Freelance paperwork is two chains, not one. The document chain runs from a quote or an invoice to a signed, locked and sendable PDF. The image chain runs from a finished job to a portfolio set the client can actually open. Both are short, and both break when the steps are done out of order.
The document order is fixed by what each step does to the bytes: build the PDF, sign it, then encrypt it. Compressing a cryptographically signed contract invalidates the signature, and encrypting before signing means unlocking the file just to add a mark. On the image side the rule is simpler: resize and compress before you watermark or send, never after. Every step in both chains runs in the browser, so client contracts and unreleased work are never uploaded.
The document chain, in the only order that works
Three of the four steps rewrite the file, so each one has to happen after the step it depends on. Signing after merging means the signature sits on the final page count. Encrypting last means the password protects the finished document rather than an earlier draft that still has to be edited.
1. Build one PDF from quotes, receipts and invoices
Freelance paperwork arrives as a mix of formats: a PDF invoice from an accounting app, a photo of a signed timesheet, screenshots of a payment confirmation. Image to PDF turns the images into pages, and Merge PDF joins them with the PDFs you already have. Drag the cards into date order before merging, because both tools keep the order you set rather than sorting by filename.
JPG and PNG files are embedded as they are, so a screenshot is not re-encoded. WebP, AVIF, GIF and BMP are converted first, and a GIF contributes its first frame because a PDF page is a still image. Choose A4 or Letter, portrait or landscape, the margin, and whether each image should fit inside the page or fill it. Neither tool imposes a fixed file count; the practical ceiling is your own memory, since every page is held locally while the document is assembled.
The limit is worth stating plainly: these tools do not create the invoice. There is no total, no tax line and no invoice number, so the summary page still has to come from your accounting tool.
Image to PDF
Turn receipt photos and screenshots into pages, set the order and page size, then download one PDF.
2. Sign it
Sign PDF draws a signature with a mouse or a touchscreen, or places a PNG you already have. A transparent PNG gives the cleanest result because there is no white box around the ink. A JPG also works, and near-white pixels are turned transparent so a photographed signature does not cover the page underneath.
Pick the page, one of nine positions from top left to bottom right, and a width expressed as a share of the page width. The margin is fixed at 5 percent of the page width, which keeps the mark inside the printable area on both A4 and Letter. The signature is drawn as a new layer, so the contract text below it stays selectable.
What this is not is a qualified electronic signature. There is no certificate, no audit trail and no timestamp authority, so the file shows that a mark is on the page, not who put it there. If a client requires a legally qualified signature, this is the wrong instrument.
Sign PDF
Draw or upload a signature, place it on any page, and download the signed PDF. Nothing leaves your device.
3. Encrypt before you send
Protect PDF uses qpdf compiled to WebAssembly to write AES-256 encryption, the strongest standard PDF supports. Set an open password, an optional owner password for changing permissions later, and decide whether the recipient may print, copy text and edit. Treat those switches as a clear signal rather than a lock: a reader can always photograph a screen, and the permission flags are enforced by the PDF reader, not by the encryption itself.
Do this last. Once the file is encrypted, every other PDF tool has to decrypt it first, so numbering, watermarking or signing an encrypted file means unlocking it, editing it, and protecting it again. There is also no password recovery: if you forget the open password, the file is gone for you and for the client.
Protect PDF
Add AES-256 encryption and printing, copying and editing permissions in your browser.
4. Compress only if the attachment is rejected
Compress PDF rewrites the internal structure of the document with qpdf: objects are packed into object streams, streams that were stored uncompressed are compressed, and the cross-reference tables are rebuilt. Text stays selectable, links keep working and images keep their resolution, because nothing is re-encoded. Standard uses compression level 6. Maximum uses level 9 and also linearizes the file, so a reader can show the first page before the download finishes. The tool is designed for files under 50 MB.
Two limits are worth knowing before you rely on it. A file that is already tightly packed can come out the same size or slightly larger with Maximum, because linearization adds overhead of its own. And if the contract carries a cryptographic signature, any rewrite invalidates it, so compress a separate copy for sending and keep the signed original untouched.
Compress PDF
Shrink a PDF by rewriting its structure, with no image re-encoding and no upload.
Delivering the work: portfolio images
The image chain has one rule: make every geometric change first, then change the encoding, then add anything that sits on top. Resizing after compressing throws away the savings. Watermarking before cropping can cut your own mark off the frame.
Resize to the size the client will actually use
Image Resizer opens JPG, PNG, WebP and AVIF and saves JPG, PNG or WebP. Keep the ratio locked unless you deliberately want to stretch the image, and use the percentage shortcuts for quick halving. It redraws the photo on a canvas, which means EXIF data such as camera model and capture date is dropped in the process. Enlarging does not add detail, so a small file cannot be rescued by scaling it up.
Compress the set in one pass
Image Compressor accepts multiple files, so a portfolio can be tuned once and exported together. Keep the quality slider between 75 and 90 for photographs. AVIF and WebP produce the smallest files, while PNG with OxiPNG recompresses losslessly and suits screenshots and flat graphics. There is no fixed cap on how many images you add in one run; the real limit is browser memory, so a very large folder is better handled in a few passes.
Two honest caveats. There is no target size field, so you lower the slider until the live preview shows a number you can accept. And a small screenshot or logo can come out larger, because it was already stored efficiently and a lossy re-encode adds overhead.
Watermark previews, deliver clean finals
Image Watermark places text, not an image logo, at one of five corner and centre positions or tiled diagonally, with size, colour, opacity and rotation, and the preview updates live. Batch export applies one style to the whole set. Use it on the proofs you send for approval and export the clean files separately for final delivery, because the watermark is drawn into the pixels and cannot be removed afterwards.
Strip location data before delivery
Remove EXIF clears camera metadata, including GPS coordinates, before a photo leaves your hands. This matters for property, event and portrait work, where a client's address should not travel inside the file. The image tools that redraw a photo on a canvas drop EXIF as a side effect, but a dedicated pass is the reliable way to be sure.
What these tools cannot do
- No invoice, quote or contract templates. These tools change a file you already have. They do not calculate totals, fill a template or issue a numbered document.
- No qualified e-signature. A drawn or uploaded signature image has no certificate, audit trail or trusted timestamp. It is not a replacement for a dedicated signing platform when a counterparty demands legal proof.
- No password recovery. AES-256 encryption is real. If the open password is lost, neither you nor the client can open the file.
- No compression that keeps a cryptographic signature valid. Any rewrite of a signed PDF invalidates the signature, including compression, numbering and watermarking.
- No target file size. Neither compressor lets you type an exact number such as 5 MB. You adjust the setting until the preview shows a size you can accept.