Essential Tools for Every Successful Freelancer – The Ultimate 2023 List
Freelancing comes with its fair share of challenges – inconsistent work, technical difficulties, getting paid on time. Thankfully, with the right tools in your toolkit, you can alleviate many of these stresses and set yourself up for ongoing success.
This definitive guide covers the most indispensable, must-have tools that every freelancer needs in 2023 to not only survive but truly thrive. From finding work to getting paid and everything in between, we’ll explore software, platforms, and other resources that top freelancers rely on.
Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned freelance veteran, you’re sure to discover some new favorites to add to your workflow after reading. Let’s dive in!
Finding Freelancer Work
Using dedicated platforms and job boards to connect with clients is one of the most effortless ways to land consistent freelance work. Rather than trying to blindly promote yourself or rely solely on word-of-mouth, today’s best tools make finding gigs easier than ever.
Upwork
The world’s leading freelance platform, Upwork boasts incredible reach with millions of projects posted annually. It allows businesses of all sizes to easily hire for everything from writing and data entry to web development and design.
As a freelancer, you create an in-depth profile showcasing your skills, experience, ratings/reviews from past clients, and more. You can then browse open projects, submit proposals, communicate securely with clients, and invoice directly through Upwork.
Key Features
- 5.5+ million registered clients
- $1B+ in annual payouts to freelancers
- Robust profile customization
- Built-in chat and video call
- Time tracking and invoicing
- Secure fund handling
Fiverr
Another massively popular site, Fiverr makes buying and selling freelance services quick and affordable. Freelance “gigs” often start at just $5, hence the name.
The platform works similarly to Upwork – build an attractive profile, services portfolio, and ratings then apply for buyer requests or create your own gigs. Fiverr best suits shorter term, fixed price projects.
Key Features
- 4 million+ active buyers
- Clear service catalogue structure
- Gig packages for tiered offerings
- Automated delivery & payments
- Complimentary revisions
Flexjobs
FlexJobs takes a more specialized approach to matching quality freelancers with vetted clients. They thoroughly screen employers and work opportunities to save you time weeding out scam job posts.
With a paid monthly membership (offers range from $6.95 – $14.95/month), you gain unlimited access to their premium job board of 50+ categories, expert resources, and helpful tools.
Key Features
- Hand-screened jobs from 5000+ partner companies
- Custom job alerts and recommends
- In-depth employer information
- Members support community
- Resume and profile building tips
Local Facebook Groups
Don’t overlook local Facebook Groups like “[Your City] Freelancers” as an excellent source of jobs from businesses and residents right in your own backyard. These hyperlocal communities often have thousands of engaged members.
Many admins forbid spam/self-promotion posts but do allow members to share opportunities relevant to the group. Watch for freelance requests popping up organically or participate by asking if anyone has project needs in your niche.
Key Features
- Connect with hyperlocal buyers
- No commission fees
- Referrals and reviews boost credibility
- Events and meetups
- Collaborate with area freelancers
Rounding out our top freelance job hunting tools, overlooked by some solopreneurs, is LinkedIn. Beyond an online resume, LinkedIn facilitates powerful professional networking and job searching.
Customize your profile to clearly convey your personal brand, services, skills, and portfolio then actively engage on the platform. Look for relevant openings being advertised, connect with promising leads, pitch your services, and tap into your wider network for referrals.
Key Features
- 830+ million users worldwide
- Targeted ads to reach clients
- Built-in messaging and calling
- Share content and media
- Events, groups, and classes
| Upwork | Fiverr | FlexJobs | Local FB Groups | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free to join, commissions per project | Free to join, commissions per gig | Paid membership required | Free | Free |
| Clients | Millions of registered biz of all sizes | 4M+ active individual and biz buyers | Thousands of screened employers | Local individual and biz buyers | 830M+ professionals worldwide |
| Jobs | All skill sets and industries | Mostly short fixed price gigs | Curated opportunities in top niches | Local community requests | Full, part-time, freelance & contract roles |
| Screening | Some screening | Limited screening | Extensive employer screening | Self-moderated | Identity verification |
| Payments | Integrated escrow and billing | Via platform | Negotiated independently | Negotiated independently | Negotiated independently |
This table compares the key details between the top freelance job platforms and networks. When used together, they provide comprehensive access to a wide range of quality clients and opportunities.
Client & Project Management
Juggling multiple clients or complex endeavors simultaneously is tricky without the right project management tools. Streamline collabortion, organize tasks systematically, and always deliver on time with these solutions.
Asana
Trusted by individuals and teams everywhere, Asana makes managing anything from a small freelance job to a massive campaign scalable. It’s an intuitive project management platform built around conversations, calendars, and custom workflows.
Flexible boards keep all essential information, files, conversations, tasks, and due dates centralized and accessible to the right people. Robust features like timelines, milestones, and dashboards provide big picture visibility while still tracking fine details on progress.
Key Features
- Tasks, due dates and timelines
- Team/client communication
- Custom fields and workflows
- Calendar integration
- Mobile apps
Trello
Similar to Asana, Trello organizes projects and work into boards, lists, and cards in a Kanban-style system. It provides a simple yet extremely customizable visual space to collaborate and manage tasks.
While Asana offers more views and analytics for larger undertakings, Trello excels as an everyday PM solution for freelancers. It’s intuitive to start then modify with various power-ups like calendars, charts, voting, and more to meet your unique needs.
Key Features
- Drag-and-drop kanban boards
- Custom fields, labels and filtering
- Attachments and activity log
- Hundreds of integrations via Power-Ups
- Free and paid plans
Basecamp
Hailed by freelancers for no-fuss usability, Basecamp takes a stripped down approach to keeping everyone aligned. Forget clunky features—it nails the basics with to-do lists, schedules, chat, docs and automatic check-ins on projects.
Straightforward pricing plans make Basecamp an affordable PM solution for solos or small teams. It may not scale well for larger endeavors but works fantastically for daily freelance work.
Key Features
- Simple, easy to use interface
- Group chat and messaging
- Shared docs and file storage
- Client access permissions
- Intuitive calendar views
Even amidst all the newfangled project management solutions, good old email remains a tried and true method for freelancers. Don’t underestimate its capabilities for client communication and task organization if used strategically.
Email permits attachments like contracts and files, easy referral back to conversations, calendar integration for due dates, and labels/folders to categorize by project or client.
Key Features
- Paper trail with clients
- Labels, folders & search to organize
- Integrations with other tools
- Calendars, reminders & tasks
- Mobile optimization
| Asana | Trello | Basecamp | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Features | Tasks, timelines calendars | Drag-and-drop boards + lists | To-do lists, schedules, chat, docs | Mail, calendar, tasks |
| Ease of Use | Steeper learning curve | Very simple and intuitive | Beginner friendly setup | Universally understood |
| Scalability | Very customizable for large projects | Flexible for small up to mid-sized projects | Streamlined capabilities best for everyday work | Can be adapted across project sizes |
| Collaboration | Advanced with multiple permission levels | Shared boards with team members | Mainly client to freelancer | Easy adding of team members |
| Pricing | Free – $30/month plans | Free – $17.50/month plans | ~$99/month base plan | Typically free or built into other services |
Email certainly isn’t obsolete with so many stellar platforms now available – integrate it into your modern PM stack to maximize efficiency. Software like Asana, Trello and Basecamp simply enhance capabilities for organizing multiple workflows.
Accounting & Invoicing
You did the work, now get paid! For successful freelancers, streamlining invoices, expense tracking, financial reporting, and other accounting activities is mandatory. These solutions help make money management far less painful.
Quickbooks
One name towers above the rest when it comes to accounting and financial management – Quickbooks. Their tools cater to solopreneurs and freelancers plus scalable small business solutions.
From creating professional invoices to accepting online payments, managing cash flow, running financial reporting, and more, Quickbooks has you covered. Seamlessly integrate it with other software through QBO apps and add-ons.
Key Features
- Invoicing
- Automated billing & payments
- Expense and mileage tracking
- Account reconciliation
- Financial dashboard reporting
Freshbooks
If Quickbooks feels overly complex for your needs, Freshbooks presents a lighter weight accounting solution. It nails all the accounting fundamentals from streamlined invoicing to tidy expense management and financial reporting.
We love Freshbooks for its abundance of integration capabilities with other apps. For example, easily import project details from Asana or Trello then directly bill associated tasks.
Key Features
- Online invoices and payments
- Time tracking
- Expenses and deposit management
- Accounting overviews
- Heightened focus on client management
PayPal
Most clients need more versatile payment methods than the standard bank transfer and PayPal delivers. It facilitates free bank transfers plus secure credit card processing at competitive rates directly through your invoices.
Beyond a payment processor, take advantage of PayPal’s full invoicing capabilities allowing customized billing, attachments, due dates, discounts, taxes and more. Clients can conveniently pay online while you get detailed reporting.
Key Features
- Credit card and bank transfer payments
- Customizable online invoices
- Payment tracking and accounting
- Invoice delivery by email or share link
- Send payment reminders
Wave
If tracking income and expenses is most critical, Wave provides easy accounting fundamentals 100% free. It connects your bank accounts to automatically track income and balances. You can then manually enter expenses, invoice clients, and run essential financial reports.
Wave isn’t as powerful for complex books or scalable growth but provides an incredible free foundation. Easily upgrade to paid plans for features like payroll, payment processing Freelancer, and advanced reporting down the road.
Key Features
- Income and expense tracking
- Invoicing capabilities
- Bank connections + transactions importing
- Basic financial reporting
- 100% free unlimited use
| Quickbooks | Freshbooks | PayPal | Wave | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Features | Full accounting, ar/ap, reporting for all biz sizes | Streamlined accounting for freelancers and solopreneurs | Secure invoice billing and payment processing | Basic accounting fundamentals 100% free |
| Invoices | Professional customization | Custom branding and templates | Functional customization options | Basic invoicing + options to upgrade |
| Payments | Free ACH transfers, integrated PayPal, add card processing | ACH, PayPal, Stripe, +50 others | Manages everything | Stripe processing only via paid plans |
| Expenses | Full tracking and categorization | Mileage, bill payments, and reimbursements | Partial tracking with some repositories | Simple income/expense reporting |
| Pricing | $25-150/month | $15-50/month | Transaction fees only – no recurring subscription | 100% free option or paid upgrades $9-$39/month |
Freelancers can’t go wrong starting with Wave for basic accounting then upgrading from there based on evolving needs and budget. Quickbooks and Freshbooks offer the best all-in-one accounting solutions as your freelance business grows.
Collaboration & Productivity
When working solo, it’s crucial to implement tools fostering productivity, organization, and seamless collaboration. These solutions help you manage your freelance activities more efficiently while partnering effortlessly with clients.
Google Workspace
Among the most popular collaboration solutions is Google Workspace (formerly GSuite). Its core apps like Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet, Tasks, and more operate smoothly together while still integrating beautifully with many third-party platforms through add-ons.
Available free to paid plans from $6 – $18 per user monthly provide 100GB – unlimited storage. Freelancers can use Workspace to share files, set up meetings, coordinate schedules, store data securely, hop on video calls, and much more.
Key Features
- Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meets + more
- 100GB – Unlimited storage
- Add security protections
- Mobile access + apps
- Top notch third-party integrations
Microsoft 365
Google dominates market share for its collaboration tools but plenty of freelancers still rely and prefer Microsoft 365. Much like Workspace, core programs like Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, and Office combime forces for simplified productivity.
Unlike Google Workspace, all plans include full use of Office apps like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and more. However, storage allowances only reach up to 6TB on premium business plans. Still, it presents a compelling platform to create, share, meet, manage projects, and hit deadlines smoothly.
Key Features
- Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, full Office suite
- Robust security
- File sharing + coauthoring abilities
- Videoconferencing (Teams)
- Mobile access + apps
Slack
No collaborative toolkit feels complete these days without messaging giant Slack. While extremely popular in larger corporate settings, freelancers still leverage Slack for more direct, less formal conversations with clients.
It organizes communication neatly into channels plus permits useful additions like polls, reminders bots. Robust free plans meet most modest needs but larger teams may appreciate upgraded features like unlimited storage and participant limits.
Key Features
- Instant messaging + channels
- Video calls
- File sharing
- App integration
- Uptime/status visibility
Dropbox
Many freelancers still heavily utilize Dropbox for seamless file sharing and cloud backup. It pioneered syncing platforms early on for easily indexing and protecting data across devices while facilitating external access.
A free basic Dropbox account includes 2GB storage – sufficient for occasional sharing but paid plans with expanded capacity better suit robust collaboration needs. Pricing remains very affordable compared to other solutions at just $9.99/month for 2TB storage.
Key Features
- Cloud storage and doc sharing
- File version histories
- Easy external sharing
- Integrates with Office-style apps
- Affordable pricing
| Google Workplace | Microsoft 365 | Slack | Dropbox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Purpose | Robust collaboration via connected Google apps | Microsoft tools working cohesively together | Messaging-centric communication | File sharing + cloud syncing/backup |
| Chat/Meetings | Gmail, Chat, Meets video calling | Outlook email, Teams video calling | Slack messaging + video calls | Some 3rd party integrations |
| File Sharing | Google Drive | OneDrive | Native integration | Core function |
| 3rd Party Integrations | Myriad add-ons | Growing integrations | Apps enhance capabilities | Supported |
| Pricing | $6 – $18 per user monthly | $5 – $32 per user monthly | Free – $26 per user monthly | Free – $20 per user monthly |
As a freelancer, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both facilitate excellent collaboration thanks to their respective app ecosystems with reasonable pricing. Fill communication gaps with affordable Slack plans and link cloud storage needs with Dropbox.
Tools Maximizing Efficiency
Finally, various singular tools outside major software suites bear mentioning to truly round out an optimized freelance workflow. These specialized solutions each solve very specific organizational, efficiency, or analytical needs freelancers encounter.
