What is Chord?
Chord is the software a solo service provider runs their whole business on. Instead of juggling five tools, they use one: proposals go out, contracts get signed, invoices get paid, projects get tracked, and their client sees it all in a private portal branded as their studio.
- Their paperwork lives here — the contract templates they send clients, every signed agreement, every invoice.
- Their money lives here — what they've invoiced, what's been paid, what's still owed, and what tax they've collected.
- So do the moments of doubt — the second before sending a contract, the week before a tax deadline. That's when we'd like to be able to point them at you.
It's live today, with studios paying to use it. We're a small, independent company based in Singapore.
How it works
You're listed
Approved partners get a short profile inside Chord — your firm, the countries you work in, what you specialise in, and what an engagement typically costs.
A studio asks
They read your intro, click a button, and Chord drafts an intro email. They approve and the warm enquiry gets sent to your inbox.
You reply directly
You'll see their email with their name, business, and what they're after. You respond with the next steps and rates, directly to their reply-to email. Chord steps out of the way.
What it looks like
Your profile, as a studio browsing for help in your country sees it.
Kestrel specialises in helping creative freelancers and small studios put their commercial arrangements on a proper footing — client contracts, licensing of creative work, and getting incorporated. Plain-English advice, fixed fees wherever possible.
Contract review from S$450.
An illustrative example — the firm and person shown are invented.
What it costs you: nothing
- No listing fee, ever.
- No referral cut. Whatever you agree with a studio is entirely between you and them — we never take a percentage and never see your invoices.
- No exclusivity, no targets. Be listed alongside others in your country; the studio chooses who to approach.
What we ask of you
- You genuinely work with solo founders and small studios — not just enterprise clients who happen to have a freelance budget.
- You reply to enquiries within a few working days, even if the answer is "not my area, try X".
- You're upfront about cost. We show an indication on your profile — a free intro call, an hourly rate, a fixed fee for a contract review. Solo founders don't enquire when they're afraid of an open-ended bill.
- You're qualified and insured to practise in the countries you're listed for.
Some partners choose to offer Chord studios something — a longer free first call, a fixed price for a contract review, a modest discount. That's entirely optional, never a condition of being listed, and yours to set or withdraw. If you'd like it shown, we'll put it on your profile.
What we'd love back
This only works if it runs both ways. We're not asking for a sales pitch, a quota, or anything contractual — just this:
- If Chord would suit one of your clients, mention us. A good number of the people you already advise are exactly who Chord is built for — freelancers and small studios drowning in spreadsheets, invoices and chased approvals. Keep us in mind the way we're keeping you in mind.
- Take the badge, if you'd like it. Partners get a “Chord partner” mark for their website or email signature. Entirely optional — some firms love the signal, others would rather not, and both are fine.
What a typical enquiry looks like
Most fall into a handful of shapes:
- Reviewing the contract template they send to their own clients
- A second pair of eyes on a contract a client has asked them to sign
- Chasing late payment — what their options are when a client won't pay
- Getting their books in order before tax season, and advice on reporting their income
- GST / VAT registration — whether they've crossed the threshold, and what changes when they do
- Turning freelance work into a company, and what that means for their tax and paperwork
- Incorporation and annual filings — getting set up properly, then staying compliant without thinking about it
- What they can claim, and how to keep records that would survive scrutiny
Enquiries arrive as a plain email with the studio's name, what they do, their country and their question. No documents are attached — if you need to see a contract, you ask them for it directly.
Hi Wei Ling,
Nadia Rahman of Marigold Studio, a copywriting studio in Singapore, uses Chord to run their business and would like help with reviewing the contract template they send to clients.
Reply straight to this email and it goes directly to Nadia.
Your rates are respected. Chord tells studios plainly that an enquiry is just an enquiry, and that consultations and any work that follows are chargeable at your rates. Setting your fees, and saying no to work that isn't a fit, is entirely yours.
Who's on the other side
Independent service providers, mostly one-person studios, running real businesses with real clients and real contracts. They tend to be well organised — they're already paying for software to run their studio properly — and short on legal and financial confidence. They're not looking for free advice. They're looking for someone who won't make them feel silly for asking.
How we choose partners
We're deliberately picky. Our users trust Chord with their business, and an introduction from us carries that trust — so we'd rather list two people in a country than twenty. We're looking for professionals who work with solo founders regularly and enjoy it, who can explain things without jargon, who are clear about cost up front, and who answer their email. We're not building a directory. We're building a short list we'd be comfortable sending a friend to.
How we vet partners
- We read your application and look at your practice — your website, your positioning, the kind of clients you talk about.
- We check you're qualified to practise in each country you'd be listed for — a practising certificate or professional body membership where your profession has one, plus your business registration (in Singapore, your UEN and ACRA profile).
- We have a call. Who you work with, how you prefer to be approached, what you charge, and what you'd rather not be sent.
- You approve your own profile before it goes live, including how your fees are described. Nothing is published that you haven't read.
- We keep listening. Studios tell us how an introduction went. Consistently unanswered enquiries — or a studio left worse off — and we delist. That's what keeps the short list worth being on.
We describe partners as independent professionals we've spoken to — never as endorsed or guaranteed by Chord. We make the introduction; we never give legal or financial advice, and we're never a party to what you agree with a studio.
Questions
No — no listing fee, no subscription, and no referral cut on anything you go on to earn. We don't take a percentage and we never see your invoices. Chord makes its money from studios paying for the software.
Honestly: we're early, and we'd rather under-promise. Chord is a young product with a growing group of studios, so this starts as a trickle, not a pipeline. We'd rather you join because the fit is right than because we quoted you a number we can't stand behind.
No. Studios see everyone listed for their country and choose who to approach, so you may appear alongside others. We keep each list short and deliberately curated rather than long.
Tell us and we'll pause your listing — you'll stop appearing to studios until you say otherwise.
If you'd like to, yes — a longer intro call, a fixed price for a contract review, or a discount. It's entirely your choice, never a condition of being listed, and you can change or drop it whenever. We'll show it on your profile so studios know what to expect.
Their name, their business name, what they do, their country, and what they've asked for help with — plus their email as the reply-to, so you answer them directly. No documents, contracts or financial data are attached. If you need to see something, you ask them for it.
Not at all. Nothing to install, no account to keep, no dashboard to check. Enquiries arrive as ordinary email in your normal inbox.
Say so. A quick “that's not my speciality, but here's who I'd ask” is a genuinely useful reply, and studios tell us they appreciate the honesty. We'd rather that than silence.
No, and we're careful to say so. We describe partners as independent professionals we've spoken to. We make the introduction; we never give legal or financial advice, and we're never a party to what you agree with a studio. Your engagement, your terms, your professional obligations.
Singapore first — it's where we're based and where most of our studios are today. Australia and the UK are close behind, and we have users scattered more widely than that. Even if you're somewhere we haven't reached yet, apply anyway — we're always expanding.
Yes. Incorporation, annual filings and keeping a small company compliant come up constantly — particularly in Singapore, where every company needs a corporate secretary. Pick “Corporate secretary / company services” on the form.
Nothing contractual, and no money. If Chord would genuinely suit one of your clients, we'd love you to mention it — plenty of the freelancers and small studios you already advise are exactly who it's built for. And if you'd like a “Chord partner” badge for your website or email signature, it's yours.
Usually a week or two: we read your application, look at your practice, arrange a short call, then write your profile and send it to you to approve. Nothing goes live until you've read it and said yes.