Article Central systems in modern working: a future-proof match

Collaboration, flexibility, promptness are essential to the way we work today and central systems can go a long way to help us stay ahead of the game.

Today being a freelancer doesn't mean being alone any longer (luckily!). Nor stuck in one place.

Freelancers as multi-tasking digital nomads

Freelancers cooperate with agencies, direct clients, business partners and suppliers in an increasingly complex ecosystem, made up of many different actors. They are connected and part of peer networks. They have become 'digital nomads', with the freedom to work from virtually anywhere, be it home, a co-working space, or a place abroad for a bit of 'bleisure' time.

But how can we still work consistently, proactively and on schedule? And how can our ecosystem operate in sync with that of our clients and business partners, so that we don't end up working inside a bubble, instead of in the cloud?

Central systems are the new smart

LSP.expert have the right answer to this riddle, actually a sort of magic word: systems.

A centralized approach is key to the modern way of working. Cloud storage, and cloud and web-based tools and systems are allies which literally, and quite funnily if you think of it, keep us 'grounded'.

Bye bye chaos

Sometimes systems conjure up images of something intricate and obscure, something which adds to your work instead of streamlining it.

Don't worry, you won't need an engineering degree to use LSP.expert. Because in smartly conceived systems, usability and flexibility are on the house.

Systems need to be accessible and versatile to quickly adapt to different needs and requirements: like LSP.expert, which lets you change the language of your invoices, apply discounts, add/edit/remove services in no time.

Simplify your day

System should make our life easier, not more complicated. It sounds obvious, but it is not: just think of how many times you tried a new software or program which was meant to speed up your daily routines and abandoned it after just a few tries because it wasn't user-friendly enough and you didn't have time to learn how to use it properly.

With this regard, I particularly like this quote from an article by Ryan Singer (Basecamp): "People use your product because they are trying to get somewhere. You can imagine them standing in front of a chasm with their goal on the other side. They want to do something, but they can't do it without help. Your product is there to bridge the gap."

The work which needed to be done for yesterday

Another peculiarity of today's work is time, or the absence of it. More often than not, time is of the essence, we work in fast-paced environments, everything seems urgent.

So, always having a clear snapshot of where you stand, for instance with a job (project progress), with the overall business relationship with a client (jobs, quotes, paid/unpaid invoices) or with your business expenses, is crucial, also in order to assess, regroup and change gear if need be.

So, how can systems actually help us?

Systems provide the opportunity to properly structure our work. Let's put the free back into freelancing by liberating translation routines from obstacles and chaos thanks to a centralized approach like LSP.expert. You'll be able to:

• Always know where you stand with your projects and business, with a clear highlight of your jobs for the day and those that are overdue, and useful reports on your figures.
• Build your own ecosystem and enhance collaboration, integrating files from your computer, Dropbox and Google Drive.
• Save time by turning repetitive tasks, like quoting and invoicing, into one-click actions. All the while maintaining the flexibility to customize them at will, with items like your logo, preferred currency and language, tax percentages etc. (And one thing which as a freelancer, a.k.a. one-band person, you'll find particularly interesting, is the feature to track unpaid invoices).
• Create automatic behaviours, or habits, which will become part of your daily or weekly routines, for a less stressful working (and personal) life. Feeling you're in control of your work is no small thing at all.

Not convinced yet?

The 30-day free of charge trial offered by LSP.expert is a convenient option to evaluate whether systems are what you were looking for, even though you didn't even know it.