I'm a solo freelance developer who also provides web hosting for most of my clients. Because I receive whmcs for free through my hosting reseller account, that's what I've been using for my client management and invoicing; however, it's more geared towards running a hosting business rather than a dev/marketing business. Also, I find that my clients don't seem to find it all that intuitive, and I often need to chase down payments.
For time tracking, I am using Toggl. I think it's a decent app, but I feel it's a bit overkill for a solo freelancer, yet lacking in a few other areas. It's almost too robust, and time tracking with it as a solo dev seems overly cumbersome.
What I'd like to find is an app that consolidates the time tracking and billing, along with project management features to aid with scheduling and workflow. If accounting features are included, that would be a plus, but what I'm mainly looking for is one go to solution for time tracking, invoicing, estimates, and project management.
Closest thing I've seen to this is Solo (thrivesolo.com), but reviews are very mixed.
I'm considering taking a look at Harvest. I've tried FreeAgent in the past and am considering giving it another go, but from what I remember, it's more of an accounting app.
Those of you that are either solo or part of a small agency - what apps or online services would recommend? I'd love to streamline my time tracking, workflow, and billing, so I'd greatly appreciate it if any of you could chime in. Thanks in advance!
I like Harvest both for time-tracking and for invoicing clients. It's simple, which I love.
I have found that you don't want to over complicate things and try and keep things as simple as needed. Freshbooks is a great option for basic bookkeeping, has timetracking and some level of project mgt. I have not used the timetracking and PM tools within it as of yet so I cannot comment too much, but it does have the foundational components you are looking for.
In regards to PM software, this can also get overcomplicated in a hurry. Try using something like Trello, its free and is simple to use. I know that others LOVE Basecamp, but I am still not onboard as of yet. The other best thought on PM software is that if your using it to track others work progress, to learn the tools the developer likes, that way you are assured buy in.
I have a broad scope of experience with CRM and PM software and it really comes down to what you require, and to avoid over complicating things.
Just my thoughts.
- Branden
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Branden Moskwa, B.ASBE, CAPM
Entrepreneur | Founder and Advisor
Email: brandenmoskwa@gmail.com
Phone: (206) 801-1778
Web: Moskwa.ca | Nadimo.com | @bmoskwa
TheGuardian.com - Small Business Leader of the Year Nominee
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I second Freshbooks. For project management, WorkFlowy can be a great option...Takes less than 5 minutes to learn and can be anything you need it to be. (Watch the quick tutorial video so the blank page you start out with doesn't freak you out.) I've seen Workflowy referred to as a list making app, but most people I know who use it use it as a project manager, because it's good for very fluid projects with a lot of moving parts. Plus, it works from the very first brainstorming session because you can just move items up or down in priority by dragging the bullet points and it's easy to add and delete things as you reassess along the way. You could even use it for managing several large projects that were completely unrelated to each other by just giving each one a different main bullet point. Very handy!
For accounting I use XERO, but you might consider Freshbooks if you are looking for easy fresh tools.
BTW, check out WAVE -- www.waveapps.com -- it's all free (timing, invoices, accounting, and even payroll...)
Keep things simple.
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