Editor’s Observe: Since this submit was initially printed again in 2015, FreshBooks has rolled out newer variations. This submit has been up to date in 2024 to mirror perks, ideas and methods obtainable for the most recent FreshBooks platform — which is what you’ll get should you join a free trial at the moment.
For those who had been paid for each hour you spend working in your freelance writing enterprise, you’d be wealthy.
However if you work for your self, there’s loads it’s essential to do to preserve your corporation operating easily. Administrative duties like invoicing, maintaining observe of funds, consumer administration and bookkeeping can eat up a great deal of time — and also you’re not paid to do them.
The extra effectively you possibly can handle these duties, the extra time you possibly can spend on paid work. And should you can automate a number of issues, even higher.
Enter FreshBooks, the freelance author’s time-saving and money-saving dream.
You could already be aware of this on-line invoicing software program that makes it straightforward to ship invoices and obtain funds. However do you know FreshBooks also can prevent a boatload in invoicing charges? And that it might enable you to keep on prime of your corporation bills? Or that there’s a time-tracking function?
Learn on to find out how you should use FreshBooks to extra effectively handle your corporation and liberate time to give attention to paid freelance writing work.
1. Observe your time
Whether or not you’ve shoppers on retainer, are paid a flat charge per undertaking or invoice hourly, it’s all the time a good suggestion to maintain observe of how a lot time you spend on every consumer.
Why? Since you could possibly be logging extra time than you thought. And when you understand precisely how lengthy it’s essential to full a selected job, you possibly can higher consider the initiatives you tackle and charges you cost.
For instance, you could suppose you want two hours to put in writing a weblog submit, however by monitoring your time you uncover it takes three. Say you’re being paid $50 for the submit. Which means you’re making $16.66 an hour, not the $25 you thought — an enormous distinction.
Monitoring your time when it’s essential to be doing precise work might seem to be a drag, however the FreshBooks app for iPhone, iPad and Android makes it tremendous straightforward. Simply choose your consumer and undertaking, then begin the timer — or pause it if you want a break — and also you’ll be properly in your strategy to time monitoring bliss.
FreshBooks can be suitable with a number of desktop widgets akin to ChronoMate for Mac OS-X and Toggl, so you possibly can observe your time even if you’re offline.
FreshBooks additionally makes it straightforward to notice which of your providers you’re utilizing for any given undertaking. As an example, maybe you’re a contract author who presents running a blog, copywriting, and search engine marketing providers. Noting which of those abilities you’re using on every timer you set may help you uncover which of your providers is most profitable — and thus, which features of your corporation to take a position extra time and power into.
Professional tip: To set your freelance writing charges, it’s useful to know precisely how a lot time you spend on each single side of your corporation. To get a deal with on how a lot time you spend doing stuff that doesn’t herald money, create a brand new consumer: your self. Then observe any time you spend on advertising, enterprise improvement or administrative duties.
Having a full 360-degree view of the place your time goes could possibly be eye-opening. You could notice it’s time to boost your charges as a result of it’s essential to account for that unpaid time you’re dedicating to your corporation every week. (Want slightly extra encouragement? Try FreshBooks’ e book on cost what you’re actually price.)
2. Improve your probabilities of well timed fee
Each freelance author fears the unpaid bill. To assist keep away from this uncomfortable state of affairs, every bill ought to remind shoppers of the fee phrases you agreed to in your contract. (For those who don’t have a freelance writing contract, it’s a good suggestion to begin utilizing one.)
FreshBooks has finished the heavy lifting right here and analyzed what language for fee phrases works greatest. They discovered that being well mannered, telling shoppers precisely what number of days they need to pay and including curiosity for late funds improve the chance that you simply’ll be paid on time.
Professional tip: You could not have the identical fee phrases for all shoppers. You’ll be able to edit the default language on every bill to make sure the phrases you and a selected consumer have agreed upon are right.
3. Handle your incoming funds
“I like maintaining tabs on all my shoppers to ensure they pay on time,” stated no freelance author ever.
If you’ve acquired handful of invoices out for fee, it may be arduous to maintain observe of when every fee are due — and which shoppers might have missed their deadlines to pay.
With FreshBooks, it’s straightforward to maintain observe of who owes how a lot and after they owe it — all you need to do is click on on “Accounts Getting older” on the backside of your house display screen to generate a full report.
Professional tip: You’ll be able to arrange your FreshBooks account to robotically ship a reminder to shoppers who’ve missed their fee deadline. Arrange a late fee notification, personalize your message and shoppers will obtain a delicate nudge in the event that they by chance neglect to pay.
4. Calculate bills and tax deductions
Come tax time, you higher imagine you possibly can deduct each $5.50 almond milk latte (properly, technically half of every one) you sipped whereas doing consumer work out of your favourite espresso store. Use FreshBooks to trace your corporation bills all year long and even add images of receipts in case the IRS desires them later.
Whilst you’ll need to be diligent about logging and categorizing every expense all year long, this can come in useful if you want it most. FreshBooks will calculate the precise quantity you’ve spent in every class, making it a breeze to fill out these pesky tax varieties.
Professional tip: Do it’s essential to submit bills to a consumer? No drawback: FreshBooks makes it easy to mark an expense as billable, so you possibly can bill it to your consumer down the road.
5. Professionalize and personalize your invoices
There are a number of different small issues you possibly can to to customise your invoices and exhibit to shoppers how amazingly organized, skilled and beautiful to work with you might be.
For those who’d like your invoices to look a bit extra skilled, merely drag and drop so as to add your brand. You’ll be able to even select from quite a lot of preloaded templates, colours and fonts to provide your invoices some pizzazz.
Use the notes part to begin constructing a superb relationship with a brand new consumer. A brief-and-sweet thank-you be aware by no means hurts. In truth, FreshBooks claims that together with a well mannered “please” and “thanks” will increase the probabilities of your bill being paid.
Have a consumer who communicates another means than e-mail? You’ll be able to select to export your bill as a sharable hyperlink as an alternative of sending it by way of the FreshBooks consumer, which lets you ship it whichever means your consumer prefers — which could enable you to receives a commission in a extra well timed trend should you work for somebody who doesn’t attempt for Inbox Zero.
6. Pitches, proposals and pricing
Customisable proposals and pitches give your shoppers all the main points, supported by pictures and attachments. Scope it out, define their wants and the way you meet them, the clicking ship and win that enterprise.
With in-app commenting, on-line approval and eSignatures, Proposals assist your shoppers take motion. Align timelines and simply convert Proposals to Invoices to avoid wasting time billing.
In progress, seen, or accepted. You all the time know the standing of a Proposal. Consumer questions? Reply proper in FreshBooks. Want an outdated Proposal? Observe all of them in Consumer Profiles.
Need to be taught extra? Attempt FreshBooks free for 30 days or get 50% off for the primary 3 months!
Do you employ FreshBooks to handle your invoices and bills? Did we miss any of your favourite hacks or methods?
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