5 Financial Management Tools for Freelancers

When you’re freelancing but not running a business, it can be quite difficult to separate “for work” from “for yourself” expenses. It’s not easy to be tempted to, for example, buy a new Apple gadget, if you can justify it on professional grounds, right?

Managing fees, bills, unplanned expenses and spontaneous purchases is a big challenge not only for freelancers.
However, when you are working your sentence, you need to consider your income irregularities as well as consider how you will settle accounts with the client.

Why is it worth analyzing and controlling expenses ? Freelancers complain about low rates or unrealistic financial expectations of customers.
Whether you are happy with your rates or you feel you are earning too little, a meticulous analysis of your expenses will allow you to eliminate unnecessary purchases and regain control over your budget .
It may turn out that “single” coffees in a popular chain store more of your earnings than you think and definitely more than you want to spend on them.

Top 5 financial management tools for freelancers

How to control unplanned purchases? We have compiled a list of the 5 best free budget management tools and applications for freelancers . Here you will find a full range of services: from filing invoices to calculating rates to issuing invoices.

Setting the hourly rate – Toggl

Toggl is a well-known time tracking tool , especially useful when you pay your bills based not on the entire project, but on the hour you work . The big advantage of Toggl is that you can use it on mobile devices as a desktop application and as a Chrome plugin.

Toggl is free for up to 5 users , so if you want to settle an “hourly” job with one customer, you can both track the progress of work and not pay for the service.
Paid plans start at $ 10 per month.

Useme is a platform for freelancers, thanks to which you can secure your payment and issue an invoice for the work done, even if you do not have your own company . In addition, the website also has an order exchange for freelancers , where – unlike other portals – the rates in offers are visible only to the client.

Registration on the website and using the website are free. Useme charges 5% commission on settled contracts.

Planning the budget and expenses, saving

Even if you aren’t complaining about your financial situation, comparing your expense list to reality may show you a few “sins” that consume too much money. Thanks to several such small sources of savings, you can recover amounts that will surprise you.

Applications for expense management and cost tracking are a convenient solution . In the My finances application, you can add several bank accounts and thanks to monitoring you will find out what you spend your earnings on.
You can divide the expenses into several categories, which will allow you to determine the average amount that is spent on living. This is especially important information for those freelancers who are just starting to work on their own and want to avoid unpleasant surprises.

However, external applications require sharing your data, so if security means a lot to you, you can use dedicated banking applications that allow you to track your expenses and show account “statistics” (eg mbank, ING).
They also allow you to get more detailed reports as the app is linked to your account and it doesn’t rely on what you enter into it… or what you miss.

If you have several accounts and want to combine the data obtained from several applications, use the “calculator” prepared by Michał Szafrański from the blog  . Together with the budget spreadsheet, Michał provides some tips and ideas on how to “disenchant” budgeting for those who are terrified by this topic.

Archiving accounts: Receipt – your guarantees

Storing receipts and guarantees is troublesome in everyday life. When you work as a freelancer and invest in the equipment you need to perform your orders, the more you care about the good operation of the equipment or … efficient servicing.

Thanks to the Paragon application, you will avoid problems with receipts from which the purchase data has mixed up and the stress of losing an important bill. The application allows you to store “scanned” receipts and proofs of purchase without the need for a physical copy.

Top 5 financial management tools for freelancers – summary

What does a freelancer need to be in control of their budget?
First of all, you need to ensure order in finances related to remote work: here it is useful to accurately count the working time and to issue invoices without a company (useme.eu).

The second category of expenses is related to the cost of living . Applications for mobile devices (my finances), dedicated bank applications – these are generally more effective – or … manual recalculation of costs and filling them in the form will help you control expenses, find sources of savings and save money.

Finally, to secure the possible service and warranty of the purchased items, use the Paragon application. You will keep receipts and bills in it , which provide free product service.