I have a weakness for articles, podcasts, or books about tools. Any headline promising a game-changing app or system has me clicking, hoping it’ll save me time or simplify my workday.

But after years of trying many free and paid tools, I’ve learned something: The best tools aren’t the flashiest or the most complicated. They’re the ones you’ll actually use.

Here are some of the tools* that make my proofreading business run smoothly:

• Airtable is the tool I use to organize just about everything in my proofreading business. It's like a spreadsheet with superpowers. I use it to organize projects, clients, and deadlines in a way that’s easy to sort, filter, and customize. It’s great for keeping track of all my work without feeling buried in spreadsheets.

• I always do a careful, line-by-line read of my clients’ work, but I use PerfectIt as a final check. It helps me spot inconsistencies in spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, or formatting that might be easy to miss.

• Even though Grammarly doesn't catch every error that a human can, I still run files through this tool before returning them to my clients. I use the free version, but there's a paid version as well.

• Tella is the screen and video recording software I use to communicate with my clients. This tool allows me to share my screen and my webcam image so clients can see me as I'm explaining a correction. Loom is another great option for screen recording.

• Zapier helps apps “talk” to each other so you don’t have to do repetitive tasks by hand. I use it to save time when clients send me transcripts to proofread. Instead of downloading each file, renaming it, and moving it to the right folder myself, Zapier runs an automation I set up (called a “Zap”). The Zap notices when a client uploads a file, then copies it to my preferred Google Drive folder automatically. Once you’ve set up your Zaps, they work quietly in the background, letting you focus on proofreading instead of clicking through menus or dragging files around.

• I’ve been using FreshBooks to create and send invoices to my clients since I started my proofreading business in 2016. It’s simple and intuitive, and it makes invoicing, expense tracking, and year-end statements easy so I can focus on my clients instead of paperwork.

• Canva is an online graphic design tool that helps users create beautiful graphics without expensive software. I've been a Canva user since the tool first launched, and I highly recommend it. Canva has a free version and a pro version.

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Which of these tools are you already using for your proofreading or editing business? Which ones do you want to try?

To your success,
Julie from The Proofreader Greenhouse

P.S. If you'd like to read the other articles in The Watering Can, click here. 💦

*This article contains affiliate links.

Tools That Make My Proofreading Business Run Smoothly