Project Management and Billing for Designers

[Josh Bradley]

I am looking for software to help me manage my freelance work.

For the past 2 years I have been handling everything manually and just bought iBiz this past week. It seemed like a good option (I bought it bundled with iBank) but the way it handles invoicing is horrible. The templating leaves much to be desired and as a designer I need my forms to be branded and look professional.

I'm looking for a good desktop application (for Mac) that can manage my clients/projects, my time, and all of my billing for me. I want to be able to custom design all of my documents without sacrificing appearance.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[JNKlein]

I looked for similar software recently, and didn't like anything I found. I decided I was over engineering the solution, when I could as easily manage time with a spreadsheet, project management with a good file system layout, and billing/invoicing with a word document.

It may seem rudimentary, but it works A good program acts as your "automated discipline" of sorts, but if you're able to maintain discipline for yourself, it can be even better.

[Dan Grossman]

What about QuickBooks?

Have you looked at the web services designed to do these things?
http://www.freshbooks.com
http://www.blinksale.com
http://www.harvestapp.com
http://www.basecamphq.com

[Kailash Badu]

http://www.freshbooks.com/ works fine for me.

[viperfish]

I'm yet to find that all-in-one solution. It sure would be nice.

To manage my clients, projects, tasks and appointments I use dotProject. It's very easy to set up and use and your projects and tasks are displayed nicely in Gantt charts. Loooove Gantt charts!!

For my invoicing, I use MYOB Just Invoices (Australian Product).

[Josh Bradley]

I just got into Freshbooks this week and I am pretty impressed. Ideally I would ask for a little more customization but I will say that it is a fantastic application and I would suggest it for any small-time freelancer.

[dev_cw]

I have used freshbooks and blinksale and both work well for basic managing and invoicing.

To get an all in one setup you can use basecamp with freshbooks, I hear they play well together but have never tried it.

Mint is supposed to be good with money management, I will be giving it a try soon. I don't think it invoices. http://www.mint.com/

[Dan Grossman]

Mint is just an online aggregator for your bank and credit card statements. It shows you spending trends and suggests ways to save, but is horrible at categorizing business expenses it doesn't recognize. It has no specific business use whatsoever.