5 Project Management Tools for Freelancers (in Australia)

When it comes to picking the right project management tool as a freelancer, the options available often fall short for the following reasons:

  • The tool is too complex for your specific needs (do you really need to calculate depreciation?)
  • The tool is often designed for large teams rather than for freelancers
  • Many tools were built in the US and are not designed to be tax compliant in Australia

With this article we’re going to compare five project management tools for freelancers to help you identify if they are the right fit for you. We'll be comparing:

  1. Parpera
  2. Trello
  3. Mailchimp
  4. Harvest
  5. Asana

Note: Looking for a project management tool that helps manage your clients and finances? Download Parpera today and sign up for a 30-day free trial!

Client and money management: Parpera

There’s no one tool out there that can meet all your project management needs as a freelancer.

However, as a freelance client management and financial tool, Parpera will help you manage your money while also allowing you to maintain client records, send invoices and set money aside for taxes — all for the same monthly tax-deductible rate.

You can sign up to our 30-day trial and test it out for free. Not happy? You can cancel your membership from the settings menu, no questions asked.

Here are some of the features included when you use Parpera as a project management tool for freelancers:

project management tool freelancers parpera

We’ve interviewed over 500 freelancers, sole traders, and small business owners in order to build a tool that met your specific needs.

Read on to discover how Parpera can help your day-to-day financial administration and save you time (and money):

Invoicing made easy

You can create a professionally designed invoice from our easy-to-use app in just a few clicks. Here's what you can expect from Parpera invoicing:

  • Automated invoicing that's tax compliant with Australian law.
  • Automatic insertion of your business account details so you don’t have to go looking for them each time you want to send an invoice.
  • Optimised for faster payments. Instead of hiding your business account details in fine print, like most invoicing solutions, we make them clearly visible at the top of the invoice.
  • Payment links in each invoice and email to make it easier and quicker for clients to pay you.
  • Free payment transactions.

Coming soon: fee-free international payments and receive payments-by-card option

create invoice project management tool

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Client relationship management in just a few clicks

Say goodbye to spreadsheets, paper filing, and having to hunt through emails to find your client's details. Parpera stores your clients’ information and payment terms on the app for faster invoicing, easier client management, and reliable financial insights. Here's how we help you with our CRM:

  • We automatically personalise every invoice email with the client’s name to keep relations friendly. And you can send each invoice email directly via the app.
  • You’ll have reports on the client's payment history and insights such as income per client.
  • We match each payment to the invoice issued (auto-reconciliation functionality), so you won’t have to. 
  • See who's paid you and who hasn't at a glance.
manage invoices project management tool freelancers

One-stop money management on the go

When you sign up to Parpera, you're creating and opening a secure business account with our trusted partner, Wise.

Here's how easy and convenient it is to open your Wise business account in the Parpera App:

  • It's all on the App. Just download the app, sign in, add and verify your business details, then verify your identity. That's it. You've just created your Parpera account in less than 10 minutes! 
  • Easily register your ABN. If you don't have an Australian Business Number yet, you can create one as you're signing up. 
  • Get started with a free 30-day trial! Then pay a flat monthly fee of $15, $35, or $75 depending on the plan you choose! It's always tax deductible and you can cancel anytime.
  • Access a virtual Mastercard Debit Card.
  • No hidden fees. Parpera is Latin for "fair wallet." We commit to providing fair and transparent products and services for worry-free money management.   
  • Coming soon: We’ll automatically move your GST monies into a separate account so that you can easily set the money aside and be better prepared for tax time.
parpera virtual card project management tool

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With Parpera, you'll receive more than just a secure business account. You'll have access to a complete money management tool where you can:

  • Upload and categorise expense receipts.
  • Make online payments directly from the app.
  • Track expenses and see your cash flow.
  • Create and download enhanced transaction reports.
expense categories project management tool

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Parpera means community

We’ve got an active community of freelancers and small business owners who are helping us improve our services and create new features that fulfil your needs. Your Parpera membership includes a human approach and extra benefits:

  • We’re here for you when you need us: human support 24/7 via chat, email or phone at the touch of a button.
  • Enjoy Parpera perks: You'll receive extra benefits like special community events and discounted third-party tools and services to help you manage and grow your business.

Who is Parpera good for?

Parpera is good for all Australian freelancers who are just starting their business and looking for a one-stop solution to manage their money and clients more easily. We're also a good choice for freelancers who plan to or are now scaling up and want a better overview of their business.

While Parpera can help you manage your client relationships and finances, you may still need a tool to organise other aspects of your workflow.

We’ve put together our top picks for some of the best marketing, productivity, and time-management tools for freelancers. We recommend trying the free versions first to understand if they’re a good fit for the type of freelancing work you do.

project management tools comparison

2. Trello

trello dashboard

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Price: Unlimited Free plan or USD 5/month Standard plan

Trello offers productivity management via a Kanban-board system that you can customise to create projects and manage your task management workflow.

Main features of Trello’s Free plan:

  • Cloud-based Kanban board system and Gantt charts
  • Creation and automation of tasks, checklists, and due dates.
  • Up to 10 board templates and an unlimited number of cards.
  • Unlimited storage of up to 10MB/file.
  • Mobile and desktop versions.
  • Customer support via Trello's help page and contact form.

Good for: Creative freelancers looking to organise their workflow and tasks in a visual, easy-to-use, cloud-based software. Also good for new freelancers like art directors and content marketers who want to save money while collaborating with assistants or team members.

3. Mailchimp

mailchimp setup

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Price: Free plan (up to 2,000 contacts and 10k emails/month) or USD 11/month Essentials plan (500 contacts and 500k emails/month)

Mailchimp is an easy-to-use email marketing system that allows you to manage and build a client base.

Main features:

  • Professional-looking, automated emails.
  • CRM: customer segmentation, audience insights, targeting and personalization.
  • Drag and drop website and landing page creation.
  • Social media ads.
  • Forms for sign-ups.
  • Importation of existing contacts.
  • Brand-building tools.
  • Mobile and desktop versions.
  • 30-days of customer service support.

Good for: e-commerce freelancers or coaches building up a subscriber base who need reliable, professional-looking emails to build client relationships and manage marketing campaigns.

4. Harvest

harvest timetracker project management tool
Source: https://www.getharvest.com/

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Price: Unlimited Free plan or USD 12/month Pro plan

Harvest is a time tracker that helps you increase your productivity and monitor your freelance projects’ profitability. The 30-day trial includes full use of Harvest's Pro plan features.

Main features of Harvest’s Free plan:

  • Limited to one user and 2 projects.
  • Time tracker.
  • Time-to-invoice conversion.
  • Time insights, analytics, and downloadable reports.
  • Integration with other productivity tools (e.g. Asana, Chrome, Trello) but QuickBooks integration is only available via the paid plan.
  • Mobile and desktop versions.
  • Human-contact customer messaging support

Good for: Freelancers like virtual assistants, developers, and designers who bill by the hour and need to know their working time to create bespoke quotes to potential customers.

5. Asana

asana dashboard
Source: https://asana.com/features

Price: Free Basic plan or USD 10.99/month Premium plan

Asana is a more robust project management software that can integrate with many other tools you’re probably familiar with and already using, like Slack and Google Workspace

Main features of Asana’s Basic plan:

  • Kanban-board system.
  • Project, task, and budget management.
  • Activity planning with notifications.
  • Standard real-time workflow that can sync with multiple apps, like Trello and Harvest. 
  • Simple reporting and updates with downloadable files.
  • List, calendar, or board view available.
  • Storage and security measures included.
  • Mobile and desktop versions.
  • Customer service through Asana support page and contact form.

Good for: Many of the best project management apps, like Asana, are designed for teams and may be too complex to understand quickly. But we’ve included Asana because the free basic plan is a good choice for:

  • Any freelancer who’s already using multiple tools and wants to integrate them into one project management platform. 
  • Freelancers like content marketers or accountants who plan to scale from freelance to agency and expect to switch to one of the more comprehensive paid plans later on.

Best project management tool for freelancers: choose the right one for you

We hope our picks for some of the best project management tools for freelancers are helpful. Every freelancer is different and there's no one solution that will suit everyone's needs or budget. Only you know which tools will benefit you the most, which is why it’s worth doing the free trials before committing to just one tool.

If you'd like a greater selection of project management tools and an ultimate guide on managing your freelance business, download our free ebook: A Guide to Set up, Manage, and Grow your Business.

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Sources:

  • https://www.finder.com.au/trello-review
  • https://trello.com/en-AU/pricing
  • https://www.g2.com/products/mailchimp/reviews
  • https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/
  • https://www.getharvest.com/pricing
  • https://www.g2.com/products/harvest/reviews
  • https://www.g2.com/products/asana/reviews
  • https://asana.com/pricing
Published on the
March 3, 2022
Business

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