A freelancer’s job can prove as hectic as any other profession, even more so when you consider all the documents, images, passwords, conversations, instructions etc that the freelancer must store and keep track of.
Over the years keeping track of all that goes on within this profession has become somewhat easier with the introduction of a plethora of online tools. Services like Dropbox and Box have made it easier to access documents on the move, and other services such as Plaxo have given us the opportunity to merge all of our contacts from various services and access them on the go through a variety of devices.
In this post you’ll find a useful list of online tools that you can use to help organise and track your daily freelancing life. Also included are some websites that offer you free downloads such as PSD files, brushes and icons to help speed up the creative process of your work.
Communication Tools
Plaxo
Plaxo allows you to store your contacts details from across a wide range of services including your phone and social networks.
Vyew
Vyew allows you to share your files between a selected group of individuals who may also contribute to the group with their own files.
YourAM
YourAM is an appointment manager that notifies you when your next meeting is scheduled.
Highrise
Store all conversations, documents and emails that have been made between yourself and your client and never forget again!
Ofuz
Store contact details, collaborate on projects and follow up on your leads with Ofuz.
Finance Tools
Blinksale
Send invoices and process payments easily with Blinksale.
FreeAgent
Manage your books and accounts the easy way with FreeAgent.
Invoicing Machine
The Invoicing Machine’s easy to use interface helps freelancers manage, create and send their invoices.
LessAccounting
Add your bank account and import your expenses and keep track of your money with LessAccounting.
Ronin
Ronin is a simple online invoicing and time tracking tool for small business and freelancers.
Portfolio Tools
Behance
Create your portfolio on Behance and make contact with other creatives on the Behance network.
Carbonmade
Carbonmade is a simple to use and feature full portfolio service for creatives.
Dribbble
Dribbble is show and tell for creatives to present their work with small bitesize screenshots.
Shadowness
Shadowness is a simple tool to help designers and artists connect and share their work together.
Viewbook
ViewBook allows you to create your own portfolio and control the presentation of your work on the web and mobile.
Storage Tools
BackBlaze
BackBlaze offers unlimited storage to help keep a backup of your documents.
Box
Store and share your files securely with Box. The Box iPhone and iPad app make it even easier to share files!
Dropbox
A favourite amoungst freelancers. Dropbox allows you to share and store files through a folder on your computer.
Mozy
Backing up your files is safe and secure with Mozy. Choose from a home or business package.
Zoho
Save and access your files online with Zoho Docs. It also allows real-time chat and collaboration with other users.
Graphical Tools
Icon Finder
Search through thousands of free icons available for download on IconFinder.
Free Photoshop Download
Search through high quality Photoshop resources available to download for free including templates, buttons and more.
DeviantArt
DeviantArt is one of the internet’s largest design communities. Especially useful for designers, is their resources and stock images category.
Vecteezy
Vecteezy is a community for vector artists to create and share free vector graphics.
Brush King
Select from hundreds of free brushes for Photoshop to use for your designs.
Conclusion
With thanks to the many developers and contributors from around the web, we can use the tools and resources that they have provided for us to help streamline our daily activities. We can improve the efficiency and quality of our work by utilizing these tools and making the most of them. Another important feature of any freelancer’s life, is the ability to access the information that is important to us from anywhere in the world, many of these tools will allow you to do this and help us further increase our mobility.
Feel free to share any tools or resources that you think may help other freelancers out there.