Project Management for Freelancers?
afterglow (571 points) | Thu, 2005-01-13 18:56Just trying to bring some order on the freelancing front and get myself set up with a project management app to cover all my bases. I've been on the net researching a few but it's not an area I've covered in great detail before but I do have a pressing need for it now in the wild world of getting a business up and running.
At the moment I'm looking at Merlin, but it is quite pricey and somewhat buggy.
Basically my needs are
Good User Interface , Clear and Simple
Keep track of new and previous projects including timelines
Project Status Tracking
Set notifications of deadlines
Basic Financial Data Retention
Integration with Address Book and possibly Mail and iCal
Has anyone used Merlin or can recommend other apps that will do the job. I've been using a combination of Mail, Konfabulator and Excel but it's just not cutting the mustard anymore.
Here are a few more to look into. I don't know if any of them will fill your needs completely, but it's a start.
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Visit The Graphic Mac for graphics and Mac OS tips, reviews, tutorials and discussion.
Hmmm... you may also want to try Microsoft Project though you will have to run it in VirtualPC or on a real Windows machine as there is no Mac version.
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Visit The Graphic Mac for graphics and Mac OS tips, reviews, tutorials and discussion.
Thanks for the links.
Do any freelancers want to chime in as well on what methods they find most effective?
I'm just curious about the amount of time you need to dedicate to the project management app itself. Obviously I'd like to keep it to a mimimum but am willing to invest time in learning some new processes if it benefits the bank balance down the line.
afterglow.ie - Icons, interfaces, illustration
I Haven't used it in a real-world business situation much, but macbusiness (it's on macupdate.com) can do everything i have needed it to.
Basecamp is my saviour and well worth the little they charge for it.
The user interface is near perfect and all my clients took to it immediately.
I have found that you can have all the features in the world but if no one can use it its useless.
http://www.basecamphq.com/
Afterglow, you were reading my mind!
I was just about to post a question about this very topic! Thanks for the info everyone!
suzy
Oh, Basecamp it is. Nothing else like it. A savior for us and our clients.
http://www.basecamphq.com
Basecamp drives my (freelance) business and I'll personally vouch for the developers (37 Signals out of Chicago) and my clients can't live w/o it.
I've even had calls from clients asking if they can use "MY" project management system for their in-house design projects. Of course I just giggled and hung up. lol
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
I've even had calls from clients asking if they can use "MY" project management system for their in-house design projects. Of course I just giggled and hung up. lol
Looks nice and clear but is there any provision for offline organisation? I'm travelling quite a lot and I can't expect an internet connection in the areas I pass through.A lot of work is produced offline and then emailed/uploaded as the opportunity arises.
Would I need to mirror the details if I was to keep them at hand constantly?
afterglow.ie - Icons, interfaces, illustration
yeah... that was a concern of mine originally before subscribing. They do plan an offline release one day, but the online version suits me fine for now, as I am forever chained to my desktop unit. lol
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
i wish there was an open source content management system capable of doing that basecamp can. the project.module in drupal is simply a forum thread with some special fields for a software project, such as url and attachement document, etc. it's not much more than just starting a thread in a forum and naming it your project and giving access to it to your clients only. it would be nice if we (designers/freelancers) could build our website with a client section in it.
another issue, i'm not sure if basecamp can do what afterglow is looking for. it won't let you measure time you spend on certain projects as far as i know.
There is one more application from the Danihs company "Application" It's called Konstuktor Pro and is quite attracive in a matter of pricing. Some find it very useful, but I didn't have a chance to check it myself.
Check their web site at http://www.application.dk and see for yourself.
P.S. I don't think 145 Euro for an application like Merlin is too much. It's supposed to save you more.
looks cool, if i was a freelancer i would use it. looks like too much administration, but it's worth to have everything organized. clears your mind of headache, so that you can concentrate on designing!
FYI: Basecamp is adding time tracking in their next release. Until then, I use iBiz (formerly iWork) for tracking time and invoicing.
Does what I need it to on both counts.
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
Even if it does, it won't help much. You will have to first track your time in iCal and then export it into Basecamp. I see no other way to do it, since it would not be very practical to be logged in the Basecamp web site 24/7.
Besides, Basecamp has one big problem - it is not that intuitive even though provides kinda clear interface. I design interfaces myself and I know that even the simplest of them requires users some learning. But my customers have NO time to learn MY project management software. And believe me - it doesn't look very familiar to them what to do with the things after they've logged on.
So I went after iBiz (thanks for providing the reference) and even if it's incredibly buggy, I am going to stick with it. It meets my needs 100% and I am looking forward to the next release whenever it is going to happen :-)