Tools of The Trade: What Tools I Use For iOS Consulting

Welcome Hacker News! There’s some discussion happening in the comments; but, as always, the better conversation is on the article page on Hacker News itself.

Since going Indie, I am constantly asked about what software tools I use to facilitate the process. People are always curious about invoicing, time tracking, ticket management, etc…

The purpose of this post is two fold. First, I want to educate others on some of the cool tools I have found that have helped me out tremndously. The other is, I would hope that veterans in the space could give their two cents as to some better tools (or better use of the current one’s). Either way, I’d love to hear from you.

1. Tools For Finding Contracts

This is perhaps the area where I am most asked about. Well, the secret is, looking for contracts isn’t that much different than looking for a job. You just need to know what to look for. Here are the few major sources where I have found sucess in finding good contracts.

2. Tools For Managing Clients/Billing

As a new contractor, the concept of billing can seem a bit scary. You don’t want to look like a n00b, but you also don’t want to spend a lot of money. That’s where FreshBooks comes in.

I started using FreshBooks from day one and could not be happier with their service. Here are some of the pros:

Again, FreshBooks is awesome! I can’t recommend it enough.

3. Tools For Ticket Management

This one is tricky, because every client is going to want to work differently. Here are the few I have expereinced thus far.

Even if your client doesn’t use a tracker, I’d suggest you use one. It helps you to keep organized and get a better feel for how long certain tasks take (which you will need to know in future scoping).

I dont’ have a very long list here because I hate most tracking software. If you have some to add here, I would love to hear about them in the comments.

4. Tools For Software Development

I am an iOS and rails developer, so this section may or may not be applicable to you. Again, I put this out there to let you know what I am using and would love to hear what you are using.

iOS

Rails

5. Tools For Communication

Working in a distributed team can be hard at first. Especially staying connected. Here are the major forms of communication that I use.

Conclusion

Well, this post is already getting a bit out of control. I could go on and on. If I have obviously omitted a large section, please feel free to troll me in the comments and I will certainly add it.

I hope this has been able to provide you with some value, and I would love to hear your thoughts.

#consulting
Brandon Trebitowski

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