With Just a Phone? 5 Free Apps to Try Today

First freelance client by phone: a work sample

From phone to payday on a zero-dollar start: five free apps. Here's how each app moves you toward a first payday, simplest first. Number five: a design sample made in Picsart on your phone, for $0. You make one product photo, promo post or poster, start to finish.

You start from a photo or a template, then add text and stickers. It runs on phones and tablets, from your phone's app store. A free account comes with 100 megabytes of storage, its help page says. Your projects and files are saved online in the app.

Premium content and some features cost extra, its page says. By our count, the download and the free account add up to $0. Next, a free page where your first client can book you.

Free booking page for clients (Setmore)

Number four: a booking link in Setmore, $0 a month on the free plan. Your page shows your services and open times, and clients pick one. The free plan lists unlimited appointments and apps for your phone. The link can go in your email signature or a free QR code, its page says.

You don't need a marketplace for it, its page adds. Say Maya's first client books a forty-dollar poster job from that link. By our count, a zero-dollar plan leaves all $40 with her, before payment fees. If practical guides like this help you, subscribe so the next one reaches you.

Each rule's official page is linked below. Now you need the quote that locks in your price before you start.

Free quotes and invoices on your phone

Number three: invoices by email from Zoho Invoice, $0, up to 500 a year. The app also creates quotes, so the price is agreed before the work. One business page calls a written quote good practice. That page says a quote should show what the price covers, how long it's valid and when the work is done.

The same page says to get the client's written OK on the price before you start. After the job, the same app sends the invoice by email, link or text message. Prompt invoices with clear instructions help keep money coming in, another page says. Picture Maya sending one forty-dollar invoice a week.

By our count, that's fifty-two a year, leaving 448 of the 500. The pricing page says up to 500 a year; its help page says limits are updated every year. Tax on side income works differently in each place, so check what applies where you live. From there, the agreement your client signs on a phone.

Sign a client agreement on your phone

Number two: a signed agreement with Dropbox Sign, three free signature requests a month. You can save your agreement as a template and reuse it, its page says. You upload a short agreement and send it for signature from your phone. No printer, scanner or fax machine needed, the page adds.

A written contract is more reliable and less risky than a verbal one, one guide says. It can be just a few bullet points, another page says. Those points cover the work, how much, when and how you're paid, and how disputes are handled. Each signature is tracked and time-stamped, which helps avoid arguments later.

Suppose Maya sends two agreements in one month. By our count, that's two of the three free requests, with one to spare. For complicated or costly jobs, one page says legal advice is a good idea.

How freelancers get paid (Wise)

Number one: client money arrives directly in Wise across twenty-two major currencies. Clients can pay you from almost any country by bank transfer, its page says. A personal account has no sign-up fee, the page says. A business account may have one.

Local account details aren't available everywhere, it adds. Most payments are free to receive, but some international transfers carry a fee. You can move the money to your bank anytime, for a fixed fee. Changing currency adds a conversion fee.

You share your account details or a QR code, and the client pays. One business page says every invoice should list how to pay you. Money can take up to five days to arrive, depending on the currency. Say Maya's client pays her $40 on a Monday.

By our count, if those five are calendar days, it arrives by Saturday. Its page puts freelance work on a business account, even for a sole proprietor. How do you turn that first client into repeat work? Click the video on screen now.