Tag: time tracking for freelancers

Getting Too Comfortable? 5 biggest mistakes new freelancers make


Hey Newbies! Are you working hard to successfully set up your career in the field of freelancing? Then you have come to the right place!

You have probably heard, maybe from your friends, that you should sell your ideas or your skills. Suppose you have a talent, we find  9 out of 10 people telling us ‘hey why don’t you make a living out of it’. Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Right!

As good as that sounds, we end up making silly mistakes just for the sake of it. Often it leads newbie freelancers to success but sometimes, straight into the pitfall. There is no denying the fact that mistakes are a part of the learning curve and it makes you enjoy your success even more! You look back and realize that you have come a long way and it feels good, undoubtedly.  

As fancy as ‘freelancing’ may sound, but it is not an easy job, it’s not just about cashing your skills but polishing them as you grow! We have seen many freelancers making a career out of it, but some are not getting the desired results, even when they are working their head off!

Are you one of them? If yes. Learn about the biggest mistakes new freelancers make and how to avoid them. So, let’s get started.

Thinking that Freelancing is ‘Chill’. Uh, No?

The notion is flawed. Freelancing is not ‘chill’. We usually think about it in terms of ‘working from home’. Yes. It is basically that but it doesn’t make it any easier. You have to establish it like any new business by putting in a lot of effort, so taking it lightly means failure. Full-time job or not, you are still responsible for your work more than ever and also, delivering it on time.

Many a time, freelance was considered something you do on the side to make some extra cash. But things don’t work like that anymore. For some, it’s just extra cash but for the rest, freelancing is a career, a 24/7 job. So, it’s not ‘doing nothing’, it’s doing the work you love from anywhere you want.

Charging Random rates, because it feels right?

The dreaded money talks. No one likes it! We get it. But picking a random number because you think it feels right is a no-no. At the beginning of your career, it may be tempting to take what you can get and it may also help you land some gigs but in reality, you are undervaluing your talents.

So, rather than just setting random rates, high or low, have a proper pricing strategy and a structured approach. Now the question is, How much should you charge?  Do some research, ask your peers who are already working in this field, or why don’t you just simply google it.

A piece of advice: charge ethically!

Women thinking about money

Work will not find you, you find work!

Now, this is one of the most common mistakes, we see new freelancers making often. After landing a few projects and some money in our bank accounts. We tend to take it easy and assume that work will find us since we have built a good reputation. But, no it doesn’t always work that way.

You have to establish your own online presence. It’s crucial that you take some time out and set aside a few hours to actively market yourself in order to secure some clients.

Being too greedy to say ‘NO’

We see money, we go crazy. In short, money drives people insane! But as a new freelancer, you should learn to say, NO and try not to pile up your plate with accepting more than you can handle. You want to challenge yourself, fair enough! But be realistic in your approach and maintain a manageable workload.

In order to save yourself from losing valuable clients, only take projects you think you can do, deliver high-quality work and on-time. Say No, if you can not deliver the expectations, no matter how good it may sound. It will save your potential client sometime. Do less but better and try not to be too greedy about it.

 ‘I got carried away and overspent’

It seems really fancy when you start a new job and get paid for the first time! You have a complete list of things you might wanna buy or do. Maybe it’s a movie you have been planning to go see for some time or want to buy a cardigan you like so much, followed by a long list. It’s easier to get carried away and exceed your usual budget. And it does make sense since you have worked hard for it!

We won’t stop you from doing that, but before you do that. Just have a retirement plan and save a small chunk every month. Freelancing comes with uncertainties. You can never be sure how much you’ll make every month or how many projects will you get. So be sure to have some savings to get you through rainy days.

The bottom line is…

There are many mistakes you will make when you’ll kick start your freelancing career and that’s normal. But you learn from your mistakes, once you do that, you will be off to a good start and more! Good luck.

10 Ways Time Tracking Helps You Make The Most Of Your Freelance Employees

Time Tracking for freelancers is quickly gaining popularity in the remote work industry. As more and more companies go virtual with respect to their teams and work practices.

Many companies are functioning with distributed teams that are spread out globally. The issue, most of them face, is regarding fully utilizing the freelancers they hire for different tasks.

Most are not able to do so and are generally overpaying in return for the output they’re receiving. Here are 10 ways in which you can make the most of your freelance employees and save the company’s resources using a time tracking solution.

10. Track Time for Increased Productivity

You can carry our time tracking using time tracking solutions. Many are available in the market and have multiple features and prices.

Integrate time tracking solution with your company’s platform and track your freelance employees’ productivity using that.

When working remotely, the freelancer can start the timer for a certain task they are about to work on, pause it when they take a break and end it when they are done with the task.

9. Remote Monitoring to Ensure Correct Work Track

Monitor your remote employees using a time tracking solution that supports real-time screen sharing and takes screenshots of the freelancers’ computer screen every minute.

Those screenshots can then be combined as separate frames and used to create a complete workday playback video. That way you can know exactly what your employees are working on and how their progress is going.

This will also make sure that you and your freelance team are on the same page when it comes to how tasks are attempted and what direction a project is supposed to take.

8. Implement a Schedule via Time Tracking Solution

Design a schedule for your employees and make sure that it is being followed. Considering they are freelancers and will have other tasks, the schedule must be a personalized one for each employee, fitting to their personal chores and tasks as well.

Furthermore, it must align with the work hours of the company so remote employees are available for coordination, discussions or meetings with in-house employees, whenever needed.

Productivity heat-maps for each individual must be an important consideration while creating the schedule.

7. Task-wise Billing Using A Time Tracking Software

The payment structure for freelancers is best when done task-wise or hour wise. For this, you can integrate an invoicing solution with your time tracking solution. So the billing can be done according to tasks completed and the hours worked.

The time tracking solution will have a complete record (with proofs) of the work completed by the employee. That way you can be sure that you’re not overpaying the freelancers.

6. Intelligent Report to Get Value for Money

Many leading time tracking solutions in the market offer the option of advanced reporting. Some remote employee monitoring software offers intelligent employee reports. Where the day’s screenshots are automatically categorized according to the active windows in those images, clearly telling the employer what the freelancers spent most of their time working on.

This increases transparency and if there are any wasted minutes, the employers can get to know about those within a matter of a few clicks.  

5. Task Logging to Estimate Work Done Through Time Tracking

Make sure that your freelance employees log each and every task they perform. Whether it is a task already assigned to them or a task they performed.

When a task is logged, a record is maintained that lets the employers know how much work was actually achieved by the freelancer. Whether they are putting the best of their efforts into the work or not.

4. Clarify and Align Company’s Goals with Freelancers

In order to be sure that the employees work the same way that you expect them to, it is essential to make it clear to them what they are working for, what is the end result supposed to look like and what are you trying to achieve.

Once the goals of the company are aligned with the freelancers’ goals, then the workflows will be regulated on their own. Productivity will increase and the employees will put their best foot forth.

When the employees know how their work is going to impact the common end-goal. They will have a clear idea of the value of their work and their value as an employee to the company.

This is essential for boosting the morale of employees and pushing them to work harder.

3. Rule of Thumb: Work Smart, Not Hard

Taking up this rule will make tasks easier for you and your employees, both. Working smart saves time, energy, resources, gets things done much faster and makes searching for information much easier.

Automate timesheets instead of manually maintaining logs for each hour or each task. It is much easier to start and stop the timer with a single click, rather than manually making each entry to a timesheet.

Furthermore, it makes the job simple when all work done during the activity time is recorded and gets divided into separate categories, creating automated timesheets.

This way, your freelancers spend the majority of their time working on the actual tasks instead of logging entries manually.

2. Improve Communication via Audio Clips

Team communication impacts employee productivity and plays a major role in how your employees perform. Merely assigning them tasks using a project management tool or a time tracking software isn’t enough.

Nothing can beat the power and impact of face-to-face communication. If you cannot communicate with them in-person due to geographical boundaries, then feel free to conduct a Skype Business Call, or use a platform that helps.

You can assign tasks in the form of voice clips and allows the freelancers to respond back using voice clips as well. In case they have any query and wish to clear it prior to attempting a task.

Clear and quick communication is always verbal and enables workflow-streamlining when the teams are on one page.

1. Trust your Employee to Get the Job Done

If you’ve hired a freelancer, trust that they can get the job done as well. There is no point in hiring them otherwise.

If you try to micromanage your employees, directing their every move and telling them how to go about a task, even when they might be suggesting better ways to do it, they will simply be exhausted and irritated.

Build a certain trust level with your employees, and believe in them. Have a solution that monitors their work activity by giving you an idea of their sincerity and dedication to their work.

If they work hard, waste no time and have the required level of productivity, then let them be, sit back and let them deliver the assigned work to you, on schedule.