Guía para Freelance Novatos en tech - Manfred

1. What Manfred’s Freelance Recruiting is

YOU’LL NEVER WORK ALONE.
If you’ve never worked as a freelancer, you may have never really thought about this. But the freelance path is often a lonely one.

It’s becoming more and more common to see technical professionals working independently: more freedom, more money, and better projects. But the truth is, it’s not all glitter and fantasy:

They look for projects on impersonal platforms.
They negotiate rates blindly.
They jump from contract to contract without support.
Or the part no one talks about… They end up working as disguised employees 🤦
And above all, they silently carry all the uncertainty in the world:
Am I charging what I should be charging?
Is this project actually reliable?
How do I handle this if I’m just getting started? Not to mention paperwork, bureaucracy, and figuring out taxes…

Being freelance shouldn’t feel like this.
It shouldn’t be synonymous with risk, fragility, or isolation.
It shouldn’t require you to be an expert in sales, legal procedures, pricing your services, and psychology. On top of, of course, doing your actual job.

There’s another way to do things: no one should have to walk that path alone.

If you know Manfred even a little, you know we believe in a different way of working.
More human.
More supportive.
Fairer.

We believe technical talent has the right to choose projects where they can grow without having to fight alone against market opacity.

We believe that supporting someone is not the same as “intermediating”: it’s about understanding, caring, guiding, growing with you,
and making sure you always know where you stand.

That’s why, even though we’re not huge football fans, we’ve borrowed this chant as the mantra for how we do things:

You'll Never Work Alone.

What if, as a freelancer, you had a team you could ask questions to, get advice from, lean on, or rely on for projects?

That’s our idea: freelance, yes but supported.

We’re launching our freelance recruiting service with a simple idea:

You choose the path. We walk it with you.

What does that mean in practice?

At Manfred, you’ll have access to real, well-defined projects with clear rates.

• Support at every step: from pricing your services to negotiation.
• A team focused on you, not just on filling a role. On understanding who you are as a person, as a professional, and where you want to go.
• Guidance if you’re just getting started. We remove uncertainty because you move forward hand in hand with us.
• Honest curation of opportunities so you can choose the ones that truly fit you.
• And above all, a community around you so you don’t have to figure everything out on your own.

If you’d like to dive deeper into our freelance philosophy, here’s our freelance manifesto.

2. What the process looks like

(If you already know Manfred’s process, nothing here will surprise you, feel free to skip to point 3.)

One of the most important things you should know is this:
recruiting at Manfred is done with real dedication and care.

The process is exactly the same one we’ve been using at Manfred for years.
The same philosophy.
The same standards.
The same level of care.

Because if there’s one thing we’re clear about, it’s this: this is about people.

A human process

Most freelance experiences fail at the same points:

• Lack of context: you don’t really know what project you’re joining, what company it is, or who you’ll be working with.
• Lack of transparency: no one tells you the real state of the product, what’s expected from you, or even the actual rate.
• Lack of support: it’s you against the world because “that’s just how it’s always been.”

Our process is designed precisely to avoid that.

From the very first contact, you’ll know:

• What the project is (product, team, company stage).
• What problem you’ll be helping solve.
• What’s expected from you as a freelancer.
• The duration and scope of the project.
• The rate.

As much information as possible, upfront.

How it eorks in practice

1. We get to know you (for real)

We like to take the time needed to truly get to know each person. That means talking to you and understanding where you are right now.

We want to know:

• What kind of projects interest you.
• How you want to work.
• Where you are in your freelance career.
• What motivates you and what you never want to experience again.

2. We curate opportunities before showing them to you

We’re not going to send you an endless list of projects. We’ll show you the ones that actually make sense for you.

We talk to companies, break the project down into concrete details, clarify expectations, and filter opportunities before they ever reach you.

If an opportunity isn’t well defined, you won’t see it.
If a rate isn’t fair, it doesn’t pass our bar.
If it smells like disguised employment, it doesn’t go live.

3. We support you in the decision

When a project interests you:

• We go through your questions together.
• We check whether it truly fits what you’re looking for right now.
• We help you assess risks, real workload, and viability.

The idea is for you to find advice, information, and support in us. We’d much rather you say “no” to something that isn’t a 100% fit than say “yes” and burn out in the first month.

4. We negotiate with you, not for you

Negotiation isn’t a tug-of-war between you and the company. In most cases, the project rate will already be defined. It’s public and visible in the job post. No hidden games, no secret discounts.

What we do help you with is:

• Setting your rate if you don’t have a reference yet.
• Defending your rate with solid arguments if you believe the project warrants it.
• Adjusting conditions if needed.
• Avoiding vague or ambiguous commitments.

5. When the process ends, we’re still there

This is one of the biggest differences.

Once the project starts:

• We’re still there if friction arises.
• We help you read strange signals.
• We support you if the scope changes.
• And we learn with you for the next step.

We’re not a platform that disappears the moment you sign. We’re a team that walks alongside you and stays there to keep supporting you.

3. Initial steps you need to take to register as self-employed

One of the biggest barriers to starting out as a freelancer is fear of bureaucracy.

Forms, taxes, registrations, strange acronyms… Everything seems more complex than it actually is.
The good news: you don’t need to know everything from day one.
The bad news: you do need to get the basics right to avoid problems later on.

The goal of this section is simple: to help you start freelancing legally and with peace of mind. Knowing what’s mandatory and what’s not.
The rest you’ll learn over time (or delegate to a trusted accountant).

1. Registering as self-employed

To work as a freelancer in Spain, you need two things:

✔ Register with the Tax Agency (Hacienda)

This is the first step.

• You register using form 036 or 037.

• You indicate the activity you’ll carry out (business activity code).

• You specify whether you’ll issue invoices with VAT, withholding tax, etc.

👉 This has no cost, but it does determine when your tax obligations begin.

You don’t have to do this yourself. Any accountant can handle these procedures so you don’t have to worry about them.

✔ Register with Social Security (RETA)

This is where you start paying the well-known self-employed contribution.

• You have 60 days from registering with the Tax Agency to do this (though it’s best not to leave it until the last minute).

• Since 2023, the monthly contribution depends on your estimated income.

• If it’s your first time, you may qualify for a reduced rate.

Advice: if you’re unsure, an accountant will save you time, mistakes, and anxiety from the very beginning.

2. Business bank account (recommended)

It’s not legally mandatory, but it’s highly recommended.

Separating your personal and professional money will save you a lot of headaches.

It makes it easier to track income, expenses, and taxes.

Many online bank accounts for freelancers have no fees.

Think of it as separating your work from your personal life.

3. A system for invoicing

You can’t afford to mess up your invoices. You need:

• Sequential numbering.

• Correct dates and tax details.

• Clear descriptions of services.

• VAT and withholding tax (if applicable).

You can use: invoicing tools or simple templates (a basic Google Sheets file works perfectly and there are ready-made templates available).

4. Knowing what you can claim as expenses

From day one, keep: invoices for tools, professional subscriptions, training or work equipment.

You can deduct a proportional part of certain expenses if you work from home, but it’s usually complicated, time-consuming, and doesn’t make a huge difference financially.

In general, you’ll probably have relatively few expenses. Don’t obsess over this, but do keep your invoices becasue you’ll be able to deduct the VAT later on.

5. Accountant: yes or no?

The classic question. The answer: it depends, but for most people starting out, yes.

You avoid headaches, a professional handles “the numbers,” and you focus on what you actually enjoy and do best.

An accountant:

• Registers you properly.
• Files your taxes.
• Alerts you about regulatory changes.
• Removes mental noise.
• And usually costs far less than fixing a mistake with the Tax Agency later on.

If you’re looking for a recommendation, we know good people.

Telenom is an international accounting firm. We know part of their team in Spain and they’re well-known and genuinely good people. They work in a highly professional way, and if you tell them you’re coming from us, they’ll put you on Manfred’s “happy path”: they already know you work in tech, they understand the kind of services you’ll invoice, and they’ll treat you as if they were an extension of our team. You can contact them here.

4. What you need to know about taxes

This is the point that scares most people when they start freelancing. And it’s also one of the most exaggerated. Not because it isn’t important, but because it’s usually poorly explained.

What you really need to understand is this: Not all the money you invoice is yours.

If you understand this from day one, you’re already ahead of 70% of people starting out.

VAT: it’s not yours, you just manage it

VAT is the most misunderstood tax.

You’ll usually invoice with 21% VAT (if you work with Spanish companies). That VAT is not income. You collect it from the client and later pass it on to the Tax Agency.

Simple example:
You invoice €1,000 + 21% VAT → you receive €1,210
➡️ €210 is not yours. You set it aside and later pay it.

Personal income tax (IRPF)

IRPF is the tax on what you actually earn.

It depends on how you invoice:

How is it paid?

With withholding on the invoice (common if you work with Spanish companies):

• You apply a percentage (usually 15%, or 7% if you’re just starting out).
• The client pays that amount directly to the Tax Agency on your behalf.

You receive less money upfront, but the tax is already advanced (meaning you don’t have to pay it yourself later).

Without withholding:

You pay IRPF later, through quarterly payments or in your annual tax return.

Quarterly tax filings

As a freelancer, the Tax Agency will ask you to report every three months.

The most common filings are:

• Quarterly VAT (form 303).
• Quarterly IRPF if you don’t apply enough withholdings (form 130).

If you have an accountant, they handle everything. You issue invoices, and every quarter your accountant tells you the result of your tax filing.

Annual income tax return

Once a year:

• You file your annual income tax return.
• Everything you’ve been paying throughout the year gets adjusted.
• You may have to pay more or receive a refund.

If you’ve declared and paid everything properly each quarter, there shouldn’t be any surprises.

5. Rates: how to set them and how to negotiate them

Talking about rates is usually uncomfortable.
But when you’re starting out, you don’t know what to charge per hour. Is it too much? Too little?

Most people don’t lack ambition, they lack references. They don’t know what’s reasonable, what’s low, or when they’re underselling themselves. And when in doubt, two things usually happen: either they lower the price “so they’ll say yes,” or they accept the first number a company puts on the table.

Setting your rate thoughtfully

Your rate is the result of understanding several things at once: how much you want (and need) to earn, how many real days you’ll invoice per year, your level of specialization, and the level of risk you’re taking on each project.

A very common mistake is to convert an annual salary into a “freelance day rate” and call it a day. The problem is that as a freelancer you don’t invoice every day, you don’t have paid holidays, you assume uncertainty, and you’re selling a service, not filling a position.

Your rate also says something about the project

From experience, we can tell you this: low rates rarely hide excellent projects.

A rate that’s too tight often comes with unclear scope, vague expectations, constant changes, and little respect for your time.

Not always, but often.

When a company knows what it wants, what it needs, and what it’s worth, that usually shows in how it pays.

The biggest mistake: always negotiating down

If a company can’t reach your rate, lowering your price shouldn’t be the only lever.

There are many other variables that can move: duration, dedication, scope, priorities, exclusivity, or even the type of medium-term relationship.

Lowering your rate without adjusting anything else usually means more work for less money. And that almost always ends badly.

A simple formula

Hourly rate = (Desired annual salary × 1.5) / Billable hours per year

Desired annual salary: what you want to earn net/gross equivalent to a full-time job. Example: €45,000

Multiplier (×1.5): the idea is that 1.5 covers:
Social Security contributions, income tax, holidays, non-billable days, business development time, training, tools, and unexpected expenses.

In practice, the multiplier usually ranges between 1.4 and 1.6 depending on the profile.

Billable hours per year

A freelancer does not bill 40 hours/week consistently. A common estimate:

48 weeks × 40 h = 1,920 theoretical hours

Realistically billable hours: 1,400–1,600

We’ll use 1,500 hours as a reasonable standard.

Example

You want to earn the equivalent of a mid-senior profile:

Desired salary: €45,000
Multiplier: 1.5
Billable hours: 1,500

(45,000 × 1.5) / 1,500 = €45/hour

Recommended minimum rate: ~€45/h

Typical freelance tech ranges (Spain)

Perfil	€/ hora habitual
Junior	€25-35
Mid	€35-50
Senior	€50-80
Staff	€80-120
CTO or niche speacialist	€120-200

*This table is for guidance only. It should not be taken as an exact reference in any case.

6. Opportunities and risks of being freelance

Freelancing is often sold as absolute freedom. Other times, it’s demonized because finishing one project means facing the uncertainty of finding the next one. The reality, as almost always, lies somewhere in between.

Working as a freelancer opens up real opportunities, but it also means taking on risks not everyone is willing to assume. Understanding both is key to making good decisions and not romanticizing this path.

The opportunities: why so many people make the leap

The first one is usually obvious: control. Control over the projects you accept, how you organize your time, and the direction of your career. For many people, that alone changes everything.

There’s also the possibility of accessing projects that don’t exist in the traditional job market. International companies, teams at very specific stages, or highly defined challenges that fit better with a freelance profile than with a permanent contract.

And yes, in many cases the financial upside is greater. Because you’re selling your work differently, with fewer intermediaries and more awareness of the value you bring.

The risks you shouldn’t ignore

The most obvious risk is uncertainty. You don’t always know what will happen in six months. Sometimes not even in three. That requires a healthy relationship with uncertainty and a certain level of financial planning.

There’s also the mental load. You decide, you invoice, you manage, you say no. That autonomy comes with a cognitive cost not everyone anticipates.

Another common risk is accepting projects that don’t fit out of fear of the void. That “better this than nothing” mindset often leads to low rates, fast burnout, and the constant feeling of running without moving forward.

And finally, something that’s often underestimated: professional loneliness. Making important decisions without perspective, feedback, or someone who understands your context can weigh more than expected.

Freelancing is neither good nor bad

Freelancing is simply a different way of working.

It works very well when you’re looking for autonomy, the ability to choose your projects, and you accept that uncertainty will be part of the journey.

It tends to be frustrating when what you expect is absolute stability or external validation.

7. How to evaluate projects

One of the most important skills as a freelancer has nothing to do with coding better or worse. It’s knowing how to choose projects.

At the beginning, almost everything seems like a good idea. There’s excitement, motivation, and often a certain rush to get started. The problem is that a bad project doesn’t just affect your billing. it affects your energy, your reputation, and your mental health. That’s why learning to evaluate properly before committing makes an enormous difference.

Fit: does this fit you right now?

The first question is whether this fits you at this moment.

Does it align with how you like to work, your real availability, and what you want to learn or consolidate? A project can be objectively good and still not be right for you right now. Saying no early is a sign of professionalism, not fear.

Scope: what do they really expect from you?

Many freelance problems start here.

If you can’t explain in one sentence what you’re going to do (and what you’re not going to do) the scope isn’t clear. And when scope is blurry, invisible extra hours and the feeling of always being in debt start to appear.

A good project clearly defines responsibilities, level of dedication, duration, and deliverables.

The signals you can spot

There are signals worth learning to read early on.

When everything is urgent but nothing is well defined.
When the rate is low “but we’ll increase it later.”
When you don’t know who makes decisions.
When the project has already gone through several freelancers in a short time.

They’re not necessarily automatic deal-breakers, but they are an invitation to dig deeper.

The rate

The rate gives you information. A well-aligned rate usually indicates that the company understands the value of the work and respects other people’s time. A rate pushed down often anticipates problems with expectations and boundaries.

If a project can’t pay fairly, it rarely allows you to work well.

Viability: is this sustainable?

Beyond starting, think about sustaining yourself.

Can you maintain that pace for months?
Does it leave room for other projects or for rest?
Does it make sense in light of your financial goals?

If you say yes to everything but end up burning out, then it wasn’t a good yes.

8. How to build a solid project pipeline

One of the biggest sources of anxiety as a freelancer is not knowing what comes next.

When there are no projects lined up, anxiety kicks in. You accept projects that don’t fit, you negotiate worse, and you work with the constant fear that everything might suddenly end. Building a pipeline helps you avoid starting from zero every single time.

You don’t build a pipeline when you have time

This is the first common mistake. You build your pipeline while you’re working.

Waiting until you’re free to look for the next project usually means doing it in a rush and with little room to choose. Setting aside a small, recurring space to nurture relationships and visibility completely changes the game.

Visibility

Having a pipeline doesn’t mean spamming on LinkedIn. It means that the people you want to reach know what you do, what you’re good at, and what kind of projects interest you.

That’s built through conversations, consistent presence, and coherence. Sometimes it comes from giving a talk, sometimes from a recommendation, sometimes from having said no in a professional way.

Build relationships, not just opportunities

Many freelancers chase projects and forget about people.

A healthy pipeline is usually built on people who already know you: former clients or professionals who understand how you work. Taking care of those relationships is worth more than any platform.

Not everything has to close now

Accept that many conversations won’t turn into immediate projects. And that’s okay.

Some seeds take months to grow. Others activate right when you become available again. Thinking long term drastically reduces short-term anxiety.

Plant seeds. That’s the Manfred philosophy.

9. How to manage your time and avoid burnout

One of the biggest myths about freelancing is that because you have freedom, balance comes automatically.
Reality is often the opposite: if you don’t manage your time consciously, work will take over everything.

Decide how you use your time

Not everything billable is sustainable.
Not everything urgent is important.
And not everything you accept today will make sense three months from now.

Learning to say no is one of the most valuable skills to prevent burnout.

Freelance burnout rarely comes from working a lot

It usually comes from working without clear boundaries.

Design your week in advance

Block time to rest, think, learn, or simply to do NOTHING.

If you don’t protect that space, no one else will.

10. Freelancing doesn’t have to be lonely

If you’ve made it this far, that already says something important: you’re considering freelancing with intention (you’ve read the whole guide). And that, in itself, is a good sign.

Throughout this guide, we’ve talked about paperwork, taxes, rates, projects, time, clients, and risks. But underneath it all, everything revolves around the same idea:
working as a freelancer shouldn’t force you to deal with all of this alone.

The real problem with freelancing usually isn’t a lack of talent or opportunities. It’s the loneliness of making important decisions. The lack of references. Having to improvise everything while delivering, invoicing, and selling yourself at the same time.

That’s why this guide is about helping you start with less uncertainty. About understanding what this path really involves, what you can gain from it, and what you need to protect to make it sustainable.

At Manfred, we believe freelancing doesn’t have to be a leap into the void or an individual battle against the market. It can be a solid, dignified, human professional path. A path where you remain independent but you’re not alone.

If this guide has helped you clarify ideas, reduce fears, or put words to doubts you already had, then it has done its job.

The next step isn’t doing everything perfectly. It’s taking the next step with more information and less pressure.

And if you need us, we’re here to help.