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.

Comments

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

Book Review: Brand It Purple by Ashley Knoote-Parke

Ashley Knoote-Parke. Image: Facebook It seems almost redundant to review  Brand It Purple  given you probably won't find a hard copy edition without digging into the second hand market. The book's author and publisher, Ashley Knoote-Parke, seemingly, disappeared off the face of the Earth around about 2015. Which is a story in itself. However, the book is still a very informative guide and, while not specifically targeted at women, many may relate more to a book written by an experienced female entrepreneur. Brand It Purple is a personal marketing and branding guide released in 2009 by then, star on the rise author, Ashley Knoote-Parke, an English born, South African expatriate, who made Adelaide, South Australia her home. There she started her own publishing company releasing a photographic, coffee table book of South Australian sights, along with books showcasing female, then male, entrepreneurs. As well she published 'Brand It Purple'. I came across the b

Movie Review: Force of Nature - The Dry 2 (2024) *No Spoilers*

Eric Bana returns as Detective Aaron Falk in Force of Nature - The Dry 2 , and that's the only real connection between this and 2020's  The Dry . This is an all new mystery set in a new location. I will say, given that it's either wet or rainy, with the incoming threat of a major storm for most of the movie, the filmmakers really missed a trick in not renaming the film, The Wet. Back when I reviewed the first film I noted that I would love to see the second book made into a movie too, and here it is. This time Aaron and his detective partner, Carmen (Jacqueline Mackenzie), head into the mountains to investigate the whereabouts of a missing informant, who disappears on a workplace, team bonding retreat. All the performances in this film are easily on par with the first, though I do think some pretty outstanding actors really didn't have a lot to do here. In terms of mystery the first movie was better constructed as a who dunnit film you could play along with. Here you mo

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'