DEV Community: Cove

I needed a Notion Freelance OS under $20 — here's what I built

Cove — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:17:07 +0000

I kept opening Freelance OS template listings priced around $49 and closing the tab. I needed clients, projects, invoices, and unpaid hours in Notion — not another $50 template I would half-use.

So I built Cove Freelance OS for myself, then packaged it. Launch price $19. One-click Duplicate. Runs on Notion Free. Disclosure up front: this is my product.

What I actually needed

Freelance ops for me is four questions on one Home page:

Which invoices are overdue?
What is due this week?
Where is each lead in the pipeline?
How many unpaid billable hours am I sitting on?

Most “complete” Freelance OS packs I compared were built like product suites. Fine if you want that. I wanted a spine I open every morning without scrolling past features I never touch.

The spine (four databases)

Clients — Name, Status, Email, Rate, one Next action
Projects — related to Clients (limit 1)
Invoices — related to Clients + Projects; Status is source of truth (Draft / Sent / Paid / Overdue)
Time log — Hours + Billable Yes/No, related to Clients + Projects

Home is four linked views of those databases. No second copy of the data. No Duplicate-into-chaos.

Home views that matter

Overdue invoices — Status is Overdue, sort Due date oldest first
This week — tasks due this week, not Done
Pipeline — board Lead → Call → Proposal → Won → Lost
Unpaid hours — Time log, Billable Yes, this month, Sum Hours

If Home takes more than one scroll of attention, you added too much.

Why under $20

I was comparing the common ~$49 Freelance OS price point and asking a blunt question: do I need the kitchen sink, or do I need overdue + unpaid hours visible today?

Cove is deliberately smaller:

Works on Notion Free (no Plus required to use the OS)
One-click Duplicate into your workspace
Clients / projects / invoices / time / pipeline already related
Sample rows for wiring — delete them after your first real client

It is a payment and ops tracker. Not tax software. Not legal advice. No fake “1,000 freelancers love this” claims.

Optional overdue formula

If you want a formula flag instead of only marking Status by hand:

Property: Late? (Formula)

if(
  and(
    prop("Status") != "Paid",
    prop("Due date") < now()
  ),
  "Overdue",
  ""
)

Home can filter Status is Overdue or Late? is Overdue.

Photographer Notion OS: shoots, galleries, who still owes you

Cove — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 05:12:28 +0000

I was losing shoot dates in a calendar, proofing links in DMs, and finals in a notes app. This is the Notion setup I use for wedding and portrait work. It runs on the Free plan. It is a shoot / gallery / payment tracker — not tax software, not legal advice, and it does not host galleries.

Walkthrough video: https://youtu.be/8UCMlw5jQqE

The spine is four databases plus a gear checklist:

Clients
Shoots (related to Clients)
Galleries (related to Shoots)
Invoices (related to Clients and Shoots)
Gear checklist (optional, but useful the night before)

Home is three linked views: this week's shoots, overdue invoices, undelivered galleries.

1. Clients

Create a full-page database named Clients. Title property: Name.

Property	Type	Notes
Name	Title	Unique. Shoots and invoices point here.
Type	Select	`Wedding` `Portrait` `Brand`
Status	Select	`Lead` `Booked` `Delivered` `Lost`
Email	Email
Next action	Text	One line. What you do next.

Do not rename Name. Everything else matches on that value.

2. Shoots

Create Shoots. Title: Name.

Property	Type	Notes
Name	Title	Unique. Galleries and invoices match on this.
Client	Relation → Clients	Limit 1
Date	Date	Date only. When you are on site.
Location	Text	Venue or studio. One line.
Status	Select	`Inquiry` `Booked` `Shot` `Edited` `Delivered`
Fee	Number	Shoot fee, USD, 0 decimals

Wire the Client relation after both databases exist. Limit 1.

Home view: Date is This week. That is your week board — not a second calendar.

3. Galleries

Create Galleries. Title: Name (usually the shoot name plus “proofs”).

Property	Type	Notes
Name	Title	Scannable.
Shoot	Relation → Shoots	Limit 1
Delivery status	Select	`Not started` `Sent` `Approved`
Gallery URL	URL	Pixieset / Pic-Time / your host. Notion does not host files.
Expiry	Date	When the proofing link dies.

Undelivered Home view: Delivery status is not Approved. That is who still owes you a gallery selection — or who you still owe proofs.

4. Invoices (who still owes you)

Create Invoices. Title property: Number (INV-0001, unique).

Property	Type	Notes
Number	Title	`INV-0000`
Client	Relation → Clients	Limit 1
Shoot	Relation → Shoots	Limit 1
Amount	Number	USD, 0 decimals
Status	Select	`Draft` `Sent` `Paid` `Overdue`
Due	Date	Date only

Invoice Status is the source of truth. If the final is late, set Overdue. Do not hope.

Home view: Status is Overdue. Sort Due oldest first. Empty state means you are current on money.

This is a tracker. It does not file VAT, send dunning email, or replace an accountant.

5. Gear checklist (optional)

One database. Title: Item. Select for Wedding / Portrait. Packed: Yes / No. The night before a wedding, filter to Wedding and set Packed to No, then tick as you load the bag.

6. Home

One page. Three linked views. Do not duplicate the databases.

This week — Shoots, Date is This week.
Overdue invoices — Invoices, Status is Overdue.
Undelivered galleries — Galleries, Delivery status is not Approved.

If Home takes more than one scroll of attention, you added too much.

First-day rules

One Next action per client. Not three.
Shoot Date is on-site day. Gallery Expiry is when the proofing link dies.
Invoice status is the source of truth for who still owes you.
Sample rows are for wiring. Delete them after your first real client.

If you do not want to build it

I packaged this as Cove Shoot OS. Duplicate into your workspace. Works on Notion Free. Clients, shoots, galleries, invoices, gear, Home already related.

Disclosure: these are my paid templates.

Shoot OS (shoots / galleries / who still owes you): $15 — https://clearstay.gumroad.com/l/dydcf
Freelance OS (clients / invoices / unpaid hours): $19 — https://clearstay.gumroad.com/l/myopfv
Shop: https://attractive-crib-5bc.notion.site/Cove-3d0d7a0e569e80d2a58fe8ff9b692e60
Demo video: https://youtu.be/8UCMlw5jQqE

Affiliate: none. Not tax software. Not legal advice. Does not host galleries.

Freelance Notion OS: clients, overdue invoices, unpaid hours

Cove — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 03:22:50 +0000

I was losing unpaid hours in a Notes app and overdue invoices in a spreadsheet. This is the Notion setup I use now. It runs on the Free plan. It is a payment tracker, not tax software and not legal advice.

Walkthrough video (long form): https://youtu.be/hRAZmlWSUD0

The spine is three databases plus a time log:

Clients
Projects (related to Clients)
Invoices (related to Clients and Projects)
Time log (related to Clients and Projects)

Home is four linked views: overdue invoices, this week's tasks, pipeline, unpaid hours.

1. Clients

Create a full-page database named Clients. Title property: Name.

Property	Type	Notes
Name	Title	Unique. Every other database points here.
Status	Select	`Lead` `Active` `Paused` `Won` `Lost`
Email	Email
Rate	Number	Hourly, USD, 0 decimals
Next action	Text	One line. What you do next.
Notes	Text	Short.

Do not rename Name. Projects, invoices, and time log match on that value.

2. Projects

Create Projects. Title: Name.

Property	Type	Notes
Name	Title	Unique. Tasks and invoices match on this.
Client	Relation → Clients	Limit 1
Status	Select	`Proposal` `Active` `Blocked` `Done`
Due	Date	Date only
Fee	Number	Project fee, not hourly
Notes	Text

Wire the relation after both databases exist. Limit 1. One project, one client.

3. Invoices

Create Invoices. Title property: Number (INV-0001, unique).

Property	Type	Notes
Number	Title	`INV-0000`
Client	Relation → Clients	Limit 1
Project	Relation → Projects	Limit 1
Amount	Number	USD, 0 decimals
Status	Select	`Draft` `Sent` `Paid` `Overdue`
Due date	Date	Date only
Paid date	Date	Empty until Status is Paid

Invoice Status is the source of truth. If it is late, set Overdue. Do not hope.

Overdue formula (optional)

Property name: Late?

Type: Formula

if(
  and(
    prop("Status") != "Paid",
    prop("Due date") < now()
  ),
  "Overdue",
  ""
)

That is Formula 2.0. It returns "Overdue" when the due date is in the past and the invoice is not Paid.

Home view: filter Invoices where Status is Overdue, or where Late? is Overdue. Sort Due date, oldest first. Empty state means you are current.

This is a tracker. It does not file VAT, send dunning email, or replace an accountant.

4. Time log and unpaid hours

Create Time log. Title property: Note. Date is a Date property, not the title.

Property	Type	Notes
Note	Title	What you did. One line.
Date	Date	Required
Client	Relation → Clients	Limit 1
Project	Relation → Projects	Limit 1
Hours	Number	1 decimal
Billable	Select	`Yes` `No`

If it is billable, Yes. Unpaid hours live here until the matching invoice is Sent or Paid.

Unpaid-hours rollup

A. Home view (fast)

Linked view of Time log:

Filter: Billable is Yes
Filter: Date is This month
Calculate: Sum of Hours at the bottom

B. Rollup on Clients (per-client total)

On Clients, add a rollup Unpaid hours → Relation: Time log → Property: Hours → Calculate: Sum.

I use the Home view as the daily number and the Client rollup as a sanity check.

5. Home

One page. Four linked views. Do not duplicate the databases.

Overdue invoices — Invoices table, Status is Overdue, sort Due date oldest first.
This week — Tasks, Due is This week, Status is not Done.
Pipeline — board grouped by stage (Lead → Call → Proposal → Won → Lost).
Unpaid hours — Time log, Billable Yes, this month, Sum Hours.

If Home takes more than one scroll of attention, you added too much.

First-day rules

One Next action per client. Not three.
Invoice status is the source of truth.
Time log: if it is billable, Yes.
Sample rows are for wiring. Delete them after your first real client.

If you do not want to build it

I packaged this as Cove Freelance OS. Duplicate into your workspace. Works on Notion Free. Clients, projects, invoices, time, pipeline, Home already related.

Disclosure: these are my paid templates.

Freelance OS (clients / invoices / unpaid hours): $19 — https://clearstay.gumroad.com/l/myopfv
Shoot OS (shoot dates, galleries, pending balances): $15 — https://clearstay.gumroad.com/l/dydcf
Shop: https://attractive-crib-5bc.notion.site/Cove-3d0d7a0e569e80d2a58fe8ff9b692e60
Demo video: https://youtu.be/hRAZmlWSUD0

Affiliate: none. Not tax software. Not legal advice.

DEV Community: Cove

I needed a Notion Freelance OS under $20 — here's what I built

What I actually needed

The spine (four databases)

Home views that matter

Why under $20

Optional overdue formula

Links

Photographer Notion OS: shoots, galleries, who still owes you

1. Clients

2. Shoots

3. Galleries

4. Invoices (who still owes you)

5. Gear checklist (optional)

6. Home

First-day rules

If you do not want to build it

Freelance Notion OS: clients, overdue invoices, unpaid hours

1. Clients

2. Projects

3. Invoices

Overdue formula (optional)

4. Time log and unpaid hours

Unpaid-hours rollup

5. Home

First-day rules

If you do not want to build it