Trello for Freelancers

Freelancers Workflow with Trello

Here's how Freelancers can integrate Trello into their daily workflow:

1. Step 1: Create a board for each client engagement with columns matching your delivery workflow — Backlog, In Progress, Client Review, Revisions, Delivered — and invite the client as a guest with comment-only permissions.
2. Step 2: Set up Butler automations to streamline your workflow: when you move a card to Client Review, automatically add a due date 3 days out, post a comment tagging the client, and add a "Waiting" label for your dashboard.
3. Step 3: Use card checklists for detailed task breakdowns and custom fields for tracking estimated hours, actual hours, and billing status — giving you a lightweight time tracking and invoicing reference per deliverable.
4. Step 4: Create a personal "Pipeline" board to manage your freelance business: columns for Leads, Proposals Sent, Active Projects, and Completed, with labels for project value and client priority.

Key Features for Freelancers

• Guest permissions let you share boards with clients who see only what you want them to see — they can comment on cards and track progress without accessing your internal notes, time estimates, or other client boards.
• Butler automation handles the repetitive workflow steps (notifications, date calculations, label changes) that eat into billable hours when you're managing multiple client boards simultaneously.
• The free tier includes unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace, and basic automation — sufficient for most freelancers managing 3-5 concurrent client engagements.
• Workspace templates let you clone your proven project structure for each new client, ensuring consistent delivery process without rebuilding boards from scratch every time you start an engagement.