c/freelance-finance

My neighbor in Phoenix said he pays his quarterly taxes with a credit card for the points

We were talking about side gigs and he mentioned he puts his whole estimated tax payment on a travel card. He said he earned enough points last year for a free flight to Denver. It got me thinking about the card processing fee, which is about 1.87%, and if the rewards really beat that cost. Has anyone else run the numbers on this for their own freelance taxes?

I thought paying for a business coach was dumb until last month

I spent $500 for a one month package to help me figure out my pricing, and she showed me how to bundle my services so I could charge more without scaring clients off. I just landed a project for $3k that I would have quoted at $1.5k before. Has anyone else tried something like this and had it actually work out?

I switched to billing by the day instead of the hour for a 3 week project and ended up making about 20% less.

I was charging $75 an hour for my copywriting, then a client told me my work was 'good, but not $75 good'.

I thought raising my rates would scare off my regular clients in Austin.

I bumped my hourly rate from $85 to $110 for new work starting in January, and told my two best long-term clients about it. Both of them agreed to the new rate right away, with one saying 'honestly, we were expecting it sooner.' Has anyone else been surprised by how clients react to a price increase?

Heard a guy at the coffee shop say he puts 50% of every freelance check into a separate account

He was talking to someone about how it covers his taxes and slow months. I've always just set aside about 30% for taxes and hoped for the best. His way seems super strict, but maybe it's smarter for building a real buffer. I'm trying to figure out if that's overkill or the only way to not get wrecked by a dry spell. How much do you guys actually set aside from each payment?

A client in Austin tried to pay me with a jar of coins and a promise of 'exposure'

I was finishing up a big website project for a local bakery, and we met at their shop to go over the final details. The owner, a really nice guy, was super happy with the work. When it came time to pay the $2,500 invoice, he got a serious look and said, 'I've got a better idea.' He then pulled out a huge glass jar filled with quarters and dimes from under the counter. He said, 'This should cover most of it, and I'll tell everyone at the farmer's market you're a genius!' I just stood there, not sure if he was joking. I had to gently explain that my mortgage company doesn't accept exposure as a payment method, and counting that jar would take me half a day. We settled on a check, but I still laugh thinking about it. Has anyone else gotten a truly wild payment offer from a happy client?

Finally got a client to pay their late invoice after I started adding a 5% fee for anything over 30 days.

I was chasing a $1200 payment from a design client for almost two months, and adding that clear late fee to the next reminder email got me a check within a week, so has anyone else found a specific tactic that actually gets slow payers to move?

I finally saw my quarterly tax payment hit four figures for the first time and it felt weirdly good lol

I hit $10,000 in my business savings account and it felt like a mistake

I've been freelancing for about 18 months, and I just checked my separate business bank account balance. It was over ten grand, which is more than I've ever had just sitting there. It mattered because it means my 'pay myself last' system is actually working, and I'm not scrambling for tax money anymore. Has anyone else hit a number that made you stop and actually feel secure for a minute?

I laughed at a client who wanted to pay me in crypto, but now I'm asking for it.

A graphic design client last month offered to pay half my $800 invoice in Bitcoin, and I thought it was a joke. I agreed just to be nice, but then the value shot up by almost 20% before I moved it to my bank. That extra cash covered a surprise car repair. Has anyone else had a weird payment method actually work out for them?

Why does nobody talk about the tax hit from a good quarter?

Last week I got a check for a big project I finished in March, and my tax software says I owe an extra $2,400 for the quarter. I was so happy about the money, but now I have to set aside a huge chunk. How do you guys plan for these surprise tax bills?

Shoutout to the accountant who told me to stop mixing my personal and business money

I had a free checkup with a local tax person last month, and she looked at my bank statements for about ten seconds. She said, 'You're making this way too hard on yourself, and the IRS will think so too.' I opened a separate checking account just for my freelance income and bills the next day. It's only been a few weeks, but tracking everything for taxes is so much easier now. Has anyone else found a simple change that made their bookkeeping less of a headache?

TIL a client's comment about my invoice saved me a ton of hassle

I was dropping off a project for a graphic design client at a coffee shop in Raleigh. When she looked at my invoice, she pointed at the line for 'revisions' and said, 'You should put a cap on this, like 3 rounds included, then hourly after.' I hadn't done that before and it was causing me to lose money on endless tweaks. I added that clause to my standard contract the next day. Has anyone else found a simple contract tweak that fixed a big money leak?

Showerthought: My biggest client from 3 years ago still hasn't paid the final $1,200 invoice.

I just saw their new ad campaign on a bus stop downtown and it felt like a punch in the gut, so what's the longest you've waited on a payment that never came?

I keep seeing freelancers in my network not set aside tax money from each payment. It's a huge mistake.

Update: I finally got a handle on my quarterly taxes after messing them up twice.

I was always scrambling for cash every April and September, which was a huge stress. I started putting 30% of every single payment into a separate savings account the day it hits my bank. Has anyone else found a different percentage that works better for their specific business setup?

Warning: I stopped chasing every 'high paying' client lead after a $5k project fell apart

The client was a nightmare from day one, but I ignored the red flags because the money was good. Has anyone else walked away from a big contract to save their sanity?

Started putting 30% of every check in a separate account for taxes, and it changed my whole year

For my first two years freelancing, I'd just guess at my tax bill and get a nasty surprise every April. This January, I opened a new checking account and set up an auto-transfer for 30% of every single payment that hits my main account. Over the last quarter, I've already got over $4,200 sitting there, ready for the IRS. It doesn't feel like my money anymore, so I don't spend it. Has anyone found a different percentage that works better for them, or a different system?

I raised my rates by 20% for one client and they said yes right away

I was working with a regular client for about six months and felt I was undercharging. Last week, I sent a new proposal with a higher price, thinking they might push back. They agreed to the new rate in less than an hour, no questions asked. It made me realize I had been leaving money on the table for months. Has anyone else been surprised when they finally asked for more?

My tax setup went from a shoebox to a spreadsheet and it saved my sanity

For the first two years, I just threw every receipt into an actual shoebox and tried to sort it in April. It took me a full week in 2022 and I missed a $1,200 deduction. Now I take a picture of every receipt with an app called Dext right after a purchase and tag it as a business expense. Has anyone found a better way to track mileage without it being a huge pain?

Rant: My payment processor just froze my account with $4k in it

It happened on Tuesday, right after a big client paid their invoice. I got a generic email saying my account was under review for 'suspicious activity' with no other details. I've been using them for two years with zero issues. I've spent hours on hold with support and they just keep saying the review team will contact me. That money was supposed to cover my rent and a new laptop I need for work. Has anyone else had a payment platform just lock up their funds like this? What did you do to get it sorted out fast?

PSA: My accountant in Chicago just saved me a big tax headache

I was at their office last month trying to sort out my quarterly payments, and they pointed out I hadn't been tracking my mileage to client meetings at all. Now I log every trip in a simple spreadsheet and it adds up fast. How do you guys keep track of your driving for work?

Honestly, I almost lost a client over my old way of sending invoices.

For years I just emailed a PDF, but last month I tried a proper invoicing app called Harvest. The difference was huge. My old PDFs got paid in like 45 days on average, but the first invoice through Harvest got paid in 8 days because of the automatic reminders and online payment link. Tbh, I didn't think it would matter that much. Has anyone else switched from manual invoices and seen a real change in how fast you get paid?

Just realized my cheap accounting software cost me more than a real accountant would have

I paid about $15 a month for two years, thinking I was saving money. It messed up my quarterly tax estimates so badly I got hit with a $1200 penalty last April. Has anyone else found a simple tax tool that actually works for freelancers?