Why Freelancers need Invoice Software
Freelance and Invoice Software
Why Freelancers Need Invoice Software
Freelance workers have grown to be a major part of the workforce. It has been estimated that at this time there are approximately 16 million individuals working in the freelance market. Many companies are switching to freelancers to do jobs such as writing, designing, programming, consulting, and for administrative purposes.
The Freelance Business
Hiring a freelancer to complete jobs such as those listed above save companies money in various areas. At the same time a freelancer is its own business and the responsibilities once handled by a company now become those of the freelancer. For instance those who freelance are self-employed, most work from home, work at their own pace, decide how many clients they will have, and now have to prepare an invoice for their clients on their own.
While a company has one individual appointed to doing their invoices a freelancer has to tend to this task. So, let’s get this straight a freelancer finds their own client, how many jobs they do, sets their own hours, and sends an invoice to each of their clients. Wow, that is a lot of responsibility and a lot of work for one person.
Creating an Invoice
There are many ways to create an invoice, excel, free online templates, or free online programs. Using excel is great because it is most likely incorporated into the computer is cheap and is easily accessible. Downside is you have to create an invoice from scratch which can take time and can take time away making money. Plus you have to create a folder to store each invoice in. The internet is full of free templates for a freelancer to use. They are already created, so there is no need to start from scratch just fill in the blanks and go. Of course you also need to create a folder to store each invoice created in. Downside, you as a freelancer desire consistency and that free template may not always be available to you. Oh, but this is great a free online program, pre-made templates and easy to send.. Oh, but you still have to create that folder to store each invoice. The day then comes when you go to create your invoice and oh smack the site is gone, what? Are you kidding? Now what am I supposed to do? These my freelance friends are the down falls of using these types of programs to create your valued invoices. If that free online program allowed you to store them, guess what? They are all gone, now what?
Clients and Invoices
The system you choose for creating an invoice can have an impact on your clients either positive or negative. Imagine a client calls stating they misplaced an invoice and asks if you can resend it. Using one of the systems above you have to go through the folder looking for that specific invoice. Now as a freelancer you have done numerous jobs for this client geared towards the same thing. How much of your precious time are you wasting searching for that invoice? This once again is time you could be spending making money or doing something else that is productive.
Software for Invoices
This my friend is where software comes into play. Templates are always the same allowing a freelancer to place all the important information for every job in one place. That invoice template you are so comfortable with is always there. Plus if there are repeat clients with the same services you do not need to search through a folder for the previous job, just pop it up. Never worry about not having your invoices available to you. Don’t forget tax time, yes, it would totally stink for tax season to come around and have missing or lost documentation. With a software to create your invoice, pulling up documents for taxes has never been easier. Don’t risk losing an invoice, having to find another means of creating an invoice, or searching through a folder to obtain an invoice. By investing in an invoice software you save time and have peace of mind that your invoices are safe and can be obtained anytime you need them.
