Starting as a freelancer and wondering what online tools could help you out?

In this post, we listed software you can use in four key areas of freelancing: communication, meeting management, proposal development, project management, and review generation.

In the end, you’ll be able to pick a handy tool to be efficient in each part of the process.

Must-Have Apps and Freelancing Tools – Summary

TL;DR: A. Communication Tools 1. Skype – Video conferencing and voice call app 2. Slack – Messaging app for teams 3. Gmail – Free email service from Google 4. Zoom – Virtual meeting platform with a recording feature B. Meeting Scheduling Tools 5. Google Calendar – Time management and scheduling calendar 6. Calendly – Scheduling automation platform for meetings 7. Meetfox – Meeting scheduler and video call hosting platform C. Proposal Development Tools 8. Proposify – All-in-one tool to create, send, track, and e-sign proposals and contracts 9. Workspace by Fiverr – Monitors every part of your business, from the proposal, and time tracking, to payment 10. Canva – Online graphic design tool for presentations and visual content D. Project Management 11. Asana – Work management platform for individuals and teams 12. Trello – Kanban-style task management application 13. Nifty – All-in-one tool for discussions, file sharing, and project tracking E. Review Capturing Tools 14. Google Form – Survey administration software provided by Google 15. Vouch – Video testimonial collection and sharing tool

A. Communication Tools

Communicating with prospects and clients is essential in client acquisition and project delivery. One way to up your is by choosing the right tools.

Here are some basic must-haves.

#1 Skype

Skype has been a staple communication tool for freelancers. Use it to start conversations with your prospective clients or present your services.

As of 2020, TechCrunch recalled that Skype was used by 40 million people daily.

Skype is available on various desktop, mobile, and video game console platforms.

Key Features

• Videoconferencing 
• Voice calls
• Instant messaging
• File transfer
• Debit-based calls to landlines and mobile phones

Pricing

Skype to Skype calls are free, but you must purchase either Skype Credit or a subscription to call a cellphone or landline.

The country you are calling from dictates the cost of the call. For example, you can purchase a subscription starting at $2.99 monthly to connect to someone in the US on their cell phone or landline.

#2 Slack

Slack serves as a digital headquarters for remote workers. It allows you to collaborate with internal teams and clients. Hence, it’s more than an instant messaging app.

Slack was developed by Slack Technologies, a Canadian software company, and eventually sold to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool Salesforce.

Slack is accessible via desktop app, browser, or mobile device.

Features

• Workflow builder
• File sharing
• Integrations
• Knowledge sharing
• Huddles and clips

Pricing

Slack offers four plans to choose from. The easiest to get started with is their Free Plan, which allows users to access 90 days of message history.

Their paid plan starts at $7.25 per month for Pro, with audio and video conversations with screen sharing to a maximum of 50 users.

Scaling Business Plan costs $12.50 per month with a 24/7 support feature.

The Enterprise Grid Plan is also available for up to 500,000 users. In addition, this plan offers unlimited workspaces and app integrations.

#3 Gmail

If not through social media or Skype, you can use emails for your first outreach with a prospect. Besides, experts like Robert Graham, Author of Cold Calling Early Customers, still recommend an email as the initial mode of communication with prospective clients.

Gmail allows you to exchange electronic messages through its secure and ad-free platform. This is a free email service launched in 2004 and provided by Google.

Gmail is accessible via desktop or mobile.

Features

• Smart reply
• Smart Compose
• Grammar suggestions and nudges
• Automatic scanning for spam and malwares

Pricing

Gmail has a paid feature allowing you to create a customized professional email using your business domain (@yourcompany.com). However, this requires you to purchase the entire Google Workspace plan starting at $4.20 per user monthly.

The Google Workspace paid subscription includes Google Drive, Google Meet, Calendar, Documents, and so on.

The free trial version of Gmail is also available for personal and business use.

#4 Zoom

For freelancers, Zoom can be a platform to host discovery calls for prospects who showed initial interest in your product or services. This call will investigate the prospect’s specific problems and goals while also building rapport.

According to Forbes in 2020, Zoom became the most downloaded app with over 500 million downloads worldwide.

Zoom is accessible via desktop app, browser, or mobile app.

Features

• Video webinars
• Phone system m for enterprise plan
• Whiteboarding tool
• Breakout rooms
• Meeting recording

Pricing

The free plan has a 40-minute limited time and supports up to 100 registered meeting attendees. 

Users can upgrade by subscribing to a paid plan at $149.90 per user yearly. 

B. Meeting Scheduling Tools

Scheduling meetings will be part of your day-to-day operations as a freelancer. An appointment scheduler is vital because it nurtures client relationships, saves time, and minimizes missed appointments. In addition, they enable potential clients to contact you at their convenient schedules.

Here are some basic tools you can explore to make the process easier.

#5 Google Calendar

Use Google calendar to schedule and track meetings, events, or tasks. A survey from Calendar communications platform ECal claims that 70% of their respondents rely on a digital calendar across age groups. This is why you should switch from printed planners and explore this tool.

What’s great about Google Calendar is how you can also share calendars so people can see full event details, including notes or attachments for an upcoming meeting.

Google Calendar is accessible via desktop and mobile web browsers or apps.

Features

• Event calendar notifications
• Viewable on phone or laptop
• Seamless integration with Gmail, Drive, or Google Meet

Pricing

Appointment booking pages are available under the Business Standard Plan of Google Workspace, starting at $9.60 per user per month. Other than accessing this feature, you may settle with the free trial version of Google Calendar for personal and business use.

#6 Calendly

Calendly is a scheduling automation platform that effectively removes the hassle of back-and-forth emails to find the ideal time for meetings.

For freelancers, this is best used as a call-to-action for marketing materials and to convert interested prospects faster through meetings and demos.

This can be your alternative to sending Google Calendar invitations and waiting for your recipient to accept or decline an event.

Calendly has 10 million users worldwide and is accessible via desktop and mobile web browsers or apps.

Features

• Embed Calendly on your website
• Route forms to collect information
• Create polls
• Connect up to six calendars per user

Pricing

Basic features with one active event type are free. If you need to access other features, such as redirecting meeting participants to a confirmation page or starting an automated workflow, avail of their paid plans starting at $8 per seat monthly, billed annually.

#7 Meetfox

Meetfox combines the functions of Calendly and Zoom in one platform. This tool is best for paid coaching and consultation calls since you can collect payments, schedule appointments, send instant messages, and host video calls through the same website.

Meetfox has around 20,000 users and can be integrated with the website and social media apps.

Features

• Customized booking page
• Meeting reminders
• Automatic time zones
• Easy in-browser video
• Automatic invoicing

Pricing

Meetfox has a simple three-tier pricing plan: Free, Pro, and Premium. 

The Pro plan allows integrated video calling, SMS reminders, and branding customization, such as colors and logo inclusion.

The premium plan allows full domain customization, multi=party bookings, and group calling with recording.

C. Proposal Development

Creating and managing proposals will help you acquire paid projects as a freelancer. Aside from landing more jobs, it can help protect you by setting your client’s expectations and smoothly carrying out the project efficiently.

Here are some online tools for the job.

#8 Proposify

Winning client deals takes clear and compelling proposals. Proposify secures the end-to-end efficiency of your process by creating customizable proposals, quotes, and signing contracts.

What’s great about using a tool like Proposify is how you can monitor if the prospect has viewed your document and for how long. The design templates are also impressive and can make your business look professional.

Proposify has over 8,000 B2B users in over 50 countries.

Features

• Flexible design editor
• CRM integrations
• Insights and analytics
• Notification reminders

Pricing

Proposify has a free trial version for fourteen days but would ask you to upgrade to a Team Plan at $49 per user monthly or a Business Plan starting at $590 per month.

Unlike the Team Plan, the Business Plan has onboarding services and a designated Success Manager who can take phone and Zoom support. In addition, all plans include unlimited contacts.

# 9 Fiverr Workspace

Fiverr Workspace is an alternative to Proposify but with two added features: automated time and task management and expense tracking. Through a centralized dashboard, freelancers can instantly share service agreements with clients and capture electronic signatures.

Since Fiverr Workspace is a cloud-based application, there is no need for downloads or installations. As long as you have a reliable internet connection and an up-to-date browser, Fiverr Workspace is accessible on almost all devices. Additionally, Fiverr Workspace provides fully functional mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.

Features

• Automated invoicing and payment collections (one-time and recurring)
• Task and time tracking
• Reports
• Proposals and contracts

Pricing

Fiverr Workspace has two simple plans: Free and Unlimited. 

The Unlimited Plan starts at $18 per month, is paid annually, and includes editable contracts, unlimited client management, business analytics, and more.

#10 Canva

For starters, if you only need a simple tool to design your proposal or pitch deck, you can get it done with Canva’s ready-made templates.

Select a design first. The title of the cover page and other information can be changed with ease using their user-friendly text editor tool. Adding a cover photo or choosing a different background are also options.

Canva also aids in the brainstorming process by offering some sample guide text that suggests what to include in your proposal.

Canva is accessible via desktop app, browser, or mobile device.

Features

• Desktop app
• Video editor
• Sharable files
• Team folders
• Social media publisher
• Built-in commenting tool

Pricing

Canva has a free plan that lets you access more than 250,000 free templates and allows you to collaborate with your team. 

You can upgrade to Canva Pro for as low as $49 per user to access premium features such as brand kits and instant background removal.

Canva for Teams is available for around $79 yearly for the first five users.

D. Project Management

Project managers devise strategies to launch the project, evaluate and grasp the task requirements, evaluate and bring on board the essential resources, and track the progress of the work.

Expect to wear the hat of a project manager when delivering your services as a new freelancer. 

Here are some tools to aid you.

#11 Asana

Asana is an online tool for organizing complex work across teams in order to achieve service delivery. It was developed in 2008 by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and software programmer Justin Rosenstein.

By December 2021, Asana’s client base had grown to 114,000, with two million paid seats globally and 739 users paying $50,000 or more annually.

Asana is accessible via desktop app, browser, or mobile device.

Features

• Workflow builder
• Gantt charts and boards
• Calendar
• App integration
• Reporting
• Forms
• Desktop and mobile app sync

Pricing

Asana’s free version can be used for teams of up to 15 people.

When billed annually, Asana Premium costs $10.99 per monthly user or $13.49 per user when billed monthly.

When billed annually, Asana Business costs $24.99 per monthly user and $30.49 if billed monthly.

#12 Trello

Imagine moving post-its online to monitor your freelancing projects and tasks. This is how Trello is designed using a Kanban style, a list-making feature developed by Trello Enterprise. 

Users can create their task boards with different columns such as To Do, In Progress, and Done, then move tasks around according to their status.

According to their blog, they have 50 million users as of October 2019. 

Trello connects you seamlessly to your work, wherever work is, since it’s accessible via desktop and mobile browsers or apps.

Features

• Automated tasks and workflows
• Linking tools through plug-ins
• Easy-to-use templates
• Shared view of projects with team members

Pricing

Aside from the Free version, Standard ($5 per month if billed annually), Premium  ($10 per month if billed annually), and Enterprise Plans  ($17.50 per month if billed annually) for up to 50 users are also available.

#13 Nifty

Choose Nifty if you want Asana and Slack features merged into one application. The Discussions feature of this tool allows you to build a knowledge hub among project members. Direct messaging, creation of threads, and sharing of files are also available.

Nifty is accessible via desktop app, browser, or mobile device.

Features

• Discussion chat threads
• Tasks and time tracking
• Milestones monitoring through Gantt charts
• Reporting

Pricing

Nifty has five available plans depending on the number of team members, storage space, active projects, and the number of guests or clients to join your dashboard.

Its Free Plan is available for unlimited team members but with only two active projects and 100 MB of storage.

Its Starter Plan is available for ten team members with only 40 active projects, unlimited guests and clients, and 100 GB storage. The price is $39 per month, billed annually.

Its Pro Plan is available for 20 team members, unlimited active projects, unlimited guests and clients, and 500 GB of storage. The price is $79 per month, billed annually.

Its Business Plan is available for 50 team members with unlimited active projects, unlimited guests and clients, and 1TB storage. The price is $124 per month, billed annually.

Its Unlimited Plan is available for unlimited team members with unlimited active projects, unlimited guests and clients, and unlimited storage. The price is $399 per month, billed annually.

E. Review Capturing Tools

Reviews are an excellent opportunity to connect with customers and build your credibility as a freelancer. However, especially when you’re starting, you need to be more intentional in capturing testimonials from clients to eventually share these on your portfolio, website, or social media platforms.

Here are some tools to help you.

#14 Google Form 

Google Form allows you to forward professional-looking surveys to your client and gain valuable insights about your services. Forms are shareable through email, a link, or embedding on your website.

You can create, edit and get responses for Google Forms on your android phones and tablets via G-FormsApp for Google Forms.

Features

• Custom surveys and questionnaires at no costs
• Drag and drop question reordering
• Analyze data using Google sheets
• Automatic summaries

Pricing

Forms Survey Builder is accessible through any of the paid plans of Google Workspace. Other than accessing this feature, you may settle with the free trial version of Google Forms for personal and business use.

#15 Vouch

Vouch is an online tool that will help you gather those video clips, then edit and share them as customer reviews to add credibility to your freelancing services.

According to Wyzowl, 79% of consumers have watched a video testimonial to learn about a company, product, or service. A Forbes article agrees that 70% of marketers claim that video converts better than any other medium. Thus, apps such as Vouch could be useful.

Features

• Unlimited responses using one link
• Workflow integration
• Built-in editing tool
• QR Codes
• Video and screen recording
• Optional translation for paid plans

Pricing

Vouch has three available plans: Free, Pro, and Teams.

The Free Plan allows three users to create unlimited campaigns and host 1080p HD videos. It also allows automatic transcriptions and subtitles.

The Pro Plan is best for teams with up to 10 members. Custom branding, subdomains, and unlimited HD downloads are also accessible at $79 per month, billed annually.

The Teams Plan is best for multiple teams and markets with up to 20 seats and three workspaces for $239 monthly, billed annually.

Final Thoughts

Using tools for freelancing will help you become more productive and efficient. Test the free trial version and navigate all the features when trying out a new app or software. Not all tools are for everyone, so check for ease of use.

You’ll also need to consider your budget and how much you would like to invest in tools. Then, you can allocate a certain percentage of your target revenue to ensure that you recover the amount you spend on tools.

If you are not tech-savvy, it’s smart to get started with Google Workspace tools such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, and Google Form to help you across the key areas. 

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