Freelancefolder

22 Comments

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  Kris Colvin

  September 29th, 2008 at 11:05 am

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  One word: Freshbooks!!! I used to use another invoicing software online, and it was okay, but we hated the way their invoices looked so we redid them every time and sent them branded.

  I’d love to have more control over that aspect at Freshbooks, but I got smart and decided to make things easier on myself, and I send them snail mail and email, and life is SOOOO much easier. I love their system, they listen to requests, have a forum, etc. They may only handle one aspect of administrivia, but it’s an important one since that’s how I get PAID. :-)

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  adelle

  September 29th, 2008 at 11:13 am

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  Been a couple weeks ;) But it’s still my least favorite, however I have found curdbee since (http://curdbee.com/) and am really enjoying the simplicity and functionality. I have also started using basecamp for projects and would totally recommend using that to keep up on the details. I think I’d be lost without it!

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  Alexander Langer

  September 29th, 2008 at 11:16 am

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  Taxes are pretty complicated here in Germany. But every freelancer should have a vital interest in taxes, billing and that stuf, because it’s about your money!

  I use a good software for invoicing, have an accountant at hand that I can ask about this and that and also have to books to let me look up some basic stuff. I worked out some rules of thumbs to let me easily calculate how much money I can actually spend and how much I have to hold back.

  Therefore I also have a notepad entry on my iPhone with some figures I keep up-to-date whenever I receive money or pay some.

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  Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

  September 29th, 2008 at 11:24 am

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  I’ve made the process of dealing with paperwork much easier for myself by having “office hours” of Monday through Thursday, 8 AM to 5 PM. I have no client contact at all on Fridays and that day each week is set aside for administrative details, paperwork and marketing. It’s much easier to get it all done when I have a standing “appointment” with myself each week – and no client or vendor interruptions.

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  Mason Hipp

  September 29th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

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  @Kris & Adelle — Freshbooks is a great piece of software, and Curdbee looks pretty slick too. I’m curious though — how do you guys handle other accounting matters like vendors and taxes?

  @Alexander — Having an accountant is truly a blessing :-) That’s an interesting idea to keep track of some things on an iphone. How difficult is it, and how often do you use that?

  @Jeff — The “standing appointment” habit is a great one to get in to, though an entire day does seem like a lot. How do you market on Fridays without talking to clients? Or do you talk to ‘prospective’ clients only?

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  Susie

  September 29th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

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  I have to agree strongly with Jeff – if you let it pile up the task is worse and you have a tendency to run away from it. Keep structured folders if you do things manually – and keep things organized with all the latest information at the top of the folder so that you know what your up against.

  I am still one that relies on the manual part of it, keeping all client information in something I can hold. I am not paperless by any means, but it works for me. I like to physically be able to pull out a document and refer back.

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  liz

  September 29th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

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  I’ll third Freshbooks, I haven’t found a better invoicing app out there.

  I’ve been trying out lighthouseapp as an alternative to basecamp. I like the clean interface, think some of the terminology is confusing, but still giving it a shot. I’d really like a *simple* task/project tracker but have yet to land on the perfect one.

  I also heavily rely on google’s flagging system to create a workflow for smaller tasks I need to do when I don’t want to mess about with translating all the info into ANOTHER webapp.

  Orange arrow flag = to do, yellow ! = I did it, waiting for approval, green checkmark = done.

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  Sharon Hurley Hall

  September 29th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

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  I use QuickBooks, though I don’t particularly like it, plus an Excel file for on-the-fly tracking. The Excel file is always up to date, but the QB file isn’t. I also use a couple of Firefox extensions to help with task management: GTDInbox and RTM for Gmail. That helps keep part of the admin under control.

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  Alexander Langer

  September 29th, 2008 at 3:11 pm

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  @Mason

  Whenever I pay a bill or receive payment I update my figures on my iPhone. So when I want to know how much money of what I have on my bank account I can spend freely or how much money I will get sooner or later because the contracts are signed..

  To keep track of the time I spend on marketing, pre-sales, projects, etc. I use an easy to use web app called Mite – http://mite.yo.lk . I don’t need full project management capabilities so I rather go for a “just enough to get it done” instead of using Basecamp or something like that. Next I’ll evaluate “Things” ( http://www.culturedcode.com/things/ ) on my iPhone..

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  Michael Martine - Remarkablogger

  September 29th, 2008 at 3:37 pm

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  Basecamp, PayPal, and, most importantly, a partner who is good at the “paperwork stuff.”

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  DKumar M.

  September 29th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

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  I also go with Freshbooks As other application is not as much as promising as Freshbooks !!
  I gave a shot to QuickBooks also but not very convincing for me at least so i switched.

  Still, if there is any other good app out there…then I’ll waiting to give it a try ;)

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  Nicole LaMarco

  September 29th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

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  I actually do not mind the administrative stuff.

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  Selene M. Bowlby

  September 29th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

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  I’ve been looking for a better solution than what I’ve got now. I’m using Studiometry – http://studiometry.com – for time tracking, and Excel for invoices. Studiometry is GREAT for time tracking, and actually does invoices too (as well as contact management, keeping track of employees, etc.) – I have yet to use it to it’s full potential, though. It’s a bit costly $200+ BUT what I like about it is a one time purchase and it’s YOURS. I don’t like the monthly fees involved with some of the online services.

  I love Jeff’s idea of having a dedicated admin day. I’m thinking of doing that on Monday’s – good to start off the week on the right foot and get a good schedule planned for the upcoming week, etc.

  I’m also working on blocking off times for certain tasks – such as just responding to emails 2x or 3x a day (not constantly as each message comes in… it can be too distracting when I’m actually trying to work).

  In an attempt to get back to getting up EARLY I’ve decided to spend my very early morning hours (5-8am) working on self promotion, marketing, blogging, etc. Somehow it’s a little bit easier to get up before the sun if I know I’m going to be working on my stuff, LOL. Then I spend the rest of the day (10am-4pm) working on client projects.

  I notice that I tend to do most of my proposals on Friday’s too. Interesting how patterns emerge (I wasn’t consciously aware of it until responding to this post, lol).

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  Meryl K. Evans

  September 30th, 2008 at 10:20 am

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  It took me over a year to get the hang of QuickBooks, which is saying a lot because I usually jump in software. I made a couple of memorized transactions so all I have to do is enter the data. I do have one client where I record the work I do in Excel and then transfer it to QB. It sounds like double work, but considering Excel opens instantly and QB takes its sweet time… it’s better this way.

  For other clients, track my time in a draft email and then at the end of the month — I create QB invoices.

  QB’s biggest problem is that it takes too long to load for quick tasks. So in summary… I record my time and tasks in faster apps and then enter them all at once into QB at the end of the month or pay period.

  I never use QB for stuff that takes a minute because it ain’t quick. I heard good things about Freshbooks… but I worked hard to get the hang of QB, so I am not about to change since I have a good process going here.

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  Sharon Hurley Hall

  September 30th, 2008 at 10:40 am

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  Meryl, you don’t know how glad I am to hear you say that. I thought it was just me. I usually get the hang of things quickly, but QB is taking me a while and the length of time it takes to open really bugs me. Thanks for sharing that. :)

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  Karen Vick

  September 30th, 2008 at 10:58 am

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  I am using Intervals (www.myintervals.com). I had been testing it on and off for a while earlier in the year and just switched to the paid version in August as it actually became worth it to use the paid version.

  With Intervals I am able to invoice, track projects, track sub-contractors and communicate with clients directly from the application. It creates beautifully formatted emails and invoices.

  I also have Quick Books for managing the “big” picture but… like Sharon and Meryl don’t like the fact that it’s so time consuming and has a learning curve. Having said that it is a necessary evil!

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  Nicholas B

  September 30th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

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  1. I use an accountant. everything goes in a box and handed to him at the end of the year. That’s what I pay him for!
  2. MacFreelance. I make a list of services/products/prices and select from a pulldown menu, select a client and invoice. Easy!!
  3. Paypal – including the ability to send Money Requests. My clients love to be able to pay online, with a credit card. I pay a small percentage, but that’s the cost of doing business.

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  Nicholas B

  September 30th, 2008 at 3:04 pm

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  OH, and I have a paper shredder too – my favourite piece of office equipment (after my Mac!)

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  Estuale

  October 13th, 2008 at 2:21 am

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  We guarantee your investment will be safe with us..
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  Trungumma

  October 18th, 2008 at 2:15 pm

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  I`am new girl on freelancefolder.com .Let’s gets acquainted!
  My name is Victoria.

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  Dallara

  December 27th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

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  Hello,

  I wanted to make before. ‘m New here in the forum and I am Christine. I hope some things I can read and write well

  Greeting Christine

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  AssollphentrimL

  January 17th, 2009 at 6:30 am

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