The 8 Best Invoicing Software for Freelancers

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Invoicing software is a tool that helps freelancers create and send invoices to their clients, track payments, manage expenses, and more. It can save time, money, and hassle for freelancers who need to handle their own accounting and billing.

But how do you choose the best invoicing software for your freelance business?

There are many factors to consider, such as features, pricing, ease of use, customer support, etc.

Here’s a list of the best freelance invoicing software that we reviewed:

In this review, we will compare some of the most popular invoicing software options for freelancers and help you find the one that suits your needs best.

1. FreshBooks: A powerful invoicing and accounting software

FreshBooks is a software that helps small businesses and freelancers create and send invoices, manage expenses, track time, accept payments, and more. It is designed to make invoicing and accounting easy and professional by offering various features and integrations.

Features

FreshBooks’ best features for freelancers are:

• One-click document generation: You can create professional-looking invoices, estimates, and proposals with just a few clicks.
• Time tracking: You can track your time spent on projects and tasks and automatically add them to your invoices.
• Online payments: You can accept payments online through various methods, such as credit cards, PayPal, Stripe and more. You can also automate recurring billing and charge late fees for overdue invoices.
• Multi-currency invoicing: You can bill your clients in their local currency and get paid in yours without any hassle.
• Customizable invoice messages: You can personalize your invoice messages with your own branding, logo, terms, and thank you notes

Benefits

Some of the benefits of using FreshBooks are:

• Integrated financial management: You can handle invoices, expenses, reports and payments on the same platform.
• Simple and clear interface: You can easily navigate and use FreshBooks without any hassle or confusion.
• Strong reporting: You can generate detailed and customizable reports on your income, expenses, taxes, and more with FreshBooks and get insights for making better decisions

Read our full FreshBooks review here.

Pricing

FreshBooks has four pricing plans to suit different needs

• Lite plan ($17/month): This plan includes unlimited invoices, unlimited estimates (with 2.9% + 30¢ fee per transaction), unlimited expense tracking, time tracking & projects, and up to five billable clients.
• Plus plan ($30/month): This plan includes everything in the Lite plan plus bill management & payment, advanced reports & insights, and up to 50 billable clients.
• Premium plan ($55/month): This plan includes everything in the Plus plan plus custom functionality & workflows, and unlimited clients.
• Select plan ($Custom): This plan includes everything in the Premium plan plus a dedicated account manager & support team.

Support

FreshBooks offers customer support by phone, email, and online chat. They have different toll-free numbers for different regions and countries12. Their support hours are Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

FreshBooks has a YouTube channel where they host their current webinars on various topics such as getting started, invoicing, expenses, reports, and more. You can also sign up for future webinars on their website.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Intuitive and easy to use interface
• Affordable prices at a lower tier
• Double-entry accounting reports feature

Cons

• Limits on users and clients per plan
• Higher fees for additional users and clients
• Ideal solution for small enterprises only

Try FreshBooks today

2. Bonsai: For all types of freelancers

Bonsai is software that helps freelancers manage their finances, contracts, proposals, projects, and more. It is designed to save time and get paid faster by automating invoicing, banking, accounting, and tax preparation.

Features

Bonsai has several features that help with different parts of being a freelancer. Some of the main features are:

• Invoicing: Create and send professional invoices in seconds, accept payments from various methods (including credit cards), send automatic reminders and late fees, track payments and expenses, and sync with accounting software.
• Banking: Open a dedicated account and card for all business expenses, get FDIC-insured up to $250,000, access instant payouts and cashback rewards, and manage your cash flow with smart insights.
• Accounting: Generate income statements, balance sheets, tax reports, and 1099 forms, categorize transactions automatically or manually, and integrate with popular accounting tools like QuickBooks.
• Contracts: Create and send legally binding contracts in minutes using templates or customizing your own terms. Get signatures online or via email. Track contract status and revisions.
• Proposals: Create and send stunning proposals that showcase your work and value proposition. Track proposal views and conversions.

Benefits

Bonsai has many advantages over other software or manual methods for freelancers. Some of them are:

• It simplifies invoicing as you can charge your customer the credit card processing fees, saving you money on transaction costs.
• It streamlines banking by providing you with a separate account and card for your business expenses, making it easier to track your income and spending.
• It simplifies accounting by generating reports and forms automatically based on your transactions, saving you time on bookkeeping and tax preparation.
• It protects you legally by providing you with templates of contracts that are compliant with local laws, reducing the risk of disputes or lawsuits.
• It helps you win more clients by providing you with tools to create impressive proposals that highlight your skills, increasing your conversion rate.

Pricing

Bonsai has three pricing plans to suit different needs:

• Starter plan ($24/month): This plan includes clients, unlimited projects, time-tracking, client CRM, expense tracking, reporting & analytics.
• Plus plan ($39/month): This plan includes everything in the Starter plan plus workflow automations, Client Portal, QuickBooks integration, and custom branding.
• Premium plan ($79/month): This plan includes everything in the Plus plan and hiring agreement templates, subcontractor management, multiple bank connections, and unlimited project collaborators.

Support

Bonsai offers a help center, where you can quickly find clearly explained articles related to various topics on Bonsai.

There’s also a live chat support function so that you can get in touch with the support team directly in real time. Plus, if you prefer email, the Bonsai team is available via email at [email protected].

Pros and Cons

Pros

• easy to use and user-friendly,
• automates many tasks that would otherwise take a lot of time,
• integrates well with other tools like Zapier
• great free plan

Cons

• no phone support or live webinars for training
• simple automations compared to some other invoice software

Try Bonsai for free

3. Sage: A smart invoicing software for small businesses

Sage is a software that helps small businesses create and send personalized invoices, track payments, and expenses, manage taxes, and more. It is designed to make invoicing fast, secure, and seamless by offering various features and integrations.

Features

• Invoicing tracking: Sage lets you organize and automate invoice tracking, making it easy to track payments, create invoices with automated payment links, manage taxes, and more
• Accounting: Create financial reports like income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, etc. Categorise transactions automatically or manually.
• Expenses: Sync with your bank accounts with Sage Accounting. Import transactions automatically and get an accurate, real-time view of your accounts.

Benefits

Sage’s top advantages are:

• Easy invoicing
• Multiple payment options
• It keeps you compliant by calculating sales tax accurately
• It offers cloud-based access to your data from any device.

Pricing

Sage has two pricing plans to suit different needs:

• Accounting Start plan ($10/month): This plan includes invoices, estimates, expense tracking, sales tax tracking & filing, and income & expense reports.
• Accounting plan ($25/month): This plan includes everything in the Accounting Start plan plus bill management & payment, time tracking by project or client, unlimited user access & permissions.

Support

Sage offers various options for customer support, such as:

• Phone: You can call their toll-free number (for US customers) or visit their website to find the phone number for your country.
• Email: You can email them at [email protected] or use their online form to submit a request.
• Website and chat: You can visit their website and access their resource center, where you can find articles, videos, webinars, tutorials, and more. You can also chat with a support agent online.

Pros and Cons

Sage invoicing is a feature that allows you to create, send and track invoices automatically to improve your accounting process and cash flow. Some of the pros and cons of using Sage invoicing are:

Pros

• Low price: Sage invoicing is included in all Sage Business Cloud Accounting plans, which start from $10 per month.
•  Easy to use: Sage invoicing has a simple and intuitive interface that lets you create invoices quickly and easily.
•  Customizable: You can choose from nine different invoice templates and add your own logo, colors, headings and footer details.

Cons

•  Basic plan: The cheapest plan only allows you to create up to five invoices per month. If you need more, you have to upgrade to a higher plan.

Try Sage for free

4. Quickbooks: A popular invoicing and accounting software

Quickbooks is a software that helps small businesses and freelancers create and send professional invoices, track payments, and expenses, manage taxes, and more. It is designed to make invoicing and accounting easy and fast by automating various tasks and integrating them with other tools.

Features

Quickbooks has different features for different parts of invoicing and accounting. Some of the main features are:

• Invoicing: Create and send customized invoices with your logo, terms, and payment options. Accept payments from various methods (including credit card payments, bank transfers, PayPal, etc.). Send automatic payment reminders and late fees. Track invoice status and history.
• Accounting: Generate financial reports like income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, etc. Categorize transactions automatically or manually. Connect with your bank accounts and credit cards. Track sales tax and file returns.
• Expenses: Capture receipts with your phone camera or email. Track mileage with GPS or manual entry. Categorize expenses by project or client.
• Projects: Create projects for each client or job. Track time, expenses, invoices, payments, profitability, etc. Collaborate with your team members or contractors. Set budgets and deadlines.

Benefits

Quickbooks’ main benefits are:

• It saves time by automating invoicing and accounting tasks
• It integrates well with other tools like TSheets (for time tracking), and Expensify (for expense tracking)
• It helps you get paid faster by offering multiple payment options

Pricing

Quickbooks has four pricing plans to suit different needs:

• Simple Start plan ($30/month): This plan includes invoices, unlimited estimates, expense tracking, sales tax tracking & filing, and income & expense reports.
• Essentials plan ($55/month): This plan includes everything in the Simple Start plan plus bill management & payment (with no fees), time tracking by project or client, 3 user access & permissions.
• Plus plan ($85/month): This plan includes everything in the Essentials plan plus project profitability tracking & reports, inventory tracking & reports, and multiple users access & permissions (up to five users).
• Advanced plan ($200/month): This plan includes everything in the Plus plan plus custom user roles & permissions (up to twenty-five users), advanced reporting & analytics, and batch invoicing & expenses.

Support

Get in touch with support using:

• Help Center: A collection of articles that answer common questions about using Quickbooks’ features
• Chat Support: A live chat option that connects users with Quickbooks’ support team
• Phone Support: A phone number that users can call for any issues or inquiries

Quickbooks also how-to tutorials, plus useful tools like a sales tax calculator

Pros and Cons

This online invoicing software has many strengths but also some weaknesses based on user reviews.

Pros

• Quickbooks is easy to use and user-friendly
• Quickbooks offers comprehensive features that cover most aspects of invoicing and accounting
• Quickbooks syncs well with your bank accounts and credit cards,
• Quickbooks has a large customer base and a reputable brand name.

Cons

• Quickbooks can be expensive compared to other software
• Quickbooks can be complex for some users who need simpler solutions

5. Wave: An all-round invoicing and accounting software

Wave is a free invoicing software that comes with accounting, invoicing, payroll, and online payment processing for small businesses. It was founded in 2010 and has over 4 million users worldwide. Wave Financial is ideal for freelancers, solopreneurs, consultants, and other service-based businesses that need a simple and affordable way to manage their finances.

Features

Wave’s best features include:

• Accounting: You can track your income and expenses, connect your bank accounts and credit cards, and generate reports such as balance sheets, income statements, etc.
• Invoicing: You can create professional invoices with your own logo and branding. You can also send reminders, and accept online payments via credit card or bank transfer.
• Payroll: You can pay your employees or contractors with direct deposit or check. You can also handle taxes, deductions etc.
• Payments: You can accept online payments from your customers via credit card or bank transfer. You can also track payment status and fees etc.

Benefits

Some of the benefits of using Wave Financial are:

• Free: Wave Financial does not charge any monthly fees for its accounting and invoicing features. It only charges transaction fees for online payments and payroll fees ($40 per month plus $6 per employee/contractor)

• Easy to use: Wave Financial has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to set up and use. It also has a mobile app that lets you manage your finances on the go.
• Secure: Wave Financial uses encryption, SSL certificates, etc. to protect your data. It also complies with PCI-DSS standards for online payments

Pros and cons

Pros

• Free accounting and invoicing features
• Easy-to-use interface
• Secure data protection
• Multiple currency support

Cons

• Limited customization options
• No inventory management
• No phone support

Try out Wave for free

6. Square Invoices: Best free invoicing software

Square Invoices is a software that helps freelancers create and send invoices, estimates, and receipts, track payments and reminders and manage their cash flow from one place. It is designed to make invoicing easy and fast by offering various features and integrations.

Features

Square Invoices offers a range of features that cater to different aspects of invoicing. Some of the main features are:

• Invoicing: Invoice clients with industry-based templates available. Send automatic reminders and late fees. Track invoice status and history.
• Estimates: Create and send professional estimates with your logo, terms, and payment options. Convert estimates to invoices with one click. Track estimate status and history.
• Receipts: Create and send digital receipts with your logo, contact details, and payment options. Request feedback from customers via receipts. Track receipt status and history.
• Payments: Accept payments from any device (including mobile phones) using Square’s card reader or app. Record any type of payment (including cash, cheque, gift card, etc.). Sync payments with your invoices automatically.

Benefits

There are many reasons why freelancers should use this invoicing tool. Some of them are:

• It is free to use and send unlimited invoices
• It offers real-time reporting of your sales data
• It offers invoice templates for many industries

Pricing

Square Invoices is free to use for unlimited invoices. However, it charges a fee for each transaction processed through its platform. The fee varies depending on the payment method:

• 2.9% + 30¢ (online card payment)
• 2.6% + 10¢ (in-person card payment)
• 1% with minimum fee of $1 (online ACH payment)
• 6% + 30¢ (per card payment with Afterpay)

There’s also a paid plan ($20/month) that gives access to custom templates, auto conversion of estimates and expenses, and custom fields support for invoices, among other features.

Support

Get in touch with Square Invoices team by:

1. Help Center: A collection of articles that answer common questions about using Square Invoices’ features
2. Chat Support: A live chat option that connects users with Square’s support team
3. Phone Support: A phone number that users can call for any issues or inquiries
4. Community Forum: A platform where users can interact with other business owners who use Square

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Square Invoices is easy to use and user-friendly
• No monthly fees: Square Invoices does not charge any subscription or setup fees. You only pay a transaction fee when you receive a payment
• Square Invoices offers comprehensive features that cover most aspects of invoicing,
• Square Invoices syncs well with other Square products

Cons:

• High transaction fees: Square Invoices charges 2.9% plus 30 cents for cards or 1% with a minimum of $1 per transaction for ACH transfers. These fees are higher than some competitors like PayPal or Stripe.
• Account stability issues: Some users complain that Square may hold or freeze their funds without warning or explanation. This can cause cash flow problems and frustration for some merchants

7. Fiverr Workspace: Great for freelancers who want to work smarter

Fiverr Workspace is a business management and invoicing software designed to help freelancers, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, studios, and so on, save time on running their businesses. It was formerly known as AND.CO and was acquired by Fiverr in 2018.

Fiverr Workspace is ideal for anyone who offers services online and needs a simple and powerful tool to manage their projects, clients, invoices, payments, and more.

Features

Fiverr Workspace invoicing system stands out for:

•  Invoicing: You can create professional and customized invoices with your own logo and branding. You can also collect deposits before starting work, accept credit cards, ACH, and PayPal payments, track invoice status and send reminders.
•  Payments: You can get paid faster with Fiverr Workspace’s payment system that supports multiple currencies and payment methods. You can also set up recurring payments for regular clients or subscriptions.
•  Proposal Writing: You can create stunning proposals that showcase your skills and services. You can also add contracts to your proposals to protect your work and get them signed electronically by your clients.
•  Contract Negotiation: You can use Fiverr Workspace’s contract templates or create your own custom contracts. You can also negotiate terms with your clients using chat messages within the app.
•  Task Management: You can set up recurring tasks to fit your schedule and track your progress on each task. You can also integrate with over 1,000 apps and services such as Google Calendar, Slack, Trello etc.

Benefits

The main benefit of using Fiverr Workspace is that it simplifies many aspects of freelancing that are often tedious or time-consuming. By using Fiverr Workspace, you can:

•  Save time on creating invoices, tracking time, sending proposals etc.
•  Get paid faster and more securely with various payment options
•  Impress your clients with professional-looking invoices and proposals
•  Protect your work with contracts and deposits
•  Manage your tasks and projects more efficiently with integrations

Pricing

Fiverr Workspace has two pricing plans:

• Free Plan: This plan allows you to manage up to one active client at a time. It includes all the features except recurring payments.
•  Pro Plan: This plan costs $18 per month (or $14 per month if billed annually) and allows you to manage unlimited active clients at a time. It includes all the features plus recurring payments.

You can also get a free trial of the Pro Plan for 14 days before deciding whether to upgrade or not.

Support

Fiverr Workspace does not have a dedicated customer support team. However, you can contact Fiverr’s customer support through their Help and Education Center. You can also find answers to common questions, learn how Fiverr works and access their community forum there.

Pros And Cons

Pros

• Allows you to create professional-looking invoices with customizable templates
• Integrates with time tracking, proposals, contracts and payments features
• Sends payment reminders and notifications to you and your clients
• Converts proforma invoices to true invoices easily

Cons

• May not have all the features or integrations that other invoicing software offer
• May not be suitable for large-scale or complex projects
• May expose you to potential scams or frauds on Fiverr

8. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is an online accounting software that helps you manage your finances, automate business workflows, and collaborate with your team and accountant. It is part of the Zoho suite of apps that offers a range of solutions for different business needs. Zoho Books is designed for freelancers, small and medium-sized businesses that want to streamline their accounting processes and stay compliant with tax regulations.

Features

Some of the best features of Zoho Books are:

• Invoicing: Create professional invoices in seconds, customize them with your logo and branding, send them via email or SMS, and track their status. 
• Expenses: You can record and categorize your expenses, attach receipts, set up recurring expenses, and automate expense approvals. 
• Banking: You can connect your bank and credit card accounts to Zoho Books and automatically import your transactions. You can also create bank rules to categorize them and reconcile them with your books. 
• Contacts: You can manage all your customers and vendors in one place, view their transaction history and outstanding balances, send statements and payment receipts, and enable customer portal and vendor portal for online collaboration.

Benefits

Some of the benefits of using Zoho Books for a freelancer are:

• create and send professional invoices in multiple languages and currencies, and accept online payments from various gateways.
• track your time and expenses for each project and bill your clients accordingly.
• You can connect your bank and credit card accounts and import your transactions automatically, saving you time and hassle.
• access your accounting data from anywhere using the mobile app or the web browser.
• You can use the free plan if your revenue is less than $50,000 per annum, 

Zoho Books Pricing

Zoho Books has 6 pricing tiers:

• Free with 1 user account
• Standard ($20/mo) with 3 users and up to 5000 invoices a month
• Professional ($50/mo) with 5 users, unlimited invoices and custom reports
• Premium ($70/mo) with 10 users and custom domain support
• Elite ($150/mo) with 10 users, and advanced currency and inventory handling tools
• Ultimate ($275/mo) with 15 users, advanced analytics and 25 custom modules.

Zoho Books also offers a free trial where you can experiment with all its features to get a feel for the software.

Get signed up for Zoho today

Support

You can connect with Zoho’s customer support over email, phone or their social channels. They have a solid collection of resources on their website to help customers as well. Find help documentation, FAQs, product videos and customer forums, from some of the other helpful options.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Ease of use
• Affordability
• Integrations
• Free plan option
• Robust mobile app

Cons:

• Lack of some advanced features
• Limited integration options
• Small pool of accountant partners

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many invoicing software options available for freelancers. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on your needs and preferences. To help you decide which one is best for you, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How much do you want to spend on your invoicing software?
• What kind of features do you need or want in your invoicing software?
• How easy or difficult do you find using different invoicing software?
• How important is customer support or feedback for your invoicing software?

We hope this review helps you find the best invoicing systems for your freelance business. If you want to learn more about any of these options or try them out yourself, please visit their websites or sign up for a free trial.

Related: 9 Best Business Budgeting & Accounting Software in 2023