The world of freelancing is ever-evolving, and keeping yourself organized as a freelancer is imperative for a successful business. With the global pandemic still showing no sign of slowing down, there are increasing opportunities to work as a freelancer, and you need software to help you manage your freelance business.

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If you want to continue enjoying flexible schedules and accelerate your growth without facing business challenges, consider using some tools.

With the right set of software in your arsenal, it becomes easier to manage your freelancing career while delivering quality output to every client you serve. 

In this article, we discuss five essential tools that can help you organize and grow your business.

5 Important SaaS Software to be aware of when going Freelance

Here are five SaaS software to add to your arsenal for a fulfilling and rewarding career.

1. Osano – Compliance software

You may think that GDPR is applicable only for businesses that employ people. Think again! 

Whether you’re selling something on your website or not, freelancers need to know about GDPR and its rules. Even if you’re in the United States or India, it implies to you. Why?

GDPR is not about your location; it’s where your potential readers, customers, and clients are located. It doesn’t matter whether you host your website. What matters is who visits your site and from where. As freelancers deal with emails, invoices, and other documents containing private information and data, even freelancers must comply with the GDPR. 

Additionally, freelancers selling goods and services will have a purchasing history that contains the personal details of their clients. So, it becomes essential for freelancers to protect personal data according to the rules of GDPR.

If you’re apprehensive about the rules that apply, use this GDPR guide on Osano to learn how to remain compliant with the latest regulatory rules and regulations. Using compliance software like Osano, you can reduce the risk of being fined for a GDPR violation.

From consent management, data discovery, vendor risk monitoring to privacy law alerts, data subject rights, and privacy consulting, Osano takes care of all your privacy requirements.

Pricing: Offers a 30-day free trial, and their plan starts at ₹ 7430 per month.

Why use Osano? GDPR is a difficult framework for a business or freelancer to achieve compliance, making Osano an essential SaaS software for freelancers.

2. Hello Bonsai – Contract creation software

Winning a freelance contract is one thing and keeping track of it is another side of the coin. As you work with multiple projects simultaneously, you must proceed without getting things mixed up. Manually tracking every contract you work on can be an overwhelming experience.

That’s where software like Hello Bonsai comes in. Bonsai provides smart automation that allows you to run your freelance business instead of focussing on paperwork. Bonsai is a great tool to rely on for those starting new because they don’t have to search for different freelancing contracts. 

What’s more interesting is that Bonsai allows you to create e-sign contracts from vetted templates. From freelance writers to developers to models, Bonsai offers customized work templates for every profession.

You can use Bonsai’s freelance model contract to negotiate terms with your client if you’re working as a model. Use their in-built template or generate a customized contract depending upon the terms you agree. With a template in hand, you don’t spend too much time searching for clauses applicable to your contract. 

Also, freelancers don’t waste money on hiring an expensive lawyer using automated contract creation software.

Apart from providing a contract template with Bonsai, you can create a new proposal, create an invoice and track your time to ensure accurate billing.

Pricing: Offers no free trial, and their workflow plan starts at $192 per year when billed annually.

Why use Hello Bonsai? As freelancers spend an average of 44 hours per week working, tracking accurate time and creating contract templates is essential.

3. Infinity – Work management software

Freelancing means constantly juggling between clients, proposals, emails, invoices, and tasks. Regardless of how organized a freelancer is, there may be instances where you unknowingly let some of the critical tasks slip.

Without a work management software, managing everything efficiently and ensuring you meet all deadlines is difficult. That’s why freelancers turn to work management software like Infinity. 

The tool provides boards, folders, tabs, items, workspaces, forms, lists, and calendars. Using these features, you can manage deliverables in myriad ways and organize work by projects and clients.

You can view your projects or tasks in the calendar, lists, Gantt chart, and table. It helps you plan work, shift it across various stages of completion, meet deadlines and ensure your clients keep hiring you forever.

Using Infinity, freelancers can structure their work clutter-free, customize workflow to your liking and combine attributes within your items. It’s a versatile project management software that can help you streamline workflow and help you organize your work better.

Interestingly, using Infinity, freelancers can set reminders and make sure everything is spot on. You can share boards with people outside the tool and invite clients to collaborate with you using Infinity.

Pricing: Their paid plan starts at $149 and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Why use Infinity? With 70% of organizations suffering at least one project failure in the past 12 months, project management or work management software is essential even for freelancers.

4. FreshBooks – Accounting management software

As freelancers often get paid every week, it might get overwhelming to prepare accurate taxes. 

Keeping track of your client and how much they should pay you is essential for running a profitable freelancing business. 

Knowing accounting and various tools can help you stay on top of your invoicing and collect payments from clients. That’s why many freelancers use FreshBooks for their invoicing, billing, and tax preparation purposes.

FreshBooks offers accounting features best suited for freelancers. From offering good customer service to customizable invoicing features, FreshBooks can seamlessly manage invoices and help you with time and mileage tracking.

From estimates and proposals to client account statements and time tracking, this tool can help you manage everything related to your finances, allowing you to focus on your work.

What’s more interesting is that FreshBooks integrates with other 100 amazing apps that help you automate work and use that time for client work.

Pricing: Offers a 30-day free trial, and their plan starts at $6 per month.

Why use FreshBooks? Human error accounts for 41% of inaccurate numbers in reporting, making accounting software essential for freelancers.

5. WeTransfer – A file-sharing software

Sharing big files can be troublesome when working as a freelance animator, video editor, developer, or transcriptionist. WeTransfer is file-sharing software that allows freelancers to share large files with their clients. 

You can send your files via an email or quick link. Freelancers can share password-protected files using their personalized profiles. Password-protected files ensure that your data doesn’t fall in the wrong hand. Interestingly, WeTransfer seamlessly integrates with social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, enabling users to share files across these platforms.

Interestingly, freelancers can send their files on the go using their iOS or Android app. It allows freelancers to transfer up to 20GB of data at a time. If you purchase their plus plan, your files are not deleted after a set period; you can forward, send or delete files at your convenience.

For freelancers who regularly have to share large files, WeTransfer could be a game-changer because you’re not going to lose customers because of your inability to share large files with them. 

Moreover, clients like working with freelancers who have the required tools in their arsenal. This not only saves their time but ensures the timely completion of a project.

Pricing: Offers a free basic plan, and their pro plan starts at $12 per month.

Why use WeTransfer? With 92% of knowledge workers still using traditional document collaboration practices, WeTransfer is a platform that can help you seamlessly share documents.

Choosing the best SaaS software for freelancers

While these tools are just the tip of the iceberg, there are many tools out there that can make your life less messy. Though all these tools may not work for every freelancer, knowing them can help you put them into action at the right time.

Use one or all of these tools to make your freelancing journey smooth, save time, reduce stress while building relationships with your customers.

From managing tasks to invoicing clients, freelancers complete many tasks and require help from different software to streamline their work processes. With the right set of software tools in your arsenal, spend more time completing your task instead of wasting it on completing administrative jobs.

Which of these SaaS software are you planning to use?

Please share your thoughts with us!