As a freelancer, your work is your business. And like any business, you need the right tools to help you succeed.
You may not have the budget to invest in fancy software or expensive equipment; however, there are plenty of free and low-cost resources that can help you make more money, streamline your operations, and boost your productivity.
Here’s a look at 40 of the best freelance tools to help you work smarter:
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Takeaways |
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1. Explore a comprehensive list of 37 freelance tools that are specifically curated to enhance your productivity and efficiency as a freelancer. |
2. These tools cover a wide range of functionalities, including project management, time tracking, collaboration, communication, finance management, design, development, and more. |
3. Discover tools like Trello, Asana, Slack, and Google Workspace that can streamline your project management and communication processes. |
4. Take advantage of time tracking tools like Toggl, Harvest, and Clockify to effectively manage and analyze your time spent on different tasks. |
5. Boost your creativity and design capabilities with tools like Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Sketch for graphic design, photo editing, and illustration. |
6. Simplify your finance management with tools like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and Wave that offer features for invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting. |
7. Discover collaboration tools such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams that enable seamless file sharing, document collaboration, and team communication. |
8. Keep your projects organized and efficient with task management tools like Todoist, Wunderlist, and Monday.com. |
9. Explore tools like Evernote, Pocket, and Notion to capture and organize your ideas, research, and inspiration in a centralized manner. |
10. Take advantage of email marketing and automation tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign to effectively reach and engage with your clients. |
A. Time Tracking Software
Tracking your time is essential if you want to get paid for every minute of work you do. Here is a look at five tools that can help with this task:
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1. Toggl
With Toggl, a free tool for tracking the time you spend working on client projects, you can enter tasks and then start the timer whenever you begin working on them. Toggl also has an app for mobile devices that lets you track time while on the go. The app also shows your most productive hours and clients so that you have an idea of where your time is best spent. There is a Pro version that costs $9 per month that adds features such as reporting and automatic backups.
2. Harvest
This web-based tool helps freelancers track their time and bill their clients, but it also provides project management features such as task management, estimating expenses, managing contractors, invoicing and payments, reporting, and more. It’s well suited for small teams looking for a more robust solution for project management.
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3. Clockify
Clockify is a free time tracking software that’s ideal for freelancers. It’s simple to use and is available as a web app, desktop app (for Windows, Mac, and Linux), and mobile app (for iOS and Android).
The most popular time tracking software on the market!
An easy-to-use time tracker with features everyone can benefit from. Clockify is the only truly free time tracking software. Start tracking time in under one minute. Tracked time can be invoiced and exported to CSV or Excel.
Key Features:
- Create timesheets with a click of a button;
- Add tasks and projects for better organization;
- Manage team members, track their activities, create reports;
- Control your budget by setting hourly rates for projects;
- Integrations with 100+ tools like Trello, Asana, Jira, GitHub, Toggl
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4. Timely
Keep track of how you spend your time with the Timely app. It’s a great tool for freelancers in that it provides an accurate picture of where your time is spent throughout the day and helps you see what you can change to be more productive.
You can start a timer to track your time using the desktop, mobile, or web application. When it comes time to submit an invoice, you can also use the app to create one based on the work you tracked. The app will even help you determine whether your rate is fair based on how much time projects take.
5. Hiveage
Hiveage is a newer tool that takes the basic idea of invoicing and adds in some extra features. It’s great for freelancers who need to keep track of time as well as expenses. With Hiveage you can create estimates, track time, create customizable invoices, organize expenses, and even access your data from your phone.
You can also accept credit cards with Hiveage, which makes getting paid faster and easier for both you and your clients. Some other useful features include a dashboard with reports on how your business is doing, proposals that you can send to clients, an inbox to stay connected with clients (and team members), automatic billing reminders that are sent when they’re needed, and a calendar that lets you check off tasks so you don’t forget about them.
Other nice features include recurring invoices for clients who require them (such as those who receive monthly services), fixed-price invoices for one-time jobs or products sold, currency conversion so you can invoice in any currency your clients prefer (great for international freelancers!), mobile apps so you can manage your business on the go, and some other cool extras such as late payment fee charges, fraud alerts, and more.
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6. RescueTime
RescueTime is an app that automatically tracks the way you spend your time on your computer and mobile devices. It then generates reports to show you where you’re spending time and how productive you are being.
The app is available for both Mac and Windows, and there’s an iOS app as well.
You can also set goals based on how much time you want to spend on certain tasks or activities. For example, let’s say that you want to spend no more than a certain amount of time every day checking email. RescueTime can help you track that activity and let you know when it’s time to stop checking your inbox.
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7. Focus Booster
Is a simple time management app that helps you get work done. It’s based on the Pomodoro Technique, which is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.
The Pomodoro Technique breaks up your work into 25-minute increments (called “pomodoros”) followed by five-minute breaks. After four pomodoros, you take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
Focus Booster has a desktop app for Windows and Mac, plus an iOS and Android app.
B. Productivity Tools & Apps
One of the best things about working as a freelancer is the freedom to work on your own terms. You get to choose which projects you take on, how much you charge, and where you work.
But it can also be a huge challenge to keep everything organized. Without someone else to rely on, the burden falls entirely on you to stay productive, meet deadlines and bring in new clients.
If you don’t have a system in place already, it’s time to make one! Read on for our comprehensive list of the best freelance tools and apps so that you can work smarter this year.
8. Airtable
Gone are the days of playing around in spreadsheets to track your freelance earnings, expenses, and taxes. Airtable brings the power of a database onto your desktop with a familiar, spreadsheet-like interface. You can use it for almost anything from organizing your contacts to planning a project or keeping track of leads.
Airtable is a hybrid between a spreadsheet and a database. It lets you organize information in several different ways, making this an extremely versatile tool. Plus, its interface is very easy to use. Airtable is free for personal use but it has paid plans that offer additional features such as increased storage space and unlimited collaborators.
Airtable’s features include:
Multiple views — browse through records in a grid view or calendar view.
Collaborative workspace — share bases with your teammates and assign tasks on the platform.
Integrations — connect Airtable with other apps like Zapier, Slack, and Google Drive.
Airtable is free for teams of less than 1,200 records and five team members. For larger teams, the price ranges from $12 to $24 per month per user depending on the plan you choose.
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9. Trello
Trello is a project management app that helps you organize all of your projects visually. You can set up individual boards for each project, adding cards to each board to represent specific tasks that need to be completed. You can drag-and-drop cards from one stage of the project to another as you make progress, enabling you to see at a glance what needs
What I love most about Trello is that it’s extremely visual. You can easily see what needs to be done by when, as well as who is responsible for completing each task.
Some of my favorite features include:
Drag-and-drop organization: When you have multiple projects going on at once, dragging and dropping tasks between lists is a lifesaver. I can assign an idea to the right person or move it to another project in seconds.
Checklists: Layout the specific steps needed in order to complete a certain task or project. For example, you can create a checklist for creating a blog post that includes items like writing headlines, writing intro paragraphs, researching images, etc.
Collaboration: Assign tasks to other people on your team or just keep yourself accountable by adding due dates for each item on your list.
Labels: Easily see what content you’re working on with labels like “Blog Post”, “Video
10. Asana
Asana is a work management platform that helps teams organize, track, and manage their work. Asana is used by nearly 50,000 companies around the world, including Airbnb, Uber, Dropbox, and more.
This tool can help you prioritize your to-do’s for the week as well as see what your team members are working on. You can also attach files and leave comments on projects so you can keep all of your information in one place.
Pricing: Free for up to 15 users; from $13.49/month per user for the Premium plan
Manage your team’s projects, tasks, conversations, and files all in one place with Asana so you can stay on top of everything.
Asana is a powerful tool with plenty of great features like:
Dashboard – See which tasks are due soon and know what your team is working on.
Organize projects – Get projects out of emails and into Asana to keep everyone organized.
Assign tasks – Know who is doing what by assigning work to teammates.
Attach files – Add comments, attachments, or links without leaving the task.
Set due dates – Set due dates so everything appears in your calendar for easy planning.
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11. Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a free time-management web application offered by Google. It became available on April 13, 2006, and exited the beta stage in July 2009.
Google Calendar allows users to create and edit events. Reminders can be enabled for events, with options available for type and time. Event locations can also be added, and other users can be invited to events.
Users can enable or disable the visibility of special calendars, including Birthdays, where the app retrieves dates of births from Google contacts and displays birthday cards on a yearly basis, and Holidays, a country-specific calendar that displays dates of special significance. Over 400 million users use Google Calendar.
Google Calendar is packed with features. Here’s a look at some of the most useful:
Add multiple time zones
Google Calendar can display multiple time zones so you know what time it is in Paris, New York, and London.
Forward emails to add them as events
If an email contains information about an appointment or event, you can forward it to Google Calendar to automatically create a new event. (Choose the “All day event” option if necessary).
Invite guests and assign tasks
You can use Google Calendar to invite people to meetings and appointments, as well as assign tasks to them. Invitees will receive an email with a link that they can click to accept or decline the invitation.
Create recurring events
Whether you want a daily stand-up meeting, weekly one-on-one client call, or monthly board meeting, Google Calendar makes it easy to create recurring events. Just click the Repeat menu when creating an event and choose a frequency, such as Every Monday or Every First Tuesday of the Month. You can also customize the recurrence by specifying exceptions such as skipping specific dates or instances, like every third week or every other month.
12. Evernote
As a freelancer, you’re constantly collecting data that you need to keep organized. Evernote is one of the most popular note-taking apps which lets you take notes and store other pieces of information such as images and audio in an easy-to-use interface. It’s also very easy to search through your notes and find what you need.
Evernote lets you capture, organize and share notes from anywhere. You can take notes in a variety of formats, including text, web pages, audio, sketches, and images. Evernote keeps track of everything for you and makes it easy to access your information on any device. Evernote is available in Basic (free) or Premium ($5/month) versions.
Evernote features
Clip web articles: While you browse the web, use Evernote’s web clipper extension to save articles and pages you come across to Evernote. You can also save images, PDFs, and videos this way.
Search your notes: With Evernote’s search feature, you can search through the text in images or PDFs. You can also use keywords to find specific notes.
Sync across devices: Your notes sync across all devices so they’re always available when needed. Collaborate with other users by sharing notebooks or assigning tasks to certain users.
13. Grammarly
Grammarly is the world’s leading software suite for perfecting written English. It checks for more than 250 types of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, enhances vocabulary usage, and suggests citations.
Grammarly Premium goes much further in helping you perfect your writing. It offers a plagiarism checker that compares your text to over 16 billion web pages and a genre-specific writing style checker that offers tips on how to refine your writing style. It also lets you set goals for words per minute and use one of the most advanced vocabulary enhancement tools available.
With Grammarly Premium, you can write with confidence on almost any platform or device — Word, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora — because Grammarly is always there to ensure your words are mistake-free.
And if you’re new to the world of freelancing, Grammarly’s blog is an excellent source of guidance and advice on freelance writing as well as general trends in content marketing and SEO.
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Features:
- Spelling checker
- Grammar checker
- Plagiarism checker
- Style suggestions
- Cost: Free
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C. Communication Tools
Workplace collaboration tools allow for remote teams to share docs, delegate tasks, and keep everyone on the same page. Here are some of the best ones:
14. Skype
Skype is a great tool for freelance writers to connect with clients, interview sources, and collaborate on projects. You can use the app to call, instant message, video conference, or conference call with your clients, colleagues, and sources.
You can record calls and interviews using the Skype app. You can also use it to share your computer screen with others.
It’s easy to pay for Skype services using PayPal, or you can buy a monthly subscription instead.
Skype has a free version, but there are also paid plans that offer more features if you need them.
Some features:
Video Conferencing: Host group calls with up to 25 people.
Screen Sharing: Show your screen during a call.
Call Recording: Record Skype calls directly to your computer.
Instant Messaging: Send messages to contacts even if they’re offline.
15. Google Hangouts
To use Google Hangouts, you’ll need a Google account. With your account, you can start and join video meetings with up to 25 people at once. To host a meeting with more than 25 people, the G Suite Enterprise plan is required.
Google Hangouts offers a whole bunch of collaboration tools, including screen sharing (with and without audio), document sharing, and real-time captions. The platform also integrates with Google calendars and Gmail.
If you’re looking for more robust project management solutions, consider using Google Hangouts along with a project management tool like Asana or Teamwork Projects.
Here are some of the features in Google Hangouts:
Screen sharing. If you need to walk someone through a process, you can share your screen and control their mouse while they watch, so they learn exactly what to do.
Mobile app. You can use Hangouts from your cell phone or tablet. This comes in handy if you’re on the go and need to have a video chat but don’t have access to your laptop.
Record meetings for later viewing. This feature is especially helpful for training purposes, as you can record meetings and store them on YouTube for later viewing.
Set up multi-party calls with up to 10 people at once. If you need to communicate with multiple people at once, this tool makes it easy. (There’s also a feature that lets you dial into a meeting using an actual phone so people who don’t have internet access can join.)
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16. Google Meet
Google Meet, formerly known as Hangouts Meet, is the company’s enterprise video conferencing software, offered as part of Google Workspace and also to free Google users. It has a longstanding reputation for being one of the most reliable video conferencing tools available.
Google Meet is a straightforward tool to use. It offers basic functionality that should be useful for nearly anyone who’s working remotely: screen sharing, recording, muting, and more.
Google Meet doesn’t have some of the features you’d find in other video conferencing platforms, such as Breakout Rooms or whiteboard capabilities. But it’s also priced accordingly. For example, its basic version is free if you’re using it with an email address that ends with @gmail.com or @googlemail.com.
17. Slack
A communication tool that allows remote teams to collaborate and communicate in real-time. Slack also integrates with tons of apps like Google Drive, Trello, Dropbox, and Zapier which makes it easier to stay organized.
When you work with a team, it can be tough to coordinate your efforts. Between email chains, group phone calls, and back-and-forth texting, staying on the same page as everyone is difficult to do. If you’re looking for a way to improve your team’s communication, Slack could be just what you need.
Slack is a remote work platform that includes a number of tools for teams to use. First and foremost is the messaging system, which allows you to converse in real-time with any member of your team. You can message people one-on-one or create channels for specific topics.
The platform also has screen-sharing features so you can show someone exactly what you see on your display in real-time. It also allows for file sharing between users and integration with other productivity apps like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Trello.
Most important to freelancers, though, is the mobile app for iOS and Android devices. This keeps all your communication in one place and makes it easy to coordinate even if someone isn’t at their desk or working from their home office.
Slack Features and Advantage
First, you can keep all your team members on the same page at all times. Whether it’s a quick question in the morning or a lengthy discussion late at night, Slack works like an instant messenger that lets you communicate with everyone no matter where they are.
Second, you can easily share files with your team. This is especially useful if you’re working on a project where everyone needs to see the latest version of a file. In Slack, you can drag and drop a file into any conversation and attach comments to it if necessary.
Third, you can automate routine tasks with integrations. For example, if someone mentions that they need new business cards at a certain time, then Slack can automatically create a task for them in Trello or Asana to follow up on it later.
Fourth, you can use channels to organize conversations by topics. If you have multiple projects going on simultaneously, then keeping track of everything in one place can be tricky. Channels let everyone stay focused on what matters most right now so nothing gets lost in the shuffle anymore.
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18. InVision
An inVision is a powerful tool that lets you bring your designs to life. It allows you to create interactive mockups and prototypes, where you can share with clients to get immediate feedback on design changes. You can also manage your design projects and collaborate with others on the same project.
InVision has free and paid plans depending on your needs. Free plan users can access two projects, whereas paid plan users could access as many as 100 projects, depending on the plan you choose.
InVision features
File-Sharing: Upload and share your files with ease!
Web Presentations: Create beautiful web presentations of your projects.
Prototyping Tools: Create interactive prototypes of your designs, without any coding.
Design Feedback Tools: Get feedback from your team via comments and conversation threads.
Task Management Tools: Manage tasks related to all your projects.
User Testing Tools: Get user feedback on all your projects.
19. ProofHub
ProofHub is a best-in-class web-based project management and team collaboration software that makes it easy for you to manage projects, communicate with your team members, and collaborate with clients.
It comes with some of the most powerful features such as discussion threads, time tracking, proofing tools, task reports, and kanban boards. ProofHub also includes a Gantt chart tool to create visual project plans and schedule tasks on them.
With ProofHub you can work from anywhere as it is suited for teams big and small. ProofHub is trusted by over 65,000 teams in 140+ countries around the world.
I like ProofHub because it has all the tools that I need to manage my team of freelancers and virtual assistants without the typical email overload. You can use ProofHub to:
- Create project groups where you can put all your projects together.
- Manage tasks using Kanban boards and Gantt charts.
- Chat with your team members in real-time
- Send instant messages to team members while they are online.
- Leave comments on tasks, discussions, and files.
- Add deadlines to individual tasks or groups of tasks so you always know which ones are overdue.
- Get notified by email or SMS whenever there is any new activity in one of your projects.
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D. Freelance Job Boards & Hiring Websites
Freelance job boards and hiring websites help you find work, but they also offer additional benefits, including networking opportunities and freelance market trends.
Here are some of the top freelance job boards:
20. Upwork
Offers a wide range of jobs, from SEO writing to programming. The site’s huge pool of freelancers makes it easy to find the best talent or to bid on projects with a lot of competition. To join Upwork you need to live in one of the 60 countries where the site is based. You can sign up for free, but the site charges fees for using its services.
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21. Guru.com
Is one of the best freelance marketplaces to find just about any type of freelancer you can think of, from software developers and copywriters to tax accountants and designers.
The site offers a range of services, including expert advice and tools for hiring freelancers, such as Guru.com’s SafePay system for managing the payment process and the Guru Guarantee to protect employers in case a freelancer doesn’t deliver on their work.
You can post an unlimited number of jobs for free on Guru.com, and then pay $5-$8 per job when you hire someone.
22. ProBlogger Job Board
The ProBlogger Job Board is updated daily with paid blogging jobs from all over the world. It’s a great place to find both full-time and part-time positions, as well as one-off gigs that can help you make money blogging.
If you’re looking for a unique opportunity, the ProBlogger Job Board is an excellent place to start searching.
The board is easy to navigate and still has good traffic, despite the rise of other freelancer job boards. You can post your own gigs to the board if you’re looking for a freelance blogger or writer.
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23. Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by a number of users and projects. They connect over 32,186,873 employers and freelancers globally from over 247 countries, regions and territories. Through our marketplace, employers can hire freelancers to do work in areas such as software development, writing, data entry, and design right through to engineering, the sciences, sales and marketing, accounting, and legal services.
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24. Fiverr
Fiverr is a freelancer marketplace with a twist: all jobs cost just $5. This makes it much easier to find work, as you don’t have to compete against freelancers who are willing to work more cheaply.
The downside is that many of the jobs on Fiverr are small and simple, and there are a lot of people willing to do them for $5. The site also has its share of scammers; make sure you do your due diligence before taking on any jobs.
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25. FlexJobs
For more than 10 years, FlexJobs has been a trusted resource for job seekers looking for better options to find the right job. We curate and verify hand-screened flexible jobs—remote, part-time, freelance, and flexible schedule jobs—and offer free resources, articles, podcasts, and more to help people find a better way to work.
The FlexJobs mission is “To help people find better ways to work™” by offering a trusted source of high-quality flexible jobs. Our award-winning platform is committed to high standards in job searching, so that all the remote jobs, flexible jobs, part-time jobs, and other types of flexible employment opportunities you see have been screened for legitimacy and quality.
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26. SolidGigs
SolidGigs is a new service that does all the hard work for you.
They handpick the best freelance jobs from places like Upwork, Freelancer, Guru, and more — and deliver them right to your inbox.
If you’re looking for real freelance jobs online without the hassle of sifting through hundreds of low-quality postings and bidding on dozens of projects just to get a few responses.
27. Indeed
Indeed.com is one of the best job search sites on the web. It’s also one of the biggest, with more than 180 million unique visitors every month.
Indeed offers a lot to like: strong filtering options and a huge selection of jobs. You can search by title, keyword, company name, or location.
The site has a clean, easy-to-use interface, and you can find jobs in just about any industry, including remote/telecommute jobs. Indeed also supplies useful information about many companies under their employer’s section.
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28. LinkedIn
It’s easy to find a job when you’re looking in the right places. LinkedIn is a great place to start.
Simply head over to LinkedIn’s job board and search for terms relevant to your industry or profession. The job board lets you filter jobs by keywords, company, location, industry, experience level, and more. When you see a posting of interest, click “Save” under the listing to save it to your profile so that you can find it later. You can also add notes about each job for future reference.
When applying for jobs on LinkedIn, make sure you show off all of the new skills you learned during your break from work, especially soft skills like communication and leadership abilities. Include social media links to your professional profiles on sites like Twitter and Facebook, as well as an updated portfolio if applicable.
If your resume isn’t already in perfect shape, now is the time to update it with all of your new skills and experience. Consider hiring a resume writing service if needed — they can help ensure that your resume is ready for prime time. Once it’s complete, upload it to LinkedIn so that recruiters can easily find it when searching for candidates who meet their criteria using the site’s advanced search tools
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29. People Per Hour
People Per Hour is a freelance site that connects businesses and individuals looking to hire freelancers. It was started in 2007 by Xenios Thrasyvoulou and Simos Kitiris, two Greek entrepreneurs who wanted to make it easier for companies to find the talent they needed for projects.
If you’re a freelancer looking for work, People Per Hour allows you to set up a profile that includes details about your skills and experience. You can also see what jobs are available on the site and apply to them directly.
People Per Hour makes money by charging users fees when they successfully apply to jobs or receive payments and cash out their earnings. The company also charges employers a fee if they want to connect with “elite” freelancers or find people who are willing to pitch ideas on how to improve their business.
E. Email marketing
30. MailChimp
MailChimp is one of the best email marketing services for small businesses because it allows you to start for free and scale up your email program as your business grows. If you have a small list, you can get started with their freemium product. It’s easy to use, offers plenty of reporting insights, and has a dependable deliverability team.
MailChimp offers online tools that allow you to create professional-looking email newsletters, manage subscribers, share them on social networks and track your results.
Some key features include:
Email templates for brands of all sizes
Easy-to-use campaign builder
Real-time analytics reports
Automation features (e.g., triggered emails)
Customer support via phone, email or live chat
31. Aweber
AWeber is the email marketing platform that offers a variety of products to help you grow your business. With AWeber, you have access to hundreds of professionally designed email templates and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. You can also create your own designs and code them directly into the system.
AWeber’s email marketing platform also comes with helpful features like webinars, autoresponders, segmentation, and automation. Plus, you can easily create customized forms so you can obtain the email addresses of people who are interested in learning more about your business or products.
AWeber allows you to send up to 10,000 emails per month at a reasonable price.
Extra features: Subscriber tags for improved segmentation; A/B testing; Inbox inspector; Integrates with PayPal; Mobile app
32. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing tool for bloggers, podcasters, and creative entrepreneurs. It has an easy-to-use template system, a powerful visual automation builder, the ability to create landing pages, and a range of other useful features.
A major highlight is that it’s focused on conversions, with users able to build landing pages and opt-in forms right in the app. This can give you everything you need to grow your email list and turn more of your visitors into subscribers.
You can try it free for 14 days if you want to see how it works.
F. Accounting Tools
If you’re going to be spending money, then it makes sense to track it so that you know where every cent is going. These accounting tools will help with that:
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33. QuickBooks
isn’t just an accounting solution for freelancers, it’s also useful for contractors and small businesses. QuickBooks Online allows users to create customized invoices, manage bills and expenses, track income, run financial reports, and much more. They can sync their bank accounts with their QuickBooks account to automatically import transactions into their books. Plus, QuickBooks supports multiple currencies.
34. Wave Accounting
Is one of the best free accounting software for freelancers. This cloud-based solution is ideal for freelancers who are just starting out or have a very small business as it enables them to create invoices, scan receipts and generate financial reports at no cost! However, Wave doesn’t offer as many features as paid solutions like FreshBooks do so it might not be a good fit for those who need more advanced.
35. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is designed for freelancers and small businesses. It allows you to track your time and create invoices for clients. You’ll also be able to manage your expenses and accept online payments.
FreshBooks is cloud-based accounting software that lets you manage your business from anywhere, on any device. The platform lets you track your time, send custom invoices, automatically track receipts, monitor expenses, and get paid faster.
You can use FreshBooks to send professional-looking invoices online and accept credit card payments from your clients. They offer a simple way to organize your financial data, categorize expenses, and record hours worked so you can see where all of your money is coming from and where it’s going. The platform comes with reports that help you understand the financial health of your business at a glance.
It offers an integration with PayPal that allows you to get paid faster by sending invoices directly to your clients’ inboxes in just a few clicks. You can also connect FreshBooks to MailChimp so you know who opened an invoice or clicked on the link inside it, enabling you to follow up accordingly.
FreshBooks features a time-tracking tool that lets you track billable hours worked by project or client and create
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36. Wave
Wave is a free accounting software program that handles invoicing, bookkeeping, and more. It also has a human support team in case the software can’t answer your questions.
This free software is great for self-employed people who don’t have the time to manage their books on their own.
With Wave, you can:
– Invoice customers
– Track time (for hourly billing)
– Pay employees and contractors with direct deposit or checks
– Receive payments by credit card or bank transfer
– Track expenses with receipts and photos of receipts
37. InDinero
InDinero is accounting software that allows you to connect your business bank accounts, track invoices and payments, and generate financial reports at the end of each month. You can also sync your payroll and tax information with InDinero, so you don’t have to use multiple apps for different tasks.
You can also invite your accountant or bookkeeping team to use InDinero on your behalf.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the ideal “tool bag” for a freelancer is context-dependent. Rather than choosing one tool that fits all situations, you should consider your needs and their specific context and then choose the best tool(s) for each job. The tools in this list should help you determine what makes sense to include in that decision-making process and give you some ideas about areas where you can find new tools and expand your range of options.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources on freelance tools that you may find helpful:
Learn to Code with Me: Explore a comprehensive guide to freelance tools that can enhance your productivity and success in the tech industry.
Freelancermap Blog: Discover six incredible tools specifically designed to manage productivity and streamline your freelance workflow effectively.
Creative Boom: Check out a curated list of the best freelance tools for creative professionals in 2023, designed to elevate your creative projects and enhance collaboration.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about freelance tools:
What are freelance tools?
Freelance tools refer to software applications, platforms, and resources designed to assist freelancers in managing their projects, enhancing productivity, organizing finances, improving communication, and streamlining various aspects of their freelance work.
How can freelance tools benefit me as a freelancer?
Freelance tools can provide numerous benefits, such as improved project management, increased productivity, enhanced collaboration with clients and teams, simplified financial management, streamlined communication, and access to valuable resources and insights.
Are there free freelance tools available?
Yes, there are several free freelance tools available that can provide valuable functionalities. Some tools offer free versions with limited features, while others are entirely free to use. It’s important to assess your specific needs and explore different options to find the tools that best suit your requirements and budget.
How do I choose the right freelance tools for my needs?
Choosing the right freelance tools depends on your specific needs and preferences. Consider factors such as the nature of your work, required features, user-friendliness, compatibility with your devices, customer support, and pricing. Reading reviews, comparing different tools, and trying out demos or free versions can help you make an informed decision.
Can I integrate multiple freelance tools together?
Yes, many freelance tools offer integrations with other software and platforms. Integrating different tools can enhance their functionalities and create a seamless workflow. Check the documentation or support resources provided by the tools you’re interested in to understand the available integration options and compatibility with other tools you use.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.