Freelancers

Askback for Freelancers: More Google reviews on autopilot, owned forever

More Google reviews on autopilot, owned forever.

Freelancers expense a dozen subscriptions — proposals, contracts, invoices, time tracking — against irregular income. Owning the tools outright removes a whole line of fixed costs.

The tool this job usually means renting is Podium, at $289+/mo — roughly $3,468 a year, every year. Askback does the job for a one-time $34 — running on infrastructure you control.

Fit check

Why it fits how freelancers work

📱 SMS + email review requests

Bring your own Twilio and/or SMTP so you pay Twilio's roughly $0.008/SMS directly instead of a platform markup, on your own sender reputation.

For freelancers, SMS + email review requests pays off between gigs, against irregular income — and it's covered by the same one-time $34, not metered per month.

🎯 Smart routing

4-5 star ratings go to your Google review page with click-through tracked, while 1-3 star ratings go to a private feedback form in your inbox.

For freelancers, smart routing pays off between gigs, against irregular income — and it's covered by the same one-time $34, not metered per month.

📇 Customer import

Add customers manually or import a CSV from your booking or invoicing tool, with common header aliases accepted.

For freelancers, customer import pays off between gigs, against irregular income — and it's covered by the same one-time $34, not metered per month.

Workflow

A typical workflow

STEP 01

Buy once on Whop

One payment of $34 gets the packaged Windows installer, or clone the MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/review-request-automator-mvp and run it yourself for free.

STEP 02

Deploy or run desktop

Docker-compose onto a $5 VPS to run it public, or run the desktop build locally with data in your user profile.

STEP 03

Wire up creds and import customers

Set your Twilio and SMTP credentials, point your Twilio number's inbound webhook at the STOP handler, and import your customer CSV.

What it costs, honestly

Askback is $34, once. Podium at $289+/mo — roughly $3,468 a year, every year. If you only need the review engine, Askback pays for itself in about four days versus Podium.

FAQ

Freelancers ask

Is Askback worth it for freelancers?

If you only need the review engine, Askback pays for itself in about four days versus Podium. Askback costs $34 once; Podium charges $289+/mo — about $3468 a year. For freelancers, that fixed cost is the whole point: the tool is a one-time line item, not a monthly one.

Is it really free on GitHub?

Yes, Askback is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/review-request-automator-mvp. The $34 buys the packaged Windows installer with everything wired up; building from source is free.

Where does my customer data live?

In a SQLite file on your own server. Every send is queued and logged locally, and secrets are masked in every API response.

Own Askback forever — $34