

Ask HN: Freelancers, which project management software do you use? - karangoeluw

So I&#x27;m starting out with freelancing now, and am kinda lost. I definitely don&#x27;t want to use email to communicate with clients.<p>I tried looking for a lot of options, but couldn&#x27;t find any that would fit my needs. What I need is this:<p>- Adding projects (duh)
- Adding client(s) to projects
- Invoicing and payment (optional, can use another solution)
- Milestones (I like to break my projects into smaller chunks)
- Milestone reviews. (Client should be able to leave reviews on milestones before we sign them off)
- Discussion with client (So we can share files, brainstorm etc)<p>It&#x27;s just me so teams&#x27; features aren&#x27;t required.<p>Any suggestions?
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philiphodgen
In my experience, you can't dictate the use of project management tools to a
customer. If your customer likes email, that's what you're going to use.

I've tried Basecamp with limited success. But that's just my clients. Maybe
your situation is different.

(Also, Basecamp gets astonishingly cluttered and hard to navigate when you get
slightly busy. I have a group of 10 people creating a nonprofit organization
from ground zero -- including legal work, website, etc. -- and it's pure shit
to try to find stuff in Basecamp. Highly NON-recommended. So beware the curse
of success in persuading people to use a tool like Basecamp.)

This means that you need to keep yourself highly organized in order to remain
sane. For me, I am a happy IQTELL user.
[http://www.iqtell.com](http://www.iqtell.com)

But you might find something else that you like.

See, the problem isn't the tool you use. It's you and your brain. Get that
right and everything will be fine.

A piece of paper with a list of stuff on it is fine. Right now I have a list
of 9 things on a piece of paper. If I'm not working on one of those, I'm off
course.

The usual disclaimers: David Allen is God, etc. etc.

But seriously. Keep it simple. I would say get a Moleskine and a pen, but I
lost my paper organizer in a cab in Riyadh and that kinda sucked the farts out
of dead seagulls. So now it's all in the cloud and in my phone, courtesy of
IQTELL.

