Apps for contractors: Our top 5

If you’re a contractor, you’ll know that being organised is key to establishing yourself in your chosen industry and succeeding in the long term.

To give you a head start, ContractingWISE has compiled a list of 5 of the best apps for contractors that are currently on the market. Whether you have just started out in contracting or are still considering it, these apps will help you to keep organised and productive, giving you more time to get on with the project at hand.

Typically, good organisation skills come in handy when juggling deadlines, tracking tasks and taking care of timesheets and other paperwork, but working for yourself comes with added responsibilities. If you run a limited company you will have to complete additional organisational tasks such as invoicing and filing your accounts.

What if good organisation isn’t a skill that comes naturally to you? Being organised is always a desired skill, but it isn’t essential for every role. Your forte might be coding, writing apps, solving problems, crunching numbers, or saving lives. Being organised might not come naturally, but it is important, and will help you to handle your work/life balance.

These days, no matter your problem, there’s an app that can help. In a world where almost every contractor has a smartphone, it’s never been easier to ensure that everything is running smoothly; all you need to do is find the right app for you. Here are some of the best apps for contractors:

 

 

Evernote – Your digital notebook

As a contractor it’s likely that you’ll need to take notes and write vital information down – but isn’t it annoying when you don’t have a pen, you lose that important bit of paper or can’t catch sight of the notes you have taken digitally.

That’s where note-taking apps like Evernote come in. Evernote provides a hassle-free way of taking notes on your smartphone. So, if you get caught without a pen and paper, you’ve got everything you need at the touch of a button.

Evernote backs up your notes to the cloud and syncs them across all of your devices. It also has a search function so that you can always easily find what you need.

This app is great at keeping you organised and making sure you’re always equipped with the notes and information you need to do your work well.

Availability: iOS, Android

Cost: Free with in-app purchases

Alternative: Google Keep

 

 

Harvest – For tracking your time and expenses

Contractors are required to complete and submit timesheets in order to track their progress and get paid. Whether you contract through an umbrella company to whom you hand your timesheets, or run your own limited company, timesheets are an unavoidable part of contracting.

Harvest is an app that makes it easy for you to track your time in a way that suits you.

Input your own and your team’s time into Harvest and it will provide a visual summary of your time usage and will generate your timesheets for you, helping you schedule project better.

If you are a limited company contractor, Harvest can also help with invoicing – automatically pulling the billable time and expenses you’ve tracked into invoices, also giving you the option to do it manually if you wish to have more control.

This is an app that makes the time-consuming tasks that are part and parcel of contracting easier and hassle-free, giving you a central place to undertake your time and expense tracking.

Availability: iOS, Android

Cost: Free, with Harvest plans available from $0-$12 per month

 

 

Fantastical 2 – The digital assistant for appointments and reminders

This is a powerful, highly-rated calendar app that has won several awards. Fantastical 2 helps you block schedule your entire day, so you can easily visualise exactly what you have coming up, and when your free time is going to be.

This app makes it quick and easy to view appointments and meetings. It provides different calendar views that you can switch between with ease, helping you visualise your time in a way that suits you.

Fantastical 2 syncs with other services you might use such as Google, iCloud or Microsoft Exchange, offering you a seamless and easy way to organise your time. This is perfect if you’re a busy contractor who needs to quickly check their schedule on the go.

Availability: iOS

Cost: £4.99

Alternative: Google Calendar

 

 

Trello – To help you project manage like a pro

Trello is a widely used popular productivity app that’s also available on desktop. It’s very user-friendly, and helps you track productivity with handy ‘boards’.

Different boards can be established for your projects, giving you a central place to track productivity. You can set up ‘to-do’ lists, checklists, add comments, tag other members, add documents, images or videos, and colour-code. You can also look at your lists in calendar view so you are able to easily monitor and track your deadlines.

Trello is easy to use and helpfully visual. It’s particularly useful for contractors who need one central location where they can communicate, set up, track, and check off tasks, add documents, and see exactly where the project is at.

Availability: iOS, Android

Cost: Free with in-app purchases

 

 

Dropbox – To store your files

When you’re working between locations or switching between devices, there might be occasions where you wish you had certain documents and files to hand.

Using a cloud storage system like Dropbox can save the day when you need that all important spreadsheet on the go. The Dropbox app lets you preview, edit and share files from your smartphone or tablet, and because of the cloud storage, it won’t eat up all of your mobile data or precious storage space. There is a handy document scanner built in to the app, meaning you can keep track of offline notes, receipts and documents online.

You can select key files to be available offline for when you have patchy signal or no Wi-Fi, and you can connect both business and personal accounts. Dropbox is also fully integrated with Microsoft Office, meaning you can edit and create files with ease from within the app, even if you don’t have the editors installed on your phone or tablet.

Availability: iOS, Android, Windows

Cost: Free with in-app purchases

Alternative: Google Drive

 

 

Next Steps

 At ContractingWISE our team is always here to help. To find out more about how to make the most of your contracting career, give us a call on 0203 642 8679, or request a free call back.

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