My Business Tools Stack
The lean toolkit I use to run my business — invoicing, accounting, scheduling, contracts, and project management.
Last updated: March 12, 2026
You don’t need a $500/month SaaS stack to run a business. You need tools that do their job, stay out of your way, and don’t nickel-and-dime you as you grow.
Here’s what I actually use to manage the day-to-day — invoicing, accounting, scheduling, contracts, and project planning. Nothing on this list is here because it’s popular. It’s here because I use it every week.
Invoicing: Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja handles invoices, quotes, expenses, and payment tracking. It’s open-source, self-hostable, and the free tier is genuinely generous. I send every invoice through it.
Most freelancers and small agencies are overpaying for invoicing. You don’t need FreshBooks or QuickBooks for straightforward client billing. Invoice Ninja does it cleaner and cheaper.
Accounting: Xero
Xero is where the real books live. It connects directly to my bank accounts, handles reconciliation, and gives my accountant everything they need at tax time without me chasing receipts.
I’ll be honest — most freelancers can get by with just Invoice Ninja for a while. But once you’re managing multiple revenue streams and need proper financial reporting, Xero earns its subscription.
Payroll & HR: Gusto
Gusto handles payroll, tax filings, and benefits administration. If you have employees or contractors, it takes the pain out of the compliance side — automatic W-2s, 1099s, and state tax filings.Gusto handles payroll, tax filings, and benefits administration. If you have employees or contractors, it takes the pain out of the compliance side — automatic W-2s, 1099s, and state tax filings.
The onboarding flow is solid, the employee self-service portal works well, and it integrates with Xero so payroll data flows into accounting without manual entry.
Scheduling: TidyCal
Honestly, I try to avoid calls, but what's worse is wasting time in email trying to coodrinate schedules.
TidyCal is my booking tool for 1-on-1 consulting calls. It does what Calendly does — calendar sync, time zone detection, booking pages — for a one-time lifetime deal instead of a monthly subscription.
If you’re paying monthly for a scheduling tool and you don’t need team features, TidyCal is the move.
I wrote a full TidyCal review if you want the deep dive.
Proposals & Contracts: BreezeDoc
BreezeDoc handles proposals, contracts, and e-signatures. Clean interface, no bloat, and it covers the gap between “we agreed on Slack” and “here’s a signed contract.”
For solo operators and small teams, this replaces the need for PandaDoc or DocuSign on most projects. I wrote a full BreezeDoc review with more detail. It's not perfect, but it's enough for me... and hey, the price is right.
Email & Docs: Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Google Workspace is the one tool on this list that needs no introduction. Custom email on my domain, Google Drive for shared files, Docs for collaboration. It’s the baseline.
Yes, I did make the video about Self-Hosting Business Email with Cloudron: Complete Guide, but it seems everything needs a Google Account these days, so I caved.
Project Planning: Notion
I resisted for a long time, but now Notion is where I plan content, track projects, store SOPs, and organize everything that doesn’t fit neatly into another tool.
I use it for editorial calendars, video pipelines, client project tracking, and internal documentation. The flexibility is the point — it adapts to whatever structure you need instead of forcing you into someone else’s workflow. What changed my mind on Notion was Notion AI. It was one of my first experiences with AI where I could tell the agent something and it didn't just tell me what to do, it did it for me. Common today, but Notion was there early.
That’s it. Seven tools. Most of them cost a few dollars a month — some are free or one-time purchases — and together they cover invoicing, accounting, payroll, scheduling, contracts, communication, and project management.
The best business stack is the one you actually use. Keep it lean, keep it simple, and spend your energy on the work instead of managing tools.
