Frequently Asked Questions
Getting Started
How much does FlowLance cost?
FlowLance costs £20/month. Every new account gets a 28-day free trial with full access to all features. No credit card is required to start your trial.
What happens when my trial ends?
After 28 days, you'll need to subscribe to continue using FlowLance. Your data is preserved — nothing is deleted when the trial expires. You can subscribe at any time from Settings > Subscription.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel your subscription from Settings > Subscription > Manage Billing. This opens the Stripe billing portal where you can cancel immediately. There are no cancellation fees or lock-in periods.
How does the referral programme work?
Every account gets a unique referral code (visible in Settings > Referral Programme). Share your referral link with other freelancers. When 2 of your referrals become paying customers, you earn a 25% discount on your subscription — permanently.
Can I import data from my existing tools?
Yes. FlowLance supports CSV import for clients, projects, and invoices. You can import during onboarding (Step 3) or at any time from Settings > Import Data. The import wizard uses AI to map your columns automatically.
Account & Security
How do I sign in?
Go to flowlance.io/sign-in. You can sign in with email and password, or with Google OAuth.
I forgot my password
Click "Forgot password?" on the sign-in page. Enter your email address and you'll receive a reset link.
Is my financial data secure?
Yes. Bank account details and payment information are stored encrypted. Bank connections use Plaid's bank-level security. Invoice payment details are only decrypted when rendering invoices or contracts. FlowLance never stores your bank login credentials — Plaid handles authentication directly with your bank.
What data does FlowLance access from my bank?
When you connect via Plaid, FlowLance reads: - Account balances - Transaction history (for cashflow forecasting and recurring pattern detection)
FlowLance cannot make payments, transfer money, or modify your bank account in any way.
Invoicing
How do I create an invoice from time entries?
- Go to Invoices > New Invoice
- Select a client and project
- Click Import Unbilled Time — all billable time entries not yet on an invoice will be added as line items
- Review, adjust if needed, and send
Can clients view invoices online?
Yes. From any invoice, click Share Link to generate a public, token-protected URL. Send this to your client and they can view the full invoice including your payment details.
What email address do invoice emails come from?
Invoice emails are sent from invoice@flowlance.io with your business email set as the reply-to address. This means client replies come directly to you.
Can I customise my invoice PDF?
Yes. In Settings > Invoice Settings you can configure: - Your business logo - Brand accent colour - Invoice number prefix - Default notes and footer text - Payment terms
Cashflow
How accurate is the cashflow forecast?
The forecast is as accurate as the data you provide. The Confirmed mode only includes verified income (paid/sent invoices, scheduled payments). The Predictions mode adds speculative income from proposals and detected patterns — useful for planning but naturally less certain.
Do I need to connect a bank account?
No. You can use the cashflow features with manual entries only. However, connecting a bank account enables: - Automatic balance tracking - Transaction history - Recurring pattern detection - More accurate forecasting
What are recurring patterns?
FlowLance analyses your bank transactions to detect regular payments — subscriptions, retainers, monthly expenses, etc. Detected patterns appear on the Patterns tab where you can approve, edit, or dismiss them. Approved patterns are included in your forecast.
How is tax estimated?
Tax estimates are based on your entity type and projected income:
- Sole traders: Income tax (20%/40%/45% bands) + NI Class 4 (9%/2%)
- Limited companies: Corporation tax (19% or 25%) + personal income tax on salary + dividend tax
These are rough estimates for cash planning — not financial advice. A disclaimer is shown alongside all tax figures.
Time Tracking
What's the difference between the timer and quick log?
- Timer: Start and stop in real-time. Good for tracking work as you do it
- Quick log: Enter time after the fact. Enter the duration and details manually
Both create the same time entry — use whichever suits your workflow.
What are day templates?
Templates are pre-set structures for your workday (e.g., "4h development, 2h meetings, 1h admin"). Apply a template to your day and the guided session timer walks you through each block with countdowns and notifications.
Can I sync with Google Calendar?
Yes. Connect your Google Calendar in Settings > Connected Accounts. Calendar events with matching project names or keywords appear as suggested time entries.
Opportunities
How does fit scoring work?
When your profile is complete, FlowLance's AI scores each opportunity against five factors: - Expertise match (35%) - Values alignment (20%) - Financial fit (15%) - Location match (15%) - Rate compatibility (15%)
Scores update automatically when you change your profile or preferences.
What are crawl targets?
Websites you configure FlowLance to monitor for new opportunities. Add a URL and FlowLance periodically crawls it to extract job listings and project opportunities. You can have up to 3 personal crawl targets.
What are feed sources?
Curated opportunity feeds managed by FlowLance — job boards, freelance platforms, and industry sources. Subscribe to feeds that match your work from the Feeds page. New opportunities are scored against your profile automatically.
Why are some opportunities disappearing?
Stale opportunities are cleaned up automatically: - Personal opportunities are removed after 7 days if declined or poorly scored (<50%) - Feed opportunities are removed after 30 days - Opportunities you've marked as "interested" are always preserved
Proposals
How does AI proposal generation work?
The AI uses your professional profile (expertise, voice, evidence) to write a tailored proposal. It: 1. Reads your profile, services, and relevant case studies 2. Considers the opportunity or client context 3. Generates proposal content in your configured voice and tone 4. Produces a draft you can review and edit before sending
What happens when I mark a proposal as "won"?
FlowLance automatically creates a project linked to the client with the proposal's value and dates. A toast notification appears with a link to the new project.
Can I collaborate on proposals?
Yes. If a colleague shares their profile with you, you can create team proposals that combine both profiles' expertise. Toggle "Team proposal" in the AI wizard's profile selection step.
Contracts
Can clients sign contracts digitally?
Yes. Share a signing link with your client. They can view the contract and sign with a drawn signature. You then countersign from your dashboard. Both parties receive the fully signed PDF by email.
Can I amend a signed contract?
Yes. Create an amendment from the contract detail page. Amendments can update scope, value, and dates. When confirmed, changes can be synced to the project automatically.
Billing & Subscription
How do I upgrade from the free trial?
Go to Settings > Subscription and click Subscribe. You'll be redirected to Stripe's secure checkout to enter payment details.
How do I manage my billing?
Click Manage Billing in Settings > Subscription. This opens the Stripe billing portal where you can: - Update payment methods - View past invoices - Cancel your subscription - Update billing address
What payment methods are accepted?
FlowLance uses Stripe for payments. Stripe accepts all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express).
Data & Privacy
Can I export my data?
You can download individual invoices as PDFs and export time entries. Full data export is planned for a future release.
Where is my data stored?
FlowLance uses Neon Postgres (cloud database) hosted in the EU, with the application deployed on Vercel's London region (lhr1). Bank connections go through Plaid's secure infrastructure.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Your data is preserved after cancellation. If you resubscribe, everything is still there. Data deletion can be requested by contacting support.