Updated on 23 October 2026.
Written by the BeFreelancr team. This guide contains affiliate links.
Most new freelancers start with the paperwork. The ones who last start with what they sell.
This guide takes the steps in the order you will face them: your offer, registration, your price, proof of your work, your first clients, money basics and the contracts that protect you. It links to official sources, so you can check the rules that apply in your own country.
1. Decide what you sell, and to whom
Your first decision is commercial, not administrative. “Developer” or “designer” is not an offer: clients buy a result, such as a brochure website that brings in enquiries, a visual identity delivered in 10 days, or four SEO articles a month. The more precise your offer, the easier it is to present, price and sell.
- List two or three services you can deliver without surprises, each with a clear scope, deadline and deliverable.
- Choose your main type of client (local small businesses, start-ups, agencies, online shops…): it will guide where you look for work.
- Check what already sells in your field. Browsing existing service listings is a quick way to see how others package and price similar work.
2. Register your activity (rules depend on your country)
There is no single “freelancer” status across Europe. Each country has its own ways to register as self-employed, its own social contributions and its own tax rules. Before sending your first invoice, check three things with the official body in your country:
- How to register and which legal form fits a one-person business. The European Commission’s Your Europe guide to starting a business links to the national contact points.
- VAT: whether you must charge it from the start or can use a small-business exemption, and how it works when you sell services to a business client in another EU country (in most B2B cases, the client accounts for the VAT under the reverse-charge rule). See Your Europe: cross-border VAT and VAT exemptions. You can check a client’s VAT number with the EU VIES service.
- Social contributions and income tax: how much to set aside from each payment, and when you have to pay.
Rules and thresholds change every year. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice: for a specific situation, the advice of a local accountant is the safest option.
3. Set a price you can live on
The classic mistake is to copy a competitor’s rate. Start instead from what you need: target income, taxes and contributions, business costs, and the number of days you can really bill. Once you remove holidays, prospecting and admin, few freelancers bill more than 180 to 200 days a year.
Example: if you need €45,000 of revenue a year to cover your income, contributions and costs, and you can bill 180 days, your minimum day rate is €45,000 ÷ 180 = €250. Based on an 8-hour day, €250 a day is about €31 an hour (€250 ÷ 8 = €31.25). For packaged services, estimate the time each one takes and price it from that day rate, never below it.
If you sell through a platform, its commission comes out of the price the client pays: work out what you keep after the platform’s share, and check that it still covers your minimum rate.
4. Build proof
Clients rarely hire on promises. Before you look for clients, gather evidence that you can deliver what you sell:
- Two or three examples of work that match your offer: past projects, personal projects or a realistic sample you made for the purpose.
- Short case studies: the client’s problem, what you did, and the result, in a few lines.
- Testimonials from former clients, employers or colleagues, with their permission to publish them.
- A clear profile (LinkedIn, platform profile or a simple portfolio page) that says what you sell and to whom.
5. Find your first clients
At the start, run several channels in parallel, then keep the ones that work for you:
- Your network: former colleagues, employers and the clients of a previous job are often the source of the first projects.
- LinkedIn: a profile that says clearly what you sell, then targeted, personal messages rather than mass mailings.
- Direct outreach: a short list of well-chosen prospects is worth more than 500 generic emails.
- Platforms: they bring visibility in exchange for a commission or a subscription. Our guide How to choose a freelance platform explains what to compare before you sign up.
If you want to see what clients are currently looking for, you can also browse freelance job requests on BeFreelancr (affiliate link).
6. Money basics
Freelance income is irregular. A few simple habits avoid most cash-flow problems:
- Open a separate bank account for your business, so you can see at a glance what comes in and what goes out (in some countries, it is mandatory for certain legal forms).
- Set aside a share of each payment for taxes and social contributions as soon as it arrives. The right share depends on your country and status: ask the official body or an accountant.
- Build a safety fund covering about three months of your personal and business costs, to get through a quiet month or a late payment.
7. Protect yourself: contracts, terms and data
A signed quote and clear terms and conditions prevent most disputes: deposit, number of revisions, deadlines, payment terms and who owns the final files (intellectual property). If you handle your clients’ personal data, the GDPR applies to you too; Your Europe summarises the obligations.
What about BeFreelancr?
BeFreelancr is a marketplace for packaged services: you list an offer with a fixed price, a delivery time and clear deliverables, and clients order it directly. There is no subscription. You keep 60% of the price excluding VAT: a €100 service pays you €60. The other 40% rewards whoever brought the client (20% for the affiliate, 5% + 5% for the referrers) and runs the platform (10%). Factor this in when you set your price, using the day-rate method from step 3. Quote-based offers are coming soon. Create your first service on BeFreelancr (affiliate link).
Your first 30 days
- Write down two or three services with scope, deadline, deliverable and price.
- Choose your main type of client.
- Check registration, VAT and contributions with the official body in your country.
- Calculate your minimum day rate and hourly rate.
- Gather two or three examples of work and ask for one or two testimonials.
- Update your LinkedIn profile, and create one platform profile if it suits your offer.
- Contact ten well-chosen prospects from your network or your target list.
- Open a separate bank account and decide what share of each payment you set aside.
- Prepare a quote template and your terms and conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I freelance while employed?
Often yes, but check two things first. Your employment contract may include exclusivity, non-compete or confidentiality clauses, and you generally must not work for your employer’s competitors or clients. The rules for combining a job and self-employment (registration, contributions, tax) also depend on your country: start from the national contact points listed in Your Europe’s guide to starting a business.
How much money do I need to start?
It depends on your trade and your country, so there is no single figure. List what you really need: registration fees, equipment and software, insurance if your activity requires it, and enough to live on while the first invoices are paid. Many service freelancers can start with the equipment they already have; the safety fund described in step 6 matters more than a big budget.
Do I need a website?
Not to get started. A clear profile and two or three examples of work are enough to win your first clients. A simple website becomes useful later, to present your offer, your case studies and your contact details in one place.
Do I have to charge VAT?
It depends on your country, your turnover and where your clients are. Many EU countries have a small-business exemption, and B2B services to another EU country usually fall under the reverse-charge rule. Check Your Europe: VAT exemptions and your national tax authority.
Who writes this guide?
Freelance Skills is the blog of David Lefèvre, co-founder of BeFreelancr, a freelance services platform; the content is written by the BeFreelancr team. So we are not neutral when we talk about platforms. We tell you when we mention BeFreelancr, and we explain how other platforms work too. This guide contains affiliate links to BeFreelancr: if you sign up or order through them, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Links of this kind are marked “affiliate link”. More about us and how we work.