Show HN: I made a all-in-one web app to help me with my freelance admin tasks(momo.coach)
momo.coach
Show HN: I made a all-in-one web app to help me with my freelance admin tasks
https://momo.coach/index.html
71 comments
I understand. All all-in-one app are targetting teams. I want to change it. I want to work for freelancers. I will maybe have less users and that's ok. Thanks for your comment.
There are many different flavors of freelancers. I try to focus on serving one client well, but there are others who serve multiple clients, often tracking hours on multiple clients each week. I think they are more your target market.
I disagree. I focus on serving one client at a time, as well. Occasionally two, if one doesn't have enough work for me. I have a custom portal I built for tracking time/expenses, generating Stripe invoices, monitoring client budget, etc. Some clients want per-hour billing, some daily. Some want individual line-items (like a git commit, explaining exactly what I did with that time), and some don't care. If this project existed before I built that, I'd be using this project -- hands down.
Sadly, my portal already exists, and is deeply connected to Stripe and my way of doing business. So, I don't ever plan on doing what this person is doing. But I do highly suggest integrating it with Stripe Connect and make the project entirely free, and only charge a % of invoices total (like 1-5%). If it is free, people will use it. If they can send an invoice and automatically charge a client (assuming the client saved their billing information), that is money in the bank and you don't have to worry about collecting or them paying late ... that is worth it's weight in gold, as a contractor.
Sadly, my portal already exists, and is deeply connected to Stripe and my way of doing business. So, I don't ever plan on doing what this person is doing. But I do highly suggest integrating it with Stripe Connect and make the project entirely free, and only charge a % of invoices total (like 1-5%). If it is free, people will use it. If they can send an invoice and automatically charge a client (assuming the client saved their billing information), that is money in the bank and you don't have to worry about collecting or them paying late ... that is worth it's weight in gold, as a contractor.
I'm a freelancer now and similarly to OP, I'm not sure I want to add any additional costs so paying for your app is a no-go for me when I can use Google Sheets for everything I need.
Basically, I don't see a value-add (YET) for paying for something when right now this admin work isn't costing me any significant time or causing me issues.
Basically, I don't see a value-add (YET) for paying for something when right now this admin work isn't costing me any significant time or causing me issues.
As a freelancer, I use Moneybird[0] for this purpose. There is a free tier up to 4 invoices, 10 incoming invoices and 10 bank transactions per month. Most months I fit in the free tier, some months I pay for 1 month of subscription.
Maybe a model like this would work for you as well? The users you are replying to might switch and sometimes pay if they have a busy month.
[0]: https://www.moneybird.com/
Maybe a model like this would work for you as well? The users you are replying to might switch and sometimes pay if they have a busy month.
[0]: https://www.moneybird.com/
Moxie is an AIO app for freelancers. Check it out.
it helps to start with an underserved niche
I'm interested in something like this, except I would love to see it as open-source and the ability to self-host (as a simple Docker container to deploy to fly.io , or my Synology NAS, or whatever), but at the same time I fully understand the desire to gain an income from this as an independent creator.
Kimai (https://www.kimai.org/) might be what you need. I've been using it since the beginning of this year and it has everything I need for tracking the hours I work, including the fact that it can be self hosted (which is what I did). It can also be used for free as SaaS up to a certain number of users.
I have no connection to the project, I just like it.
I have no connection to the project, I just like it.
+1 for Kimai. It's valuable enough for me to be my first monthly GitHub sponsor recipient.
I'm fascinated that they offer OIDC/SAML logins - does that come in the self-hosted version as well?
Maybe release it under AGPL and sell hosted instances?
I did the same, but using plugins to track the time I spent working for each client. It removes the need for "time tracking habits".
https://wakatime.com/blog/1-why-i-built-wakatime
https://wakatime.com/blog/1-why-i-built-wakatime
Cool! For momo.coach, I wanted to have everything I needed in the same app and personally I do not go too fare in time tracking.
I love WakaTime for its Neovim (& IntelliJ) integration. I guess it’s the main reason I’m always coming back after trying out other tools (ActivityWatch etc.)
hmm, I am also a Neovim user. Now, I want to add an API and create a plugin. Thanks for the idea!
It looks really wonderful! I enjoy that you went for a pleasant aesthetic instead of a cold generic UI framework theme.
I have to be honest though with this specific feature set I would really prefer a local offline app with a one time payment. I'm using a Saas accounting software for a business I run with some friends which makes a lot of sense because everyone can create invoices and upload receipts etc. – but for something that's just used by me, I find it hard to justify paying a monthly fee and putting all my data in someone else's hands. I can be convinced otherwise though if the features are compelling enough though.
I saw this blog post on the page: https://momo.coach/blog/do-you-fill-out-your-own-tax-report/... Since you seem to be based in Germany, does this mean the app has an Elster integration or export then? Is there DATEV export, in case I do decide to get a tax accountant to look over my things?
I have to be honest though with this specific feature set I would really prefer a local offline app with a one time payment. I'm using a Saas accounting software for a business I run with some friends which makes a lot of sense because everyone can create invoices and upload receipts etc. – but for something that's just used by me, I find it hard to justify paying a monthly fee and putting all my data in someone else's hands. I can be convinced otherwise though if the features are compelling enough though.
I saw this blog post on the page: https://momo.coach/blog/do-you-fill-out-your-own-tax-report/... Since you seem to be based in Germany, does this mean the app has an Elster integration or export then? Is there DATEV export, in case I do decide to get a tax accountant to look over my things?
Thanks a lot for the comment on my ui! Yes, I am based in Germany and I also use Elster. DATEV export and Elster integration are already on my todo list ;-)
Looks like a great tool. Thanks for sharing. Might consider using it if I start freelancing more, as I much prefer to support other small creators than big corporate software.
Also the cat is nice.
Edit: Care to share your stack?
Also the cat is nice.
Edit: Care to share your stack?
I started the project a while ago. My stack is Node.js with express + postgresql + redis + s3 + sqs + puppeteer (rendering html invoices/quotes/reports to pdf) for the back. The front is a browserify app with few modules: mainly D3 for the graph (https://momo.coach/blog/tech-stack/index.html)
How did you do those small demo videos on the homepage? It looks really cool!
Not OP, but probably https://www.screen.studio/
yes it is
tactical .
Do you know of any similar application for Windows? I'm impressed by the quality of the video and the transitions. I am using an open-source tool (ShareX), but it does not offer similar quality or features.
Camtasia is the industry gold-standard program for recording and editing screencasts, and is multi-platform. However, it does cost a bit. IMO, well worth every penny.
It's from our friends at TechSmith who also gave us "SnagIt!".
It's from our friends at TechSmith who also gave us "SnagIt!".
Just another endorsement for screen.studio--it's extremely handy for me feature announcements, demos, and FAQs.
How does screen studio compare with screenflow? I've been on their upgrade path the past few years, but none of the new features add anything to the basics of what I tend to use. The 'multidevice' pricing on screenstudio is a bit off putting; it's similar in screenflow, but the extra couple minutes of 'deactivate/activate' a few times per year is probably worth it vs an extra $100.
I did something similar, but instead of building out a whole app I just insert data into a Postgres database directly. It turns out if you know SQL, you don’t need any kind of frontend really to manage your business. Coming up with new features is as simple as building out new views or writing functions on the fly.
It's 1977 all over again. Before the next 40 years of canned application software happened, filePro and other self-serve app development systems of the time were just a database with thin skin of ui in the form of input screen designer and output print designer.
As a dentist or whatever, you just define some fields that matter to you. And that actually was enough to do most of the job anyone really needed doing.
As a dentist or whatever, you just define some fields that matter to you. And that actually was enough to do most of the job anyone really needed doing.
Next unicorn will just be a UI wrapper ontop of a postgres instance.
Something like this https://retool.com/
Yeah that is basically what I was describing. I guess it wasn't as unique of idea as I thought.
MS Access might be the thing for this. Not used it in decades but loved it back then. Best of both worlds as long as it's for a single user.
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This sounds like it would be an interesting blog post.
Seeing as this is for business use where money is part of the data, is there a way to export all my data at once? Not only for having a backup, but also in the future in case I no longer like the service, or I outgrow the service, or the service shuts down.
on this section https://app.momo.coach/user/subscription, you can "Export your data" by clicking the btn. You will received a email with a link to the zip file containing all your files + db extract of all your data.
Very cool, thanks. Looks like a lot of thought went into the UI, congrats on launching it!
My feedback as a freelancer.. change the struggles to questions. Instead of "Lost revenue from unaccounted hours" make me think: "Have you lost revenue due to unaccounted hours?" In my mind this makes it clear that this web app can help me solve that problem.
The "& More" needs to link to something.. like a list of all the features you provide beyond the ones mentioned on the home page. Maybe link to the blog page for now? There's tons of great content there.
Does the app support Canadian currency?
The "& More" needs to link to something.. like a list of all the features you provide beyond the ones mentioned on the home page. Maybe link to the blog page for now? There's tons of great content there.
Does the app support Canadian currency?
Thanks for your feedback! You can change the currency in the settings: https://app.momo.coach/settings (It is more a currency format as my app is not currently multi-currency)
Love the aesthetic and how you've organized things in the UI. I don't freelance, but this seems like a helpful tool, especially the report generation.
Looks really useful and love the design.
Is there a way to change the currency? I'm U.S. based and would need it in $ and with ability to turn off VAT calculations
Is there a way to change the currency? I'm U.S. based and would need it in $ and with ability to turn off VAT calculations
You can change your currenty in the settings https://app.momo.coach/settings and all VAT calculations are only done when you set a VAT value, so you just need to not add tax.
Has anyone figured a good way to account for time spent on asynchronous communication (ie email)? A lot my time goes there and it is sprinkled throughout my days and nights.
Ideally we wouldn’t bill hourly and wouldn’t have to care, but neither the world nor my contracts are ideal!
Ideally we wouldn’t bill hourly and wouldn’t have to care, but neither the world nor my contracts are ideal!
I make it clear that replying to just one email will trigger an hour of billing (or day, if we have a day rate). I also make it clear that this will never be more than one hour per day.
Thus, they get an hour per day of dedicated support, no more unless they want to pay for it (i.e., they want two hours, a single email triggers two billable hours even if it takes 5 mins to reply to a single email).
It works pretty well.
Thus, they get an hour per day of dedicated support, no more unless they want to pay for it (i.e., they want two hours, a single email triggers two billable hours even if it takes 5 mins to reply to a single email).
It works pretty well.
The WakaTime browser extension does this, if you set it to only track your email domain.
But this only works for webmail, right. Thunderbird user here.
You can use this Thunderbird extension instead of the Browser extension:
https://github.com/monkeysintown/thunderbird-wakatime
https://github.com/monkeysintown/thunderbird-wakatime
Congrats on the launch! I wondered if you’d looked to FreeAgent (https://www.freeagent.com) for inspiration at all, and what you see as the key differences.
Tanks for the comment! I never looked at FreeAgent. From what I see from the landing: I do not have automatic bank feeds and I am also currently not able to OCR a pdf/image to create automatically an expense. I still have a lot of work ;-) 1 thing I won't do is showing the dashboard as the first screen of the app. As a freelancer, most of the time I log my time; on momo.coach it's the first screen you see!
Congratulations on your launch! Beautiful design. Are you a solo founder?
Thanks! Yes, I am
Wow that's awesome. Congrats. I'm approaching a launch myself and I'm very nervous. Super cool to see that you did it. Congrats once again and best of luck! I hope your product does really well.
Great web app, great UX.
What did you use for user registration and confirmatino email? Auth0?
Thanks! I used passport and bcrypt and for the confirmation email jsonwebtoken.
looks super nice! congrats!
I use similiar but not all-in-one. Wouldn't trust my expenses on a 3rd member platform
Thanks! I completely understand! Which ones do you use?
My feedback as a freelancer: one of my main goals is to keep my costs as low as possible, especially fixed costs. For tracking time and generating invoices I use Google Sheets, this has served me well for many years. My invoice is a tab in my timesheets that I manually enter a month's hours into as a line item, and VAT is calculated, I then bump the invoice number and date and export to PDF. This whole process takes a couple of minutes, and I like that some parts are manual because I want to be able to doublecheck everything first.
I think where this kind of tool would really start to be useful is for people expanding from being a one-person operation to more consultancy/agency operations. So I would really target people who aren't working alone by default if I were you.