Freelance: Which Tools to Create an Efficient Digital Workplace?

Key takeaways:

• A digital workplace centralizes all your tools to better organize your freelance activity.
• Each solution meets a need: collaboration, security, management, or office productivity.
• It improves your productivity and simplifies interactions with your clients.
• With Weepo, you benefit from an all-in-one solution including administrative management as well.

Are you looking for a digital workplace tool for your freelance daily life? As an independent worker, you wear many hats to manage your business. Being organized is essential, and that’s where a digital workplace comes in. That’s why Weepo has put together an overview of the main digital workplace solutions to help you boost your productivity as a freelancer.

What is a digital workplace?

A digital workplace is a digital work environment that integrates various tools within a single service, such as:

• Collaborative platforms and social networks;
• Email/messaging software;
• Videoconferencing tools;
• Storage spaces;
• Project management tools;
• Document sharing tools…

A digital workplace can be accessible via a website, a mobile app, or desktop app from any web browser. It centralizes all your documents, invoices, interactions with partners, and maximizes your productivity as a freelancer.

💡 Good to know: a digital workplace available in SaaS lets you access your services whether from PC, tablet, or smartphone.

OnlyOffice

OnlyOffice connects with many services and allows you to manage your entire business. Its offering includes basic services such as email management, your calendar, file storage/sharing, and, as a bonus, lets you create emailing campaigns, use a CRM for your client relations, and an estimate/invoice editing module. With OnlyOffice, you can benefit from a free version for freelancers and startups or a custom solution on quotation.

Infomaniak

Infomaniak is a Swiss hosting provider founded in 1990 which gradually launched its first storage services in 2020. Today they offer a complete solution to manage your freelance activity that includes:

• A domain name offered by Infomaniak;
• A secure email service;
• A calendar;
• Storage and document sharing space;
• An office suite;
• A videoconferencing solution.

The standard version is offered from €1.58 per user/month up to €12.42 per user/month for the “large business” version.

Google Workspace Business

It is one of the best-known workspaces and gives access to a complete suite of collaborative tools:

The price for small businesses starts at €11.50 per user/month.

Microsoft 365

Recognized as a must-have digital workspace, Microsoft 365 lets you work with partners using a complete suite of proprietary tools. Among its solutions, it offers a special deal for small and medium businesses designed for managing communication with your clients, building your visual identity, and protecting your confidential data. Typically, Microsoft 365 plans include the following tools:

• Creation software: Think Word, Excel, and also PowerPoint (for client presentations) and Clipchamp for professional video production.
• Communication software: For example, Teams for video calls or Outlook for email management.
• Storage/sharing tools: OneDrive to store all your documents (freelance contracts, sales documents, etc.) or SharePoint to share files with clients.

You can choose from different plans depending on your needs, starting with the Business Basic offer at €5.20 excl. VAT/month.

💡 Good to know: Microsoft 365 also includes a solution for individual users, which is perfectly suitable for freelancers starting out.

Focus on Weepo's turnkey digital workplace

While tools like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 help structure your freelance organization, some solutions go even further by centralizing your entire activity. This is the case of Weepo, an umbrella company offering a 100% digitized platform designed to simplify consultants' daily life. Accessible via a personal area, this all-in-one tool enables you to easily manage all your projects:

• Creation and signature of contracts,
• Activity tracking (timesheets, expense reports),
• Invoice generation,
• Leave management and access to your pay slips,
• An integrated CRM to manage your client portfolio.

Thanks to the dematerialization of documents, you avoid time-consuming exchanges with administrative teams and benefit from a true centralized digital workplace, combining autonomy, time savings, and security. A solution particularly suited to freelancers wishing to focus on their core business while enjoying the benefits of employee status.

Comparative Table of Digital Workplace Tools for Freelancers

Key Takeaways on Digital Workspaces

You now have an overview of the digital workplace tools for freelancers. Here’s a quick recap:

1. OnlyOffice;
2. Infomaniak;
3. Google Workspace Business;
4. Microsoft 365;
5. The digitized Weepo platform.

Additionally, check out our comparative guide on project management tools.