Would you be interested in a freelancer toolkit software?
I've recently decided to build (even it is for personal use), a software to:
- Handle my clients and projects
- Schedule meetings
- Have an overview of deadlines
- Billing, creating and sending invoices
- Time tracking for tasks
- Maybe a client interface where they can see the progress of their projects real time and chat with me.
- A finance tracker
Would anyone be interested in such software? I know there are a lot of good ones out there like Bonsai but I wanted to build something my own personal use
Thanks
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I think a simpler version of Trello for project management and tracking (without the billing..) that's easy to integrate and with white label options will rock. I'd definitely be interested in that - In fact, I am looking for something similar already, if nothing pops out i`ll use Trello for start. I just need my clients to login and set priority on tasks on their own mostly, but extra features are welcomed tho.
Hmm..... client setting priorities on tasks. That seems and interesting idea. Thanks for that.
Also, what do you mean by a simpler version of trello? What features do you think would need to be simplified exactly? That'd help me a lot structuring the project since I've started building the mvp
Yeah, if you invite someone on the Trello board and give them the right permissions they can create tasks and move things around so it creates this 'collaboration' type of workflow when working directly with the client or their team.
This type of tool may set you aside of the competition that's more focused on team collaboration only and be better off for freelancers that work directly with clients or smaller teams.
By a simpler version, I think not all powerups they offer are crucial. Maybe the calendar/table view of tasks or priority lists can be essential. Throwing ideas here!
As per my freelancing experience, giving the client direct access to create tasks will not really be a pleasant experience. So yeah a calendar view of tasks and priority based sorting is something I already have in mind. Thanks for the feedback
Hi Imran- I also have some smaller tools to manage billing/invoicing.
What I don't have is a simple, intuitive and reliable tool that helps me to manage various freelance projects and tasks at once.
If you dropped the billing/invoicing aspect of this, I'd be very curious to see what you might do.
What I'm describing would probably look more like this:
The problem I find with platforms like Bonsai is that they have so many features (Invoicing, CRM, etc.) which I already have covered, and ultimate confuse me.
Thanks for your feedback. I'll start building a prototype soon. I'll post about it and let you know ;)
I'd rather focus on integrating existing tool on a easy to use UI than building everything yourself.
A "one tool fits all" approach rarely works well, "unbundling" has been the major trend of the past 10 years for a reason which lead to API-first businesses so the value of the tool can be used in other tools to build exactly the stack a user needs.
And I think it doesnt really make sense from an economical standpoint. You can "rent" the functionality of a tool which specalizes in either of the functionalities above for a couple of $ per months. Why spending weeks building something when you want to freelance in the first place?
You have (tens) of thousands of dollars opportunity cost.
Well, I'm definitely not building everything from scratch that's for sure. But I am focusing on making a intuitive UI for handling these.
you are entering a truly difficult market with your item. During my outsourcing years I was searching for a device that would take care of a large portion of the issues you are referencing above yet I wound up utilizing a few more modest applications that tackled one specific issue however in an excellent manner.
Charging and invoicing is something I could never need to construct myself 😄 You ought to be fully informed regarding the most recent regulations and guidelines to make a device that won't cause inconveniences for your clients, fundamentally you really want the information on a bookkeeper. For the wide range of various things you referenced, I think there are extraordinary devices out there and the majority of them are free so it'd be difficult to persuade somebody to change to your apparatus.
What is your take, what is an issue that your application could tackle better compared to the contenders?
Also, to address to your principal question, I most likely wouldn't utilize your device, I'm grieved.
Building something similar ;) Feel free to contact me for sharing thoughts & ideas.
Oh yeah. I checked put your website too. Looks clean. However, I might be dropping the billing aspect just to avoid legal troubles (you know, different tax laws and stuff) and focus on management, scheduling etc
Hey Imran,
you are entering a really challenging market with your product. During my freelancing years I was looking for a tool that would solve most of the problems you are mentioning above but I ended up using several smaller apps that solved one particular problem but in a very good way.
Billing and invoicing is something I would never want to build myself 😄 You should be up to date with the latest laws and regulations to make a tool that won't cause troubles for your customers, basically you need the knowledge of an accountant. For all the other things you mentioned, I think there are great tools out there and most of them are free so it'd be hard to convince someone to switch to your tool.
What do you think, what is a problem that your app would solve better than the competitors?
And to answer to your main question, I probably wouldn't use your tool, I'm sorry.
Well, now that I think of it, my primary value proposition is probably having a unified software/platform to handle all of these tasks. I wasn't sure if this was a good value proposition, hence the post
Hey. No need to apologise. I'd rather get to know that my product doesn't have any demands before building it rather than after launch :) so thanks for your honest feedback.
As for invoicing and billing, yes the law will vary from place to place. That's why I was thinking of handling it sorta manually (so get get paid by bank or PayPal and you input it in the app).
Nevertheless, really appreciate your honest opinion.
Cheers
Hi, could you mention the name of the free tools. Because I need it for managing of https://golfwatchcenter.com/ team. I have very trouble while managing all the activities manually. I tried a few free tool but their response is unsatisfactory. I will be thankful if you mention any name.
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.