Working as a freelancer is great. There are so many potential advantages to working this way. But it is important to stay organized, put in place streamlined processes, and keep looking for ways to make things easier for yourself. When you work like that, you are far more likely to stay ahead of your schedule and make your working life a lot easier.

It is important that you work in a similar way to those who run and own a physical business. If they don’t remain organized and know which tasks they should prioritize, it can be hard for them to get all their jobs completed in a timely manner. And, it is very likely that they will have more things to think about. Opening a store or restaurant, for example, isn’t easy. From ensuring that they have high-quality sound systems, that you can learn more about at places like Cloud Cover Music, to making sure that their finances are in order and they have staff on their payroll, all these little jobs all contribute to the successful running of a business.

And just like business owners, freelancers need to make sure that they know what needs to be doing and when to help make life easier, as well as helping you achieve more success in the long run.

Here are a few tips, tricks and tools you can use to do exactly that.

Create your invoices almost instantly

Once you get a good list of clients you can easily find yourself having to spend a couple of hours every week on invoicing. It is tedious to do and frustrating when you know that you could be using that time to get more paid work done. Using Freshbooks’s invoice maker is a great way to get past this issue. Once you have set up the basic templates for each client it will take you only a minute, or maybe two, to create an invoice for them. You can even send the invoice immediately, as well as including a clickable link in it. Something that makes it easier for your client to pay you the moment they receive the invoice. This is good because it greatly reduces the chances that you will end up having to chase them for payment.

Don’t be afraid to outsource

It is good to have the necessary skills to create memes, add images to what you write, make short videos and design eye-catching websites. But it is not essential. You should never be afraid to hire people to do the things you do not do well or know how to do yet, or that are simply beyond your skillset. Trying to do it all yourself is only going to create unnecessary stress and slow you down, especially when there are firms out there, like Eide Bailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/locations/tulsa) to help with all aspects of accounting, for example. When you are brave enough to outsource, you will grow your business very quickly. This guide explains how to find the right people using online marketplaces like Fiverr. Of course, if you cannot afford to do so you will have to hop onto YouTube and learn how to do it yourself. Just always remember to recognise the value of your time and be aware that sometimes it’s more cost-effective and efficient to outsource certain tasks.

Use a time management app

Speaking of which, knowing where your time goes is important. It is all too easy to develop bad habits without realising that you are even doing so. Monitoring where your time is going for a couple of weeks is very revealing. For example, it is an effective way of identifying those jobs that are taking you far longer than you thought. Knowing this enables you to decide whether to charge more or to give that client notice and search out a new one. Time is money, after all.

There are tons of other ways to make things easier for yourself when you run your own business. You only have to join a few small business forums to uncover even more of them.