You can find invoicing and billing software geared specifically toward freelancers, sole proprietors, small businesses, mid-sized businesses, and global corporations. But while we like Invoice Ninja’s comprehensive payment portals and unlimited invoices, it doesn’t offer the most professional or customizable invoice templates. And the free plan only gives you four basic invoice templates with limited customization. In other words, Wave is a great fit for freelancers and first-time business owners who want a fair amount of features without paying hundreds of dollars a year in accounting software.
Alternatively, you can try a provider like Wave or QuickBooks, neither of which prepaid insurance limit your billable monthly clients. The last thing you need is an external party accessing your financial records or creating fraudulent invoices. Choose a system that uses a secure network that can only be accessed by authorized users.
Self-employed and small businesses that need easy-to-use invoicing software that includes accounting features in higher-end plans. FreshBooks’s estimate, proposal, and project tracking features make it particularly well-suited to contractors, especially service-based contractors like equivalent annual annuity eaa developers. However, contractors with a high monthly client base might want to look elsewhere. FreshBooks starts out at a fairly reasonable $17.00 per month, but that base plan limits you to invoicing just five clients a month (though you can send those five clients unlimited invoices). Invoicing and payment processing have never been simpler for small businesses.
At the end of the day, choosing the best invoicing software comes down to what your needs are. Larger or growing companies may need software that includes accounting features, while freelancers may need affordable or free options. One of the best reasons to use QuickBooks Online is that you pay a monthly fee to get access to tons of accounting and invoicing features, plus updates and customer support. With QuickBooks Online, you can track all your financial information in one place, from income and expenses to time and taxes.
Software integrations
And if Square’s free online invoicing plan isn’t enough for you, its $20-a-month Plus plan offers additional support for midsize and growing businesses with heftier invoicing needs. Square’s free invoicing app, Square Invoices, lets you charge clients and receive payments anywhere, anytime. There’s no monthly subscription fee or client limit—instead, you get unlimited invoices. Obtaining timely and adequate customer payments is essential for any business.
Accountant vs. CPA vs. Tax Pro
Using an automatic billing system that sends out timely, professional invoices on a pre-determined schedule will streamline operations, while reducing late payments, for better financial success. Billing automation removes human error issues that can come up during manual processes. Deskera is one of the most favored cloud software when it comes to a small business as it offers a very efficient and easy-to-use billing and invoicing software for small businesses. For transactions that are completed in one go, it’s more common to use a bill as documentation. This happens because a bill is short and less detailed than an invoice would be, and includes only important details regarding prices and taxation. For example, you can think of billing done at restaurants, pharmacies, beauty salons, or anywhere where you can purchase goods or services in person.
A closer look at our top invoicing and billing software picks
Most of us are likely to be familiar with the term ‘billing’ owing to its use in everyday speech. How you handle these tasks will determine whether you end up with an error-filled and time-consuming process or an accurate and seamless system.
- If you rely on other software programs already, look for an invoicing option that integrates with them.
- And if Square’s free online invoicing plan isn’t enough for you, its $20-a-month Plus plan offers additional support for midsize and growing businesses with heftier invoicing needs.
- Though many businesses leave their accounting to the pros, it’s wise to understand the basics of accounting if you’re running a business.
- A common complaint with invoicing software is its lack of professional-looking invoice templates.
- And the free plan only gives you four basic invoice templates with limited customization.
As a trade-off, though, it offers one of the easiest to use accounting apps, with a rating of 4.7 on the App Store and 3.9 on Google Play. Still, if you run a service-based business—especially a freelance business—Wave’s free unlimited invoice feature should put Wave on your to-be-considered list. As an overall (and completely free accounting solution), it’s hard to beat. There are options out there that are more complex and offer additional functionality. But there are also basic choices that provide simpler services for less complicated how to post to the general ledger business needs. It is recommended that you use billing codes to categorize your products, track your money, identify services, and track business finances.
FAQs About Billing Systems
Xero is a pricey billing solution but it could be worth it if you expect to need accounting features for a quickly growing business. If you’re not very tech-savvy, investing in a platform with a steep learning curve can end up costing you time and money. This could mean you look towards a choice that’s more intuitive and offers basic functions for what you need most.
