6 Must-Have Tools For Freelancers In 2019

You’re an experienced freelancer, battle-hardened by difficult clients and familiar with handling the admin by yourself. Yet you’re still faced with updating clients on projects, marketing your business and managing your cash flow.

You would really benefit from the removal of those trivial tasks that, until now, have been weighing your operation down and taking your attention away from growth…

The trick is to change how you work, not simply work harder. That’s why we’ve provided our guide to essential tools for freelancers to help you flourish in 2019.

Project management tools

Slack 

While not new, Slack has regularly updated itself to become almost unrecognisable from its 2013 release. Initially earning the respect of business users looking to enhance communication without the use of email software, Slack has become embedded in many startup’s operations. It is, essentially, a chat platform.

Developers have recently improved how their application works with external organisations via shared channels, making it a perfect digital tool for freelancers on a retainer with a corporate client. With Slack, you’re able to keep them in the loop of all necessary updates while remaining at arm’s length.

Things 

Freelancers that want stylish yet minimalistic project management tools need look no further than Things. Only available for Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad, you can stay on top of your tasks while easily accessing the information that provides background for your work – all in one place.

The app structures your daily objectives and breaks down all of the necessary stages in the process. Users can specify times that briefs are due for and when they want to complete that work, acting as a friendlier means of allowing you to address intention when managing your tasks. Its simplistic aesthetic makes navigation flawless and a pleasure to use too.

Brand communication platforms

MailChimp 

MailChimp is an essential freelancer tool for those who offer a broader service and have less of a requirement for analytics. They want high-impact, low-cost solutions to get their brand into the public domain and build up subscribers. In these circumstances, there is only one provider who dominates free email marketing automation solutions.

Mailchimp’s service remains free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month, which is plenty for a freelancer just starting out. While it doesn’t offer the enhanced marketing suite of its competitors, there is plenty of room for experimentation and should allow you to build your audience through trial and error strategies.

SendPulse 

If you truly want to get usage out of a piece of software before paying, few competitors rival SendPulse. Offering 15,000 emails a month to 2,500 subscribers for free, this tool has made serious ground in the past few years. Launched in 2015, the system offers a cheaper paid plan than MailChimp with additional SMS texts and push notifications included.

If your freelancing operation has a need for scalable capacity with a minimalistic interface, look no further. No matter what you do, SendPulse offers a one-size-fits-all collection of templates and designs. Its generosity has secured a loyal userbase and, for any freelancer looking for a serious alternative to MailChimp, it’s easy to see why.

Finance management software

Fluidly 

Through building a machine learning-based technology to predict and optimise cash flow for SMEs, Fluidly hopes to improve cash flow management forever. The software connects to a freelancer’s bank account via Open Banking and their cloud accounting software. It can then access the transaction-level bank and accounting data, forecasting your cash flow and saving massive accountancy fees.

This is achieved through the prediction of invoices arriving, income coming into your account, and other recurring payments – giving you an instant, continuously updated view of your financial future rather than having to model it in a spreadsheet. With Fluidly, AI removes all worry from the cash flow conundrum and allows you to focus your attention on building your business not your collection process.

GoSimpleTax 

GoSimpleTax is designed to eradicate the burden of Self Assessment tax returns by simplifying the process and accurately sending the documentation to HMRC. With this software, you can remove accountancy fees from your freelance operation’s outgoings and never worry about late penalties being issued again.

You can get started almost immediately with a 14-day trial, and begin recording your income and expenditure and receiving tax-saving suggestions.

While freelancing can sometimes feel difficult, through the assistance of tools and applications, the majority of these challenges can be dealt with swiftly. Project management software and marketing tools are sure to get your message out there if used correctly.

You may find our 8 must-use tools for an easy freelance life article useful as well

More importantly, cash flow and finance management platforms can comfortably allow you to take your focus off cash collection and instead on client acquisition. Test out GoSimpleTax software with a 14-day free trial, or speak to a member of our team to discuss the best package available for you.

Blog content is for information purposes and over time may become outdated, although we do strive to keep it current. It's written to help you understand your Tax's and is not to be relied upon as professional accounting, tax and legal advice due to differences in everyone's circumstances. For additional help please contact our support team or HMRC.