← Everyone else

For freelancers

Three things to build this weekend

You're good at your work. It's the admin around it that drains you. These three builds handle the business side: sending invoices, working out what to charge, and showing people what you do. Each one is yours to keep and change, with no monthly fee.

Never built anything with AI? Do the five-minute set-up first, then come back. Every build here starts the same way.

01About 15 minutes

An invoice maker that prints a clean, professional PDF

No invoicing subscription and no fiddling with a template that breaks. Fill in the lines, press Print, save it as a PDF and send it.

1. Paste this first message into Claude

Build me an invoice maker, as a single HTML file I can open by double-clicking. Use a made-up freelancer and client for now that I can edit. I fill in my details, the client's details, an invoice number and a date, then add lines with a description, hours or quantity, and a price. It adds up each line, the subtotal, an optional tax percentage and the total. Add a Print button, and make the printed page a clean, professional invoice on one page, with the form and buttons hidden. It doesn't need to save anything between visits.

2. Open what it made

Say yes when Claude asks to make the file, then open the .html file it made by double-clicking it.

3. Tell it what to change, for example

  • “Add a payment details box at the bottom with a made-up bank name and account number, and a due date 30 days after the invoice date.”
  • “Let me pick the currency: dollars, euros, pounds or Swiss francs.”

What Claude made from exactly this message

Open it in a new tab ↗ (printing and copying only work there)

02About 15 minutes

A rate calculator that tells you what to charge, and why

Most freelancers guess their rate and undercharge. This works it out from what you actually need to earn, so you can quote a project with a number you can explain.

1. Paste this first message into Claude

Build me a rate calculator for freelancers, as a single HTML file I can open by double-clicking. I enter what I want to earn in a year, my yearly costs like software and insurance, how many weeks off I take, and how many hours a week I can really bill. It shows the hourly rate I need and a day rate. Then I enter a project's estimated hours and a safety margin percentage, and it gives me a project price. Explain each number in one plain sentence. Start with sensible made-up numbers. It doesn't need to save anything between visits.

2. Open what it made

Say yes when Claude asks to make the file, then open the .html file it made by double-clicking it.

3. Tell it what to change, for example

  • “Add a simple chart that shows how my hourly rate changes if I bill 15, 20, 25 or 30 hours a week.”
  • “Make the project price easy to copy, as one short sentence I could put in an email.”

What Claude made from exactly this message

Open it in a new tab ↗ (printing and copying only work there)

03About 20 minutes

A one-page portfolio that shows what you do and how to reach you

A clean page to send people instead of "let me find some examples." Start from a made-up one, then tell it about your own work.

1. Paste this first message into Claude

Build me a one-page portfolio site, as a single HTML file I can open by double-clicking. Use a made-up freelance illustrator for now: a short intro at the top, six project cards each with a title, one line about the project and a colored placeholder instead of a picture, a short About section, and a list of services with starting prices. End with a clear way to get in touch that shows an email address, with no contact form. Make it modern and uncluttered, and good on a phone too. It doesn't need to save anything between visits.

2. Open what it made

Say yes when Claude asks to make the file, then open the .html file it made by double-clicking it.

3. Tell it what to change, for example

  • “Change it to fit me: I'm a wedding photographer. Rewrite the intro, the projects and the services to match.”
  • “Make it feel warmer and more personal, with a softer color and a friendlier heading font.”

What Claude made from exactly this message

Open it in a new tab ↗ (printing and copying only work there)

Stuck halfway? Ten walls everyone hits, and what to paste.