Inspiration: As freelancers, we often struggle with scattered tools—one for tracking time, another for invoicing, and then separate platforms for payments. Platforms like Upwork have their own systems, but they tie you to their ecosystem with high fees. We wanted to build something independent—a simple tool that gives freelancers the freedom to track time, send invoices, and get paid, all in one place.
What it does:
FreelancerTrackr is a lightweight SaaS platform where freelancers can:
- Track time for hourly projects
- Create invoices for hourly or fixed-price work
- Send branded invoices via email with live client preview
- Accept payments using Stripe, PayPal, or Wise
- Manage projects, clients, and taxes from a clean dashboard
How we built it: We built this using Bolt, which made the entire development process much faster and more accessible. With Bolt:
- React + Tailwind CSS for the frontend (hosted on Netlify)
- Supabase for auth, database, and backend API
- React Hook Form with useWatch for real-time form calculation
- Brevo API for sending invoice emails
- Stripe for payment integration
Challenges we ran into:
- Making real-time updates work inside dynamic invoice forms
- Managing optional project selection inside invoices
- Previewing invoices from both freelancer and client sides
- Edge Functions for Email Management for Client Side.
- Working within Supabase's free-tier API limits and optimizing data usage
Accomplishments that we're proud of:
- Built a working SaaS product with real-time invoice generation
- Integrated email + payments smoothly
- Delivered a clean UI without overcomplicating the UX
- Made the platform flexible for both hourly and fixed project workflows
What we learned:
- Bolt is amazing for rapid prototyping and MVPs—it removes the need to start from scratch
- Supabase and Bolt pair well for fast backend logic and data handling
- Less UI is better—we kept it focused and simple for better usability
- Email + PDF previews are critical features, and Bolt let us handle them efficiently
What's next for FreelancerTrackr?
- A downloadable desktop tracker with screen capture (syncing with the app)
- Recurring and automated invoicing
- AI invoice suggestions from time logs
- A basic client dashboard to view all past invoices and payment status
- Client Portal (All are ready, justneed the integration)
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