Your life in a single file
SEO Note

Freelancer notes tree + AI

Three clients, five chats, a Notion board you stopped opening, and a voice memo that says “they want it warmer.” By Thursday you cannot remember whether the deadline moved or you only hoped it did. Freelancer chaos is rarely lack of tools — it is lack of one place that answers: what did this client decide, and what is still open?

Three builds ship from this site. SEO Note 2.1 is the current one: an Electron app (about 121 MB installer) for Windows 10/11 64-bit and Linux x64, with Markdown, the tree editor, AI talking to a model you connect — a local one or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, a web clipper and git sync of the file. For Android 6.0 and newer there is a release-signed APK (~10 MB) of the same interface; on the phone notes live as a folder of Markdown files on the device, and passwords, sync, the clipper and AI answer there with an explicit refusal. The classic build 1.3.34 (~2.5 MB, Win32) stays on the download page for Windows 7, 8 and 32-bit PCs, where 2.1 does not install; its notes file is .seo. All three work offline with no account: pick your build, or read how 2.1 and 1.3.34 differ.

SEO Note is a free Windows tree outliner (one local file, no account; the classic 1.3.34 build is ~2.5 MB, SEO Note 2.1 is a ~121 MB Electron installer). It will not replace your invoicing app, and its AI runs only when you invoke it — on a model you connect. Use it as the client/project knowledge base; hand a thin slice to a chat — inside the app or outside it — when you need a call summary or rewrite. Habit detail: local notes as source of truth for AI.

Split the jobs

In SEO Note
  • Client facts and constraints
  • Brief and scope
  • Named decisions + dates
  • Open questions
In the AI chat
  • Call / email digests
  • Draft replies in your tone
  • Option lists to reject
  • Disposable brainstorms

Tree skeleton that survives a busy month

Freelance.sn
  Clients
    Acme Co
      Profile (contacts, timezone, invoice notes)
      Projects
        Landing refresh — due 12 Apr
          Brief
          Decisions
          Revisions
          Open questions
          Prompts
            Call summary
            Scope check
  Inbox
  Prompts (shared)
  Archive

One client parent beats twenty root-level project names. Profile holds boring truth: who signs off, how they hate being billed. Decisions get dates. Revisions are a log, not a graveyard of “final_final” files.

What to paste into AI

Copy Brief + Decisions + the raw notes from the last call (or the email thread you already cleaned). Add one question. Do not paste Profile invoices, passport scans, or every sibling project “for context.”

Prompt — Call summary
Role: assistant to a freelancer.
Context: [paste Brief + Decisions + rough notes]
Task: bullet summary — decisions made, open questions, my next actions.
Rules: do not invent deadlines or prices; mark guesses as UNVERIFIED.
Output: markdown bullets under those three headings.
Do not paste: full client directories, contracts with personal data, payment credentials, other clients’ projects “just in case.” If a name is sensitive, use a code in the chat and keep the real name only in the local Profile node.

One sitting setup

1 Create Clients + one real client
2 Add active project + Brief/Decisions
3 After next call, dump rough notes under the project
4 Run Call summary prompt on that slice
5 Write accepted bullets back; date Decisions

Why this beats chat-as-CRM

  • You reopen last month’s Decision without scrolling a model thread
  • USB backup of one file is simpler than exporting five apps
  • You choose what leaves the PC — useful when NDAs are vague but real
  • Prompts live next to work — see AI prompt templates in a notes tree

Pitfalls

  • Turning Clients into a second email inbox (dump → file or delete weekly)
  • Letting AI “scope” become the brief without a human rewrite
  • One mega-node per client with no project children
  • Skipping Archive when a project ends — Active stays noisy

When not SEO Note

Shared live boards with a client, phone-only capture all day, or accounting systems — keep those. SEO Note holds your working truth and prompts. PARA-style top levels if you juggle life projects too: PARA in a notes tree.

Next steps

  1. Pick one active client and build the skeleton above
  2. Fill Brief from memory, then verify one number against email
  3. Store the Call summary prompt under Prompts
  4. Run it once this week; write back Decisions
  5. Copy the file to a second disk or USB

Download SEO Note free (no account) and stop asking the chat to remember your clients for you.

Keep going

  • Tree templates and PDF guide — role and method skeletons you can copy straight into your own tree.
  • If this guide helped, you can say hello or grab ready-made trees on the templates page.

Adjacent tools (VPS for local models, courses, VPN) are not stuffed into every paragraph. If an affiliate link appears, it will be labeled and is never required to use SEO Note.

Mini FAQ

Does SEO Note replace my invoicing or CRM app? It will not replace your invoicing app, and its AI runs only when you invoke it — on a model you connect. It holds the client and project facts, so you reopen last month's decision without scrolling through a model thread.

Which notes should I paste to get a call summary? Copy the Brief, the Decisions and the raw notes from the last call, then add one question. Leave out the Profile invoices, passport scans and every sibling project pasted for context.

How should I organize client notes in the tree? One client parent beats twenty root-level project names. Under it keep a Profile with the boring truth, then each project with its Brief, Decisions, Revisions, Open questions and prompts. Decisions get dates.

How do I keep a sensitive client name out of the chat? Use a code in the chat and keep the real name only in the local Profile node. Never paste full client directories, contracts with personal data or payment credentials.

How do I stop the AI inventing deadlines for a client? Put the rule in the prompt you store under the project: do not invent deadlines or prices, and mark guesses as UNVERIFIED. Fill the Brief from memory, then verify one number against the email.

Does it run on older Windows like 7 32-bit? Yes, fully offline with no account required. Installation specifics on Windows 7 32-bit are covered in the separate portable-version article.

Related: PM notes tree + AI · Developer notes tree · Source of truth · What not to paste · Templates