Vincent's Reviews: The Best Invoicing Software: 19 Apps to Get Paid for Your Work

You've already found clients, put in the hours, and completed the work. Now it's time to get paid. Invoicing should be the easiest part of your process, but creating and sending an invoice can be a time suck—and one you're not getting paid for.

Invoicing software does the grunt work for you. Whether you're looking for a comprehensive accounting suite, a quick way to send a simple invoice, or a combined estimating and invoicing tool, invoicing apps will get the job done. We've tested dozens of options, and here we'll present the best.

What Makes for Great Invoicing Software?

Invoicing software uses forms to autofill details like product and customer information. Many invoicing tools can even track the time your team spends on work, the prices for each item or hour of work, and expenses incurred on those projects.

From there, making an invoice takes only a few clicks. Instead of creating a new document or spreadsheet and typing everything in manually each time, you'll customize your invoice app once, track ongoing projects, and let the app make the invoice automatically.

We looked for software that, first and foremost, lets you make an invoice more quickly than you could in your word processor and ideally lets you get paid online. When testing apps, we also considered pricing and usability, and we looked for apps with either unique or extensive features—those that do something no other app offers or handle everything from invoicing to accounting to project management and estimation.

The 19 Best Invoicing Apps

Wave (Web, iOS, Android) for a free accounting suite with invoicing tools
PayPal (Web, iOS, Android) for invoicing clients who have PayPal accounts
Stripe (Web, iOS, Android) for securely accepting wire transfer payments
Square (Web, iOS, Android) for businesses with point-of-sale and invoicing needs
Hiveage (Web, iOS, Android) for building a simple PDF invoice without an account
Invoicera (Web, iOS, Android) for seamlessly guiding you through account setup
Zoho Invoice (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android) for sending paper invoices by snail mail
Harvest (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari) for turning tracked time into invoices
AND CO (Web, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android) for creating invoices and contracts
Xero (Web, iOS, Android) for detailed invoicing and accounting
FreshBooks (Web, iOS, Android) for simple accounting with invoicing
QuickBooks Online (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android) for low-cost payment processing
Invoicely (Web) for simple, free invoicing in any currency
Invoice Ninja (Web, iOS, Android) for lots of choice in payment gateways
Avaza (Web, iOS, Android) for combined invoicing and project management
Ronin (Web) for combined estimating and invoicing
Invoice2go (Web, iOS, Android) for quickly building an invoice template
Billings Pro (macOS, iOS) for businesses that collect check payments on-site
Pancake (Web) for self-hosted simple invoicing

Wave (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for a free accounting suite with invoicing tools

Wave offers a full-featured accounting and invoicing suite—for free. (Its premium payroll tool and built-in lending services foot the bill.)

It's a simple process: When making an invoice, click the Add a customer block, and select the client you're billing to pull in their info. Click Add an item to automatically add your products, services, and prices to the invoice as line items. Click Edit columns to switch invoice details on or off. Then, email it to your customer directly from the app.

If you've set up payments through Wave, clients can pay you directly from the emailed invoice. Wave displays real-time updates on the invoice's progress and logs payments to your accounting transactions automatically.

In addition to invoicing, Wave gives you all of the tools you need for bookkeeping and accounting. Track expenses with Wave's receipt scanner, run payroll, and connect your bank account to pull and record business expenses and transactions automatically.

Wave Price: Free for accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning; from $20/month plus $4/employee or contractor for Payroll within the U.S.
Wave Payment Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for card payments; 1% per transaction for bank payments (ACH).

Automate Wave with Wave's Zapier integrations.

PayPal (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for invoicing clients who have PayPal accounts

PayPal is one of the most popular payment gateways, so there's a good chance that many of your clients already have PayPal accounts. Plus, PayPal's name recognition alleviates any concerns they might have with paying you online. After all, no one wants to enter their credit card number or bank details into an unfamiliar site or tool.

With either a personal or business PayPal account, you can create invoices and accept payments by credit/debit card or bank transfer (ACH). When clients pay, the money is added to your PayPal account. At any time, you can transfer your PayPal balance—subject to certain limits—to your debit card or bank account.

PayPal invoices are simple. You can make quantity or hour-based invoices in the currency you want and with customizable tax rates. You can also list your customers and products to build invoices faster—or import a CSV file of invoice details to make invoices in bulk. Optionally, you can also create recurring invoices and/or allow clients to make partial payments.

Even if your clients don't have PayPal accounts, you can still invoice and accept payments from them. However, the option to pay without a PayPal account isn't immediately obvious from the client's side of the invoice, so it might be worth sending them instructions on how to do it.

PayPal Price: Free to create an account and send invoices.
PayPal Payment Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Automate PayPal with PayPal's Zapier integrations.

Stripe (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for securely accepting wire transfer payments

Stripe recently added invoicing to its online payment processing tool, and it offers a unique feature: You can accept wire transfer payments without exposing your bank account information.

Occasionally, you may run across a client who insists on paying via wire transfer. The problem: To accept a wire transfer payment, you have to divulge all the information that someone needs to have full access to your bank account funds, including your bank name, routing number, and account number.

Stripe's invoicing tool lets you generate virtual bank account numbers when accepting wire transfers, protecting your private banking details. The wired funds are then added to your Stripe account and automatically transferred to your bank on the schedule you specify.

Stripe also offers the other features you need from invoicing software: Send one-off invoices; create recurring invoices; and accept card, ACH, and wire transfer payments. You can also save your customers' details to fill in that information automatically when creating an invoice, or customize your invoice with your own branding.

Stripe Price: Free for the Starter plan that includes unlimited one-off invoices and unlimited recurring invoices up to $1 million; from 0.4% fees on recurring charges after you exceed $1 million in lifetime recurring charges.
Stripe Payment Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for credit/debit card payments; from $8 per wire transfer payment; 0.8% with a $5 cap for ACH Direct Debit payments.

Automate Stripe with Zapier's Stripe integrations.

Square (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for businesses with point-of-sale and invoicing needs

If you collect payments from customers via both point-of-sale and invoicing, Square offers everything you need to bill all of your customers. Using Square's point-of-sale hardware and software, collect and process payments in person through a register or terminal or on a tablet or phone. You can email customers' receipts, collect tips, and charge sales tax.

Then, for your customers who receive invoices, you can log in to your Square dashboard to generate a new invoice. You can add predefined products/services to your invoice easily, or add each line item manually. Then, choose how to deliver the invoice, select the frequency if you want to set up recurring invoices, and add any necessary attachments.

All of your Square sales—both point-of-sale and invoiced—appear on your Square dashboard and in your reports, so you can keep a close eye on income from all sources. And if you need more than just payment processing, Square also offers time tracking, payroll, and customer loyalty programs; each additional service is purchased as a monthly subscription.

Square Price: Free for point-of-sale payment processing and invoicing.
Square Payment Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for credit/debit card payments made on invoices. Fees vary for point-of-sale payments.

Automate Square with Square's Zapier integrations.

Hiveage (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for building a simple PDF invoice without an account

Hiveage's Free Invoice Generator lets you create a quick invoice without even setting up an account. Open the tool, add your expense and client details, and generate a PDF invoice in minutes.

It's a great option if your clients require you to submit a PDF invoice instead of sending one directly from your invoicing or accounting software. You can't accept payments through the tool, but that's not an issue if your clients pay via direct deposit, check, or an online payments tool like PayPal that only requires your email address.

If you like the tool and want more features, a full Hiveage account will give you that same simple invoice builder plus tools to create estimates, store your client and product info, accept and track payments, and build reports off your data.

Hiveage Price: Free for the basic invoice builder; from $15/month for the Starter plan that includes two users, auto-billing profiles, and unlimited invoices, clients, and estimates.
Hiveage Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted with a premium Hiveage account are made through third-party apps like PayPal, Stripe, and Coinbase, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Hiveage with Hiveage's Zapier integrations.

Invoicera (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for seamlessly guiding you through account setup

Like Hiveage, Invoicera offers a free online invoice maker that doesn't require an account to use. It's a great way to create and send an invoice quickly—or to try out the tool and see if you like it.

However, where Invoicera stands out over Hiveage is that it also offers a free plan if you want to try out more features of the tool before committing to a monthly subscription. The Free Forever plan lets you send unlimited invoices to up to three active clients, as well as take advantage of features like estimates, multi-currency support, and automatic invoice scheduling.

As far as using the tool, Invoicera makes it as simple as possible. The first time you log in, you're prompted to add your company details, a client, and your products/services. Using those details, it automatically populates your first invoice for you. Next, click the Settings tab to enable your preferred payment gateways, and you're ready to send your invoice and get paid.

Invoicera Price: Free for the online invoice maker or the Free Forever plan that includes unlimited invoicing for up to three active clients; from $15/month for the Pro Edition plan that includes unlimited invoicing for up to 100 active clients.
Invoicera Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Invoicera are made through third-party apps like PayPal, Stripe, and Razorpay, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Zoho Invoice (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for sending paper invoices by snail mail

Zoho Invoice can automatically make invoices that match your company's brand and then mail them to your clients. After inputting your company details and selecting one of a handful of standard templates, you can quickly create invoices with a form that helps you add line items, taxes, and details.

Then, save the invoice to see all of your invoices in an email inbox-style layout. You can email or print the invoice on your own—or schedule it to be emailed later. Or, via the Snail Mail option hidden under the More menu, Zoho can print and mail your invoice inside the U.S. for $1.50, complete with a return envelope so customers can mail back their payment. It's a great way to automate invoicing even when you still need to use paper.

Zoho Invoice Price: Free for unlimited invoices, one user, and up to five customers; from $9/month for the Basic plan that includes unlimited invoices for one user and up to 50 customers.
Zoho Invoice Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Zoho Invoice are made through third-party apps like PayPal, Stripe, and Square, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Zoho Invoice with Zoho Invoice's Zapier integrations.

Harvest (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari)

Best invoicing software for turning tracked time into invoices

Harvest is built around time tracking. Using its mobile, web, desktop, or browser apps, you can track every minute of your work day—with Harvest automatically noticing when you're away. Select the client, project, and task you're working on to have the time automatically logged with the rest of your team's contributions. Snap photos of receipts from your phone to log expenses as well.

Each project will come with its own budget, so you can see how close your team is to shipping it—or if you're in danger of missing the mark. You can even see who's getting the most done and use past performance to predict how new projects will go. And, for the purposes of this roundup, you can bill clients for that time, with graphs to give you the big picture of how your team is performing. It's a great way for teams to collaborate around their time spent on tasks.

Harvest Price: Free for unlimited invoicing, one user, and two projects; $12/month per person for the Solo or Team plans that include unlimited invoicing and projects.
Harvest Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Harvest are made through either PayPal or Stripe, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Harvest with Harvest's Zapier integrations.

AND CO (Web, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for creating invoices and contracts

AND CO is an invoicing, time tracking, and task management app designed specifically for freelancers, and it offers pretty much everything you need to run and manage a freelance business. Build proposals, track time worked toward clients and projects, generate invoices quickly from your timesheets, and accept payments.

But AND CO offers one standout feature: It helps you build and send freelancing contracts to your clients. Using templates provided by the Freelancers Union, you can build standard contracts, customize them by turning clauses on and off, send them to clients, and even collect e-signatures.

AND CO's invoicing tool offers multiple options for creating invoices: Build invoices automatically from existing projects or proposals, create an invoice for a new project, or build a one-off invoice without saving client or project details. You can also choose from a wide variety of billing types for each line item you add, including flat fee, per hour, per word, and more.

AND CO Price: Free
AND CO Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through AND CO are made through WePay, Stripe, or PayPal, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate AND CO with ANDCO's Zapier integrations.

Xero (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for detailed invoicing and accounting

Invoices are how your company gets paid for work—but they're only a part of your accounting workflow. Xero helps you manage everything together, with an invoice tool alongside inventory tracking, payroll, bill paying, expense reports, and bank account reconciliation to track where every dollar goes and comes from.

If you've ever built an invoice in a spreadsheet, you'll feel right at home in Xero's invoice builder. You can list products and services in a spreadsheet-style grid—or populate the fields automatically with your saved products. Then, once you've sent off the invoice, Xero can watch your bank account for payments, tracking them alongside your expenses and the rest of your business accounting.

Xero Price: From $9/month for the Early plan that includes five invoices and quotes per month and reconciliation of up to 20 bank transactions.
Xero Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Xero are made through third-party apps like PayPal, Stripe, and Square, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Xero with Xero's Zapier integrations.

FreshBooks (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for simple accounting with invoicing

If you need more accounting tools than your basic invoicing software provides but fewer than a robust accounting tool like Xero or QuickBooks, FreshBooks may be right for you. FreshBooks lets you create projects, track time, log expenses, create estimates, and pull detailed reports—all in addition to simple invoicing and collecting payments.

FreshBooks offers one of the freshest ways to look at your team's work. Log in, and you'll see your team's revenue and profit, along with other basic reports on the dashboard in bright colors and bold fonts. That same fun, info-driven design is present throughout the app. The Invoices tab shows your outstanding, draft, and overdue payments right at the top, with recently updated invoices underneath so you can get right to work on them.

Building new invoices is quick, too. You'll see the invoice page preview, where you can edit the details, switch up the theme in a couple clicks, or pull in tracked time and expenses for each client. And speaking of expenses, FreshBooks can connect to your company bank account and pull in business expenses automatically, making it easier to bill your customers and figure out your total expenses at tax time.

FreshBooks Price: From $15/month for the Lite plan that includes up to five clients, unlimited invoices and estimates, and payment processing.
FreshBooks Payment Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for credit/debit card payments through FreshBooks Payments. Payments accepted through Stripe are subject to Stripe's transaction fees.

Automate FreshBooks with FreshBook's Zapier integrations.

QuickBooks Online (Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for low-cost payment processing

QuickBooks Online is one of the best known accounting apps. But it's not only for tracking your expenses and income; it's also a great tool to make invoices and accept payments.

QuickBooks Online offers plans for both freelancers and small businesses. Its Self-Employed plan is designed for freelancers and other one-person companies, and it includes simple invoicing and payments as well as transaction tracking, expense tracking, and tax estimation.

QuickBooks Online plans for small businesses include all of the Self-Employed features plus sales and sales tax tracking for businesses that sell products online. And for an additional monthly cost, you can add self-managed or full-service payroll.

In addition to helping you create invoices, accept payments, and manage your expenses, QuickBooks offers some of the lowest fees of any payment processing tool on this list. Per-transaction fees are $0.05 less than most other payment gateways, and you can accept ACH bank transfers without incurring any processing fees. You can even disable credit card payments when creating invoices to ensure you aren't charged fees when clients pay.

QuickBooks Price: $10/month for QuickBooks Self-Employed that includes invoicing, payment processing, and accounting tools for one-person companies; from $20/month for the Simple Start plan that includes invoicing, payment processing, and sales and sales tax tracking.
QuickBooks Payment Processing Fees: 2.9% + $0.25 per transaction for credit/debit card payments on invoices. Free for bank transfers (ACH).

Automate QuickBooks with QuickBooks' Zapier integrations.

Invoicely (Web)

Best invoicing software for simple, free invoicing in any currency

Invoicely—formerly Invoice Bubble, then Invoiceable—has a long history of offering one of the best free online invoicing apps. Sign up and skip the paid plans, and you can create unlimited invoices in multiple currencies for free.

You'll add your client and list charges—including tax rates, shipping charges, and discounts, if applicable—to a simple invoice template. You can create invoices in multiple languages, add your company's logo, and add standard notes and footer text to your invoices.

Then, add details and send the invoice via email or PDF to your clients. If you set up a payment integration with PayPal, Stripe, or another third-party payment processor, your clients can pay you from the invoice, too. Back in Invoicely, you'll see all your invoices and payments—along with tools for estimates, time tracking, and team invoice management if you want to upgrade.

Invoicely Price: Free for one user, unlimited invoices, and PayPal payments; from $9.99/month for the Basic plan for two users, estimates, recurring invoices, custom branding, and integration with multiple third-party payment options.
Invoicely Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Invoicely are made through third-party apps like PayPal, Stripe, and WePay, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Invoice Ninja (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for lots of choice in payment gateways

Invoice Ninja makes it easy to build an invoicing workflow that suits your team. Add clients, list the tasks you need to do, and assign those to your team. Track how long each of those tasks take, and log the expenses incurred to the client's project.

When everything's done, Invoice Ninja can combine all those items into an invoice automatically, complete with your company's custom template design that you can hand code. Clients can view all of their invoices and payments online, with a password for extra security instead of just the standard hard-to-guess URL.

Invoice Ninja connects with more than 40 payment gateways—like PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net—so you can use your preferred payment processor. And if you really want everything in house, you can self-host the open source version of Invoice Ninja for the same great features and even more customization.

Invoice Ninja Price: Free for unlimited invoices and 100 clients, or free self-hosted InvoiceNinja; from $8/month for Ninja Pro for unlimited clients and quotes and custom URL and branding.
Invoice Ninja Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Invoice Ninja are made through third-party apps like PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Invoice Ninja with Invoice Ninja's Zapier integrations.

Avaza (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for combined invoicing and project management

Avaza is a project management tool that can also send invoices. It's built around task management, with a Kanban board to organize tasks into workflows and a My Tasks view to use as a personal to-do list.

When you bring on a new client, you can send them a project estimate from Avaza, then convert that to a project and assign tasks to your team. Once you're finished, you can add all the unbilled task time and expenses to your clients' invoices in a couple clicks. It's a great way to streamline your projects and payments together.

Avaza Price: Free for one timesheet user, up to 10 customers, and five invoices/month; from $9.95/month for the Startup plan that includes two users, up to 50 invoices/month, and unlimited customers.
Avaza Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Avaza are made through either PayPal or Stripe, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Avaza with Avaza's Zapier integrations.

Ronin (Web)

Best invoicing software for combined estimating and invoicing

If you need to send your clients an estimate of the project's costs before you start work, Ronin can handle that for you. Start by adding your clients and team to the app, and list the projects for each client. You can then send am estimate of the project cost to the client to get their approval before starting work.

Then, break the project down into tasks, assign them to your team, and have everyone track time the time they spend online or with Ronin's iOS or Android timer apps. Your client and team will each have their own profile, where they can see completed work and invoices or assigned tasks, respectively. And when it's all done, invoicing for the finished work only takes a couple clicks.

Ronin Price: Free for unlimited invoices, two clients, and one user; from $15/month for the Solo plan that includes 30 clients and one user.
Ronin Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Ronin are made through PayPal, Stripe, or Authorize.net, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Ronin with Ronin's Zapier integrations.

Invoice2go (Web, iOS, Android)

Best invoicing software for quickly building an invoice template

Logo. Color. Layout. Those are the main things you need to tweak for a customized invoice design—exactly what Invoice2go focuses on. The first time you use it, Invoice2go walks you through picking each one, with built-in simple icon designs if you don't already have a logo.

Add your standard invoice items, preview the finished invoice layout, and send it along to your customers via email. They'll see the invoice formatted to look perfect in an email, along with a full page preview online where they can pay. It's a quick way to bill for your services with professional, customized invoices.

Invoice2go Price: From $9.99/month for the Standard plan that includes one user, up to 200 invoices and estimates, and up to 25 clients.
Invoice2go Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Invoice2go are made through Stripe or PayPal. Transaction fees for users on Invoice2go's Standard plan are 3.4% + $0.30 per transaction.

Billings Pro (macOS, iOS)

Best invoicing software for businesses that collect check payments on-site

Web apps are great because they work on any device—and often are simpler to use than their desktop app counterparts. But Billings Pro reminds you where native apps can shine. Its invoice designer makes it simple to build a custom template for your invoices, with adjustable gridlines, section layouts, and any font that's installed on your device.

You can then quickly build those invoices after tracking the time you spend on tasks and related project expenses with Billing Pro's desktop, tablet, or mobile apps. Or, quickly send a routine invoice with Blueprints: customized templates with the product and service details already filled in.

The one downside of Billings Pro is that it doesn't allow you to accept payments from invoices. However, if you work in a service business where you primarily accept payments on-site by check, it's a great way to generate an invoice instantly on an iPad or iPhone, email it to your customer, and collect a check for the total before leaving.

Billings Pro Price: $5/month for the Freelance plan that includes five invoices, estimates, and statements per month; $10/month per user for the Professional plan that includes unlimited invoices, estimates, and statements.

Pancake (Web)

Best invoicing software for self-hosted simple invoicing

Pancake is an easy-to-use time tracking and invoice app that you can run on your own servers—which means there's no subscription fee. With a one-time fee, you can buy a copy of Pancake and even get free assistance with installing it on your server. You can also customize its theme to fit your branding for a consistent experience when clients visit your site to pay their bills.

Your team can then track their work, send estimates and invoices to customers, and even manage support tickets—all from the same app. Clients can log in to see their ongoing projects, the tasks your team is doing for them, and their payments. It's a great way to build a customized workflow for your clients that fits into the rest of your site.

Pancake Price: One-time payment of $179 for a Pancake 4 license and free installation assistance.
Pancake Payment Processing Fees: Payments accepted through Pancake are made through third-party apps like PayPal and Stripe, so transaction fees vary based on the terms of your selected payment gateway.

Automate Your Invoicing Software

Now that you've picked out an invoicing app, it's time to fit it into your workflow. Using automation tool Zapier, you can connect many of the tools in this roundup to more than 1,000 other apps—including software you already use like Gmail, Slack, Trello, and much more.

Here are a few popular use cases to inspire you:

Create invoices automatically

Invoicing software lets you build new invoices quickly, but Zapier can make it even quicker. With automations like these, you can build invoices automatically from spreadsheets, projects, sales, and more.

Create tasks and get work done

Whether you've recently added a new client, started on a new project, or billed someone for work, you'll need to keep track of everything going on. If you already have a favorite way of tracking tasks, Zapier can create new to-dos and projects from your clients and invoices automatically.

Make companion documents for clients

Need to send contracts, project details, or other template documents to your clients along with your invoice? Zapier's WebMerge automations can help, creating new documents automatically for new customers and invoices.

Add customers to a mailing list

If you stay in touch with your customers long after your job is done, it might lead to them hiring you for a new job. Connect your invoice app to your mailing list to add new customers to a list or to put those you've invoiced in a special list.

Your team shouldn't have to take time away from their core tasks to make invoices. The simplest tools like PayPal and Hiveage will let you make a quick invoice for free in a minute flat. The most advanced tools like Xero and QuickBooks Online will fit invoicing into your accounting workflow for one place to manage all of your funds. And for everything else—time tracking, beautifully designed invoices, and project management—there's invoicing software to fit every need.

source https://zapier.com/blog/best-invoicing-software/

Vincent's Reviews

Tuesday 1 January 2019

The Best Invoicing Software: 19 Apps to Get Paid for Your Work