Freelancer Business Tools I Swear By
I recently had a friend reach out and wanted to talk about some of the back-end tools and processes I use to keep my business running smoothly. I was ecstatic; this is one of my favorite parts of running my business!
Because of my creative and PR agency background, I’ve learned a lot about efficiency and organization over the years. I’m happy to say that I’ve adjusted my own processes and settled into one of the best, most efficient ways to manage client communications, content creation, and invoicing. If you’re also looking for some advice on where to start (or how to improve) your freelance or self-employed business, keep scrolling for the “tech stack” that keeps me organized.
Project Management
One of my very favorite tools is Notion. I use it for a lot (almost everything) inside my business, but I also use it for a lot (almost everything) outside my business, too. Think of it as a hub for all of your content, documents, and information to live in one place with capabilities like Google or Microsoft’s Sheets/Excel, Docs/Word, etc. For my business, we use it for:
Social media content calendars
Project dashboards (like links to important docs, call notes, etc.)
Task management
Document writing
Time tracking
If you’re just starting out on Notion, use some of their free (or paid) templates. There are hundreds for all kinds of projects! Then, as you get to know the program, you can start building your own templates and customize them to exactly what you need. You can do so much with Notion, and it’s entirely customizable. I don’t even think I’ve scratched the surface of everything I could be doing in there, especially as my business grows.
Content Storage
To manage all of the videos, images, and important documents, we use Dropbox. I like the interface a lot more than Google Drive and I find it a lot less buggy and easier to share content with guests. I also really like its app and the integration with my laptop, so I can easily share content between all of my devices. It’s one of the most reliable tools I’ve ever used.
Invoicing
I’ve used Freshbooks since the beginning of my freelance business and I still love it to this day. Because most of my business is retainer-based (i.e. monthly fixed price), I don’t use all of the capabilities, but the majority of the things I run through Freshbooks on a regular basis are:
Invoicing
Time tracking
Mileage tracking
You can have multiple employees, track all of your expenses (if you do that manually), and basically manage all of the finances for your company. I mostly use it for invoicing, and my clients have said that it’s super convenient to pay invoices directly through the system. Time tracking is super easy to manage and pull into invoices and there are a lot of customization options to make “pretty” invoices if you’re into that sort of thing.
Website/Email Hosting
I always recommend Squarespace to anyone looking to build a website on their own and I’ve built multiple websites for clients on it as well! Not to mention, this website is built on it and my previous online retail business was also hosted on Squarespace. I love it. It’s so customizable and so easy to learn. They’re continually adding new features that make it one of the best and quickest-to-launch website builders. If you have a business that sells things or a business that needs membership options, I definitely recommend it. Even if you just need one simple landing page; it’s just easy!
Business Banking
I’ve been with Novo for my business since the beginning as well, and I love it so much. It’s an online banking system, so you won’t find any Novo ATM machines, but you do get a debit card AND a virtual card, which means you can find your card information from your phone or laptop and don’t need to find the physical card to buy something. This is my favorite feature! I don’t pay any fees to keep the account and it’s got a very aesthetic interface.
Creative and Design
Obviously, Canva has come a long way over the years. I used to be staunchly against it, but I’ve really come around. I typically create all my social media graphics in Canva, along with my presentation decks, reports, portfolios, and even some of my landing pages. I’m not a professional graphic designer (that’s where Erin comes in), so I don’t have any use for Photoshop. Canva does exactly what I need it to for the content I create! I also don’t need AI generation and I edit my videos in CapCut, so Canva is mostly just for graphics, animations, and document creation.
Speaking of CapCut, I love it for my video editing. There are even templates for videos to make creating even easier. I use the iPhone app, but I also use the Desktop app when I need more command over my editing.
Lastly, sometimes I need a good photo but don’t have the time or ability to capture exactly what I want. Dupe is the best for authentic royalty-free images and videos. If you haven’t used it before, it’s one of the greatest libraries of usable, real content from real people. It will elevate your content game, I promise you.
Contract Signing
PandaDoc is my favorite document signing platform because it’s so easy to use, for both the person sending and receiving the document! You can create custom blocks that need to be filled in by the signer, and you can see all the back-end information like when it’s been viewed and when it’s been signed. It really elevates your client experience and makes you look (and feel) incredibly organized.