The Pros and Cons of Freelancing — And how the Right Tools Can Bring Balance

Photo by Per Lööv on Unsplash

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

It’s no secret the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated technology adaptation — making virtual work the norm and boosting freelance work opportunities. A survey by Upwork found that the proportion of the workforce engaged in freelancing is up to 36% of total workers.

The global pandemic isn’t the only reason behind the boom in freelance workers. Freelancers consistently report higher job satisfaction and often even greater earnings than traditional employees. According to CNBC, skilled service freelancers earn a median rate of $28 an hour — which is more per hour than 70% of workers in the overall U.S. economy. 

Between a flexible schedule, the ability to pick and choose which projects you want to work on and being your own boss — freelancing offers a ton of benefits. However, with it comes several drawbacks. 

The Challenges Facing Freelancers 

Freelancers are entirely responsible for tracking, managing and footing their own tax bill. On top of this, they also face health insurance expenses, lack of standard employee benefits and sporadic pay. Thankfully, freelancers can tap into ways to lighten the load and manage responsibilities more effectively. It comes down to using the right tools — such as Lili. 

Lili is the banking app designed exclusively for freelancers. Lili features tax tools, automated expense tracking, savings tools and even early paycheck deposits. Lili Pro takes things even further. The advanced subscription account offers additional invoicing tools, cashback rewards, advanced expense management, fee-free overdraft and 1% interest on savings.

Lili helps alleviate some of the major challenges freelancers face, such as:

• Taxes: Freelancers are responsible for paying additional self-employment taxes — and they don’t have an employer that automatically deducts a portion of income. It’s up to you to estimate, save and pay on your own. Lili makes this easier — with a free tax estimator, integrated savings tools and automated expense reports. 
• Expense Tracking: One way to offset the burden of paying additional self-employment taxes is by claiming expense deductions. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to keep track of expenses —- unless you’re using Lili. Lili allows you to sort and categorize your expenses on the go and in real-time, straight from your smartphone.
• Sporadic Pay: It’s not always easy to find consistent work as a freelancer. Clients may end a contract early or shift priorities. Some will even fall behind on invoices. All these factors can lead to a sporadic pay schedule. To make things easier, Lili offers paycheck deposits up to 2 days earlier and fee-free overdraft up to $200. 
• Invoicing: On top of managing work, clients and day-to-day business responsibilities, freelancers are also responsible for creating and sending out invoices. Not only is this time-consuming but also requires extensive attention to detail. Lili makes things easier by allowing you to create, manage and organize invoices directly from the Lili app.

Banking for Freelancers

On top of smart, automated tools to help you manage your day-to-day responsibilities, Lili also offers advanced banking features. You can access cashback on both personal and business expenses and 1% APY on your savings. Plus, Lili’s very own Visa V Business Debit Card features fee-free overdraft protection on up to $200 of purchases. 

Learn more about banking with Lili here. 

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.