Schedule and Cost Summary Calculator About this template This Cost Estimate and Scheduling spreadsheet provides a lightweight method for learning to estimate time to complete a web design project, and calculating cost for completion. The intended audience is individual freelancers or contractors who need to prepare proposals for potential clients. This may not be an ideal format for the calculation of project team estimates. The purpose of the document is to teach you to get acquainted with spreadsheets as tools for cost estimation, with the hopes that you will learn to use and modify it to suit your needs. How it works This spreadsheet works by breaking your phases into individual tasks. Calculating time The spreadsheet calculates time to complete each task based on an estimated low and high number of hours for each task in each phase of work, and calculating the mean or average of those values. Calculating cost Cost is calculated by taking the mean hours for a task and multiplying by the rate of pay you select. Disclaimer
Project management software, online collaboration: Basecamp 5 Productivity Tools for the Busy Freelancer Do you struggle for productivity? I, for one, find it hard to stay focused and productive all the time. It is often easy to lose focus with a ton of buzzing social networks all around us. But the good news is there are tricks and tools to overcome distractions and constantly stay on track of productivity. Here are 5 great apps I am using every day to efficiently manage my time online. # 1 Coolendar – The coolest calendar in town This is one of the most intuitive to-do lists I have ever used. So if you type “21st June 5pm finish project for Joe’s firm” it will automatically make an entry. Best bit: What I love is that you can receive reminders for your appointments via Google Talk. # 2 Buffer – Tweet efficiently without flooding (Full disclosure: I work on Buffer) I use Buffer to save my time on Twitter, while still remaining genuine. In addition, it allows you to share an article from any website with its browser extensions for Chrome, Safari or Firefox. What do you think about these apps?
A to-do list to organize your tasks 9 Tools For Managing Your Freelance Design Business Being organized is not something creative types are necessarily known for. However, in managing your freelance design business, it’s a must. In fact, with the exception of one or two, every successful freelancer I know (design or otherwise) has this one thing in common. Organization. Of course there are a lot of different ways to organize your projects, clients, potentials, leads, invoices, etc. Organization & Client Management 1. – 4. Let’s get started with the “suite” of apps I recommend the highest, and happen to use the most – Zoho CRM, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. The main benefit to using CRM software is it’s one place that gives you a birds-eye view of where you’re at with all your clients, the ability to easily track how much money your marketing efforts are bringing in, and it provides features you need to nurture and grow your client base. 5. 6. Payment Tools 7. Next up we have Freshbooks, the self proclaimed painless way to do billing. 8. 9. What do you think?
Pricing plans Free Trial - No Credit Card Required Don't worry about handing over your credit card info until you try us out. We will notify you by email before your 15 day trial ends. If you decide not to sign up after 15 days, your account will simply expire. Custom Template Building For Pro and Team plans, we will work closely with you to match your existing proposals and brand for a one-time fee of $299 Basic $19/mo 15 Day Trial - Cancel Anytime Delivered Proposals: 15/mo Analytics Real Time Notifications Branding Storage: 1gb Pro $29/mo 15 Day Trial - Cancel Anytime Delivered Proposals: Unlimited Analytics Real Time Notifications Branding Storage: 4gb Dedicated Account Manager Team $79/mo 15 Day Trial - Cancel Anytime Delivered Proposals: Unlimited Analytics Real Time Notifications Branding Storage: 10gb 3 Users included *$15/mo/additional Custom Domains Team Collaboration Sales Manager Users Dedicated Account Manager
40+ Well Designed Apps for Running Your Freelance Business There are hundreds of business apps out there for running virtually any kind of small business online. And a lot of those apps are well-suited, functionally, for designers. But there's something a lot of them are lacking: good design! After all, we're designers. We want to use apps that are attractive and designed to be both functional and beautiful. The apps below fill both those criteria, combining form and function into an app that you can be proud to use to run your design business! Invoices, Quotes, and Other Financials Financial management is often the least favorite part of running a business, but also one of the most vital to a freelancer's success. 1. QuoteBase is a free service that lets you create PDF quotes quickly, with your own logo, and even email to create a quote. 2. FreeAgent is a bookkeeping and invoicing application specifically designed for small businesses and freelancers. 3. 4. Xero offers online accounting, invoicing, billing, and banking. 5. inDinero 6. 7. 8. 9.