How to Use Excel to Keep Track of Freelance Jobs

Keeping track of your freelance jobs, both the ones that you apply for and the ones that you have accepted can be a tricky business, especially when you are just beginning. I started out with a notebook that I wrote everything down in and a calendar, but it just wasn't organized enough to keep track of everything. I needed something that was better at keeping track of due dates and what I was paid, because not all of my clients provide me with a W-9 independent contractor form. This tutorial will show you a relatively quick and easy way to set up an Excel spreadsheet workbook that will help you to keep track of all your freelance jobs.

Instructions

1. Open Excel. Go to the "File" drop-down menu and click on "New" to create a new workbook. A workbook can have several worksheets inside it.

2. Use the first page as your first worksheet. If you look at the bottom, you will notice that Excel provides you with the first three worksheets. Select your highest priority freelance job and put the title at the top of your worksheet. Next, create titles for each column. For example, on mine, I have "Demand Studios" as my priority client and the first column is for "Articles," then the successive columns are for "Date Requested," "Date Approved," "Date Due," "Date Posted" and "Amount Paid."

3. Create a worksheet for each of your freelance jobs and columns with whatever data you need to have to keep track of what you do for that client. In my case, I mostly write web content and reviews, so I have a column with that information and due dates and what and when I've been paid.

4. Add a worksheet if you've used up the first three provided by Excel. You do this by going to the "Insert" drop-down menu and selecting "Worksheet." You should now see a "Sheet 4" at the bottom of your worksheet. This worksheet is where you keep track of the freelance jobs you apply for. I have columns for the job name, what it pays, whether or not I got a reply, the source of the job, the contact number and e-mail and whether or not I got the job.

5. Name your worksheets. While you can leave them as Sheet 1, 2 and so on, it can become difficult to remember what worksheet has what information on it. All you have to do is right-click on the name of the worksheet with the name you want to change and select "Rename." This will allow you to change the name of any worksheet. I named mine after my client's companies so I could more easily keep track.

6. Add all your current information to each worksheet. You can go back and grab most information from your records if you want. When I created my first workbook, I decided to just go with what I was currently doing now.

7. Save your workbook to your desktop where you can easily access and update it at any time.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do more than one type of freelance writing, you may want to consider having different worksheets for not just for different clients but for the different types of submissions as well. For example, I write books as well as articles,and I keep a completely different set of worksheets in the same workbook to keep track of those submissions.

• If you receive ad revenue or royalties, you may want to consider keeping a worksheet to keep track of that income. I get ad revenue from two of my clients and royalties from my book sales, so I have a separate worksheet to keep track of those.

• If your worksheets get out of order, all you have to do is drag and drop the worksheets in the order you want them with your mouse. This makes it easy to reorganize your clients if another client becomes a priority.

• If you want to see what you've made so far or if at the end of the year you want to know what you've made for tax purposes, you can simply put in the cell at the bottom of the earnings column the following formula "=SUM(F10:F22)." Keep in mind that you will want to change the column letter and cells depending on which cells in what column have the amounts that you want to add up. You can also just put your cursor in the cell where you want the total to be and click the "Auto Sum" button from the tool bar at the top.

• Keep your workbook current. Each time you submit an article or a book and each time you receive payment, you must remember to log it into your workbook in the appropriate worksheet. There may be times when you think you don't have the time and you'll do it later, but if you don't get into the habit of keeping your workbook current, then you will get behind and it will be a wasted effort.