Useful Apps For Freelancers And Contractors

Apparently, there’s an app for everything!

The increasing number of business and communication based applications that are now available are certainly testament to how we operate commercially.  We’ve selected some of what we think are the most useful apps for freelancers and contractors.

Communication

• Google Hangouts. Free international voice and video calls with up to 15 people; great for webinars, industry chats or meetings. Paid business account upgrades are available.
• Skype. Free online video or voice calls with options for cheap rates to international numbers. Voice and video are also available with up to 10 people.

Money

• Project Quote estimate. A tool which helps create. PDF estimates (particularly for construction)
• Quick books. Manage sales, estimates, invoices and receipts easily on your mobile or desktop.
• Invoice2go. Create, manage and send invoices on your phone or desktop. There are various custom invoice designs available and even an option to share them with your accountant. A free trial is available.

Organisation

• Harvest. Track your time spent on projects, useful app for time management or if you charge per hour.
• Basecamp. Project management. Basecamp allows you to upload and update documents, files and events, to which you can add other people to create discussions.  This is a  really handy tool for keeping everyone updated and managing everything from the same place..
• Evernote. Write and share notes, manage appointments and collate research.  We think this is an invaluable tool for all professionals.

With an average of 701 apps launched every day during 2013 the next best seller could well have been released while this post was being written.  We’d love to hear your suggestions via the comments box if you’ve found anything we’ve missed.