What are the best invoicing tools for freelancing?
How do I keep track of my expenses as a freelancer?
How do I keep on top of my accounts as a freelancer?
These are the most common questions I get around finances from freelancers. It can feel overwhelming looking at all the option, and if you’re new you might feel like all the options will be expensive (spoiler: they’re not – some are even free!)
So, I’ve put together some of the most trusted, user-friendly and affordable options for you to start looking at.
Invoicing tools for freelancers
Firstly though, a quick explanation about why you might need an invoicing system. An invoicing system is what you use to send your clients an invoice requesting payment after a project has finished or monthly/weekly. I started out using Freshbooks. It allowed me to set up invoices quickly and choose to send them automatically at the same time each month if I chose to. It also added on late fees for me if they passed the 30 day payment period without paying. Additionally, I could print out all of my expenses and invoices at the end of the year for my tax return (I now track it all but keep most of the digital ones in a subfolder rather than printing them all).
Other popular options include Crunch, which is slightly pricier but includes an accountancy service and is Brighton-based, Sage probably the most well known and trusted and a great option if you’re looking to grow your business to more than just you in the future, and FreeAgent (affil link), which has some great features like connecting your bank and showing you your cashflow. Many of these offer a free trial if you want to give it a go.
I use Freeagent and find it the most user-friendly. The bank feed makes matching my expenses and payments super easy, you can file your self-assessment through them, or you can add your accountant to it so they can do it for you through it. They’ll even send you a nudge every Monday with what tasks you have to do each week.
I have used Wave (free) in the past, but they don’t support the UK anymore because they aren’t GDPR-friendly.
Many of my freelance friends do it all manually, which works really well for them and it’s free (sadly, I’m not that organised!). You can even find free invoice templates on Google Drive.
Want to know more about finance as a freelancer? Check out these articles.