All posts tagged freelancing

Taxes for Elance and Odesk freelancers

Posted by on April 2, 2012

I’ve gotten a lot of my recent work off of Elance and Odesk this year. About $13,000 of my total income is from Elance alone with another $3,000 from Odesk (I also get paid from my apps, but that’s another story). When you have that many clients paying you for projects, tax time can become a rather horrifying ordeal. How do you account for all of those payments? How do you know your numbers are correct? What about the fees the sites take from each transaction? Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief because I’m going to show you a little accounting trick I learned using Numbers on my Mac.

Getting the Elance Data:

We’ll start off with Elance. To get last year’s transaction data, you’ll want to go to Manage –> Transactions.



At the top, Elance will ask you if you want to download your account data. Click on the “click here” link, and you’ll get taken to a page where they’ll ask for a range of months.

The range you want is from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. For 2011, that’s January 2011 to December 2011.



Click download and you’ll get your data in a “.csv” file.

What to do with the Elance .CSV file:

During my first two years of online freelancing, I had no idea what to do with these files. All of the transactions come bundled together, and there was no way I was going to sift through it all by hand. I actually hired an accountant last year, but I don’t want to bother with it this year because it’s pretty easy to do. So let’s open up that .CSV file from Elance!



Mine looks just like the above mess when I’m first starting out. Notice how all of the amounts are mixed in with one another. What’s up with that? At first glance, it seems very difficult to separate all of the payments and fees from one another, but it only takes a little bit of trickery.

Step 1: Click on your table, and then click on the “reorganize” button in the top menu. You’ll get another popup menu that looks like the one below.



Step 2: Choose Column D under “Sort.” Column D corresponds to the payment amount. By sorting this way, you’re separating the payments received from the payments sent.

Step 3: Remove all ACH Payment rows. These don’t correspond to any payments from your clients. They simply denote bank transfers.

Step 4: Remove the plusses from your payments received. This is the only part of the process that’s manual labor. It sucks, and I’m still looking for a way around it. You can’t sum up your payments until you remove these plus signs.

Oh, and you don’t have to remove the minus signs from the Elance fees. You can sum them up as they are. It’ll be a negative number, but you’ll still know how much.

Step 5: Sum up the payments received and Elance fees using the “SUM” function. Pick an empty cell and enter =SUM( . Keep the parentheses open, and Numbers will allow you to select the column to sum up. Make sure you’re summing the payments received and Elance fees separately.

That’s it. This process doesn’t take that long. You can probably do it in less than ten minutes. It certainly beats trying to add up all those payments any other way.

Getting the Odesk data:

To get your yearly Odesk transaction data, you’ll want to go to Wallet –> Transaction History. The transaction history button is a tab located at the top of the page.

You will be presented with a screen that looks like this:


Enter the range from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. Don’t worry if Odesk changes the range after you’ve typed it in. They’re just trying to line up the range to the weekly payout for time. Only transactions from the year 2011 will appear.

Odesk makes it a lot easier for you to do your taxes. That’s because they never take fees away from their contractors. The client is the one who gets charged all Odesk fees, so you never have to worry about them. To find your total payout for the year, simply scroll all the way to the bottom and use the “Total Credits” number.

The rest of your accounting will probably take a lot longer. At least this part won’t trip you up. If you have any questions for me, I’m happy to answer them in the comments below.

Happy taxes!

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Desktop Task Timer Mac App Review

Posted by on February 24, 2012

As a freelancer, time tracking is an absolutely critical function of the business. If you don’t track your time, how can you know which projects are worth doing? How can you tell that you’re actually getting your desired payrate or slowly getting suckered into more and more scope creep? I remember a time when I used the most neanderthal approach to tracking time. I literally took a kitchen timer and set it on my desk. I then recorded my time on a spreadsheet. The latest iteration is my use of the desktop task timer app, now available on the Mac App Store.

I’m a huge fan of simplicity, and this mac app certainly embodies that philosophy. You start off with three empty task bars and a simple widget at the bottom to create new clients to assign them to. Give each client a color and a price, and you’ve got the basis for an invoicing system.

But I don’t just stop at invoicing my clients. I also like to keep track of the time I spend on all sorts of other tasks like blogging, sending out proposals, answering emails, skyping, and accounting. I create groups for each of these tasks so I can see how much time I’m devoting to the other aspects of the business. This is important because it doesn’t matter that you’re getting $50 to $100 per hour if your ratio of marketing to billable hours is off.

Log hours. Invoice clients.

Desktop Task Timer has an invoicing system built into it. I’ll readily admit that it’s not the easiest system to learn, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be fine. You can export a time log for specific clients, and you can also assign a payrate to those clients. Once a project is done, you can export a date range to a .csv file. This is really nice when you want to send an invoice. Your clients can very easily see which tasks are taking up the lion’s share of the time.

There are a few issues with the app. I found myself accidentally assigning the wrong groups to certain tasks a little more often than I would have liked. I’m not sure if that was just me being an idiot, but it is worth noting.

I also had to ask the developer how to export a date range to invoice my clients. It’s not entirely clear how to do this once you start using the app. You have to click on the date, allow the calendar to pop up, and then select a range of dates with your mouse. Doing so will show you a list of all the projects within your date range for that particular client. You can then export everything to a .csv file. The functionality is completely there. It’s just not as intuitive as it could be.

My favorite feature.

I’m not a perfect person. I tend to get distracted. I’ll go take a shower, brew another pot of coffee, or call up a friend in the middle of a task. With my old scheme, the time tracker would keep on recording my time. When I got back, I would have no idea how long I was gone. Whatever time got recorded was completely inaccurate.

Desktop Task Timer has a cool feature that shuts off the timer when it suspects you are no longer doing anything productive (Facebook doesn’t count by the way). A message will pop up, asking you if you would like to discard your inactive time. You can then be sure that all time logged is productive time. Very useful.

I am certain there are other productivity apps out there that do something similar. I am merely pointing this out because it’s a feature I use all of the time.

Managing tasks from the status bar.

I’m a huge fan of Apple’s spaces concept. They’ve done a really great job of it in OSX Lion. Having said that, it can sometimes conflict with time tracking software. You have to keep switching spaces if you run a lot of different apps. Desktop Task Timer allows you to turn the timer on and off straight from the status bar within any space. It’s yet another handy feature when you just want to turn off the timer and take a quick break from your work.

Overall impression.

Desktop Task Timer is fantastic little app at reasonable price. I still think it needs to go through a few design iterations before it’s ready for a more mainstream user. I needed help on some of the complicated aspects of using the app, things like crafting invoices. I had no idea you could get the calendar to pop out of the side by pressing on the date, for example.

I have used a lot of other means of tracking time. I have used the time tracking apps that come with Odesk and Elance, mostly out of necessity. They are okay, but they take too much control of my computer (not to mention the implication that I’m not being productive enough and my clients need to spy one me). It’s annoying to have an app constantly taking screen shots and accidentally disconnecting from the server. I’ve spent extra time making sure those apps are working, and that’s ridiculous because I don’t get paid for it. Desktop Task Timer is very simple. It doesn’t connect to a server at all.

Pretty soon I’m going to review an online service called Freshbooks. I have more than one computer, so I’m excited to see if it will improve my overall workflow. I’ve been a little hesitant to go with a fully cloud-based system, but let’s face it. I’m totally useless if I don’t have some sort of Internet connection. To go fully cloud is merely acknowledging the reality I already live in. Stay tuned, and I’ll let you know what I think.

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What Can Rick Astley Teach You About Being A Successful Freelancer?

Posted by on February 11, 2012

Listen, we’re no strangers to this business. You all know the rules, and so do I. A full commitment is what today’s clients are thinking of. You need to ask yourself: could they get this from any other guy?

Look. I just want to tell you how I’m feeling. I’ve gotta make you understand this one thing. Rick Astley knows a hell of a lot about more about being successful than you or I could ever imagine. He knows the game, and he’s gonna play it. Here’s what you can learn from him.

Never give up on your clients.
Even when the going gets tough, it usually doesn’t make sense to completely forfeit the business relationship. Try to end things peacefully if you can, and always be a resource for your clients in the future. I know it’s easier said than done. Even if a client hasn’t paid or is somewhat angry with you for whatever reason, don’t consider the book entirely closed. People cool down. Things get better. You never know what’s around the corner.

Never let them down.
Give every project your best shot. Don’t be late in delivering anything unless it is a complete and total emergency you can’t control. The day I get a project, I start on it right away because I know I’ll have a bunch of questions. This is the mindset you need to cultivate. Only deliver your best work, and always follow through on your word. Commit.

Never run around.
How focused are you? Do you answer all of your emails right away, or do you let things go for a few days before you finally get to them? People don’t like long lags in response time. While you’re running around doing other things, your clients are thinking about getting someone else. Be like Rick. Stick around, ask questions, and get the work done.

Never desert your clients.
O.K. I admit that this is pretty much the same advice as the first point. But I’ve done this before, and the consequences are never good. No matter how stressed you get, no matter how angry you are at someone, don’t just up and leave a project in the middle of the heat. It’s all too easy, and it solves nothing. Not to mention, word gets around when this sort of thing happens. You don’t want to be “that guy” or “that girl.”

Never make them cry.
Tears of joy are okay.

Never say goodbye.
“Final” is never final. You really don’t know who you will run into the future, nor in what capacity. People change. Businesses morph into something else. The person you politely told to screw off could come back to bite you later on in life. It’s awesome to move on to bigger and better things (as Rick Astley did when he gave up his music career). You’ve just gotta do it the right way. Always keep a door open.

Never tell a lie.
It’s all too convenient to say you can’t deliver on time for whatever made up reason. Nobody will believe you, and you’ll just get branded as a liar. Another common one is lying about your experience. It impresses nobody, and it makes you look like a fool. Be straight up. Tell ‘em how you’re feeling. Make ‘em understand that you’re the best candidate for the job (even though your heart is aching, and you are too shy to say it).

Never hurt them.
That is, unless you want the police breaking down your door at 4 A.M. with a warrant for your arrest.

Sage advice from the one and only Rick. You have to admit there’s a power you just can’t deny. Follow Mr. Astley’s advice, and you and your clients will be together forever.

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Should Freelancers Charge Their Clients For Skype Conversations?

Posted by on October 30, 2011

Have you ever run into this kind of client? They constantly want to meet on Skype to discuss whatever’s next, and worse yet, they don’t really seem to want to pay you for it. Allow me to rephrase that. They won’t mention payment for the Skype conversation, but some of them might balk if you try to charge them money for it. What do you do in a situation like this?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m kind of bad at this one. You see, I like to woo my clients in with a freebee Skype conversation just to get things started. We’ll chat for a bit, and then we come to a decision on what to do next.

Now I’m beginning to rethink this position. It’s not that I don’t love to talk to my clients. I really do. That’s actually the problem. I like to talk so much that we often go off-task, and then I feel bad about charging them for the time. The truth is no matter how much I enjoy talking to them, my enjoyment has nothing to do with the business side of things. At the end of the day my time and expertise are worth money. I have to get paid.

Money has a funny way of organizing things.

My refined position is more like this. You should get paid for every minute you spend on Skype with your clients. Your getting paid is what keeps things on-task. You can spend a few minutes catching up here and there, but you’ve really gotta avoid these long conversation threads. They’re killing your day and making you less productive.

Watch out for these ones too:

The show-up-and-disappear client. These clients have too much going on at once to set a solid meeting time for Skype. They’re great if you can catch them, but the waiting really starts to drag.

The yak-your-ears-off client. Some clients want to get to know you… too much. They’ll yak and yak, but it doesn’t lead in any business direction. You’ve gotta bring things back on track or end the relationship.

The why-weren’t-you-on-skype client? And then there are those who expect you to be on Skype on command. They’ll give you no notice at all, and then ask you why you weren’t on Skype. My answer: I have a life.

Don’t be on Skype all the time. Get a life.

You have to take these kinds of clients with a grain of salt. If they say “meet me now,” and they don’t show up right away, turn off Skype, go do something else, and bill them for 15 minutes. It’s not fair to make you wait around like that. Over time, they’ll get the hint. Or they’ll hate you. Whichever comes first. (Hate is perfectly acceptable in this situation as it means you’ll be wasting a lot less time in the long run).

Don’t get me wrong. Skype is an awesome tool. It’s a great way to communicate with your clients all around the world. It can also be a monumentally huge distraction. I can’t actually do my work with Skype open because I know someone will inevitably interrupt me to talk about something. It’s not to say I don’t like being interrupted by my clients. I do. That’s the problem.

I now charge for all Skype conversations because I need less distractions in my life. If you’re reading this, and you are one of my many clients, you should be honored. It means you’re entertaining and interesting enough to distract me. Unfortunately, like all of us, I’ve gotta make money to do what I want to do. That’s why I’m charging you for my time.

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Who gets to decide what’s possible?

Posted by on March 28, 2011

Do you decide what’s possible, or do you allow others to make that decision for you? What you do with your day, this week, next month, and your life all comes down to this. You see, we live in a world that’s always chattering. It’s saying things about you and what you mean, but never so directly as to put it right in front of your face. What others believe about you becomes a prison from which very few escape.

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The Freelancer’s Guide To Managing Multiple Elance, Vworker, and Odesk Clients

Posted by on December 16, 2010

I’ll let you in a on a little secret. The day I decided I could manage more than one freelance project at once is the day my business truly took off. With this realization, I was no longer afraid to bid on as many freelance projects as possible, knowing that I could handle the work if it came to it. So, can you really take on more than 5 Elance clients at once? How about 10? It all depends on your work ethic. I’ll show you how.

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Are Your Elance Clients Coming Back With Repeat Business? Here’s How To Keep Your Clients And Build Real Business Relationships.

Posted by on November 15, 2010

If there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s doing a bunch of work to get a new Elance client, only to never hear from that client again. Sometimes it feels like I’m trying to hold onto tiny grains of sand that keep slipping through my fingers. But over the years, I’ve learned a few things that keep my clients coming back for more. That way, I can focus on actually doing the work instead of hunting down new clients and trying to earn their trust.

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Want To Know What It’s Like To Be Untethered To The Office? Check Out My Elance Cloud Commute Entry.

Posted by on October 20, 2010

As some of you may already be aware, I’m a pretty enthusiastic supporter of Elance. I think they have a great platform to allow freelancers like me to live wherever I want to live and setup a schedule that allows me to shred day in and day out. Granted, I occasionally get annoyed with buyers who want people to write for pennies, and it bothers me that there are so many people hucking bogus products, but I’ve found some great clients on Elance who pay me quite well.

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How To Earn More Money While Spending Less Time Bidding On Elance, Vworker, and Odesk Projects

Posted by on September 18, 2010

You know what it’s like. You’ve been bidding on projects for three hours straight, and your eyes have gone blurry. When I first started freelancing, I spent entire days just bidding on projects and hoping I would land a few of them. It’s only with experience that I look back and laugh at how incredibly stupid that was. It was a huge waste of my time. Instead of searching after vanishing money, I could’ve been enjoying my life.

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I'm Ted, a snowboarder by day and copywriter by night.

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