I am a s/w development consultant who usually has 6 month contracts and a month or so before the end begins looking for the next one.

Sometimes I use scraps of paper, sometimes plain-text files, sometimes just my (poor) memory to record what I have been doing. This is not best practise.

Is there an app to help me organize this better (gratis, Windows and/or Android)?

• which people at which agencies do I currently have something ongoing with (plus, hopefully, a searchable history) - and their contact details, of course.
• which companies have I been forward for (with a short description of the position)?
• who have I not yet contacted, but should?
• who should I not deal with again (maybe rating agents 1 to 10, or such)?
• who should I remember to approach further down the line?
• freehand notes

I realize that it's difficult to nail down exactly what features I need/want. I was thinking of coding my own & continually tweaking it as new circumstances arise, but, before I do so, it is clear to me that there are a significant number of s/w develoeprs active on this site and that some of you must be freelance.

I am hoping for some recommendations, based on practical experience of personal use.

I am a s/w development consultant who usually has 6 month contracts and a month or so before the end begins looking for the next one.

Sometimes I use scraps of paper, sometimes plain-text files, sometimes just my (poor) memory to record what I have been doing. This is not best practise.

Is there an app to help me organize this better (gratis, Windows and/or Android)?

• which people at which agencies do I currently have something ongoing with (plus, hopefully, a searchable history) - and their contact details, of course.
• which companies have I been forward for (with a short description of the position)?
• who have I not yet contacted, but should?
• who should I not deal with again (maybe rating agents 1 to 10, or such)?
• who should I remember to approach further down the line?
• freehand notes

I realize that it's difficult to nail down exactly what features I need/want. I was thinking of coding my own & continually tweaking it as new circumstances arise, but, before I do so, it is clear to me that there are a significant number of s/w develoeprs active on this site and that some of you must be freelance.

I am hoping for some recommendations, based on practical experience of personal use.

[Update] I like the suggestion of using a CRM, although I think that something server-based is overkill for a single user. Can anyone recommend a goo, free Windows-based CRM which answers the question?