If you are a freelancer looking into ways to organize your schedule, you’ve come to the right place! In this post, we will explore the ways a freelance time tracking software helps you organize your workflow and increase productivity.
We know the struggle of wrapping up a workday and feeling like you’ve accomplished only a small portion of your workload. Even though your day was exhausting and you spent most of it working on various projects, little progress was made.
This may result in delayed payments, client complaints, and unpaid bills piling up – the freelancer’s “triangle of pain.”
You might think you are in control of your own time but, unless you actively seek to do so, you’ll be falling behind your schedule forever.
By “actively” we mean:
- Having a clear plan of what your day will look like
- Being aware of how much time each task takes you
- Knowing your productive hours
- Billing your working hours accurately
- Knowing when it’s time to raise your freelance rates.
If you are nowhere near achieving this kind of control, then you need to regain it by using freelance time tracking software!
5 reasons why freelance time tracking is crucial to the way you work as a freelancer
By monitoring your performance, you’ll be able to organize your freelancing career from top to bottom. Let’s break down the huge benefits of tracking your time will bring to your career, one by one!
#1 Work smarter
Working hard is fine, it’s even preferable if you’re struggling to make ends meet. However, what’s even better is working smart. Tracking working hours as a freelancer is a way to automate some processes, like:
- logging time from wherever you are
- invoicing clients when you deliver a project, with a few clicks
- keeping records of progress
- having proof of your efforts, which you can present to your clients
Time tracking applications can also improve your speed by assessing your time records.
Viewing your logged time can give you insight into how much time you waste on minor tasks so you can make room for improvements!
#2 Meet deadlines easier
That said, you can optimize your workflow in a more efficient way. This is especially true for new freelancers who struggle to set targets. Meeting deadlines and reaching milestones is an essential aspect of your self-employed career development!
Tracking time makes it easier to visualize your progress based on solid data about your performance. Moreover, comparing your income goals to your performance makes it easier to make adjustments as required.
These can not only help you increase your income while you work fewer hours but give you a sense of satisfaction!
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#3 Increase your income
With that in mind, time tracking may directly impact your income flow. When you free up more hours in your working day, you can spend time on more projects. More time – more clients!
However, apart from that, tracking your time has another benefit regarding your earnings: It enables you to focus on more profitable projects that are worthy of your time.
For example, if you are a freelance graphic designer, you may charge two clients at the same rate for the same type of brochures – $500 for a 1,000 batch. With a quick check, your time tracking reports tell you that client A required 5 hours of your workday. But, client B had more complicated requirements, and you spent 10 hours on their project. Therefore, you realize that client A brings you 100$/hour while client B is 50% less.
This is where the time tracking software comes in to save your profits! With that knowledge, you can bill your clients what your time is truly worth and create more accurate quotes.
As a result, you can earn more money in the future for the same time you were already spending on that same customer.
#4 Convert time records into invoices
Freelance time tracking and invoicing go hand in hand, or they should be anyway!
Back in the (not so) good old days, freelancers who billed by the hour had to log their working hours manually. Either by hand or in spreadsheets – what an enormous overhead that must have been! And how many calculations mistakes would inevitably bring resulting in lost profits.
Luckily, we live in the 21st century and technology allows us to simplify that process by using our mouse (even better, our touchscreen).
There are a lot of time-tracking applications out there, but few have a built-in invoicing feature, like Elorus.
Using Elorus, a freelancer can use a stopwatch to record the time spent on a specific task. Then, converting the data into an invoice is one click away – it’s that simple!
#5 Put an end to procrastination
You know the drill: Every day, you sit down at your desk entirely willing to make progress on a particular project. Before really getting into the actual work, you take a “minute” to check out your social media accounts.
Then, you see a birthday notification of a friend and remember you haven’t bought them a present yet. Better make a stop at an online store and order something special. What is considered a special gift these days, you wonder? Before you know it, you have wasted an entire hour when, in fact, you should be dedicated to the project.
This is another typical case scenario that happens almost to every “work-at-home” freelancer. It is also another problem area that a time tracking application can significantly improve.
Being a freelancer is synonymous with flexibility. However, not having a boss that holds you accountable for every minute, may encourage procrastination.
Time tracking can work as a “virtual” manager that urges you to make progress. Most time tracking apps, Elorus included, offer a reminder feature, so you don’t forget to get back to work. Instead of relying on yourself to resist temptation, you can delegate that worry to the time tracking software!
Take our word for it; you will see your productivity skyrocket in no time!
Start tracking your time now!
No matter the profession, anyone who trades time for money can significantly benefit from using freelance time tracking software!
For instance, graphic designers are in a niche that traditionally bills by the hour. The same goes for developers and many others. Getting started with time tracking is the easiest part of organizing your freelancing, and we strongly urge you to try it.
