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These small business invoicing software options are feature-rich, easy to use, mobile-friendly, and affordable for small businesses.
Erica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader's Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
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Erica SeppalaErica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader's Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
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Chelsea Krause is a writer who specializes in accounting, payroll, and small business loans. She has been helping small business owners manage their finances since 2016. She is a QuickBooks Certified User and former eCommerce store owner. Her accounting expertise has been quoted in Forbes and her work appears in Startup Nation, Small Business Bonfire, and Women on Business. Chelsea graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English & Creative Writing from George Fox University and studied abroad at the University of Oxford as well.
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Chelsea KrauseChelsea Krause is a writer who specializes in accounting, payroll, and small business loans. She has been helping small business owners manage their finances since 2016. She is a QuickBooks Certified User and former eCommerce store owner. Her accounting expertise has been quoted in Forbes and her work appears in Startup Nation, Small Business Bonfire, and Women on Business. Chelsea graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English & Creative Writing from George Fox University and studied abroad at the University of Oxford as well.
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Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.
Strong invoicing software for small businesses allows you to create and bill your customers directly. We’ve identified eight of the best invoicing software options to help you find the right fit for your business.
These top invoice software options provide you with tools that simplify getting paid and running your business. You’ll find features like creating estimates and proposals, tracking time and expenses, and integrating with payment gateways. All have competitive pricing plans for various business sizes, so you can find the best invoicing software for your business (and your budget).
Invoicing software allows small business owners to send invoices online via email, text, social media, or other avenues depending on the software and the business’s preferences.
While many software solutions give you the option to print and mail invoices, the benefits of cloud-based, online invoice software are that:
You don’t have to worry about invoices getting lost in the mail.
You can see when your customer or client has viewed their invoice.
You can accept invoice payments directly online.
The best invoice software options also include automations like bulk invoicing to save your business time, so you can get invoices out quickly and start getting paid faster for your hard work.
The Best Invoicing Software For Small Businesses
The best invoicing software should be feature-rich, easy to use, mobile-friendly, and affordable. Here are our picks for the best small business invoicing software options that are worth your consideration.
Smaller to mid-sized businesses with a limited number of users
Pros
Unlimited invoices
Proposals feature with eSignatures
Strong mobile apps
Support for 16 languages
Cons
Doesn’t support multiple businesses
Limited payment gateways
Why We Chose FreshBooks As The Most Scalable Invoicing Software
FreshBooks offers unlimited, customizable invoices with many great invoicing automation. As your business grows, there are great accounting features, including double-entry accounting, journal entries, and bank reconciliation. If that's more than you need, don't worry -- the smallest FreshBooks plan just focuses on invoicing. FreshBooks also has more than 100+ integrations, so you can customize the software to meet your business's needs.
On top of that, FreshBooks is one of the few invoicing software options that offers a proposals feature with the ability to add attachments and collect client signatures, making it a great fit for service-based companies.
FreshBooks Features & Benefits
With FreshBooks, you can send unlimited invoices and estimates to your customers. There are numerous time-saving automations built into the software.
With FreshBooks, you’ll receive:
Unlimited customized invoices
Unlimited estimates
Automated recurring invoices
Scheduled late fees
Automated late payment reminders
Client portal
Checkout links
Proposals
Expense tracking
Depending on the plan you select, you may also have access to bank reconciliation, reports, journal entries, and other accounting features.
You need unlimited billable clients and bill tracking
FreshBooks has three pricing tiers available to fit your needs best. Plans range from $21-$65/month for one user. The higher-priced plans allow you to invoice more customers and boast more features (like double-entry bookkeeping). Advanced payments and additional users are available as add-ons.
When To Choose FreshBooks
You want invoicing & bookkeeping features
You want invoicing software that can scale with your business
Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Unlimited free invoices and estimates
Easy to integrate payments
Mobile invoicing
Cons
No multi-currency support
Not suited for high-risk industries
Why We Chose Square Invoices As The Best Invoicing Software & Payment Processing Combo
When you sign up for a Square account, you automatically have access to Square Invoices as well as other tools for your small business. One of the best things about Square Invoices is that it's completely free to send invoices for your business to your customers.
Square's interface is extremely simple, making it easy (and affordable) to take invoice payments with Square.
Square Invoices Features & Benefits
Square Invoices is very easy to use and has a well-organized interface. There is just one template for invoices, but you can customize it by changing the colors and adding your logo. Square Invoices makes it easy to send invoices right from your smartphone or connected device.
In addition to mobile invoicing, Square Invoices has other tools to help you operate and grow your business, such as:
Use if you want discounted processing fees and want customization options
To use Square Invoices, you must sign up for a free Square account. Sending invoices to your customers is also free. However, if you want to take advantage of some of Square’s other features — such as payment processing, payroll, or advanced employee management — there are additional fees.
Square charges a transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per invoice (or 3.5% + $0.15 for cards on file). There is no charge for customers who pay via cash or check.
When To Choose Square Invoices
You want to combine your invoicing and payment processing
You need an easy and affordable way to get paid on your invoices
You need an invoice contracts feature
You are an existing Square customer who needs to send invoices
Why We Chose Zoho Invoice As The Overall Best Invoicing Software
For free invoicing and billing software, Zoho Invoice is tough to beat. The product is legitimately free and does not skimp on features, offering recurring and automatic invoices along with the ability to end invoices in multiple languages and for multiple currencies.
Zoho Invoice also has great customer support and lots of positive customer reviews, so it's a reliable, secure option for businesses.
Zoho Invoice Features & Benefits
Zoho Invoice is free cloud-based invoicing software that boasts such features as customizable templates and support for multiple languages. Zoho Invoice also goes beyond merely invoicing, allowing you to create estimates, track time and expenses, manage contacts, and create and manage projects, all for free.
If you are a freelancer or small business owner on a budget with invoicing needs
Zoho Invoice is completely free. You receive access to all features, secure data storage, and up to 500 invoices per year with no contracts, hidden fees, or monthly subscriptions.
Why We Chose BILL For The Best Invoicing Software With Accounts Payable
Need a hassle-free way to simplify invoices and bills? BILL (formerly Bill.com) has a streamlined interface to help with both billing and invoicing and can help automate all of those functions for your small business.
It has many more automations than other invoicing software and also supports accounts payable, not just accounts receivable. If you want to combine invoicing needs with billing, BILL is worth looking into.
Bill Features & Benefits
With BILL, getting paid is faster and easier with features that include automated invoices, automated reminders, contact management, and direct payments with ACH, credit card, or PayPal. BILL can sync with your accounting software, simplifying the process of reconciling your bank accounts and keeping your books balanced.
You can also take control of your accounts payable by reviewing and approving bills from any device, sending domestic and international payments to vendors and suppliers, and storing invoices, checks, and receipts.
When it comes to invoicing capabilities, BILL has a solid set of features and automations, including:
Recurring invoices
Automated payment reminders
Auto-charge and auto-pay
Customizable templates
Status tracking
Automatic sync and reconciliation
In addition, BILL recently acquired Divvy and now offers BILL Spend & Expense with unlimited virtual cards making it a well-rounded income and expense management business suite.
If you need a combined accounts receivable and payable solution with API access
BILL’s pricing ranges from $45-$79+/month per user. If you want to integrate with your accounting software, you will need to upgrade to a more expensive plan.
When To Choose BILL
You want to manage invoices and bills in one spot
You want time-saving invoicing and billing automations
You want a corporate card option to add to your invoicing suite
Why We Chose Invoice2go As The Best Mobile Invoice Software App
Invoice2go, recently bought by BILL, offers top-of-the-line mobile apps, allowing you to easily create and send invoices on the go. The app is extremely easy to use and even lets you send invoices via text. It also makes it easy to quickly add things to invoices, like tracked time and billable hours. We chose Invoice2go as a top contender, particularly if sending invoices on the go is a must for your business.
Invoice2go Features & Benefits
Invoice2go offers customizable invoicing plus additional features like expense tracking, estimates, time tracking, and purchase order management. You can send invoices in a variety of ways, including SMS and mobile apps. Cloud-based desktop software is also available if you prefer to go that route.
Some notable feature benefits of Invoice2go include:
Automatic payment reminders
Online client approvals and deposits
Track time and add billable hours to invoices
Status tracking
Send invoices through text, email, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp
If you’re a small business owner that wants unlimited invoicing
Invoice2go has three pricing plans ranging from $5.99-$39.99/month. The lower-priced plans are extremely limited in terms of how many invoices you can send each month. If you send multiple invoices, you will have to upgrade to the most expensive plan, which includes unlimited invoices, recurring invoices, and integrations.
Invoice2go can be pretty expensive compared to the other options on this list, but it earned its place on this list based on its mobile app.
Why We Chose Invoice Ninja As The Best Free Invoicing Software
Invoice Ninja is free invoicing software that boasts features you would find with paid software, including invoices and estimates, time and expense tracking, item lists, contact management, and project management. The only downside is that the free plan only allows you to invoice up to 20 clients.
If you have more than 20 clients, paid plans are also available that include additional features like custom invoices, reports, and auto-reminder emails.
Invoice Ninja Features & Benefits
Invoice Ninja makes it easy to create and send professional invoices. Additionally, the software also has a number of time-saving automations like automatic currency conversions and partial payments for customers.
If you want invoicing software with priority support, data migration, and custom design support
Invoice Ninja has three pricing plans ranging from $0-$96+/month, depending on the number of users you need.
The Forever Free plan is truly free but is limited to just 20 clients. If you need to invoice more customers or want additional features, automations, and templates, you will need to subscribe to a paid plan.
When To Use Invoice Ninja
You want to save money on invoicing
You want software backed with good customer support
You want software loaded with time-saving automations
Why We Chose Harvest As The Best Invoicing Software For Project Management
Harvest is low-cost software that offers unlimited invoicing, as well as excellent time-tracking and project management features that are simple to manage. It boasts numerous integrations and has automatic reminders and automated invoices to save you time.
Though its invoicing features are limited when compared to its competitors, Harvest's time tracking and project management tools are ideal for service-based and project-based businesses.
Harvest Features & Benefits
You won’t find advanced invoicing features with Harvest, but there’s enough to get the job done. In addition to being able to create and send invoices, you can also create and send estimates, track time, set up recurring invoices, create reminders, and manage your employees. Harvest also offers basic expense tracking as well as project management options that allow you to assign projects, set budgets, and track time and expenses.
While some of the software on this list offers more features than Harvest, it does have a handful of features and automations to simplify invoicing your customers and getting paid.
Here’s what to expect from Harvest:
Recurring invoices
Retainer invoices
Automatic reminders and thank-you notes
Automatic invoices generated from tracked time and expenses
If you need invoicing for multiple users and want to manage unlimited projects
Harvest offers two plans. The Free plan includes access to all features and allows one user to manage up to two projects. If you need additional users or projects, you can sign up for Harvest Pro, which costs $12/month per seat.
When To Choose Harvest
You need well-developed project management, employee, management, and time tracking features
Your business invoices on a project basis
You want efficient software that covers the basics
Why We Chose PayPal Invoicing As The Best Invoicing Software For Freelancers
While it's a payment processor, PayPal also allows users to create and send invoices. It's a great choice for anyone who already uses PayPal, but it's a good fit for other businesses -- specifically, those looking for a free invoice solution with mobile invoicing and multiple payment options.
Paypal Invoicing is ideal for businesses where customers want to or expect to be able to pay with PayPal or Venmo. PayPal also offers a secure way to accept installment plan payments. This payment flexibility makes PayPal a great choice for freelance businesses, service-based businesses, and side hustles.
PayPal Invoicing Features & Benefits
While not as feature-rich as some of the other invoicing software options on this list, PayPal offers a good number of features and automations for a free product, including:
If you want to easily create and send invoices and get paid online
Sending invoices with PayPal is free with your PayPal account (PayPal accounts are also free to sign up for). The only thing you’ll have to pay are the payment processing fees.
PayPal Invoicing charges a 2.99% + $0.49 per credit or debit card transaction or 3.49% + $0.49 per PayPal, Venmo, or Pay Later transaction. If you aren’t in the US, these rates could vary.
When To Choose PayPal Invoicing
You want to accept payments through PayPal or Venmo
You want to allow customers to pay in installments
You want to save money with free invoicing software
We spend hours researching and evaluating invoicing software that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our service provider ratings.
Weighted Rating Breakdown
Pricing 30%
Features 30%
Ease Of Use 20%
Customer Service 15%
User Reviews 5%
When rating invoicing software, we use a 35-point rubric that looks at pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.
Pricing: 30% of the total star rating
Ease Of Use: 20% of the total star rating
Features: 30% of the total star rating
Customer Service: 15% of the total star rating
User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we look at specific attributes, like whether additional accounting features are available, the cost and quality of each pricing plan, the number of extra fees, and the availability of a free trial.
Invoicing Software Options That Didn't Make The Cut
Wondering why a particular app isn’t on our list? Some of the invoicing software options are overcomplicated (i.e., full accounting software) or overpriced. Others didn’t meet our high standards for placement on this list.
Here’s why some top options didn’t make the cut:
Wave
Wave has been making waves with small business owners because its completely free software doesn’t have many limitations on its features. Wave software includes invoicing, but it’s not invoicing software — it’s accounting software.
If you don’t need accounting software, the many features of Wave can be confusing. If you’re in the market for an invoicing solution, consider a simpler option. However, if your business needs budget-friendly accounting software, consider giving Wave a try.
QuickBooks Online
While QuickBooks Onlinedoes have invoicing tools, it isn’t actually invoicing software. It is full accounting software that comes loaded with features you won’t find in invoicing software — features you might not even need.
If you are just looking for an invoicing solution, the higher subscription cost and the abundant features may be overkill. However, if you need a full accounting solution for your business, QuickBooks Online is a solid choice.
Xero
Like the other options on this list, Xero has a solid reputation among small business owners. While Xero does offer invoicing, along with a number of automations and customizations, it is accounting software, and these features come at a cost.
Unless you plan to take advantage of all of the features offered by Xero, there are plenty of more affordable (and less confusing) invoicing solutions on the market.
Invoice Simple
Invoice Simple is an invoice generator that lives up to its name; it keeps invoicing simple. For most small business owners, though, what’s offered by Invoice Simple won’t be enough. Invoice customizations are limited, and you won’t find additional features such as project management or time tracking here.
Instead, you can create invoices and estimates — and that’s about it. You can use Invoice Simple on your computer or mobile device, and you can also accept payments. The monthly fees aren’t too expensive, but other options at a comparable price point give you more bang for your buck.
How Much Does Invoicing Software Cost?
How much invoicing software costs depends on several factors, including the number of invoices you send each month, as well as additional features your business needs, such as:
Proposals
eSignatures
Estimates
Accounts payable/bills
Expect to spend between $0 to $50/month depending on your business needs.
There are several great free invoice software options. Just be sure to watch out for free invoicing software that has negative customer reviews, outdated UIs, or extreme invoice volume limits. When you get to the higher end of the invoice software price range, you may want to consider accounting software.
Invoicing Software VS Accounting Software
Invoicing software simplifies how you invoice your customers and get paid. There may also be a few additional bookkeeping and accounting features thrown in, such as expense tracking or time management, but you’ll rarely find anything more advanced than that.
On the other hand, accounting software offers more advanced features, such as bank reconciliation, financial reports, and inventory management. Accounting software typically has built-in invoicing but allows you to balance the books and better track your finances.
Virtually all of the best accounting software for small businesses include built-in invoicing and estimates features, plus a slew of accounting features, so you won’t be paying for two separate software systems.
Choosing The Right Invoicing Software For Your Business
Choosing the best invoicing software for small businesses can be a hassle, but there are a few things to keep in mind to help narrow down your choices.
Start with the options in this post and compare pricing, features, and other factors to find software that works for your business. Don’t be afraid to shop around and even test out a few options before making your final decision.
When testing out software, look for options that offer free plans or free trials so you can fully explore the software before investing. If the software you test lags, is difficult to use, or doesn’t offer the features you need, move on to another option until you find the option that feels right.
Once you choose the right invoicing software for your business, be sure to check out our picks for the best online invoice payment processors to make invoice payments quicker and easier than ever for you and your customers.
Erica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader's Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
View Erica Seppala's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
