You will be able to list the checks in a quarterly freelancer money review.
An employee gets a lot of financial checking done for them. Payroll checks the salary, HR renews the insurance, the company's accountant files the right forms, and a manager notices if the business is in trouble. As a freelancer, you are all of those people. Each job takes a few minutes, but nobody reminds you to do any of them. Left alone, they get done when something goes wrong, which is the most expensive time to do them.
A quarterly review fixes that. Every three months, you sit down for an hour or so and check the whole system you built in this course. This lesson sets out what goes on the checklist.
Start with what came in. Three figures tell you most of it: the total you invoiced in the quarter, the total you actually received, and the total of invoices now overdue.
Invoiced shows how much work you did. Received shows how much money arrived. The gap between them, and the overdue total, show whether clients are paying on time. A quarter with strong invoicing and weak receipts is a cash problem waiting to happen, and lesson 7.3 covers what to do about late payers.
Then compare each figure with the same quarter last year, not just the quarter before. Freelance income often follows a yearly pattern. Mei's first quarter is usually quiet because agencies are planning, and her third is busy with year-end campaigns. Comparing the third quarter with the second would look like growth every year. Comparing it with last year's third quarter shows whether the business is really growing.
Next, check your two pots against their targets.
The holding account: what is its balance, and how does it compare with your buffer target from lesson 3.4? Above target, below target, or about there? Write the number down each quarter, because the trend over several quarters matters more than any single figure, and lesson 8.2 shows how to read it.
The tax and MediSave pot: is it on track for your estimate of this year's bills? Rerun the set-aside worksheet from lesson 2.4 with the income you actually received so far, and check whether your percentage still holds. If a notice has arrived, check that it has been paid or that an instalment plan is running.
With the pots checked, look at your base pay. The question is whether the holding account trend supports it.
If the holding account has stayed above target since your last review, base pay is safe, and if that has held for six months, you could consider a modest raise, as lesson 1.2 described. If the holding account is falling, base pay may need a cut. If it is roughly flat, leave base pay alone.
The decision has three possible answers: hold, cut or raise. Write which one and why. A one-line reason, such as "hold, holding account flat at target", is enough.
The last three areas are about keeping the system in good shape.
Records: are this quarter's invoices, receipts and statements filed in your year folder from lesson 4.3? Is your expense spreadsheet up to date? A quarter's records take an hour to catch up on. A year's take a week.
Cover: has anything changed that affects your cover map from lesson 6.4? A new piece of equipment, a larger contract, someone who now depends on your income, a policy due for renewal. Note any change, and whether it moves one of your top three gaps.
Pricing: are your rates still above your floor rate from lesson 7.1, and is your effective hourly rate on recent jobs where you expected it to be? Once a year, at your annual review, rebuild the floor rate and update your rate sheet from lesson 7.4. At the other three reviews, a quick check is enough.
Your checklist should fit your work. A platform driver like Hafiz might add a check on his platform CPF deductions from lesson 3.3 and his vocational licence renewal. Someone with a company might add the company's filing dates. Mei adds a check on whether her retainer client from lesson 7.2 is still using the hours they pay for, because a retainer that goes unused for long tends to get cancelled.
Here is part of Mei's checklist, as an example of the level of detail that works:
Income: total invoiced, total received, overdue total, each compared with the same quarter last year Pots: holding account against S$13,800 target, tax and MediSave pot against estimate, set-aside percentage rechecked Base pay: hold, cut or raise, with one line of reason Records: folder up to date, spreadsheet totals match bank statements Cover: any change to equipment, contracts or dependants, any renewal due Pricing: effective rate on the quarter's jobs, retainer hours used
Each item is something she can check in a few minutes and answer with a number or a yes or no. A checklist item that needs a paragraph to answer is too vague.
Start with these six areas and write at least two checks under each, in words you would still understand in three months' time.
Write your own quarterly checklist with at least two checks under income, pots, base pay, records, cover and pricing.
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