You have decided to become a freelancer. You are the boss of your own time, your company and the projects you want to work on. A lot happens from finding new clients to managing your workload. The truth is … you kind of have to do everything, especially when you’re just starting out.
To maximize your chances of success, one of your first decisions as a freelancer is how to manage your processes – specifically your invoices, bookkeeping, clients and projects.
In order to find, keep and receive compelling customer reviews, you need an efficient and scalable way to keep track of invoicing, accounting, time recording and customer management. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to neglect the billable tasks that build your business and keep catching up.
After a lot of testing, here is our pick of the best freelancer apps to manage your business and prepare your freelancer career for maximum results.
The 7 best apps for freelancers in 2021
1. FreeAgent
FreeAgent is a popular all-round accounting tool that keeps track of your time, manages projects, sends invoices, and prepares your tax returns. It’s especially powerful for freelancers and small businesses in the UK.
While the FreeAgent user experience is a little dated than some of the other freelance apps in this post, it works remarkably well in a wide variety of use cases.
If you’re getting paid in multiple currencies and you’re using an app like TransferWise to receive and convert money, FreeAgent is an easy way to streamline bookkeeping. It is very easy to invoice customers in the correct currency, record payments in this currency and convert them to your home currency immediately.
Because FreeAgent connects to many major banks, it’s easy to automatically add expenses made on a business card. You can also import a bulk output CSV file.
The FreeAgent dashboard gives you a quick overview of all the key metrics for your freelance company at a glance:
FreeAgent has separate UK, US and rest of the world websites to provide you with the most important information you need. FreeAgent users in the UK can use the software to prepare their self-assessment forms and view a convenient timeline of your tax estimates at any time of the year.
FreeAgent could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You are a UK based resident and want built-in self-assessment and tax deadlines
- You are paid in multiple currencies
2. Xero
Xero is one of the most popular accounting systems out there, offering freelancers a high-end solution for managing their pipeline and accounts.
Along with QuickBooks, Xero is one of the most popular accounting tools out there. It’s extremely easy to use, beautifully designed, and perfect for freelancers looking to grow their business over the next few years. You can easily switch to the next plan when you’re ready for more performance from Xero.
Xero is designed to save you time as a freelancer – connect directly to your bank, create and track invoices quickly, and integrate with your favorite business applications. With the Hubdoc data collection and automatic entry tool from Xero, you can reduce paperwork and save even more time.
As a freelancer, you can choose between Xero’s three plans: Early ($ 9 / month), Growing ($ 30 / month), and Established ($ 60 / month). However, we recommend the most expensive of these three tiers – the established plan – as this is the only plan that includes multi-currency, time tracking, and project cost tracking capabilities.
Xero is also valuable to freelancers with a growing retail business. The accounting platform connects seamlessly with leading e-commerce apps for point-of-sale transactions (such as Square), inventory (such as CIN7) and payment systems such as Stripe and PayPal.
Xero could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You want strong native integrations with your other favorite apps
- You want instant bank reconciliation for transactions
- You want retail app integrations
- You have an accountant who is a Xero partner
3. QuickBooks self employed
QuickBooks is the leader in accounting software and is a great fit for many small businesses, although it is difficult for freelancers to come up with the perfect plan.
When I ask you to name an accounting software, QuickBooks probably comes to mind. With QuickBooks Self-Employed, freelancers can access a cheaper rate than the most popular cloud-based product (QuickBooks Online).
However, QuickBooks Self-Employed has its limitations. While you can send and track simple invoices, track mileage, and separate business and personal expenses, there is limited customization and no time tracking functionality in this plan. For that, you’ll need to choose a QuickBooks Online Small Business plan instead.
Once you’ve settled on a QuickBooks plan, your freelance business is in a great position to scale: you can switch plans and products as needed.
QuickBooks is also one of your best choices if you want a wide range of integrations and features.
QuickBooks could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You plan to scale your freelance business or become an agency in the next few years
- You want strong native integrations with your other favorite apps
- You want an instant bank reconciliation
- You have an accountant who is a QuickBooks partner
4. Pillows
Designed to give freelancers a clearer view of their workload and availability, Cushion improves cash flow while offering powerful billing and time tracking features.
Promising “Freelance Peace of Mind”, Cushion has beautiful UX and unique features to help you avoid too much work. It’s easy to visualize future workloads, income, expenses and bills so that freelancers can assess their financial situation in advance.
Cushion shines as an app for freelancers to help keep their workload under control, improve cash flow, and find a valuable balance. It’s also easy to track time and invoice customers with the app.
However, you will need to use another app to manage major accounting needs like compiling expenses and income for the tax year. Cushion easily integrates with FreeAgent, FreshBooks and Xero to make this possible.
Cushion could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You don’t currently need comprehensive accounting software or you have another system that syncs with Cushion (FreshBooks, FreeAgent or Xero).
- Your goal is to have a clearer view of your workload and avoid doing too much work
5. FreshBooks
As a powerful, all-in-one small solution for corporate accounting and invoicing, FreshBooks is a simple yet powerful software choice for freelancers and entrepreneurs.
FreshBooks has a great all-round feature set, yet it’s easy to use. Get unlimited customized bills, expenses, time tracking, estimates, online card payments, and bank transfers for the $ 15 / month Lite plan. You also get insightful tax time reports.
The Plus plan (starting at $ 25 / month) allows you to add more automation to your freelance business, such as: B. with scheduled payment reminders, recurring bills and late fees. You can also access customer retainer. The premium plan is intended for growing companies that need to manage up to 500 customers.
FreshBooks could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You need a time tracking feature at a low cost
- You want unlimited bills, estimates, and card payments
- You value simplicity and ease of use
6. UND.CO
AND.CO is a powerful all-in-one tool for freelancers to manage and grow their business. The platform was acquired by Fiverr in 2018.
AND.CO is a great fit for freelancers who are just starting out. Self-titled as “the one app to run your freelance business or studio”, over 300,000 companies use AND.CO to send quotes, invoice customers, receive payments, and manage their time, expenses, and tasks.
After being acquired by Fiverr in 2018, AND.CO changed course and introduced paid plans for most freelance businesses.
For USD 18 / month you can manage unlimited customers, remove the AND.CO branding, edit contracts and pay 2.9% + 30 cents for online payments. You can also link up to six bank accounts to keep track of when bills have been paid.
AND.CO integrates seamlessly with your other favorite freelance apps, including Mailchimp, Spotify and Stripe.
Extra tip: For additional benefits from AND.CO, whether you are a customer or not, listen to The Six Figure Freelancer audio course for free. AND.CO opens the microphone to top professionals who share their recipe for success for starting, growing, and sustaining a six-figure freelance career.
AND.CO could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You want to manage an unlimited number of customers
- You don’t need any advanced accounting functions
- You want a simple user experience
7. Wave accounting
Financial software that gives freelancers the most value at the lowest price – you need exactly zero budget to get started.
Wave is a very popular tool among freelancers for good reason – it’s free. The entrepreneurial finance software has the essential accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features you need to make your freelance business a breeze. If necessary, you can pay for access to online payments based on usage.
Here’s a look at Wave integrating with Stripe to keep track of cash flow, profit and loss, and overdue invoices:
Wave could be the best freelance software for you if:
- You’re on a budget and want a free app to manage your freelance business
- Her focus is on invoicing, basic bookkeeping, and receipt scanning
- You don’t have to track mileage, time or inventory
Would you like to streamline your processes? A two-way data synchronization solution ensures that data flows freely to the right places in your small business, from your freelance management tool to your email marketing provider to CRM.
