Software for freelance video editors

An editor working for YouTube channels, podcasts and brands lives on volume: eight long-form videos a month for one channel, twenty vertical clips for another. Money leaks in three places: a revision round that wasn't in the price, the "quick tweak" that eats four hours, and feedback that arrives as a paragraph in Slack with no timestamps. You may never meet most clients in person; everything happens through links.

From a test edit to a monthly package

1. A channel owner fills out your brief form: channel link, video length, style references as links, turnaround and videos per month. A conditional question asks about thumbnails only if they want them.
2. Send a proposal for a paid test edit (example: one 12-minute video at your per-video rate), so both of you see how the work goes before committing.
3. Then the package: the "Monthly retainer" starter edited to 8 videos a month, two revision rounds per video, 72-hour turnaround per round (example), and a rate for each extra round. Put the footage handoff and who licenses the music in the terms.
4. The agreement goes out for e-signature from the accepted proposal. Say who owns the project files and the final edit, and from when.
5. Feedback by timestamp: record a Screen Recording of the cut playing with system audio, up to 5 minutes on Solo or 15 on Team. The client leaves comments pinned to the second ("2:14, cut the pause") and you see whether they watched to the end. For long videos, record only the sections that changed.
6. Track each video's hours with the Time Tracking timer started from its card on your board, so you know whether a 12-minute video takes you 6 hours or 11.
7. Set the package invoice to repeat on the 1st with the pay link. Extra rounds and rush fees go on a separate invoice built from unbilled time.

Revision rounds that hold

Write down what a round is: one consolidated set of notes on one cut, sent as comments on one recording or as one list, not a stream of messages over three days. Count the rounds in the proposal (example: two per video) and price the third. When the notes arrive as timestamped comments on the same recording, there's a record of what was asked and when, and round three becomes an invoice line instead of an argument.

A typical week

• Monday: the channel drops raw footage for two videos into its shared drive. You start the timer from each video's card.
• Tuesday: you send a 4-minute recording of the first cut's opening. By evening the client has left five comments at timestamps.
• Wednesday: round 2 is approved in the comments. The clips client asks for a third round on two shorts, which you log as billable time.
• Thursday: a podcast host fills out the brief form and accepts a paid test edit.
• Friday: the time report shows the channel's videos averaging 7.5 hours against the 6 you priced, so next month's package goes up.
• The 1st: the package invoice goes out by itself, and you build the extras invoice from unbilled time.

All 13 tools, one by one

What each tool does for a freelance editor, including the one most editors barely touch:

• Link in Bio: your editing reel, rates and the brief form on one page you link from your X and YouTube profiles.
• Short Links: a short link to your reel in cold emails and community posts, with a click count that shows which pitch got opened.
• Forms: the brief with channel link, length, style references as links, turnaround and monthly volume. Footage still comes through the client's drive, since forms take no uploads.
• Scheduling: a 20-minute kickoff call with a new channel, shown in their time zone. After that, most editing clients never need another call.
• Proposals: a paid test edit, then the monthly package from the "Monthly retainer" starter with videos per month, rounds per video and the extra-round rate.
• E-Signatures: the editing agreement with the work-made-for-hire clause or the license you grant, signed by you and the channel owner.
• Document Tracking: barely used by most editors. Helpful for a style guide or an edit-notes PDF you want to know the client read before round one.
• Screen Recording: timestamped feedback on cuts: the client comments at the second they want changed, and you see how much of the recording they watched.
• Notes & Boards: a board per client with a card per video (footage in, first cut, round 1, round 2, delivered) and a page with the channel's style notes.
• Time Tracking: hours per video started from its card, so the report shows whose videos run long and which package is underpriced.
• Invoicing: the monthly package as a recurring invoice on the 1st, plus a separate invoice for extra rounds and rush fees built from unbilled time.
• Expenses: editing software, stock music and footage licenses, drives and plugins, tied to each client so every package shows its margin.
• Automations: a welcome email with your footage-handoff instructions when a proposal is accepted, plus a task on your board to set up the client's folders.

Who owns the edit: work made for hire

• Under the Copyright Act, your editing on a commissioned video can be a work made for hire, because "part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work" is one of the nine categories that qualify. It counts only if there's a written agreement that expressly says work made for hire and both of you sign it.
• If the agreement doesn't meet those conditions, the copyright in your contribution starts with you as its author, and a transfer to the client is valid only in writing and signed by you.
• Many channels send a contract with a work-for-hire clause. That's normal for editing; price it in, and keep the right to show the work in your reel if you want it, in writing.
• For clients outside the US, ask a lawyer which country's law governs the contract.

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

SoloWOS or Loom: which fits

Choose Loom or Toggl Track if:

• Your feedback recordings run long, or you want transcripts, captions and a desktop or mobile recording app (Loom).
• You want desktop and mobile timers with idle detection and detailed team reports (Toggl Track).
• You already invoice from another tool and only need one piece.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• The package quote, the agreement, the feedback recordings, the hours and the recurring invoice should all sit in one account.
• Short walkthroughs of the sections you changed are enough for client notes.
• One subscription is easier to justify than three. See the Loom alternative and Toggl Track alternative.

For review of the full-resolution file with the whole team, a dedicated video review service is the right tool, and SoloWOS doesn't replace it. 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

Time Tracking with one project per client, Proposals with your monthly package saved as a template, and Invoicing with Stripe connected and the package set to repeat. Add Screen Recording the first time a client sends notes without timestamps.

Free tools that help

• Retainer calculator to turn videos per month and hours per video into a package price.
• Billable utilization calculator to see how much of your week is paid editing.
• Video file size calculator for the drive space a month of a client's footage needs.
• Time zone meeting planner for channels on the other coast or abroad.
• Invoice late fee calculator for the package that keeps getting paid on the 20th.

What SoloWOS won't do for a video editor

• No video hosting, uploads of finished files or review player. The client watches your screen recording of the cut, not the master file, and recordings are capped at 5 minutes on Solo.
• No frame-accurate comments or drawing on the frame; comments are pinned to a second.
• No package that counts videos down. The time report shows hours, and the board shows which videos are done.
• One currency per workspace, so a client who pays in euros gets an invoice in your workspace's currency.
• 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.