10 Invoicing Tools to Make Freelancers’ Lives Easier

by Mary C Long

​Freelancers’ success depends on their organizational skills – both when it comes to finding/delivering work, and especially when it comes to getting paid. After all, “The cornerstone to getting paid is more effective invoicing.” So says freelance financial journalist Miranda Marquit – and she’s right.

Invoice tools for freelancers!

There’s a vast array of freelancer-friendly invoicing tools out there, with a variety of features to please every solopreneur:

• “Easy Pay” integration with PayPal, Quickbooks, etc.
• Recurring invoices option/automation
• Template customization and branding options
•  User-friendly phone app
•  Expense reporting
• Time tracking tool
• Internationally compatible
• Price (of course!)

TIP! 

​A quick suggestion is using time management software which you can use to track your work hours. Most of them can integrate with invoicing apps. This makes invoicing accurate and faster. Other benefits are reduced distractions, improved productivity, faster completion of work and more free time after work hours.

Here are 10 great invoicing tools that keep these features in mind:

1. Due – Due has done, well, its due diligence when it comes to creating a service that is both sophisticated and intuitive for both freelancers and clients. You can customize just about everything from the design of the invoice to your payment terms, all while safely storing information in the cloud. The “freemium” service allows for 2 free invoices per month while the premium service is $49 annually, or about $4/month. Favorite features: Ability to track partial payments, and simultaneous invoicing for multiple contacts.
2. FreshBooks – With 5 million users and growing, FreshBooks‘ cloud-based accounting service is a serious contender. They’ve got noteworthy features like a 24/7 “award-winning” support team, a newly designed iOS app, and recently launched card reader technology. They offer a 30-day free trial, and unlimited invoices for a starting rate of $12.95 per month, up to five clients.
3. Nutcache – For their reasonable price and generous features, Nutcache is quite appealing. The list of included services is impressive, so you should have no trouble finding a package with the features you need. A favorite: Ability to attach and store documents with invoices and estimates. Nutcache’s caters to both individual entrepreneurs and enterprises – so feel free to explode your business. Free accounts offer the basics – recurring invoices and VIP support require a subscription, which starts at $5 per month.
4. Hiveage – Hiveage, formerly Curdbee, offers unlimited customers and invoices in their free plan. Additional features, like time tracking, cost extra. Don’t like any of their packages? Create your own customized plan starting at $6.95 per month. Favorite feature: Ability to manage multiple teams and businesses from a single account.
5. Wave – Wave has a niche with the little guy (independent contractors, sole proprietors, or companies with nine employees or less) and for good reason. Mentionable features include the ability to create and send recurring invoices, to see when invoices are viewed, to add messages to your invoices, and to do all of the above for multiple clients at once – for free. However, when it comes to accepting payment from credit cards, they charge the standard rate (2.9% + $0.30 in the US).
6. Invoicera – Invoicera‘s notable features include ability to add custom fields to invoices, and set your own exchange rate (small business level). They also offer detailed invoicing reports, handy for budgeting. A free plan is available for subscribers with three clients or less, with pricing starting at $19.95 per month for larger client bases.
7. Zoho – Zoho is easy to understand and free to use if you have 5 clients or less. For those who need more than invoicing, Zoho offers additional tool suites like sales and marketing and human resources – which can all be managed from one account, though each is priced separately. One nice invoicing feature is the option to send retainer invoices for advance payments. Paid plans start at $15 per month.
8. Harvest – Harvest allows you to quickly create personalized invoices that are compatible with international currency and tax rates. The look of the invoices is super easy to read – for example, you can list your amount due at both the top and bottom of the page. Integration with Forecast, their time planning tool, lets you compare estimates versus actual costs to stay on budget. Four clients or two projects per month are free, with unlimited options available at $12 per month.
9. Billbooks – With Billbooks‘ cloud-based accounting and invoicing service, you are given the option to pay for invoice “credits” as you go instead of paying a monthly fee. Their abbreviated invoice creation process can be done in less than 60 seconds. You also have the option to customize your dashboard to organize exactly as your brain desires. For up to three invoices per month, the service is free, with credit packages starting at $10 per month.
10. Simplybill – With the motto “Experience the joy of billing,” Simplybill boasts they’re the “easiest to use” of all online invoicing services. That’s something for you to decide. They offer 40+ template designs, cloud-based storage, simple invoicing tools, and additional features starting at a cool $5 per month.

Freelancers have enough to do without cobbling together DIY invoicing options – especially with so many great tools to choose from. And who has time to sort this all out in any meaningful way? Or you can stick with handwritten tallies, of course. Though your accountant might kill you.


​This post originally appeared on Business2Community.

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