8 Best Small Business Invoicing Software in 2021
Invoicing software that is best for small businesses allows you to quickly create custom invoices and receive payments faster. Consider whether a comprehensive small-business accounting software that includes an invoicing function might be better before you invest in specialized invoicing software. You can give your customers’ invoices a customized look with specialized invoicing software than you would with general bookkeeping software.
Small Business Invoicing Software: Best invoicing Software
- FreshBooks – Best overall invoicing software
- QuickBooks Online: The best invoicing software to collect sales tax from multiple states
- Invoicera – The best stand-alone invoice software
- The Invoice Ninja is the best free, full-featured invoice software
- ZipBooks – The best free, easy-to-use software to create simple invoices
- Square invoices – Best free invoicing software for credit card processing
- Self-Employed : The best invoicing software for freelancers or solopreneurs
- TimeTracker – Best invoicing software to professional service companies
FreshBooks is the Best Overall Invoicing Software
FreshBooks is now a complete bookkeeping system. However, it was originally designed to create professional-looking invoices. FreshBooks maintains its focus on invoicing and adds features such as the ability to track hours, assign them to invoices, and more. No credit card is required to begin a 30-day trial.
What We Like
- Produce professional invoices
- Invoices should be adjusted for time and expense
- Keep track of outstanding invoices
What’s missing?
- Additional users may be charged an additional fee
- Fewer clients with less expensive plans
- Invoicing is more expensive than other options
Plans & Pricing
For new users, you can get a 30-day trial free of charge or a 60% discount for six months.
- Lite: $15/month for one user and five clients facturable
- Plus:$25 a month for one user, 50 billable customers
- Premium: $50/month for one user with unlimited billable clients
Any plan can be extended to include additional users for $10 per month
Our Expert Opinion
FreshBooks not only has great looking invoices but also all the features you would expect from a complete bookkeeping system. FreshBooks allows online payments and calculates late fees automatically. It also creates recurring invoices and prints a list with outstanding invoices. FreshBooks can connect to your bank to import transactions and reconcile bank accounts and credit cards. It also prints basic financial statements such as a balance sheet or profit and loss statement.
QuickBooks Online: The Best Invoicing Software to Collect Sales Tax from Multiple States
QuickBooks Online is our choice for Best Small Business Accounting Software because of its outstanding invoicing capabilities. It calculates the sales tax rate to be applied to your invoice automatically, unlike any other bookkeeping software that we have reviewed. It tracks sales tax by jurisdiction and assists you in filing most required returns. QuickBooks Online is available for free for 30 days. No credit card required.
What We Like
- Calculates the sales tax rate based upon customer address
- Integration of invoicing with the most popular small business accounting system
- All plans include unlimited customers
What’s missing?
- Small businesses find it expensive
- Limits the number users per plan
- You cannot contact customer support directly by phone.
Plans & Pricing
All new users get 50% off your first three months, or a 30-day trial for no cost.
- Simple Start $25 per month, for one user. This includes all sales tax features
- Essentials $50 per month for three people, which includes the ability add time and expenses onto invoices
- Plus $80 per user, plus the ability to track inventory
- Advanced $180 per Month for 25 Users
Our Expert Opinion
QuickBooks Online may be all you need if you only want to send invoices. There are many benefits to invoicing using a complete bookkeeping system. QuickBooks Online, for example, allows you to bill expenses and reminds you to add them later to your invoices. This helps to avoid missed billing opportunities by linking expenses that are billed to actual expenses paid. In QuickBooks Online, you can track employee time, which is similar to the information used for producing payroll.
QuickBooks Online can create advanced invoices for almost any industry. Construction companies can create invoices from estimates by simply entering the percent of the project complete. Invoices can be created in batches by companies that bill customers for the same amount. Customers who subscribe to services can also create recurring invoices.
Invoicera is the best stand-alone invoicing software
Invoicera integrates accounts receivable management (sending invoices), and accounts payable management (receiving invoicing) into one dashboard. Invoicera is not a complete accounting system. Instead, it focuses on the two most important aspects of your business: collecting money from customers and paying vendors. Invoicera is free for 15 days.
What We Like
- Keep track of both receivables as well as payables
- 100% customizable invoices using XHTML
- Track time and expenses of staff by project and add them to invoices
What’s missing?
- Unlimited customers are more expensive than other options.
- Additional users will require the Business plan
- It does not integrate with accounting software
Plans & Pricing
For 14 days, new users can test any plan for free.
- Starter: For three clients and one administrator
- Pro: $15/month for 100 clients, one administrator user and one staff user
- Business: $29 a month for 1,000 clients, one administrator user and 10 staff users
- Infinite $149 per Month for Unlimited Clients and Unlimited Users
Our Expert Opinion
Invoicera can be used as a standalone invoicing tool. Invoicera lets you set up staff, track expenses and time by project and then add them as invoices. You can upload your logo to choose from seven templates. If you are proficient in XHTML, it is possible to create a unique template for your company.
Invoicera does not integrate with any accounting software and doesn’t provide any accounting functions beyond A/R or A/P management. For example, Invoicera won’t automatically match the hours spent to create your payroll. This could lead to missed billing opportunities. Invoicera expenses will not always be equal to expenses on your financial statements. Invoicera can be used as a standalone system. However, I would recommend that you integrate your invoicing system with your accounting system.
Invoice Ninja: The Best Full-Featured Free Invoicing Software
Invoice Ninja‘s Free Plan is a great way to get started with your invoicing. You can upgrade to a paid plan as your business grows. Forever Free plans include many features that are not available in more expensive plans, such as customizable invoices and recurring invoices, product library and customer portal, and product and item libraries. The free plan is easy to set up.
What We Like
- Free plan for up to 100 customers
- Unlimited invoices, quotations, and proposals
- Dashboard displays current period activity and outstanding balances
What’s missing?
- Enterprise plans required for more than one user
- The free plan does not include reports
- To add logo to invoices, customization is only possible.
Plans & Pricing
- Unlimited Free: Unlimited free for one user, includes all invoicing features up to 100 customers
- Ninja Pro: $10 a month for one user, unlimited customers
- Enterprise: $44 to $44 per Month for one to twenty users
Our Expert Opinion
Invoice Ninja’s Forever Free Plan is large enough for small businesses to manage. It allows unlimited invoices and quotes to up to 100 customers. With just a few clicks, you can create proposals and quotes and then convert them into invoices. You can email recurring invoices at any time you want. Invoice Ninja uses a product list and an item list similar to expensive software. This list can be quickly added to invoices to save time once it is set up.
The Forever Free plan lacks reports. This is a major flaw. You can still view the dashboard in Forever Free which shows the activity for the current period and any outstanding balances.
ZipBooks: The Best Free Software to Create Simple Invoices
It’s easy to create invoices using ZipBooks. ZipBooks allows you to customize a template with your logo, and then enter your sales information. Although not as customizable as other software, ZipBooks invoices are attractive and make a great first impression on your customers. ZipBooks is free and allows you to send invoices to unlimited customers.
What We Like
- It is very simple to create invoices
- Unlimited customers can get the free plan
- Report on accounts receivables shows unpaid invoices
What’s missing?
- You can only customize your free plan invoices
- The free plan does not save products or services for future invoices
- One user is included in the free plan
Plans & Pricing
- Starter: Unlimited
- Smarter: $15 per month for five users
- Sophisticated $35 per Month for Unlimited Users
Our Expert Opinion
ZipBooks does not require any special setup to create or send invoices. Invoice templates are easy to use. You can upload your logo and type in your products and services. Then, you can send your invoice. You’ll have to enter the description each time you create an invoice. To save item descriptions, upgrade to Smarter if you send many invoices.
Square Invoices: The Best Free Invoicing Software from a Merchant Services Account
Square invoices is an online merchant service provider that charges no monthly fees. This makes it a great option if you process less than $10,000 in credit card transactions per month. Invoicing software is included in your Square account.
What We Like
- Software for free invoicing
- Processing of ACH and credit cards with no monthly fees
- It is easy to set up
What’s missing?
- Basic invoicing features can’t track time or expenses
- Companies with over $10,000 monthly transactions are likely to find a credit card processor that is cheaper
Plans & Pricing
Invoicing and payment processing are free. Processing fees for credit cards start at 2.9% plus 30c per transaction. ACH processing fees are 1% plus a $1 minimum transaction fee.
Our Expert Opinion
Square provides a simple way to keep your life easy by invoicing through your credit card processor. It offers the best invoicing features and affordable rates for small businesses. Square Payments is not as robust as accounting and standalone invoicing options but it does allow you to create, track, and send invoices online. You can also set up automatic payments reminders or recurring billing.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is the best invoicing software for solopreneurs and freelancers
QuickBooks Self Employed is a simple accounting program for self-employed people. It allows you to easily track your income and expenses. You can also calculate your quarterly estimated taxes payments. TurboTax will even transfer your income information to TurboBooks to prepare your tax return. Start a free 30-day trial without revealing credit card information.
What We Like
- Invoicing is simple and easy to use
- Keep track of income and expenses
- TurboTax will transfer Schedule C information
What’s missing?
- It doesn’t save customer, product or service information to be used on future invoices
- A balance sheet report cannot be produced by a single-entry accounting system
- You cannot upgrade to QuickBooks Online in any other version
Plans & Pricing
Each plan is limited to one user. You can also share your books with an accountant.
- Self-Employed: $15 per month
- Self-Employed Tax Bundle: $25 per month includes TurboTax
- 35 per month for Self-Employed Tax Bundle. This includes unlimited help from TurboTax tax experts as you prepare your tax return.
Check out our review of QuickBooks Self-Employed
Our Expert Opinion
QuickBooks Self-Employed is not recommended if you only want to invoice features. The program is user-friendly, and allows self-employed people to keep track of their expenses and file tax returns. QuickBooks Self-Employed’s invoices will be sufficient for self-employed people.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is a great tool to track income and expenses. However, if your self-employed company sends a lot of invoices, QuickBooks Self-Employed may not be the best software. I recommend standalone invoicing software.
TimeTracker: The Best Invoicing Software For Professional Service Companies
TimeTracker provides lawyers, engineers, accountants, and other professional services firms with an integrated invoicing solution that includes powerful features to track your time. These functions can be combined for professional service firms as billable hours will be the main item on your invoices. TimeTracker allows you to try it for 14 days without the need of a credit card.
What We Like
- Hours written off vs. invoiced
- Features like facial recognition and GPS tracking for employee management
- Includes client portal
What’s missing?
- Firms with many employees are more expensive
- Invoices may not be as beautiful as other options.
- No integrated accounting software
Plans & Pricing
- Billing: $20 per month plus $10 per month per user
- Legal: $20 per month plus $15 per month per user
Our Expert Opinion
TimeTracker is an invoicing system that is unique. It is built around a time-tracking method, making it ideal for businesses where invoicing and time tracking go hand in hand. TimeTracker is unique in that it tracks the billable hours that have been written off. The billable realization report tracks the hours that were invoiced and those that have been written off. This is an important report that can be used to measure the productivity of your staff and determine the profitability of your company.
These are some of the most important features to keep in mind when choosing your invoicing software
- Create custom invoices: You should be able make your invoices stand out with the colors and logo of your company.
- Email invoices Invoices can be sent to the program without leaving it.
- Accept electronic payments:Allow your customers to pay electronically immediately after receiving their invoice.
- Add expenses If your company passes on expenses to customers, the invoice program should keep track of them and allow you add them to your invoice in just a few clicks.
- Create recurring invoices for your business. Choose a program that generates these invoices automatically if you bill customers a fixed amount each month.
- Track unpaid bills: You will need to be capable of reviewing a list or A/R of unpaid invoices to identify customers who may need to contact you. A few software programs have an advanced feature that automatically sends reminder emails to customers who have overdue invoices.
Bottom line
There are many options for invoicing that you can choose from if you are unhappy with your bookkeeping software’s invoicing functionality. How you use the software will determine its effectiveness. Make sure you email invoices as often as possible and offer a way for customers to pay electronically.