The world of freelancing has exploded over recent years, with many people ditching the 9-5 career path to branch out on their own. There are many wonderful freelance opportunities available for those with the right skills and experience, from freelance writing projects to freelance web design, virtual assistant, and accountancy jobs.
Of course, as a freelancer, you need to learn to make the most of your time, and this means making sure you streamline processes as much as possible. The good news is that there are various tools that you can turn to in order to get help with this, and this includes a range of automated software solutions that can prove invaluable when it comes to getting tasks completed as a freelancer.
Maria Velniceriu, founder of Missmv, recommends researching a range of tools to determine which ones are most likely to benefit you as a freelancer. This will obviously depend on the type of freelancing work you do, among other things.
In this article, we will look at some of the top automated software solutions to consider as a freelancer.
Some of the Top Options to Consider
There are many automated software tools for freelancers, and these can help with everything from time management to workflow and networking. So, let’s take a look at some of the top ones you might want to consider as a freelancer:
Time Doctor
As a freelancer, you will know just how important effective time management is. Time is money for all freelancers, and this is why you need to be able to manage your time properly.
Time Doctor is a SaaS tool that offers a host of features to make this much easier. You can benefit from access to a time-tracking dashboard so you can monitor your time, projects you are working on, and clients.
You can quickly and easily see how much time you are spending on each project, and this means you can create invoices with greater speed and accuracy as well as make changes to improve time efficiency.
Trello
Over recent years, Trello has become a hugely popular solution among freelancers, as it can make managing projects far easier and more efficient. It comes with a range of different boards that display information about the projects you are working on, and you can move items from board to board in order to keep track of the status of the project.
This not only helps you to see where you are with a project at a glance, but also increases efficiency. It also means that other collaborators, such as the client, can see where each project is at based on the information on the boards.
The platform also has a bot feature, and this enables automated notifications on due dates, assignments, and other key administrative tasks.
Planable
Social media has become increasingly important in the lives of freelancers in order to get tasks completed successfully. However, you need the right tools to make proper use of social media, and Planable is a social media collaboration tool that can help.
You can plan more easily and efficiently with this tool by using the content management and post-scheduling features. There is also a platform through which you can collaborate with clients on social media projects as well as customer support capabilities.
Canva
As a freelancer, you need to work in a timely manner, produce quality work, and ensure your pricing is competitive, all of which can aid success.
However, you also need to look at things such as personal branding and brand identity to further enhance your success in a competitive marketplace. Canva is a widely used tool that can help with this, and you can even benefit from a free version of the platform.
This is a great tool for creating branded material and content, and it is easy to use as well as being efficient and affordable. You can manage everything from fonts and colors to logos and more in order to maintain consistency when it comes to branding.
Slack
Many freelancers will already have heard of Slack, as it has become an enormously popular tool over the past few years. As a freelancer working from home, you don’t have the option of popping to someone else’s desk to see someone else within the office to ask them questions or provide updates.
Naturally, trying to communicate via email can lead to delays in responses, which delays the completion of tasks. However, with this tool, you can communicate effectively, message instantly, set up groups for contact, huddle, private message, set up channels, and much more.
Do Your Research to Find the Right Tools
As a freelancer, the tools that will most benefit you will vary based on your needs, the type of work you do, and more. This is why it is so important to ensure you do your research and look at the various options to find the right tools for your needs.
With so many different automated software options to choose from these days, finding the perfect ones to aid you as a freelancer shouldn’t be a problem.
When doing your research, make sure you check the capabilities, the cost of the solution, the features the solution comes with, and how it can ultimately help you on a day-to-day basis. You can then determine which ones are ideal for you.