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Doing work that you love and working for yourself is one of the greatest perks of being a freelancer. However, that means you are responsible for getting yourself paid for that work that you love. This can be a tedious and often times annoying process as it is frustrating to have to stay on top of clients, and waiting for checks in the mail is just THE WORST.

Well, you are in luck because this is 2014 and you are a resourceful and enterprising human being! Why wait for a check when you could use any one of the following awesome apps for getting paid!

Note: even though most of these are free, when accepting online credit card payments there will typically be a fee associated. It is usually either a small flat fee per transaction, or a percentage of the transaction. Make sure that you look into the fees when considering any of these options.

Google Wallet** **(Free)

Google Wallet is great if you just need a SUPER simple tool to get paid fast. The only downside: that is all it does, there is no way to create or track invoices. Furthermore, the client will have to set up a Google Wallet account in order to pay you, which may deter some folks.

**PayPal **(Free)

A step up from Google Wallet is PayPal, which allows you to create, send and manage invoices from your PayPal account. The client does not need to have a PayPal account in order to remit payment.

CurdBee** **(Free for invoicing only, $5/month for more features)

CurdBee allows you to create and send invoices as well as accept online payments. For an additional monthly fee you can add time tracking and other useful features.

Wave** **(Free)

Wave is the WAVE OF THE FUTURE (of online billing). This app has got it all: the ability to create, send and manage invoices, as well as automate late payment reminders, create receipts for clients and accept credit card payments instantly. It even integrates with Wave’s FREE accounting tools so you can keep track of your finances.

Harvest (Free for up to 4 clients and 2 projects, $12/month unlimited)

Harvest is mainly time tracking software that happens to do invoicing, that being said it happens to do it well. This is especially useful if you have projects that have very specific billing structures and you want to be able to account for the time spent on individual aspects of a job. You can also create, send and manage invoices and accept online payments.

**ZenCash **($1 per debtor/month)

ZenCash isn’t billing software per se, but more invoice and accounts receivable management. It does not have the ability to create invoices or accept online payments. It’s more of a follow up software and a service whereby AR experts will follow up with clients to ensure timely payment.

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