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The business of invoicing is incredibly complex and time-consuming for small businesses. There are a lot of options to choose from, but only some programs can make life easier for entrepreneurs in the future. Here’s what we’ll be using by 2022.
The “best invoicing software for freelancers” is a category of software that is used to help small businesses keep track of their finances. There are 8 programs that have been listed as the best in 2022.
By enabling clients to pay online, the finest invoicing or billing software lets you to easily produce personalized invoices and get paid quicker. Unlike conventional accounting software, specialized invoicing software allows you to tailor your clients’ invoices. However, before investing in specialist invoicing software, examine if complete small company accounting software with an invoicing feature may be a better option. Overall, you should figure out which invoicing software can best help you solve your specific challenges.
For small businesses, the best invoicing software is
When it comes to invoicing software, there are a few options to consider.
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Overall, QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to is the best invoicing software.
The great invoicing functionality of QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to is one of the reasons it is our choice for top overall small company accounting software. It will automatically determine the sales tax rate to apply to your invoice depending on the client address, unlike any other accounting software we’ve evaluated. It then keeps track of the sales tax you’ve collected per jurisdiction and assists you in filing the majority of needed returns. QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to is available for a free 30-day trial period with no credit card needed.
QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to
What We Enjoy
- Calculates the sales tax rate depending on the customer’s location.
- Integration with the most widely used accounting software for small companies.
- Customers are included in all plans.
What Isn’t There
- For small firms, it is too expensive.
- Each plan’s number of users is limited.
- You won’t be able to contact customer service via phone.
Read QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to Review
Plans & Pricing
For the first three months, new members enjoy a 50% discount or a 30-day free trial.
- Simple Start: $25 per month for one user, with all sales tax features included.
- $50 per month for three users, including the option to add time and costs to invoices.
- Plus, for $80 per month for five people, you get inventory tracking.
- Advanced: $180 per month for 25 users, including full reporting and a dedicated customer service staff.
Features
- Quicker invoice creation: With QuickBooks Advanced, you may save time by duplicating invoices. Duplicate invoices may be applied to several clients, reducing data entering time. If you handle more than 50 invoices every day, this functionality will come in handy.
- Do you wish to keep track of your customers’ payments using invoice summaries? With invoice summaries, you can keep track of customer payments, their status, and the proportion of the overall debt that has been paid. This tool may help you keep track of how well your tasks are doing.
- Customizable invoices: QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to has different invoice templates that you can choose from, including invoice colors. You can also add your company logo and choose a specific font for your invoices.
- Easier invoice payments tracking: On QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to, you can see unpaid and paid invoices side by side easily. This feature is helpful if you want to assess the speed of collections from customers and the status of outstanding invoices, especially those that are overdue or nearing the due date.
Expert Recommendation
There are many advantages to producing invoicing from within a comprehensive bookkeeping system. For example, QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to allows you to designate expenses as billable as you pay them so that you’re reminded to add them to invoices later. This ties expenses billed to expenses actually paid, which helps prevent missed billing opportunities. Similarly, by tracking employee time in QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to, the hours information used to produce payroll is the same hours information used to bill clients.
QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to can produce advanced invoices for nearly any industry. For instance, construction companies can convert estimates to invoices automatically, including creating in-progress invoices by entering the percentage of the projected completion. Companies that bill multiple customers the same amount can produce invoices in batches, and companies billing customers for subscriptions can create recurring invoices. However, QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to’s features might be too much for a company that wants invoicing features alone. Instead, we recommend choosing Invoicing software that is completely free in this list—like Invoicera, Ninja Invoice, Zipbooks, and Square—as a starter.
FreshBooks: The Best Invoicing Software for Project-Based Companies
FreshBooks began as a tool to create great-looking, professional invoices, and has now evolved into a comprehensive accounting system. FreshBooks emphasizes billing even as it adds features like the ability to log hours and allocate them to invoices. A 30-day free trial does not need a credit card to begin.
FreshBooks
What We Enjoy
- Create invoices that are professional.
- To an invoice, add time and expenses.
- Keep track of any overdue bills.
What Isn’t There
- Additional users incur a charge.
- A small proportion of consumers are enrolled in the less priced plans.
- Allowing access to your bank account is required to utilize accounting functions, which is costly when compared to alternative invoicing methods.
Plans & Pricing
New customers may sign up for a 30-day free trial or a six-month subscription at a 60% discount.
- Lite: $15 per month for up to five billable customers and one user.
- Plus, one user gets $25 per month and 50 billable customers.
- Premium: $50 per month includes one user and an unlimited number of chargeable customers.
- Choose: Customized price
For $10 per month, more users may be added to any subscription.
Features
- FreshBooks allows you to customize your invoices by changing the invoice design, adding your business logo, changing the theme color, and more. When you’re finished, you may email the invoice to the client, print it, or save it as a PDF.
- Sales tax tracking: FreshBooks allows you to set up sales tax rates and apply multiple rates when creating invoices. The chart of accounts or a general ledger report may then be used to analyze your tax obligations and payments.
- FreshBooks allows you to make estimates for customers and then turn them into invoices. Your proposal is available for your clients to read and comment on. When customers are happy with your proposal, they may simply click the “accept” button at the top to accept it.
- FreshBooks is ideal for project-based organizations since it allows them to compare actual project time and expenditures to estimates.
Expert Recommendation
Not only does FreshBooks have great-looking invoices, but it also has all the features of a full bookkeeping system. FreshBooks accepts online payments, calculates late fees automatically, creates recurring invoices, and prints a list of outstanding invoices. Beyond those typical invoicing features, FreshBooks will connect with your bank to import transactions, reconcile bank and credit card accounts, and print basic financial statements like a balance sheet and profit and loss (P&L) statement. Unlike QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to, FreshBooks requires a live bank feed to classify transactions into the proper cash or checking account.
FreshBooks may have accounting features, but it’s best suited to service or project-based companies. If you’re looking for robust accounting features not found on FreshBooks, like inventory management, QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to is the best software to get.
Invoicera is the best stand-alone invoicing software available.
Accounts receivable (A/R) management (sending invoices) and accounts payable (A/P) management (receiving invoices) are both managed on one dashboard by Invoicera. While not a comprehensive accounting system, Invoicera simplifies cash flow management by concentrating on two of your company’s most crucial aspects: collecting cash from consumers and paying suppliers. Without submitting a credit card, you may experience Invoicera for 15 days.
Invoicera
What We Enjoy
- Keep track of both payables and receivables.
- 100 percent customized invoices using XHTML
- Keep track of employee time and costs per project, then add them to invoices.
What Isn’t There
- When compared to other solutions, unlimited consumers are quite pricey.
- The Business plan is required for additional users.
- Doesn’t work with accounting software.
Plans & Pricing
For the first 15 days, new customers may test out premium programs for free.
- Starter: Three clients and one admin user are free.
- Pro: The base pricing for 100 active clients is $15 per month, with the option of adding extra customers (up to 400) and/or staff employees (up to 16):
- For each additional staff member, $9 is added to the standard fee.
- For every extra 100 to 400 customers, add $10 to $40 per month.
- Business: $29 per month for 1,000 customers, one administrator, and ten employees.
- Infinite: $149 per month for an infinite number of customers and users.
Features
- Invoicera allows you to personalize your invoices by utilizing templates to change the style and feel.
- Management of receivables and payables: Invoicera keeps track of your invoices from customers and suppliers. The majority of invoicing software focuses on customer invoices, which is an element of receivables management. You may also handle vendor invoices (or bills) using Invoicera, so you can stay on top of your commitments.
- Credit memo handling is a headache for many small company owners. Fortunately, Invoicera’s credit note management tool makes it simple to keep track of credit notes and make any adjustments to impacted accounts.
Expert Recommendation
Invoicera is a robust standalone invoicing application. Invoicera lets you create teams, manage time and costs by project, and then add them to invoices. You may upload your logo and choose colors for their seven invoice layouts, or if you’re familiar with XHTML, you can develop a custom template for your company.
Outside of A/R and A/P administration, Invoicera does not feature any accounting capabilities, nor does it interact with any accounting software. This implies that the hours utilized to create your paycheck may differ from the hours you monitor in Invoicera, potentially resulting in missed billing opportunities. Similarly, the costs you record in Invoicera may not match the expenses you report on your financial accounts.
Generally, we recommend that your invoicing be integrated with your accounting system, but if you’re looking for a standalone system, Invoicera is a good choice. Otherwise, you may want to choose QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to instead.
The Best Free Full-Featured Invoicing Software is Ninja Invoice.
For your invoicing requirements, Ninja Invoice’s free plan is a terrific place to start. You may switch to a premium plan as your company develops, which is still quite reasonable. Most features featured in more priced plans, such as personalized invoices, recurring bills, a product and item library, and a customer portal, are available with the Forever Free plan. With only a few clicks, you may begin using the free plan.
Ninja Invoice
What We Enjoy
- In the free plan, you may have up to 50 clients.
- Invoices, quotations, and proposals are all unlimited.
- The dashboard displays the current period’s activities as well as any outstanding balances.
What Isn’t There
- For more than one user, an Enterprise plan is required.
- The free plan does not contain any reports.
- The only way to customize invoices is to add a logo.
Read Ninja Invoice Full Review
Plans & Pricing
- Forever Free: For a limited time, one user is free for the first 50 clients.
- Ninja Pro costs $10 a month for a single user with unlimited clients.
- Enterprise: $14 to $44 per month, depending on the number of users (one to 20).
A 14-day free trial is included with the Ninja Pro Plan. If you pay yearly, you just have to pay for ten months and receive two months for free (for Pro and Enterprise plan)
Features
- Invoice management for multiple companies: Is your invoice processing centralized for several branches? Ninja Invoice can let you manage invoices for up to 10 business accounts under one account with the Enterprise plan.
- Time and project tracking: Billable hours can be hard to track manually. But with Ninja Invoice, you can track every second and log every task so that you can bill clients accurately. It also has kanban boards to organize projects, tasks, and jobs. What’s even better is that these features are included in the free plan.
- Client portal: Clients also want to keep tabs on their transactions. Instead of manually pulling their records from your system, Ninja Invoice has set up a client portal where it can see a history of its transactions with you, so you won’t have additional work creating a ledger report for clients—and you get this feature under the free plan.
Expert Recommendation
Ninja Invoice’s Forever Free plan is large enough to handle many small businesses with unlimited invoices and quotes for up to 50 customers. You can generate quotes and proposals and convert them to invoices with a few clicks. Recurring invoices can be emailed automatically at whatever interval you choose. Ninja Invoice utilizes a product and item list, similar to expensive software. Once set up, items from this list can be added to invoices quickly to save time.
The absence of reports under the Forever Free plan is a fundamental flaw that necessitates the Pro plan. In Forever Free, however, you may see the dashboard, which highlights the current period’s activities and outstanding balances. FreshBooks and QuickBooks are the go-to apps for reporting. Both offer extensive reporting capabilities, but it all comes down to your budget and billing requirements. Although Freshbooks has a lower pricing, QuickBooks is a superior option for features other than invoice reporting.
The Best Free Software for Creating Simple Invoices is ZipBooks.
ZipBooks makes it simple to create invoices. Before inputting your sales information, ZipBooks gives a template that you may edit with your branding. While the invoices aren’t as adjustable as some other applications, they look excellent and provide your consumers a decent first impression. You can generate, send, and monitor invoices for an unlimited number of clients with ZipBooks’ free membership.
ZipBooks
What We Enjoy
- Invoices are simple to make.
- With the free plan, you may have an unlimited number of consumers.
- Unpaid invoices are shown in the A/R report.
What Isn’t There
- Plan that is completely free Customization options for invoices are restricted.
- Products and services are not saved for subsequent invoicing in the free plan.
- Only one user is included in the free plan.
Plans & Pricing
- Starter: No cost indefinitely
- Smarter: $15 per month for a group of five.
- Sophisticated: $35/month for an unlimited number of users
Features
- ZipBooks provides customizable invoice templates depending on your sector. However, unlike the others on this list, it does not provide a variety of invoice formats. Regardless, ZipBooks’ templates are neat and professional.
- ZipBooks’ auto-billing tool allows you to collect money more quickly. Wait till you see ZipBooks’ versatile recurring payments function, which you won’t believe is included in practically every software application on our list. ZipBooks can handle recurring bills that grow in specified amounts after a set number of months. Without creating a new recurring invoice, you may define fixed costs and add price increments after a few months.
- ZipBooks offers you with an invoice quality score that you may examine before issuing an invoice. ZipBooks’ score provides a precaution against bad invoice preparation, albeit it does not ensure prompt payment. If you include all important invoice facts in your invoice, such as due dates, reminders, and credit card payments, you’ll earn a great grade.
Expert Recommendation
To produce and send invoices, ZipBooks does not need any complicated setup. You may easily fill in your services and items into the invoice form, add a logo, and submit the invoice. The disadvantage is that if you don’t set up specified items and services on the free plan, you’ll have to enter the invoice description every time. If you submit a lot of bills, the Smarter plan will preserve item descriptions for you.
As an alternative, QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to is a more convenient choice. Prior to invoice preparation, you can add items, such as products and services, and access them easily through a drop-down menu in the invoice creation window.
From a Merchant Services Account, Invoices that are square is the best Invoicing software that is completely free.
Invoices that are square is a merchant services provider that does not charge a monthly fee, making it an excellent alternative if your company handles less than $10,000 in credit card transactions each month. Your free Square account comes with Invoicing software that is completely free.
Invoices that are square
What We Enjoy
- Invoicing software that is completely free
- Credit card and automated clearing house (ACH) processing with no monthly fees
- Setup is simple.
What Isn’t There
- Basic invoicing tools do not allow for the tracking of time and costs.
- Businesses that handle more than $10,000 in monthly transactions will almost certainly be able to locate a less expensive credit card processor.
Plans & Pricing
- Free
- Plus, for an extra $20 per month, you can get custom fields and multipackage estimates, as well as other invoicing capabilities.
Fees Not Included
- 2.9 percent + 30 cents per transaction for invoices paid online
- Payments via tap, dip, and swipe: 2.6 percent + 10 cents per transaction
- Payments made with a credit card on file cost 3.5 percent + 15 cents each transaction.
- Payments made via ACH are 1% of the total amount due, with a limit of $1 per transaction.
Features
- Do you manage projects that are separated into stages and provide payments depending on milestones? Square provides a feature that allows you to divide customer payments into milestones. You’ll be able to confidently charge customers when each step of work is completed this way. Payments are anticipated after each step, therefore there’s no need to estimate the percentage of completion.
- Estimates for multipackages: Some organizations may provide a variety of goods and services. Square is ideal for this kind of company since it allows you to deliver multi-package estimates to customers in one go. It’s not necessary to give separate quotes for various designs. Send them all at once and let the customer choose the best option for them.
- Send contracts with estimates: Estimates are just pricing and features that are included in the contract. Some customers desire to learn more about each plan’s terms and restrictions. Square makes it simple to deliver contracts and estimates to customers so they may check the legal issues. It speeds up and clarifies things.
Expert Recommendation
You can make things easy by utilizing your credit card processor’s invoicing option, and Square has one of the greatest invoicing capabilities as well as cheap pricing for low-volume enterprises. Square Payments lets you generate, send, and monitor bills online or via its mobile applications, however it isn’t as feature-rich as accounting or independent invoicing tools. You may also set up regular invoicing and automated payment reminders. If you’re not convinced about Square’s functionality, Invoicera is the safest option for standalone invoicing software. You can do more than simply generate invoices using Invoicera. You can monitor time, handle accounts receivable and payable, and link with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and is the best invoicing software for freelancers and solopreneurs.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and is a straightforward accounting program for self-employed people. It allows you to keep track of your income and spending, calculate your quarterly anticipated tax payments, and even send your income and expense data to TurboTax so that your return may be prepared. Without submitting credit card information, you may begin a 30-day free trial.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and
What We Enjoy
- Invoicing function that is simple to utilize
- Keeps track of your earnings and spending.
- Transfer the information from Schedule C to TurboTax.
What Isn’t There
- Doesn’t keep track of customers, products, or services for future invoicing.
- A balance sheet report cannot be generated by a single-entry accounting system.
- Upgrades to other QuickBooks Online versions are not possible. is a software program that allows you to
Read our QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and review
Plans & Pricing
All plans have a single user limit, and you may share your records with an accountant:
- $15 per month if self-employed
- TurboTax and Self-Employed Tax Bundle: $25 per month includes TurboTax and Self-Employed Tax Bundle.
- Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle: For $35 a month, you get unlimited live assistance from TurboTax tax experts while preparing your tax return.
Features
- Direct tax payments via QuickBooks: Late tax payments mean penalties and fees. With QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and, you can directly pay your taxes with QuickBooks, and QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and also has automatic reminders for quarterly tax dues.
- Consult an accountant who is a certified public accountant (CPA): Not all self-employed people are capable of handling their own taxes. You may speak with a CPA who can assist you in preparing tax returns, which is a helpful feature of the Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle.
- Basic features for self-employed individuals: QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and isn’t a full accounting software program like other QuickBooks products. However, it has expense, mileage, and tax tracking that is more than enough for the needs of self-employed individuals.
Expert Recommendation
We don’t recommend QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and based purely on invoicing features because they’re pretty limited. However, the program is very user-friendly and provides an easy way for self-employed individuals to track their expenses and file their tax returns. Self-employed individuals—who generally have very basic invoicing needs—won’t have to learn additional software, as the invoices within QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and will suffice.
If your self-employed business frequently sends invoices, then while QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and might still be a great software to track your income and expenses, we recommend standalone invoicing software for your invoicing needs. Ninja Invoice makes a nice addition to QuickBooks Self-Employed is a program that allows you to keep track of your income and because it’s free and has more customizable invoices and better invoice management features.
Best Invoicing Software for Professional Service Firms is TimeTracker.
TimeTracker provides an invoicing alternative for attorneys, accountants, engineers, and other professional service organizations, as well as strong time tracking capabilities. For professional service businesses, combining these activities makes sense since billable hours are the most important component on your bills. Without needing a credit card, TimeTracker provides a 14-day free trial.
TimeTracker
What We Enjoy
- Tracks the hours that have been written off vs the hours that have been billed.
- Employee management tools such as GPS monitoring and face recognition are included.
- Client portal is included.
What Isn’t There
- For businesses with a large number of workers, it is prohibitively expensive.
- Invoices aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as other solutions.
- Accounting software must be integrated with third-party applications.
Plans & Pricing
- Time Tracker costs $6 per month per user + a $10 monthly base price.
- Time Tracker + Billing: $10 per user each month plus $18 basic cost every month
- LawBillity is a monthly service that costs $24 per user and has no set up price.
If you pay yearly, you’ll save 20%. No credit card is required to try it for 14 days for free.
Features
- Do you want reports sent to your inbox on a regular basis? You may produce auto-generated reports with TimeTracker depending on the criteria you select. This feature allows you to keep track of your performance without having to seek for reports manually.
- Create late payment rules: TimeTracker allows you to add late penalties to invoices for clients who do not pay by the due date. This functionality appeals to us since late fines are calculated automatically depending on the restrictions you choose.
- TimeTracker can easily link with major accounting software such as QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, and Sage 50. TimeTracker is an excellent addition to your invoicing system if you use these accounting packages.
Expert Recommendation
TimeTracker is a unique invoicing option because it’s built around a time-tracking system, which makes it perfect for businesses where time tracking and invoicing go hand-in-hand. What sets TimeTracker apart from other invoicing options is that it tracks billable hours that are written off. A billable realization report shows the billable hours sent to clients versus written off, which is a crucial report to gauge the productivity of your professionals and the profitability of your firm. TimeTracker is expensive since it’s on a per-user basis. If TimeTracker is too expensive, we recommend that you go with QuickBooks Online is a software program that allows you to since it offers unlimited time-tracking-only users for a fixed price. However, QuickBooks doesn’t track hours written off since they have better pricing computation for the number of users.
Invoicing Software Features to Look for
When it comes to invoicing software, it’s important to think about the features you’ll need. Knowing what an invoicing program’s main features are might assist you determine which software to use. When it comes to invoicing software, there are a few key things to consider:
- Invoices that can be customized: You should be able to customize your invoices using your company’s colors and logo.
- Email invoices: Invoices should be able to be sent without leaving the software.
- Accept online payments: Your software should enable clients to pay their invoices electronically as soon as they receive them.
- Add expenditures: If your company charges consumers for expenses, your invoicing application should keep track of these and enable you to add them to an invoice with a few clicks.
- Automate recurring invoices: If your company bills clients on a monthly basis, choose a platform that can produce these invoices automatically.
- Outstanding invoices must be tracked, and you must be able to check a list of unpaid invoices (A/R) to identify clients who may need to be addressed. Some software has a sophisticated function that automatically sends reminder emails to clients with past-due payments.
Conclusion
There are many of solid invoicing choices available if you’re unsatisfied with the invoicing function in your accounting software or prefer not to utilize bookkeeping software. The usefulness of whatever program you pick will be determined in large part by how you use it. If at all feasible, send bills by email, and make sure your consumers can pay online.
The “invoicing software for small business free” is a popular topic in the 2020s. The 8 best invoicing software programs for small businesses are all free to use.
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