For those that are running a freelance business, they are going to need some sort of program that is going to help them with the details of their business, such as the invoices that they are sending to clients, keeping track of projects and keeping track of the amount of time that they spend on projects so that they can bill clients what they should get paid and have the information ready for the client to see, should they question something about the bill. The good news is that all freelancers have the opportunity to use Apptivo free hosted web-based online business applications.
What is Apptivo?
Apptivo offers SaaS (software as as service) to end user. Apptivo hosts a collection of free web-based applications needed by either freelancers or 10-person companies to run business – enabling them to practically run their business in the cloud.
Especially for freelancers and independent professionals, Apptivo offers Apptivo Invoice – a powerful set of web-based tools for them to create and manage projects – including time sheets – and invoices.
Here’s an overview of how Apptivo can help you run your business:
Focusing on Apptivo Invoice, here are what’s included in the suite for freelancers: Project management and invoicing.
Apptivo Project Management Apps
The project management feature of the software is going to allow the person to keep track of numerous projects that they have going on at once. The person can insert milestone goals into the project so that they keep right on track with what they are doing and make sure that they are staying right on top of the work that needs to be done in order to give client satisfaction.
You can access project templates, allowing you to quickly start a project based on previous projects’ milestones, activities, etc.
The Project Management apps also includes Time Sheet app. The use of time sheets is essential in any business so that you and the employees can prove just how much work is being done so that the compensation is right considering the hours that they have put into the project. These time sheets can be integrated with the project so that the freelancer can know for sure how much time that they have spent on the project specifically.
You can learn more about Apptivo project management apps from this video:
Apptivo Invoice App
The invoices function of the software allows for the person to create numerous professional invoices that they can send to their clients. The great thing about this service is that they are going to be able to get the invoice to the client through email if they so choose, which opens up many other payment options for how they receive the funds that the client owes them. It is going to give their business a whole new look about it that is going to impress those that do business with the person.
To give an idea or two about how online invoicing works with Apptivo, please watch this video:
How to get started with Apptivo
Using Apptivo is pretty straightforward:
1. Sign up
Go to Apptivo website and sign up – for free. You will then need to enter some information, including business information and contact person information. You will need to confirm your subscription to activate your account.
2. Choose how you will use Apptivo
Logging in for the first time, you are presented with a host of apps – you can select as many as you like. If you are a freelancer, I recommend you to choose the project management and financial apps (you can add or remove any apps later on via “My Apps” and “All Apps” menus.)
3. Start using your apps
Apps are straightforward to use. Just choose what you want to manage – e.g. Projects – and hit the “Create” button. If you are lost, you can always watch the how-to videos and go to help pages – or simply hit that “Help” menu link.
4. Better your apps
You can help Apptivo apps to be better by incorporating the “Feedback” section – you can request for features, report problems and send testimonials. If Apptivo apps are getting better, you will benefit more from the free apps.
The Verdicts
Apptivo claims to be the the world’s first business management platform. Being the world’s first is challenging as you virtually have nobody to benchmark to. However, Apptivo delivers – their applications are powerful and can definitely help businesses to be more productive and cost-effective.
Apptivo apps are simple to use and feature-rich, presented in a simple layout. I can’t think of any other apps I would need to run my business.
As a freelancer, you are used to wear many hats – Apptivo can help you reducing the “hats” you need to wear, by “bundling” them into one cloud-based software with a single login and all-in-one interface you can access anywhere, anytime as long as you have an Internet access – for free.
If I can’t convince you, a case study maybe can: Miner Web Design sees increased productivity and profitability – a 12% increase in profitability in 9 months after conversion to the Apptivo system.
I suggest you to sign up and give Apptivo a try – it’s free to use.
