Savvy freelancers are always looking for ways to streamline their workflow. The right tools can make your freelance business run more smoothly and allow you to spend more time on the creative work that earns you money. Here are a few of the best tools for freelancers we've run across lately.

Transcription

For freelance journalists, transcription can be one of the most time-consuming parts of the job. While it's often useful to listen back to full interviews and type out transcripts, shortcuts can be helpful -- especially during busy times. 

Otter is a transcription service that allows you to record interviews on your phone or in a web browser. You can also import or sync recordings from other services. You'll get real-time streaming transcripts and searchable notes. "You can get 600 minutes per month free, and if it works well for you, there's paid premium service.

And if you do prefer to transcribe your interviews manually, oTranscribe is still the best tool we've found for manual transcription.

Rate calculator

It's important for freelancers to know what their work is worth. One way to think about how much you should be charging is by calculating how much you need to make per year and working backwards to figure out an hourly rate. This rate calculator can help you work that out. 

Clipping saver

The internet can be a fickle and rapidly-changing place. If you're a freelance writer, you might have had the experience of losing online clippings when publishers you've written for have gone under. It's a good idea to screenshot your work, but turning those screenshots into PDFs can be a time consuming process.

This personal clipping service is an easy solution. Sign in with Twitter, enter the URLs of your work into the search field and Save My News will keep an archive of all of your published online work. Easy!