Light solo stack
For early freelancers: sell, qualify, deliver, and get paid with the viable minimum before adding subscriptions.
- Selection
- 9 1 optional
- Target budget
- $14 per month
- Profile
- Starter business stage
Which tool does what?
OrganizationNotion
One place for offers, clients, tasks, and deliverables.
StorageGoogle Drive
Cheap and understood by every client.
PaymentStripe
Starts free, pay as you go.
FormTally
Client brief and qualification without fixed cost.French billing
Indy
Add if VAT, URSSAF, or declarations become painful.Business account + invoicesIf needed
Shine
Light alternative if you want to start with free invoicing, then connect business banking.
SchedulingCalendly
Useful when scheduling becomes repetitive.
Simple visualsCanva
Offers, posts, PDFs, and assets without a dedicated designer.
General AIChatGPT
Clarify offers, scripts, emails, and deliverables without multiplying AIs.
Why these tools together?
The first mistake of a freelancer starting out: confusing 'being organized' with 'being equipped'. Free Notion + Google Drive + Stripe: that is all you need to invoice your first 5 clients. Every subscription added before you have the workload to justify it is pressure on an already fragile cash flow.
A good fit if…
Early freelance, side business, simple service business.
Look elsewhere if…
You already produce with a team or need a full sales CRM.
What should you budget?
- Tally$24
- ChatGPT$20
- Notion$11
- Canva$11
- Calendly$10
- Google Drive$2
- StripeUsage-based
The target budget is the recommended starting envelope. The list price adds up each core tool's first paid plan, excluding 1 tool without a fixed price. Optional tools are not included.
What to watch out for
Buying team tools before you have a stable flow.
Questions to ask yourself
Have you ever lost a project because your briefing process was unclear?
Yes → a free Tally form with 5 questions qualifies better than an hour-long unstructured call. It is the first tool worth setting up.
Are you using a separate invoicing tool from Stripe?
Yes → Stripe generates compliant PDF invoices automatically. For a solo in France, Indy (~€9/month) adds VAT management and URSSAF declarations if you need them.
Are your client deliverables in a shared space from the start of the mission?
No → one Google Drive folder per client, shared at kick-off, eliminates expiring WeTransfer links, 'do you have the latest file?' messages, and v3-final-final naming.
