big guns: distraction blocking apps. These programs put the kibosh on social media, shopping, news, or whatever your distraction of choice happens to be for exactly how long you specify. Think of it as the equivalent of parental controls, only you’re both the parent and child.
Lots of different distraction blocking apps exist, but we can vouch for Freedom, which lets you block specific websites or the whole internet, works on your phone or computer, and can be scheduled in advance. The free download lets you try it for seven sessions; a paid version gets you unlimited use.
Do you have favorite tools you’ve come to rely on as a freelancer? We’d love to know about them!