Starting as a freelancer: the minimum setup for your first client

Most first clients come from someone you know: a former employer, a friend's business, a referral from a referral. The price gets agreed on a call, the work starts on a handshake, and the problems show up later. The scope grows, the client's accounts payable team asks for a W-9 and an invoice number you don't have, and in April you find out nobody withheld any tax. This page is the short version for that first client. If you already run a full client pipeline, the freelancers and consultants page covers the whole loop.

What to set up, and when

• Before the first client: your business name, your payment details (ACH, Zelle or a payment link), Stripe connected for card payments, and one proposal template for your main service. That's an evening.
• With the first client: the quote, the contract signed online, a deposit invoice and the final invoice.
• By the third client: an intake form so you stop asking the same questions by email, and Time Tracking if anyone pays by the hour.
• Once it's steady: Expenses with your receipts, so you know your profit and what to set aside for taxes, and a booking page if calls start eating your week.

Your first client, step by step

1. After the call, write down what you'll deliver, by when, and what isn't included. Vague scope is how a $1,500 website turns into a website plus a logo plus a blog for the same price. The guide to pricing a freelance project helps with the number.
2. Send it as a proposal: line items, a timeline, one or two revision rounds, and payment terms such as 50% upfront and 50% on delivery (example). You see when the client opens it, and they accept online with their name.
3. The accepted proposal can create a signature request for your contract. Start from the freelance contract template, and read the independent contractor agreement guide for the clauses that matter: scope, payment, who owns the work and how either side can end it.
4. Create the deposit invoice from the proposal and start when it's paid. The client pays by card through your Stripe account, or by ACH, Zelle or check using the payment details printed on the invoice.
5. If the client's company asks for a W-9, download the current form from irs.gov, fill it out and give it to the client, not the IRS. It carries your Social Security number, so share it through Document Tracking with a passcode and an expiration date instead of attaching it to an email.
6. Deliver, then send the balance invoice from the same proposal. Payment reminders go out 3 days before the due date and 3 and 7 days after it, so you don't have to write the awkward email yourself.

A typical week with your first client

• Monday: you send the proposal for a $2,400 brand refresh (example numbers) after Friday's call. The client opens it twice.
• Tuesday: it's accepted, the contract is signed, and the $1,200 deposit invoice is paid by card that afternoon.
• Wednesday: their accounts payable team asks for a W-9. You share it with a passcode that expires in a week.
• Thursday: a friend refers a bakery that needs a menu. You send the same proposal template with new lines in ten minutes.
• Friday: you log a font license and your design software in Expenses with the receipts. The report shows the week's profit and suggests setting aside 25% of it for taxes.

All 13 tools, one by one

You won't need all of these for client one. What each tool does for a new freelancer, and which can wait:

• Link in Bio: can wait. Once you post your work on LinkedIn or Instagram, one page with your services, a contact form and a few samples is enough.
• Short Links: can wait too. Handy for business cards at a local networking event: a QR code that opens your portfolio, and you can change where it points later.
• Forms: a short project request form with budget, deadline and what the client has today, so a referral fills it out instead of starting a long email thread.
• Scheduling: a free 30-minute intro call where prospects pick a time themselves; even Basic includes 50 bookings a month.
• Proposals: your first quote with scope, revision rounds and a 50% deposit in the terms, saved as a template so the second client takes ten minutes.
• E-Signatures: the contract your client signs from their phone, with a certificate of completion and an audit trail you can download as a PDF.
• Document Tracking: your W-9 shared with a passcode and an expiration date instead of an email attachment, and your portfolio PDF with a link that shows when it was opened.
• Screen Recording: a 3-minute walkthrough of the first draft, so a new client hears your reasoning before reacting to a file cold.
• Notes & Boards: a page per client with the brief and call notes, and a small board with the tasks and due dates you promised.
• Time Tracking: the day a client pays by the hour: the timer runs from the task, and "Add unbilled time" puts those hours on the invoice.
• Invoicing: deposit and final invoices from the accepted proposal, numbered in sequence, with a card pay link and your ACH or Zelle details.
• Expenses: software, a new laptop and coworking fees with the receipts, plus the monthly set-aside figure so April isn't a surprise.
• Automations: a follow-up email 3 days after you send a proposal, skipped if the client already accepted, so you never have to decide when to chase.

W-9, 1099-NEC and taxes in your first year

These are the federal basics from the IRS. State income tax, sales tax on some services and any city business license depend on where you live, so check your state's rules too.

• Form W-9 is how a client collects your legal name and taxpayer identification number, which for an individual is generally your Social Security number. You give it to the client; it never goes to the IRS. If you don't provide a TIN, the client may have to apply backup withholding to your payments.
• A client that pays you $2,000 or more for services in 2026 generally files Form 1099-NEC and sends you a copy, due January 31. The threshold was $600 for payments made before 2026.
• If a client pays you by card or through a payment app, that payment is reported on Form 1099-K by the payment company, not on a 1099-NEC.
• You report all of your self-employment income on Schedule C, whether or not a 1099 arrives. With net self-employment earnings of $400 or more you also owe self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) on Schedule SE.
• Nobody withholds tax from freelance pay, so you may need to make estimated tax payments during the year. See quarterly estimated taxes for freelancers.

More detail in the W-9 guide for freelancers and how to invoice as a 1099 contractor.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS or Wave: which fits

Choose Wave or Bonsai if:

• You want free invoicing and bookkeeping in one place and don't mind Wave's fee on each card payment.
• You want recurring invoices charged to a client's saved card (Wave); SoloWOS emails each one with a pay link instead.
• You'd like contract templates and accounting features in the same app as your invoices (Bonsai).

Choose SoloWOS if:

• You want the quote, the contract and the invoice connected from the start, for $2/month on Basic.
• Card payments should land in your own Stripe account.
• You'll add an intake form, a booking page and time tracking later without switching apps. See the Wave alternative and Bonsai alternative pages.

Prices and features come from each company's own pages as SoloWOS last checked them in October 2026. Confirm them on their site before you decide.

Start with these three

Proposals, E-Signatures and Invoicing. That's the whole minimum: what you'll do and for how much, proof the client agreed, and a way to get paid. Everything else on this page can wait for client three.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator to work out an hourly rate from the income you need, not from your old salary.
• Self-employment tax calculator for a first estimate of what you'll owe.
• Project cost calculator to turn hours per phase into a fixed price.
• Home office deduction calculator if you work from a spare room.
• Free invoice generator if you only need one invoice right now.
• Free proposal template with scope, timeline, pricing and terms.

What SoloWOS won't do for a new freelancer

• No tax filing, estimated tax payments or 1099s, and no advice on whether you need an LLC or a business license.
• No bookkeeping or bank feeds: Expenses is a log with receipts and a profit report, not accounting software.
• No marketplace that sends you clients.
• No legal review of your contract. Start from the template, and pay a lawyer to read it once a big client is involved.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.