14 Web-Based Invoicing Tools To Make Sure You Get Paid
Posted August 18, 2007 in Productivity 53 Comments »
We all know how important it is to keep track of everything, especially when we’re talking “money“, cause you do wanna get paid.
So, here is a list of 14 web-based invoicing tools. No downloads required, you can access your account(s) wherever you may be in the world, making it really easy to manage your invoices and get paid (on time).
A lot of folks prefer installing a software on their computers and keeping all their data on there, but I personally like web-based apps, they’re great for the freelancers “on the go“. And with most web-based apps, you can download your data and store it on your own computer for future reference. ;)
Many of the apps listed here are more than just invoicing tools, some also offer time and task management, project management and other “nice to have” tools.
*some of those apps are free, and some require a paid membership. The sites are listed in no specific order.
What Do You Use?
When the time comes you have to send your invoice to your clients, what do you use? Do you send your invoices by e-mail, or do you prefer printing them out and sending them by regular mail? If you use a web-based app, which one is it? If you don’t use one, how do you manage your invoices and keep track of all this? How much would you be willing to pay for an invoicing tool/app? ;)
Jon
About the author: Jon Phillips is a full-time freelancer, designer and blogger, he loves WordPress and plays guitar in a heavy act. He's also the founder of Freelance Folder. Oh and he'd be pleased if you would follow him on Twitter. :)
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53 Comments
LGR
August 18th, 2007 at 10:12 pmThanks for the list of places to check out. I would like to move to an online system.
I currently email clients invoices as pdf’s and it works ok, unless they can’t open pdf’s then I have to mail it.
Shane
August 19th, 2007 at 4:10 amEmailing a pdf is a great way to go. Most accounting programs will export to pdf.
Faxing can be good, but you have to be careful about that because some companies don’t like invoices coming over the central office fax.
And when all else fails, there’s good old snail-mail!
Marcus
August 19th, 2007 at 10:29 amI just started using Cashboard, and even though it’s still in beta I find it does everything I need it to do and then some. The time-tracking widget is very useful. I upgraded to a paid subscription just the other day.
Scott
August 19th, 2007 at 10:22 pmI have been using Freshbooks for a while now and am really pleased with it. The timer works great.
SB
Brandon
August 27th, 2007 at 3:07 pmI use SideJobTrack — it was the first thing I found online when I started doing IT consulting on the side. Suits my needs but will look into the above listed.
Ian
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:04 pmThere are just so many options. I know of three software applications that accountants reccommend and which work with banks websites as well as these 14 too. You generally get what you pay for but online service must be better value.
There should some comparison or review of these sites somewhere.
As if those above are not enough, another is launching soon called BillQ. The address is http://www.mybillq.com/
srijaga_cbe
November 20th, 2007 at 11:37 amHi, This is my first visit to this blog. These tools are very good. But an odd question.
Please post some free invoice tools not in a webbased/ online. Just a desktop version.
I tried a few. But no one comes near to these online tools. :)
Daniel Barnett
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 pmHi – please note that we’ve launched Veetro 2.0 and renamed it WORKetc.
We’re also looking for a group of freelance designers and/or small design firms interested in helping us develop a design business version of WORKetc.
Contact at http://www.worketc.com
cheers
kai
April 29th, 2008 at 12:17 amOr why not install an open-source solution on your own server so that YOU keep control over YOUR data and have no monthly fee to boot?
Simple Invoices is free, simple and elegant.
Demo here: http://simpleinvoices.org/demo/login.php
milis
May 7th, 2008 at 7:33 amI use http://www.simpleinvoices.org – simple – steady – on my server – it is getting better all the time = fantastic!
Ryan D.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:36 amIf you want free and very useful try http://invoicejournal.com
Karen
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:57 amHi Jon,
Another tool for invoicing is Fanurio http://www.fanuriotimetracking.com It’s a useful application, with a user-friendly interface.
Roy
July 26th, 2008 at 10:54 pmIntuit recently launched http://www.billingmanager.com which is a very easy, free online invoicing tool. There’s an upgrade path to QuickBooks if you ever want to track expenses or manage other aspects of your business. There’s also an iPhone app that has been selected as Staff Pick by Apple on their iPhone site. Billingmanager.com recently added recurring invoicing and estimates, and integrates with Intuit’s credit card acceptance service (optional, but cool to send an electronic invoice, allow the customer to click to pay online, and the business gets paid faster).
Lori Farrow
August 25th, 2008 at 1:30 pmHi,
Sage Software has recently launched a free online invoicng tool for freelancers and small businesses at http://www.billingboss.com. Billing Boss is focused of keeping invoicing simple – so simple that you can get set up and send your first invoice in just a couple minutes.
Please note: With the goal of full disclosure, I work at Sage. Feel free to contact me if you have any feedback about Billing Boss.
pol llovet
September 18th, 2008 at 1:12 pmI just have to say, that after doing *extensive* reviews of all of the sites out there, http://www.billingboss.com/ came in at the top of the heap. Why?
1) it’s free
2) excellent interface
3) creates downloadable pdfs and/or
4) sends out a link to the client optionally with the attached pdf
It’s simple and exactly what i want without the kitchen sink. Bang on Sage. Bravo.
In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t work for Sage, and I don’t own any of their other software products (though that might change in the future since this product is so damn good).
John
October 13th, 2008 at 4:24 pmAlso check out Intervals (http://www.myintervals.com), a web-based time tracking and project management app that includes the ability to invoice clients. It’s nice to have project tracking and billing in one place.
Chloe Sanders
December 13th, 2008 at 9:25 pmI’ve been using Jexxe Freelancer from http://www.jexxe.com for the last month.
I’ve found it to have just the right mix of invoicing and project management all in the one app. Its also hosted on my own website so I have been able to rebrand it to match my own site
its perfect for me :-)
Andy Potanin
December 27th, 2008 at 9:08 amFor WordPress users here’s a plugin that does invoicing:http://twincitiestech.com/services/wp-invoice/
It doesn’t have all the fancy stuff, such as time tracking, but if you need to send an invoice, it does that well. In any case, it’s free!
Esther
January 17th, 2009 at 1:43 amThanks for the list and we are currently using http://curdbee.com. We love the simplicity and the user interfaces in that. Also its free :)
Moneypenny
February 10th, 2009 at 3:39 pmAnother great post as usual! Thanks for the list of places to check out.
PS: the link to freshbooks is faulty. You may want to fix that.
Beckie
March 13th, 2009 at 7:32 pmI have been using http://www.myelitecontacts.com
It is a great all in one solution for CRM and invoicing.
A really good web based invoicing tool.
S H Mohanjith
March 31st, 2009 at 2:03 amFor WordPress users here’s a plugin that does invoicing: http://mohanjith.com/wordpress/web-invoice.html . It is under heavy development, expect to see lot of useful features.
Wladimir
April 5th, 2009 at 4:16 pmHi Guys,
We’ve just launched http://www.CannyBill.com.
Its a web based invoicing and billing solution that also handles web hosting automation so you can sell web hosting accounts, domain names and SSL Certificates.
Kind Regards,
Wladimir
cormet
July 4th, 2009 at 10:47 pmHi Guys,
We just recently lunch a new online invoice software. for the demo, please go to http://www.mjsoft.com.au
Cheers,
nagendra
July 10th, 2009 at 5:55 amCheck out Zoho Invoice (https://invoice.zoho.com), here are some of the features –
Re-branding invoices & estimates
Predefined templates & layout customization
Multicurrency support
Invoices & Estimates as PDF
Invoice tracking & overdue reminders
Online payment integration & thank-you mails
Support for recurring invoices
User friendly reports
Zoho Projects integration
SSL encryption, firewall protection, data backup
Quick Customer support
Cheers
Daniel
August 8th, 2009 at 12:42 pmAwesome article! I went through some of the sites u posted above. I think Freshboks has the most features but interface is cluttered with tons of things to do. They just have too many features. I recently signed up with Net2Invoice.com – http://www.net2invoice.com and I have to admit, they have a super simple interface. I run a store in a mall and I was sick of using quick books and cash register. This was a replacement to everything. They promised to add inventory tracking soon but other than that, I love the site. It is free to use. I didn’t have to buy anything.
Matt Fenn
September 15th, 2009 at 2:32 pmExcellent list of invoicing and accounting apps, another on that is well worth checking out is Moobiz http://www.moobiz.com you get all the regular invoicing and accounting features plus project management and more…
Ejaz
October 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pmGood post Jon, but most of your links and screenshots don’t match. Please correct them.
luke
October 12th, 2009 at 5:44 amIt is good that someone posted about 14 tools (not 5 or 7).
I would also suggest to take a look at zoho invoices – it looks like good tool for invoicing from zoho suite.
There is also a simple site http://www.bestinvoices.com that get more from this interesting subject. You can vote there for your favorite one (and add one if missing). Hopefully this site will be developed soon to provide more info (not only voting)
Regards,
Luke
PostalMethods
November 13th, 2009 at 11:23 amFYI, you can send snail mail invoices from most of the online invoicing services above by using PostalMethods (http://www.postalmethods.com/).
Check out our Send Mail From… page for detailed instructions for each service: http://www.postalmethods.com/send-mail-from
Chris
December 21st, 2009 at 4:11 pmTime59 is now fully compatible with Mobile Safari on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Jesse Terry
December 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 amMyClientBase is another option if you wish to have something installed locally on your own server and away from prying eyes. It is free and open source software written in PHP/MySQL on top of the excellent CodeIgniter framework. Please check it out (http://www.myclientbase.com) and let me know what you think.
Anna
February 4th, 2010 at 9:10 amHi there! Thanks a lot for this very useful list. I’m a translation student and a novice in freelance translation business. I’ll certainly look into the websites and software from your list.
Caru Millani
March 10th, 2010 at 3:15 amHi Jon,
Nice post…but i really fell freshbooks does not deserve to top the list. It is mighty expensive and does not offer anything drastic. I did use it for a while and then switched to invoicera. Really impressive invoicing application and you must check it. Here is the website link http://www.invoicera.com
Cheers!
Caru Millani
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