Money Matters

5 of The Best Tools For Freelancers Are you a dedicated, full-time freelancer addicted to the freedom of being your own boss and the thrills of an entrepreneurial spirit? Are you also struggling to juggle multiple clients at the same time and ensure each is getting your very best work? If so, you’re certainly not alone. Being a freelancer is tough at times, and despite all the pros that come hand in hand with this lifestyle, there are plenty of cons to keep you on your toes. Whether it’s the complexities of your monthly accounts, cybersecurity concerns, or time management matters, there is a range of excellent tools available for freelancers that can help you supercharge your career and keep you at the top of your game. Here are 5 of the best tools for freelancers in 2020: 1. Trello Project management is hard enough when you’re one contractor dealing with one project, but how do you keep things in check and organised when you’re facing multiple projects and dealing with various client demands? You need an easy to use project management system, which is exactly where Trello comes in. The popular free online tool allows you to create multiple boards, one for each project. Within those boards, you can create columns and cards to help you visualise your task load. As an added bonus, if you’re working with subcontractors, you can add them to your boards as team members, set deadlines, and communicate with your team on the cards. 2. ExpressVPN Whether you’re a writer, digital marketer, graphic designer, or e-commerce consultant, you are likely to deal with your clients’ sensitive data regularly. You may even have contact with your clients’ clients’ data. After all, think of all those WordPress and Shopify log-ins you have saved in your devices! You have a responsibility to your clients to keep their sensitive data safe, and one of the easiest ways to do that is with a VPN that encrypts your data. Ranked by CNET and other trusted publications as the top-ranking VPN in 2020, Express has proven itself time over as the VPN of choice for its high-speeds and the vast range of servers. 3. Clockify As you’re probably aware, preparing your monthly timesheets for clients should not be an exercise in creative writing. Charge too much and you risk losing work (not to mention reputational losses). Charge too little and you could be undercutting yourself and devaluing your work. It’s always best to keep accurate records of when you worked and how long you worked for, thankfully with Clockify, it’s a breeze. The free online tool tracks your time, making it easy to see your work for each client and export the data for easy sharing. 4. Wave If you’re anything like most creatives, accounting is a chore and a bore, rather like a thorn in your side and a bane to your freelance existence. However you feel about it, though, sound accounting practices are the backbone of any decent freelance career. After all, if you have scant knowledge of how much you earn and how much you spend in the process you’re not tuned in to your business. You’re also courting disaster with the ATO come tax time… Wave is a dedicated accounting software program for small businesses. What sets it apart from its competitors is the program’s ability to seamlessly link with your bank accounts and its optional payroll functionality — perfect if you frequently use subcontractors. 5. ScheduleOne One of the best things about being a freelancer in Australia is the miles and miles of untouched coastline, work from the beach, or a beach-front cafe, it’s all good in the Australian hood. But arranging a time to meet international clients can put a serious dampener on even the sunniest Aussie day. And our geographic distance from Europe and the US doesn’t help much either. To quickly and easily find out which time zones work for you and your clients, try ScheduleOne. The software integrates natively with other meeting tools such as Zoom, making it effortless to organise your international calls. On a tight budget? Try the free alternative timeanddate.com, just be aware it doesn’t have the same functionality as priced options. Also Enjoy: How to Supplement Your Income Online Also See : Connecting MySQL Database PHP - Database Connection in PHP With MySqli Example Is the World Coming To An End In 2026? – A New Scientific Prophecy – Could This One Actually Be Real? Fun Fact Switch from one-off clients to retainer-based clients · 2. Read widely and wildly to supercharge your freelance career · 3. Learn a new skill, The freelancer career was added to The Sims 4 via Patch 79. Sims don't progress through career levels but instead select an agency that helps connect them to individual gigs. The freelancer career functions similarly to skill careers in The Sims 3 in that there is no workplace.