I realised when I started developing projects as a freelance contractor that the real trick was going to be estimation. Software estimation is incredibly difficult, and the only real way of doing it effectively is through an empirical approach:
- Guess
- Measure
- Refine your guess
- Repeat until you approach accuracy/reality
I’ve been using 14Dayz to track my projects. The Free Plan is more than enough for a solo operator like myself. You can track up to 4 Projects with 10 Categories of work. Categories can have dollar values assigned, and you can generate reports in both time and total dollar values.
The reporting means I can track my budgets for individual projects, as well as track my weekly workload (good for figuring out if you can pay the rent, for example) and I can also gain a precise insight into exactly how long particular tasks take me.
On my current project I have only a couple of final pieces of work to go, and I am am currently only 5% off the budget. At the moment I think I will hit smack on the budget. Not too shabby.
Being able to estimate effectively means you can bid for project work with confidence that you will be on time, and on budget.
This is great for both you and your clients.