Freelancing in Algeria: track clients, quotes and invoices on one board

Most freelancers do not lose money on bad work. They lose it on forgotten follow-ups: a quote nobody chased, a delivery without a signed approval, an invoice sent once and never again. A single board where every client moves from “first contact” to “paid” makes those gaps visible. This guide gives you the columns, what to write on each card, and the weekly routine.

Disclosure: bizalgeria.com, NEKST DIGITAL and dzcollab share the same owner.

The seven columns

One card per project, not per client. A client who orders three times has three cards.

What each card must hold

• Client: name, contact, how they found you.
• Quote: amount, validity date, link to the file. Use the quote template and pricing method.
• Contract or written acceptance: link to it. The freelance contract template with a late payment clause helps.
• Deliverables and date agreed.
• Invoice: number, date, amount, due date. The invoice generator and how to invoice as an auto-entrepreneur cover what to write.
• Payment: how and when it arrived. For foreign clients, see receiving foreign payments as a freelancer.

Three rules that protect your cash

1. No production without written acceptance. A card cannot leave “Quote sent” without it.
2. Every card in “Invoiced” has a due date. When the date passes, the card turns red (most tools let you set a due date).
3. A card stays in “Invoiced” until the money arrives, not until the client says “it is on its way”.

The weekly 15-minute check

• Quote sent older than 7 days: send one polite reminder, then move to “Lost” if there is no answer after a second one.
• Delivered without approval: ask for written approval, by email.
• Invoiced past due: send a reminder; after your contract’s delay, a formal notice. See the formal notice template for an unpaid invoice.
• Paid this week: archive, and add the amount to your tracking. The freelancer net income tool shows what remains after tax and contributions.

What the board tells you after three months

Count the cards. How many leads became quotes? How many quotes were accepted? How long between “Delivered” and “Paid”? If quotes are rarely accepted, your price or your offer needs work. If payment takes 60 days, your contract needs a deposit and a late payment clause.

Tools you can use

• A paper notebook or a spreadsheet with one row per project and a “status” column. Free, but nothing reminds you.
• Trello or Notion: both have a free plan and work well for one person.
• dzcollab: a kanban tool that lists freelancers among its intended users, with a free Solo plan for one user and an Arabic, French and English interface. You can set up the seven columns above on a free dzcollab board in a few minutes.

Whichever you choose, keep the quote, the contract and the invoice attached to the card, so that the full story of each project is in one place.

Related

The same board idea for a team: organise your team without WhatsApp or Excel.