When The Project Is Over – Billing and Actually Getting Paid
Here’s the deal. Sure, we love freelancing and what we do. But, we do this stuff for money. Dough. Moolah. We are authentic businesses after all.
We provide a valuable service and deserve to be paid for our labors. However, at some point in our freelance careers, usually early on, we learn that there can be a major difference between billing a client and actually getting paid.
Plus, billing can be a stumbling block for some freelancers. Many seem to put it off for any one of several reasons. For some, it’s because they’re busy and too focused on the project at hand. As a result, their billing gets put on the back burner. For others, it boils down to their relationship with money. This seems to be especially true for freelancers in the creative arena.
For the latter, even with great tools such as QuickBooks or Freshbooks, that make invoicing a snap, there can still be a lot of anxiety. They worry about the client balking at their fee, whether or not they got the invoice right or worry about whether they are worth the fee. If that sounds like you, I’d suggest picking up a copy of The Money Book for Freelancers, by Joseph D’Agnese and Denise Kiernan or The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money by Ilise Benun. Both are excellent.
As freelancers it’s important to master the craft of billing and collecting. It’s easier than you might imagine and flourishes with a system in place. Continue Reading
Ask FreelanceSwitch: Computer Time and Multiple Bids
In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at charging for tying up your computer and what to do when you win multiple bids at once. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.
Mac Billing Application Round-Up
Having the right billing and invoicing tools is crucial to a freelancer. Your options can be very different, depending on what type of computer you’re working on. For those freelancers working on Macs, there are several applications worth investigating. It’s just a matter of choosing which will fit best with your billing habits.
Just Say No: Three Reasons the Customer Isn’t Always Right
It’s 11:30 pm. My wife has already gone to bed. I was cramming to get an ad
done for the paper the next morning. The phone rings. It’s the client’s assistant.
“So? Is it okay?” I ask.
“She hates it,” she replies.
“Did she say why?”
“No.”
Frustrated silence. After a fruitless exchange of profanity and exasperation
we get off the phone. My wife is exhausted and livid at this ungodly hour.
So I turn off the ringer and go to bed, knowing full well that the assistant
is still furiously trying to get through to me and leaving messages on my voice
mail. I have a choice here between my wife and my client. I choose my wife.
Bill4Time Billing and Invoicing Software Reviewed
Freelancers are always on the lookout for the best way to do their billing, and you will often see the question come up on the FreelanceSwitch forum, “What is the best billing/invoicing software?”
For this reason FreelanceSwitch sent me out to review the software Bill4Time.
Bill4Time is a web-based time billing and project management tool. According to the website it is ‘designed to handle time and expense tracking & billing, project management, document filing, and scheduling for firms who bill for their time.’ But how does it stack up to the needs of the average freelancer?
