Freelancing comes with a multitude of benefits but it can also be overwhelming at times. Keeping track of your budget, sending invoices and managing your time… these tasks can be intimidating and time-consuming.
You want to be able to track how you spend your time, which will help when invoicing clients. Furthermore, you want to manage your invoices easily and not spend hours trying to create and send them out, then have to follow up to see whether they were received. This is where technology can help.
There are tons of apps for freelancers that can help you with these tasks, giving you the freedom to focus on your work. Finding the right ones can be a little overwhelming so to make things a little easier, we have compiled a list of the best apps for freelancers for 2021 to help you along the way.
Budgeting
Let’s be honest, although working as a freelancer gives you creative freedom and a flexible lifestyle, it can also come with financial instability. Some months the work flows in, other times there may be fewer projects. Clients may also delay paying you which could leave you short at the end of the month.
Having a good budget in place can help you prepare for those stressful months should they arise. These budgeting apps for freelancers will help you to manage your finances.
Budgeting apps for freelancers:
YNAB
YNAB allows you to sync your bank accounts, manually enter transactions and import your data from a file. The app is designed to help you get at least a month ahead of your expenses so that you have a cushion to fall back on. YNAB has dozens of features including:
– Bank syncing
– Transaction matching
– Real-time access to all your budget data across multiple devices
– Goal tracking
– Personal support
Paid or free: Paid
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Mint
Mint offers you personalised insights, custom budgets, spend tracking, and subscription monitoring. The best part is that it’s free. This is one of the best apps for freelancers wanting to keep track of their budget. It allows you to see your monthly bills, set goals, grow savings, check your credit health and manage debt.
Paid or free: Free
Download from Google Play store
Download from Apple store
Simplifi by Quicken
Simplifi by Quicken is a great app that allows you to customise and track your budget. It syncs with your financial accounts and offers you the opportunity to set and achieve your money goals whilst also tracking your spending habits and budget. You will be able to view your banking, credit card, loans and investments all in one place and view upcoming bills, income transfers and how they affect your balance.
Paid or free: paid
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Invoicing
Invoicing can be a tedious process, especially if you are using Word or Excel. Invoicing software is ideal for freelancers wanting to save themselves the time and energy of invoicing clients and these apps are perfect for the job.
Invoicing apps for freelancers:
QuickBooks
Quickbooks is an excellent app for freelancers on the go. You can send professional invoices and quotes without having to log onto your PC and it also helps you prepare for tax time with a feature that allows you to take photos of your slips and attach them to business expenses. Furthermore, Quickbooks will enable you to receive notifications when invoices have been viewed and paid.
Paid or Free: Paid
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Wave
Although Wave is known as accounting software, it’s also really great for invoicing. You can create customised invoices, check invoice statuses, record payments and send invoice reminders. The app also works with Payments by Wave to accept credits card and bank payments.
Paid or free: Free
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja is the real deal. In addition to free invoicing and auto-billing capabilities, it also has tools to streamline your workflow, expenses and reporting as well as time-tracking tools for the invoicing side.
Paid or free: Free
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Time-tracking
As a freelancer, it’s essential to keep track of your time for two reasons. Firstly, you can monitor how you are spending your time and make adjustments to streamline your work. Secondly, you can communicate to companies how many hours spent working on a project and the expected budget for future projects. The following apps can make a big difference in tracking your time.
Time-tracking apps for freelancers:
TimeCamp
Through TimeCamp you can log your time with a start timer and track time to your existing projects, or new ones from wherever you are. It also allows you to fill in your timesheet manually.
Paid or free: Free
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Bonsai
Bonsai was designed with freelancers in mind. The app includes a time tracker that integrates with your ongoing projects and clients. Once you’ve tracked your time, you can then add them to a new invoice for billing. Additionally, Bonsai lets you track expenses by taking photos to bill to one of your projects. You can then add these to your invoices along with your timesheets.
Paid of free: Paid
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
Toggl Track
With Toggl Track you can keep tabs of your hours and see where you are spending most of your time. This allows you to use that information to go through your reports and break down your hours by projects, clients and tasks.
Paid or free: Free
Download from Google Play storeDownload from Apple store
The next step
Now that you know the best apps for freelancers, the next step is to secure a job that matches your needs (and dreams!). Going through a digital recruitment agency like Salt is a great way to find that job. You can browse hundreds of listings on our website, simply select your location and type in the job title. To narrow things down include the word ‘freelance’ in your search. You can also contact us and we will gladly assist in helping you find the ideal job.
