Skip to main content

Creating a Mobile Independent Artist Business - Part 2: Business Software

Software


Last post I looked at all the essential hardware you'll need to start your mobile, independent artist business. Over the next three posts we'll look at all the software you'll need to familiarise yourself with in order to run your business and get your art online starting with business software. Following that I'll look at creative software and then social/marketing software.


Note that I won't be going into any of the software in any great detail here. This is just an overview of the kind of software you'll need. In places I've mentioned the specific software I use but if you know of equivalent software that you prefer, by all means go with that. I've also lumped in websites as 'software' since most of the ones you'll use are really online applications and not just static informational sites.

Business Software


Before you do anything you need to know you have a way to receive payments online and a way to keep track of all of your income and expenditure. It's probably the least interesting part of the business but it's the most important for working out when to enjoy your earnings and when to be a little more frugal.

Making and Receiving Payments

There are many different options for receiving money online but the one you see almost everywhere is PayPal. Sign up for a free PayPal Business account and you'll have access to online invoicing (probably the single most important feature you'll use) as well as the ability to make online payments for all the rest of the software you'll need.

PayPal can be linked directly to a real world bank account so when you need access to actual cash money that's not a problem (though it does take 3-5 days to transfer money so plan ahead).

Paypal makes it easy to work in multiple currencies, making it a snap to work for clients all over the world. You can invoice them in their local currency or you can do what I do and bill everyone in US dollars (since most countries measure the value of their currency against the US dollar).

One thing to be aware of is that PayPal does take a percentage of any money you receive and there are other fees as well. Some people think their fees are too high. Personally, PayPal just makes life so much easier when it comes to managing my money online, I feel it's worth every cent. From invoicing to financial reports - and I haven't even mentioned any of the tools to help turn your website into an eCommerce site.

You could almost use PayPal exclusively if you never received or paid money with anything other than PayPal. However it won't cover all your payments and receipts, especially if you intend to earn income offline as well.

Book Keeping Software

Unfortunately I don't have any clear recommendations for accounting/book keeping software due to using a free program for the past 20 years, called 'erecord', provided by the Australian Tax Office (that is no longer available).

I'm also not recommending anything because accounting software tends to be region specific for linking to online services such as your banking institution and Tax department (allowing you to automate many process between your book keeping and related financial institutions that you access).

Software options include the heavy hitters like MYOB and Quickbooks. Both claim to make accounting simple but I found the learning curve to be too great (and I did three years of accounting and book keeping the old fashioned way - on paper - in college). Both tend to be on the expensive side and probably do way more than you'll ever need as a one person business.

Alternatively you might be better off with budget and even free accounting software packages that will do the job. A Google search for Accounting Software for Small Business or Free Accounting Software for Small Business will give you some options.

For Australian readers Free Accounting Software is a cloud based system that I'm liking the look of because it means your accounts aren't tied to any one device and it can be linked to the tax office for direct lodgement of various forms etc.

At the barest minimum you need something to record Accounts In (people and businesses who pay you money) and Accounts Out (People and businesses you pay money too for goods and services). Then you'll need a General Ledger which shows all the transactions you've done with specific people on both the Accounts In and Out side of the Ledger.

You'll also need to access a summary of your accounts that shows Gross Profit (a total of all your income from the business), Total Expenses (everything you've spent money on in your business) and Net Profit (Your actual income/profit once you've deducted expenses).

I'd highly recommend looking for software that also has the ability to show Cash Flow, which is a way of showing how much actual money you have at any given moment in time. If it has Cash Flow Projections (also known as Cash Flow Budgeting), even better, as this can help you plan for the future by estimating your future income based on current and past income and expenditure.

---o ---o--- o---

Before moving on to creative software (next post). I can't stress enough how important it is to keep up with your book keeping. It may be a bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, it's actually not that complex or time consuming. You'll thank yourself for being so organised when it comes to submitting your annual income tax return. No scrounging around trying to find receipts and other paperwork.

More importantly, you'll always be aware of your financial situation. You'll know when to invest in your business, when to be frugal and when to treat yourself by enjoying some of your earnings.

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

Why Your Backside 180 Ollies Suck (Probably, if they're like mine)

Backside 180 Ollie by TET I've been doing backside 180 ollies on my skateboard for almost as long as I've been skateboarding. It's not really that hard a trick to learn, except it is, if you want to do them well. Usually, when I'm practicing my backside 180 ollies on flat, my first attempt will be my best, and then my technique will kind of deteriorate from there. Except for that one jaggy attempt where I successfully land the backside 180 ollie then continue to pivot on my back truck another 180 degrees. Which is only a cool trick if you actually meant to do it. Recently I spent an entire driveway skate session working on my backside 180 ollies. My goal was to get them higher, rotate my body more effectively, and to bend my back leg more (a common problem for most people is not really bending the back leg as you ollie). You can watch my session and decide if I made any progress in the video below. The thing is, I know everything I'm doing wrong with my backside 180

Can You Learn Skateboarding Basics on a Cheap Skateboard?

$20, Mambo 31" x 8", Department Store Skateboard. Over the years I've watched many high profile YouTube skateboarders repeatedly create videos where they purchase a cheap, department store skateboard, ride it like they would their regular professional skateboard, until it breaks (usually within an hour or so), and claim that as a reason for steering clear of these products. ​Inadvertently what they're doing is creating less demand for cheap skateboards, meaning it's less likely department stores will stock them, resulting in no easy way for first time skaters to 'test the waters' to see if skating is really for them. Even worse, parents looking to get their children into a new sport, may not even see skateboarding as an option as they browse through the department store sports section. At the time of writing, Australian department stores have shelves filled with many different brands of scooters, alongside a small shelf or two of skateboards (and

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) *No Spoilers*

If you've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and Volume 2 then  Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3  will not disappoint. I would almost go so far as to call it the best in the series... except seeing the first movie for the first time is still one of my best memories of the MCU. While it's not essential to the story if you didn't see the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ it does kind of lead into and set up where the Guardians are at in Volume 3 quite nicely. In this installment Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not coping with the loss of his timeline's Gamora (Zoe Saldada) when suddenly the team is attacked leaving Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in a very bad way. From then on it's a race to save Rocket as we learn quite a bit about his origin in the process. This movie is slightly darker than the first two and, if you're concerned about the animal cruelty that is causing some people to not want to see the film again, keep in mind, it's j

Movie Review: Bullet Train (2022) *No Spoilers*

I honestly don't understand why Bullet Train didn't do well in theaters? It's basically a live action, bonkers, cartoon but it's fun, has witty dialogue, quirky characters, and plenty of action. It's definitely underrated as something that very much reminds me of a cross between a Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright film in terms of how it's written, filmed, and edited. The plot centers around unlucky assassin, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) who is hired to retrieve a briefcase containing a ransom from on board a Japanese Bullet Train. Unfortunately he's not the only one after the case. Confusion and mayhem ensues. The only thing that really bothered me is that the movie seems almost devoid of regular people on the train and at any of the stations. Those that are present, including the staff of the train, seem to be blissfully unaware of what is happening around them despite the interior of the train becoming increasingly more damaged and the body count climbing. The further