A Guide to Managing Your Finances as a Freelancer 

The freelancing world may look ideal from the outside, but most freelancers know that it is often much harder than it looks. Don’t get us wrong – freelancing is great, and it has many benefits. But it’s not just days spent in your sweatpants. With most nine-to-five jobs, there is a whole team to help you. You have your manager to tell you what to do, human resources to help you with any problems you may have, and a finances section that does all your finances. When you’re a freelancer, there’s only you, and you alone are responsible for managing all aspects of your job. While some of these aspects may be easy to navigate, managing your finances as a freelancer can be hard, so we’re here to guide you through it. 

Get an accountant

As mentioned, you won’t have a finance team at your disposal to work out your taxes or salary. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get help. Hiring an accountant to help you manage any income or expenses that involve your freelance job can be incredibly helpful, especially when it comes to taxes. Have a look at Vetted Accountants to see how they can assist you.

Keep track of information

Tracking is one of the most important aspects of freelancing, especially when you take n multiple jobs. you can utilize whatever tracking system works for you – the old-school pen and paper method, or using Excel spreadsheets if you’re someone who likes to have as much detail as possible. You need to track things like when you got a certain job and when it should be completed, as well as any requirements of that specific job. It is also helpful to track hours worked as well as money earned. Keep all of this together so that you can easily refer back to it if you need any information.

Be consistent

You likely know that one of the hardest things about being a freelancer is the fact that most freelancers don’t have a stable or set income each month, meaning their monthly earnings can fluctuate a lot. This can make it a lot harder to get things like loans or phone contracts. One way of counteracting this is to try and be as consistent as possible. Try to earn more or less the same amount of money each month, and to invoice at regular intervals. You can learn more about how often freelancers should invoice clients here.

Have all the information beforehand

Because the freelancing industry can be unreliable at times, you must have all the information about a job before you agree to take it. his is especially important when it comes to the financial aspect of a job. You need to know whether you will be receiving payment upfront or after the job is completed, as well as how much you will be paid, and on what basis – is there a flat rate for this job, or do you get paid per hour? You should also know whether you will be paid via an app like PayPal, or through mobile banking.