Ronin: Simple invoicing for creative & freelance professionals

Anyone running their on-line business on a freelance basis will probably have checked out the many web apps available to help boost efficiency in all aspects of their operation. Presenting professional looking invoices to clients is just one important feature that’s usually high on the list of priorities. Ronin covers this, along with offering some other great complimentary management tools.

With no installation or software maintenance required, access to the world of Ronin takes about 30 seconds. Once registered you can look forward to a suite of tools covering estimates, time tracking, invoicing and client/staff management.

At the outset you’ll need to choose the right plan. The basic package is free and aimed at 2 client businesses with 1 staff user. Upgrades are by way of three paid plans ranging from 30 clients to an unlimited number and giving user access to 3 - 5 additional staff. The first paid plan, along with the free one, carry the Ronin brand whilst the others allow for a customized domain giving a more professional and personalised image. Prices currently range from $15 to $49 a month.

Invoicing within Ronin is easy and there are a number of options available. Your own invoice numbers can be assigned or they can be generated automatically. Different currencies are not an issue either and you can also set up recurring invoices for regular repeated work. Once an invoice is complete it can be saved as a PDF and emailed to your client or you can invite the client to view it on the web. Upgraded packages also come with the ability to accept on-line payments via PayPal or Authorize.net.

Estimates can be done in much the same way as producing an invoice. Simply pick a client, add the items and email it.  A further time saving aspect of the system is that clients can view and approve estimates over the web or request changes or additions which again can be handled in the same way.

Ronin provides a good client management facility allowing you to keep an eye on unpaid invoices and unbilled work. There is also pretty cool option that allows your clients to log in and track the progress of a project.

Finally, if you rely on a number of staff or use external contractors on a project, the system lets you stay in control of who sees what by letting you set the level of access on an individual user basis.

Conclusion
Ronin offers a very good suite of management tools designed to ease the small business and freelancer’s burden in a highly professional way. Whilst the free basic plan has limited options it is still probably more than sufficient for the pure one man band operation. Upgrades to the paid plans won’t exactly break the bank either and the time saved by using the applications will repay your business easily.