Who doesn’t want to work at their own pace, at any time they want, wherever with no strings attached? 😉 This is probably the perfect time to start working freelance. Freelancing may be project-based or contract-based, depending to the work agreement.

Before you jump start and dive into the world of freelancing, set yourself up with these essential tools and their alternative:

EtherFax

Up until recently, I thought everyone had gone digital; imagine how surprised I was when a couple of clients asked me to fax my invoices (does this happens a lot or is it just me in Malaysia?).

I was lucky that I found Etherfax — a paid service that allows users to send faxes without the need to set up a costly fax system in their offices.

From as low as RM19.90/month, I am able to send and receive faxes from and to my email account, Microsoft Office and the etherFAX Console.

It is a great alternative to consider if your freelance business needs it.

PayPal

If you are a digital nomad or considering to get clients from all over the world, I would highly recommend signing up for PayPal; it is the easiest, fastest and secure method to receive and make payments online.

Not only does it allows me to receive payments, it also enables me to create, send and manage invoices from my account! Believe it or not, I used to use Microsoft Office Excel to create and manage my invoices — it was an absolute nightmare!

Just take note that while the services are free, PayPal does charge a nominal fee for each transaction.

While PayPal is the most popular for online payments and fund transfer, not everyone can use it nor one should store all eggs in one basket. Google Wallet, Shopify Payments, and Transferwise are good alternatives to look in to.

Mint

When it comes to cash flow management, I am highly dependent on Mint; there is really no other money management tool that I would use to keep track of my revenue and spending, personally and for the business.

It has a beautiful user interface that is easy to navigate and its arsenal of tools are practical and useful.

Additionally, the Mint blog has excellent content that is not only useful for my personal finances but also a great source for some of my writing projects! Now that is what I call value for money.

Personal Capital is your next best option for a budget app which is also absolutely free!

Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a great tool to have is you need to keep track of your virtual time — something that is essential when you charge clients hourly rates.

The tool is able to calculate time taken on individual tasks and projects, specific clients and produce time sheets.

This is extremely useful not only when you need to invoice them but also when you need to plan your schedule as you will be able to foresee the time needed to complete the project or task based on historical data.

Time Doctor is also a good alternative, it works just as fine and basically does everything what Hubstaff can.

The list goes on but there are the essentials, I cannot function without.