Freelancers, This App Could Make Your Finances 10x Easier
Take care of your banking, taxes, invoices, and savings as a self-employed person — all in one place!
A few days ago, I conducted a survey on my Instagram page, asking my followers what’s the one topic they wished was taught in schools. 73% of the people who answered said “Taxes.”
There’s no denying this: taxes are hard. The IRS estimates the average taxpayer spends 12 hours working on their taxes and pays about $230 to get their paperwork filed.
And if you’re self-employed, your taxes will often be more complex than average. Among all your income streams, knowing what can be reported and what can’t is super complicated. Since there’ll be a lot of deductions to consider, your cost of hiring a tax professional may also be higher.
On top of that, as a freelancer, you already have so many things to take care of: devising new income streams, making sure you stick to self-imposed deadlines, getting enough sleep, taking care of your social media and personal branding, etc. Tax planning and expense management can be a real headache and can take up valuable brain space.
If you’re like me who feels that doing anything other than the work you’ll be paid for is a waste of time, this task can be a nightmare. So when a fellow freelancer friend told me about an app that does exactly what I hate to do, I knew that I had to look into it, and so, here we are.
What’s this new app I am talking about?
Before I tell you the name of this app, let’s see if you actually want to use it. The basic premise is that it’s an all-in-one banking app designed for freelancers and side-hustlers. It’s both a checking account and a suite of business tools to track your expenses, invoices and plan your taxes. No more Excel spreadsheet, no more Quickbooks, no more arguing with your accountant!
Here are some of the features that got me excited. Let’s see if they make you feel just as thrilled.
Manage your expenses
When your earnings come in from so many different sources, it’s easy to feel “rich” and celebrate every small win by splurging on a luxury you always wanted. While it’s great to pamper yourself every once in a while, it’s also important to track your expenses so you know where exactly your money goes every month (and what you can write off from your taxes!).
I tried tracking my expenses on a spreadsheet. But it took a lot of hard work to update every time I spent something. If you’ve ever tried expense management on a spreadsheet, you’ll understand why I gave up in less than 5 days.
This app offers an amazing solution to this issue. You can sort and categorize your expenses on the go and in real-time, as soon as the purchase is made. You don’t even have to update anything on a spreadsheet. Expense management will be taken care of directly from your mobile account.
Keep aside money for your taxes
No matter how well I plan for tax payout day, when it comes to actually paying them, I always worried I didn’t save enough. That sinking feeling that so much of my hard-earned money went away in one go is not easy to bear.
I’ve always wished if there was a way some portion of my earnings would be kept aside periodically, so I don’t have to feel so stressed out at year-end. I tried doing this on a spreadsheet too, but I had too much of a mental block to actually keep at it.
But guess what, the app I’m talking about has a solution for that as well. They have a cool tax estimation tool that sets aside a percentage of your income into your Tax Bucket. There’s no more need to fill a spreadsheet or manually put money aside when the process can be automated and you don’t have to worry about saving money to pay your taxes when the time comes.
Does this app also have a pro version?
Yes! And the perks are amazing, for just $4.99 a month, you can upgrade for even cooler additional features:
Invoicing software
The Pro version comes with an invoicing tool allowing you to create, send (re-send if needed!), and manage all your invoices directly from the app. Every freelancer knows good bookkeeping boils down to keeping track of 4 things: invoice, payment, spending, and receipts. Now with this app, you can manage it all in the same place. That’s called streamlining your finances, and that means you’re going to save time and money!
Support during slow months
Did I mention aside from tax calculation and expense management, the app also includes a VISA business debit card and zero minimum balance requirement?
If you get the Pro version, you’ll get overdraft coverage up to $200, entirely fee-free. This can come in super handy especially when you’re already in a tough spot.
Cool cashback rewards
Freelancers need several tools to make their life easier. What if you also got rewarded for every purchase you made?
The app offers cool cashback rewards on both your personal and business purchases. There’s no need to count points or enroll in an offer. All you have to do is use your Visa Business Debit Card at participating merchants (Autozone, TaxAct, Chevron, Microsoft, Mailchimp, etc.) and receive cashback directly into your account. It’s that simple.
Earn 1% interest on your savings
Do you remember the piggy banks we used as children? All we had to do was store free change, and at the end of the year, we had enough to buy what felt like a whole treasure hold!
The app I’m talking about has an automatic savings account where you can choose a daily amount as low as $1 and start your rainy day fund (or any personal money goal!) any time you wish. It also gives you 1% APY — one of the highest in the market as I’m writing this — to make that rainy day brighter or get to your goal faster.
Doesn’t this sound like something that can 10x improve your life?
If you’ve read on until here, you’ll know how valuable such a diverse app can be for freelancers. And so, my dear friends, let me introduce you to Lili!
Started in 2019, Lili is on a mission to reinvent banking for the modern workforce. It is part of Lili’s mission to educate, inform, and empower freelancers of all trades and walks of life to take control of their finances. It aims to remove the fear most freelancers experience at the beginning of their journey by providing them with all the tools they need to run their business finances in one simple app.
Your Lili account can be managed entirely from a dedicated mobile app available on iOS and Android.
Final Words
When you automate your savings, taxes, and expense management in one app, you can find that elusive work-life balance every freelancer is looking for. All you need is your SSN and 3 minutes to set up your account.
So, what are you waiting for? Let Lili take care of your finances for you so you can dedicate that beautiful brain of yours to designing the perfect life you want.
PS: On another note, if you’re worried, creating an account with Lili will NOT affect your credit score!
Note: This post is a sponsored collaboration with Lili. Even though Lili is paying me to write about their platform, I resonated with the idea so much that I’d have written about them anyway.