For a solo designer (or at least this designer) the absolute worst part of being a freelancer involves anything to do with billing. It would seem logical that sending people letters requesting they send you owed money would be satisfying. But, inexplicably, it is not a fun task. For the last ten years I have used a quasi-professional accounting application (MYOB) to fulfill my billing obligations. It has the bells and whistles that would light any number-cruncher's fire: ledgers, graphs, and journals galore. But, for this numbers-adverse right-brainer, my only need and interest is to send invoices to clients and to mark 'paid' upon receipt of funds. And yet, MYOB offers so much more. Too much more. And, I think it has been the overly-complicated nature of the software that has prevented me from invoicing more consistently. Billing has been an activity of neglected dread.
This has now changed.
I have stumble upon (or
Tweeted upon as the case may be) a billing and invoicing software that was created for people like me:
Billings 3 from Marketcircle. It is simple. It was made for the Mac. It seamlessly interacts with Apple Mail and Address Book. It has a nice collection of templates (or design your own). It is, shall I say, fun to use. And it does exactly what I need it to do: import clients from Address Book, create projects and email invoices. Then mark them paid. That's it.
Download a free
trial and if you like it, you will find the price is right at $39.95
