PromptPay
Executive Summary
Vision Statement
Empower freelancers to focus on their craft—not chasing payments—by providing seamless, automated financial and contract workflows that build trust and accountability between freelancers and clients.
Problem Summary
Freelancers frequently experience late payments and poor client communication, resulting in financial stress and wasted time chasing invoices. The Reddit post details a common scenario: a client misses agreed payment dates, fails to communicate, and only responds when prompted for technical help. Top comments confirm that this is a widespread pain point, with advice centering around contracts, late fees, and withholding deliverables until payment is received.
Proposed Solution
Develop a SaaS platform that automates invoicing, sends payment reminders, integrates contract management, and provides dispute resolution support for freelancers. Features include customizable late fee policies, automated email reminders, contract templates with payment clauses, and a dashboard to track outstanding payments. The system can optionally integrate with project management and accounting tools.
Market Analysis
Target Audience
The ideal user is a freelancer or solo consultant (web designers, developers, writers, marketers, etc.) who works with multiple clients and invoices for project-based or hourly work. They value professionalism, want to avoid awkward payment conversations, and seek to protect themselves from late or missing payments. Many are early in their careers or operate in small towns or remote markets, where informal agreements are common but risky.
Niche Validation
The Reddit post provides strong validation for the pain point: most commenters support the freelancer's direct approach and emphasize the necessity of contracts, late fees, and payment enforcement. The thread is not a casual discussion but a real case of delayed payment, with consensus that this scenario is frequent and damaging to freelancers' livelihoods. Industry articles and platforms like Hello Bonsai and Keeper Tax confirm this is a persistent, underserved need.
Google Trends Keywords
Market Size Estimation
Targeting English-speaking freelancers in North America and Europe, focusing on those who invoice clients directly, the SAM is approximately 30 million.
With focused marketing and partnerships, capturing 0.5% of the SAM in the first 2 years is feasible—150,000 paying users.
Globally, there are over 1.57 billion freelancers as of 2023 (Statista), with the US alone hosting over 70 million. Assuming 20% face payment issues, the TAM is conservatively estimated at 300 million freelancers.
Competitive Landscape
Existing solutions include Hello Bonsai, FreshBooks, and HoneyBook, which offer invoicing and contract management but do not deeply integrate payment enforcement, automated reminders, or dispute resolution tailored specifically for freelancers. Many freelancers still rely on manual emails and basic templates, as evidenced by recurring advice in forums and articles[1][2].
Product Requirements
User Stories
As a freelancer, I want to send professional invoices with clear payment terms and due dates.
As a freelancer, I want automated email reminders sent to clients before and after payment due dates.
As a freelancer, I want to create and manage contracts with late fee clauses and payment schedules.
As a freelancer, I want to track outstanding payments and see which clients are overdue.
As a freelancer, I want to escalate disputes and access resources for payment enforcement.
MVP Feature Set
Invoice creation and sending
Automated payment reminders
Contract template library with e-signature support
Dashboard for tracking payments and client status
Late fee calculation and enforcement
Non-Functional Requirements
Secure data storage and encrypted communication
High availability and uptime (99.9%)
GDPR and CCPA compliance
Scalable architecture for rapid growth
Key Performance Indicators
Number of invoices sent per user per month
Average payment delay reduction per user
Percentage of invoices paid on time
User retention rate (monthly churn)
Net Promoter Score (NPS) from freelancers
Data Visualizations
Visual Analysis Summary
Freelancer payment delays are a widespread issue, with most industry surveys showing over 50% of freelancers experience late payments at least once a year. Integrating automated reminders and late fee clauses can significantly increase on-time payments.
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Go-to-Market Strategy
Core Marketing Message
Stop chasing payments—automate your invoices, reminders, and contracts so you get paid on time, every time. Protect your business, save time, and build better client relationships.
Initial Launch Channels
- Targeted posts in r/freelance, r/Entrepreneur, and r/SmallBusiness
- Launch on Product Hunt and Indie Hackers
- Partner with freelancer communities and platforms (e.g., Upwork forums, local coworking spaces)
Strategic Metrics
Problem Urgency
High
Solution Complexity
Medium
Defensibility Moat
Defensibility stems from network effects (shared contract templates, dispute resolution reputation), workflow integration (with accounting and project management tools), and proprietary data on payment reliability by client and industry.
Source Post Metrics
Business Strategy
Monetization Strategy
Monthly subscription (e.g., $15/mo for core features, $30/mo for advanced contract/dispute modules), with a freemium tier allowing limited invoices and reminders. Optional transaction fees for integrated payment processing.
Financial Projections
Assuming 10,000 paid users in year one at $15/month, projected MRR is $150,000. With scaling and feature expansion, reaching 50,000 users by year three is plausible, yielding $750,000 MRR.
Tech Stack
Node.js with Express for rapid API development and easy integration with payment providers.
PostgreSQL for reliable relational data (users, invoices, contracts, payments).
Next.js for its SEO, fast rendering, and scalability.
Stripe for payment processing, DocuSign or HelloSign for contract e-signatures, SendGrid or Mailgun for email reminders, AWS S3 for file storage.
Risk Assessment
Identified Risks
- Low adoption due to entrenched habits or preference for manual invoicing.
- Legal complexity around late fees and dispute resolution across jurisdictions.
Mitigation Strategy
- Offer a free trial and easy onboarding with template imports from popular tools.
- Provide jurisdiction-specific contract templates and disclaimers, partnering with legal advisors to ensure compliance.