Search
Search Freelance Codex
Search across Start Here (guided paths), the Codex (evergreen), Research (evidence and definitions), Radar (timely), and Tools (templates/calculators). Use the suggestions below to find answers faster.
Semantic search is unavailable right now, so results are limited to exact and near-exact keyword matches.
That means concept queries like “upsell” can miss pages that are still relevant.
Start Here
3I need to raise rates
Raise rates with less fear: anchors, packaging, negotiation scripts, and scope boundaries that keep prices true.
Open I need to raise ratesI'm already freelancing but inconsistent
Stabilize the machine: pipeline, delivery, admin habits, and pricing boundaries.
Open I'm already freelancing but inconsistentI'm leaving my job
Make the transition without panic: runway, offer, pipeline, and the first client outcomes.
Open I'm leaving my jobCodex
18How to negotiate freelance rates: outside options, concessions, and when to walk
Negotiate freelance rates without bluffing: set a floor and target, strengthen your outside options, and trade scope instead of price, with email scripts.
Open How to negotiate freelance rates: outside options, concessions, and when to walkSet freelance rates
Set freelance rates with a repeatable system: floor math, packaging, hourly vs project vs retainer, negotiation scripts, and scope control.
Open Set freelance ratesFreelance tax deductions: what you can claim
A practical guide to the business expenses freelancers can deduct: the ordinary-and-necessary rule, home office methods, 2026 mileage rates, equipment write-offs, health insurance, half of self-employment tax, the QBI deduction, UK allowable expenses and simplified expenses, Canadian home and vehicle rules, Australian fixed rates, and record keeping.
Open Freelance tax deductions: what you can claimGetting paid internationally
Compare bank wires, Wise, Payoneer, PayPal, and Stripe for clients abroad, see how exchange-rate markups work, and learn the tax forms and VAT/GST basics.
Open Getting paid internationallyChoosing a freelance business structure
Compare freelance business structures in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia: what changes for tax and liability, when to switch, and what to ask an accountant.
Open Choosing a freelance business structureFreelance burnout: boundaries, workload limits, and recovery
A freelancer burnout guide: set client boundaries, cap your workload, steady your cashflow, and schedule recovery so work stops running on emergency mode.
Open Freelance burnout: boundaries, workload limits, and recoveryFreelance Retainer Agreement: Scope and Payment Terms
Learn how to structure a freelance retainer agreement with clear monthly scope, rollover rules, overage pricing, payment terms, and exit language.
Open Freelance Retainer Agreement: Scope and Payment TermsHealth insurance for freelancers
A practical guide to health coverage for freelancers: Marketplace plans and 2027 premium tax credits, leaving a job and COBRA, a spouse's plan, HSA-eligible bronze plans, the self-employed health insurance deduction, disability cover, and how coverage works in the UK, Canada, and Australia.
Open Health insurance for freelancersResearch
1Game theory for freelancers: reading guide, glossary, and evidence notes
A plain-English research guide to the concepts behind credibility, pricing, scope, payment, retention, and scaling in freelance work.
Open Game theory for freelancers: reading guide, glossary, and evidence notesTools
13Freelance Rate Calculator
Calculate freelance hourly and day-rate floors from your annual pre-tax income target, billable capacity, overhead, and buffer.
Open Freelance Rate CalculatorSelf-Employment Tax Calculator
Estimate U.S. self-employment tax from your freelance profit for 2026 or 2027, with every Schedule SE step, Additional Medicare Tax, and a quarterly share.
Open Self-Employment Tax CalculatorTax Set-Aside Calculator
Work out how much of each month's freelance income to move into a tax reserve at a percentage you choose, and how to pick it from your records.
Open Tax Set-Aside CalculatorClient Concentration & Capacity Scorecard
Check how much your freelance business depends on one client: revenue share, meeting load, mental load, and replaceability, with a worked example.
Open Client Concentration & Capacity ScorecardDiscovery Call Agenda
A five-part discovery call agenda for a 30-45 minute first call with a prospective client, with the questions to ask and how to turn notes into a proposal.
Open Discovery Call AgendaDiscovery Call Checklist
An interactive checklist for prepping, running, and following up on discovery calls so they turn into scoped next steps.
Open Discovery Call ChecklistFirst 30 Days Freelancing Checklist
A week-by-week checklist for your first month freelancing: set up your offer, outreach, pricing, invoices, and scope documents without busywork.
Open First 30 Days Freelancing ChecklistFreelance Business Health Check
Answer 14 questions to score pipeline, pricing, client concentration, scope, payment, burnout, and systems, then get the next move for your weakest area.
Open Freelance Business Health CheckRadar
6Raise your freelance rates for 2027: notice, numbers, and a script
November and early December are the window to set 2027 rates. Check notice clauses, size the increase from utilization, close rate, capacity, and costs, then send clear written notice and plan for pushback.
Open Raise your freelance rates for 2027: notice, numbers, and a scriptFreelance demand tracking: leads, replies, and decisions
Track a few signals you can measure in 10 minutes a week. Don’t change strategy based on one bad week. Use your close rate and lead flow to choose the next move.
Open Freelance demand tracking: leads, replies, and decisionsAI in client work: disclosure, confidentiality, and who owns the deliverables
Client contracts increasingly ask about AI use. Learn what to disclose, how to keep client data out of the wrong tools, what the U.S. human-authorship rule means for IP clauses, and a sample AI-use clause.
Open AI in client work: disclosure, confidentiality, and who owns the deliverablesHow to read Radar briefings
Radar is for timely changes. Each post answers what changed, who it affects, what to do this week, and where the evergreen Codex page lives.
Open How to read Radar briefingsMaking Tax Digital for Income Tax: 2026 to 2027 checkpoint for UK sole traders
UK sole traders on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax send their second quarterly update by 7 November 2026. Review the update calendar, first-year penalty rules, the 31 January 2027 bill, and the £30,000 threshold from April 2027.
Open Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: 2026 to 2027 checkpoint for UK sole tradersTwo full-time jobs vs freelancing: a better alternative to overemployment
A comparison of dual-job work, freelancing, fractional roles, and reusable products, with U.S. data through September 2026 and a plan for testing demand.
Open Two full-time jobs vs freelancing: a better alternative to overemployment