Hello, power user.
The complete guide to Hello.Solo
Everything you need to know to run your freelance business from one dashboard. From first setup to advanced AI features, this guide covers it all.
Getting Started
Set up your Hello.Solo workspace in under 15 minutes. Create your account, configure your business profile, connect Stripe, and train Solo to understand your business.
Create your account and workspace
Sign up with your email and choose a workspace name and slug. Your slug becomes your client portal URL (hellosolo.co/your-name). Pick something professional that clients will see.
Set up your business profile
Add your business name, logo, brand color, and contact details in Settings. This information appears on proposals, contracts, invoices, and your client portal.
Connect Stripe for payments
Link your Stripe account in Settings > Payments. Hello.Solo uses Stripe Connect so clients pay you directly. The setup takes about 2 minutes and Stripe handles all payment processing, compliance, and payouts.
Configure Solo, your AI business partner
Solo learns about your business through a 6-step onboarding wizard. Tell Solo your role, services, target industries, communication style, and goals. The more context you give, the better Solo writes proposals, contracts, and insights for you.
Solo Pro Tip
You can update Solo's profile anytime in Settings > Solo Profile. As your business evolves, keep Solo updated so its writing stays relevant.
Managing Clients
Keep every client relationship organized in one place. Track contact details, project history, documents, and communication from a single timeline view.
Add clients manually
Click 'New Client' from the Clients page. Enter their name, email, company, phone, and any notes. Assign tags to organize clients by type (design, development, retainer).
Import clients via CSV
Migrating from another tool? Use the CSV import on the Clients page to bring in your existing client list. Map your columns to Hello.Solo fields and import in one click.
Client status lifecycle
Every client follows a lifecycle: Lead (new contact), Active (current project), Completed (project finished), Archived (no longer active). Statuses update automatically as you create proposals and close projects, or you can set them manually.
Client detail view and timeline
Click any client to see their full history: every proposal, contract, invoice, project, and time entry in one chronological timeline. No more digging through email threads to find that contract from 6 months ago.
Solo Pro Tip
The client timeline is a powerful reference during sales calls. Open it before a meeting to see every past interaction at a glance.
Inquiry Widget
Embed a branded intake form on your website with a single line of code. Leads flow straight into your Hello.Solo dashboard where Solo summarizes them and you can convert them to clients.
Set up the embeddable intake form
Go to Settings > Widget to configure your intake form. Define the fields you want (budget, timeline, services, message) and copy the embed code. Paste it on any page of your website.
Customize widget branding
The widget inherits your workspace brand color and logo. On Starter and Studio plans, a small Hello.Solo badge appears. Agency plan removes all third-party branding for a fully white-labeled experience.
Convert inquiries to clients
When a lead submits the form, it appears on your Inquiries page with a status badge (New, Reviewed, Converted, Declined). Click 'Convert to Client' to create a client record and start sending proposals.
Track inquiry sources
Every inquiry is tagged with its source: 'Widget' for embeds on your site, or 'Portal' for submissions through your client portal URL. This helps you understand where your leads come from.
Solo Pro Tip
Place the widget on your homepage, contact page, and services page. More touchpoints means more leads captured while you sleep.
Creating Proposals
Send polished, branded proposals that clients can review and accept online. Solo helps you write the scope of work so you spend minutes instead of hours on each proposal.
Build a proposal with line items
Click 'New Proposal' and select a client. Add a title, client message, and scope of work. Then add line items with descriptions, quantities, and prices. Hello.Solo calculates subtotals, discounts, and tax automatically.
Use Solo to write the scope of work
Click the 'AI Write' button in the scope section. Solo analyzes the client's intake form responses (if they came through the widget) and drafts a professional scope of work. Review it, tweak the language, and you have a proposal ready to send.
Solo Pro Tip
Solo's writing improves as it learns your style. The more proposals you send, the more Solo adapts to your voice and terminology.
Choose a payment schedule
Set how you want to be paid: full upfront, 50/50 split, milestone-based payments, or a custom schedule. Milestone-based billing is popular for larger projects where clients want to pay as deliverables are completed.
Send and track proposals
Preview your proposal, then send it with a personalized message. Track its journey through the kanban board: Draft, Sent, Viewed, Accepted, or Declined. You get notified when a client views or accepts your proposal.
Save proposals as templates
Built a great proposal? Save it as a template to reuse the structure, line items, and scope for similar projects. Templates save hours on repeat work.
Contracts & E-Signatures
Generate contracts with AI-powered clause suggestions and get them signed online. No printing, scanning, or third-party e-signature tools needed.
Create contracts from proposals
After a proposal is accepted, click 'Create Contract' to generate a contract pre-filled with the project details, scope, and payment terms from the proposal. No re-typing required.
Solo AI clause generation
Solo suggests contract clauses based on your project type: scope of work, payment terms, intellectual property, confidentiality, revision policies, and termination clauses. Click to add any suggestion, then edit to match your needs.
Solo Pro Tip
Solo's contract suggestions are a starting point, not legal advice. Always have your contracts reviewed by a legal professional for your jurisdiction.
Send for signature
When your contract is ready, send it to the client. They receive a link to review and sign electronically from their browser. No account creation required on their end.
Countersign and finalize
After the client signs, you get notified to countersign. Once both parties have signed, the contract is locked and both sides can download a PDF copy. The signed date and IP addresses are recorded for your records.
Track contract status
Monitor every contract from Draft through Sent, Viewed, Signed, and Countersigned. See at a glance which contracts need your attention and which are fully executed.
Project Management
Track every project from kickoff to delivery with milestones, budgets, and time logging. Your clients see real-time progress through their portal.
Create projects from accepted proposals
When a proposal is accepted and a contract is signed, create a project linked to both. The project inherits the budget from your proposal and connects all time entries and invoices back to the original deal.
Set milestones with due dates
Break your project into milestones with titles, descriptions, and due dates. Mark milestones complete as you deliver. The progress bar updates automatically and your client can see it in their portal.
Budget tracking and hourly rates
Set a project budget and hourly rate. As you log time, Hello.Solo tracks budget utilization in real time. You always know exactly where you stand: total hours, billable hours, budget used percentage, and remaining budget.
Solo Pro Tip
Solo monitors your budget utilization and sends alerts when you are approaching the budget limit. No more surprise overruns.
Project status lifecycle
Projects move through Active, Paused, Completed, and Archived statuses. Pausing a project keeps all data intact but removes it from your active view. Completing a project triggers a final review prompt.
Time Tracking
Track every billable minute with a one-click timer available from anywhere in the dashboard. Log time against projects and import entries directly into invoices.
Quick timer from any page
The floating timer button appears on every dashboard page. Click it to start tracking time against any project. A description field lets you note what you are working on. Stop the timer and the entry is saved automatically.
Manual time entries
Prefer to log time after the fact? Add manual entries from the project page with a date, description, and duration in minutes. Perfect for meetings, calls, and work done away from the dashboard.
Billable vs non-billable hours
Toggle each time entry as billable or non-billable. Only billable hours count toward invoices and budget calculations. Use non-billable for internal admin, learning, and pro bono work.
Import time entries into invoices
When it is time to bill, create an invoice and click 'Import Time Entries.' Hello.Solo pulls all uninvoiced billable time for that project and adds it as line items. Review, adjust if needed, and send.
Solo Pro Tip
Log time consistently throughout the week rather than reconstructing your hours at the end. It is more accurate and takes less effort.
Invoicing & Payments
Get paid faster with professional invoices, Stripe-powered payments, and automatic reminders that chase late payments so you do not have to.
Create invoices manually or from time entries
Build invoices from scratch with custom line items, or auto-generate them from tracked time. Either way, you get a polished, branded invoice with your logo, payment terms, and a direct payment link.
Milestone-based invoicing
For projects with milestone payment schedules, create invoices as you hit each milestone. The proposal's payment schedule guides you: 30% at kickoff, 30% at design approval, 30% at development, 10% at launch.
Send invoices with Stripe payment links
Every invoice includes a 'Pay Now' button powered by Stripe. Clients click, enter their card, and pay. The invoice status updates to 'Paid' automatically. No chasing, no awkward emails.
Automatic payment reminders
Configure reminder schedules in Settings > Reminders. Set reminders before the due date, on the due date, and after. Hello.Solo sends professional reminder emails automatically. You never have to write an awkward 'just following up' email again.
Solo Pro Tip
The most effective reminder schedule: 3 days before due, on the due date, and 7 days after. Most clients pay within the first reminder.
Recurring invoices
For retainer clients, set up recurring invoices that generate automatically on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly schedule. Set it once and Hello.Solo handles the rest.
Track invoice status
Monitor every invoice through its lifecycle: Draft (not sent), Sent (delivered), Viewed (client opened it), Paid (payment received), Overdue (past due date), or Void (cancelled). The kanban and list views give you instant visibility.
Analytics & Solo Insights
See your entire business at a glance with real-time dashboards, and let Solo surface the insights that matter. Ask questions in plain English and get answers from your own data.
Revenue, pipeline, and project dashboards
The Analytics page shows your key metrics: monthly revenue, outstanding invoices, active projects, pipeline value, and win rate. Filter by time period (30 days, 90 days, year, all time) and see trends over time with visual charts.
Ask Data in plain English
Type any business question into the Ask Data panel: 'What is my revenue trend this quarter?', 'Which clients owe me the most?', 'How many proposals did I send last month?' Solo queries your data and gives you a clear answer.
Solo Pro Tip
Ask Data is your personal analyst. Use it before client calls to quickly check project status, before pricing new work to review past project margins, or before tax season to pull revenue summaries.
Smart notifications
Solo proactively flags issues: overdue invoices, proposals that have been viewed but not accepted, projects approaching budget limits, and revenue trends. These alerts appear on your dashboard so you catch problems early.
Solo morning briefings
Every time you open Hello.Solo, Solo greets you with a personalized briefing: what needs your attention today, which invoices are overdue, which proposals are waiting, and how your business is performing. It is like having a chief of staff.
Solo command palette
Press Cmd+J (Mac) or Ctrl+J (Windows) anywhere in the dashboard to open the Solo command palette. Ask questions, request draft documents, or get quick insights without leaving the page you are on. It is the fastest way to interact with Solo.
Solo Pro Tip
The command palette is your power-user shortcut. Try: 'Draft a proposal for a website redesign', 'What should I focus on today?', or 'Summarize my revenue this month.'
Customization & Settings
Make Hello.Solo yours. Configure branding, portals, domains, team access, and integrations from a single settings page.
Workspace branding
Upload your logo and set your brand color in Settings > General. These appear on your proposals, contracts, invoices, client portal, and inquiry widget. Consistent branding across every client touchpoint.
Client portal customization
Customize what clients see in their portal: project progress, documents, invoices, and messages. Choose your portal URL slug and configure the experience in Settings > Portal.
Custom domains
Agency plan users can connect a custom domain (e.g., portal.yourbrand.com) so clients never see the Hello.Solo URL. Set it up in Settings > Domain with a simple DNS change.
Team member management
Studio plan supports up to 3 team members, Agency supports up to 10. Invite team members by email in Settings > Team. Each member gets their own login and can access shared clients, projects, and documents.
Email configuration
Set a custom reply-to address and sender name in Settings > Email. When Hello.Solo sends proposals, invoices, or reminders, they appear to come from your business email rather than a generic address.
API keys and webhooks
Agency plan includes API access for custom integrations. Generate API keys in Settings > Developer and configure webhooks to receive real-time events when invoices are paid, proposals are accepted, or clients are created.
Solo Pro Tip
Use webhooks to connect Hello.Solo to your other tools: Zapier, Make, Slack, or your own custom workflows.
Payment reminder schedules
Configure when automatic reminders go out in Settings > Reminders. Choose before-due, on-due, and after-due triggers with custom day offsets and message templates.
Ready to try it?
Everything you just read is included in every plan. Start your 14-day free trial and see the full dashboard for yourself.
Start free trial →No credit card required. No contracts.