Last Updated on January 1, 2021 by Ludiah
As a business owner or freelancer, you understand the hassle that comes with creating and managing invoices. Invoicing is an essential task and can be very time consuming especially if you are tracking down information and sending out invoices manually. That’s why you know the best invoicing software for small business owners like you.
As traditional bookkeeping was done manually, accountants would spend a lot of time creating an invoice manually. In some cases, this would result in erroneous billing that could easily give a misleading picture of the income that the business has.
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Fortunately, with the growth and expansion of the digital world in every sector of business, invoicing has been made much easier through the use of Invoicing softwares. An invoicing software streamlines your billing and accounting tasks while saving you time. With invoicing software, you can create quotes and invoices, efficiently keep track of overdue invoices, monitor your bills and bank accounts. Check out these 6 best invoicing software for small business owners like you.
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Best invoicing software for small business
Like every other tool, there are features that the best invoicing software for small businesses should have. Below are some of the key features you should look out for when purchasing an invoicing software.
Best Invoicing Software Features
There are very many invoicing softwares that are available online and it is paramount to know what features to look for in an invoicing software before you commit to one.
An array of customizable templates: The software should have a vast range of templates that you can edit and customize to your liking. Using more professional looking templates gives you a boost and helps build your brand.
Creating Quotes and Estimates: This is one of the basic features you would want from an invoicing software. The ability to create quotes on the go for any prospective clients. Seeing that in most businesses, you have to draw estimates quite often, a software that allows you to draw up an estimate of how much your client will incur for hiring your services makes it easier and streamlines the process.
Convert Quotes to Invoices: When your prospective client eventually hires you, the next document you provide them with is an invoice. Having a software that can convert your quote into an invoice that you can edit, could easily make your business process easier.
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For some of the invoices that you convert, you might want to add or change any of the details so as to reflect the job/services or products. As such, you may want to use software with this feature.
Automated Alerts and Reminders: When you are handling a huge amount of invoices, it is easy to have overdue invoices that could go unnoticed especially if you do not have a way of keeping track of them. With invoicing software, it is possible for the software to remind you when an invoice is almost due since you are able to enter the payment deadlines. The alerts can be sent via email, messaging or even a pop-up to remind you about this.
Mobile Billing: As a business owner, it is possible that you continue to do business even on the go. As such, you would prefer to have an invoicing software that is supported by your mobile device, be it a smartphone, tablet, or even PC. Most of the online invoicing software has been programmed to be used on any mobile device. If you create an invoice on your mobile device, it is synchronized in the application so that you are able to access the same invoice using a different device.
Best Invoicing Softwares For Your Business Billing
FreshBooks
This is one of the best invoicing software for small business. It is used often used by freelancers and small business owners. It comes with customizable templates that have a professional look that you can customize to match your brand. It also has the ability to accept deposits and credit card payments.
Some of the features that Freshbooks has are :
- Simple user interface with customization capabilities.
- Customizable templates that can allow you to keep your brand professional.
- It helps you generate important financial reports about your business income.
- It sets up payment reminders and alerts. However, is only available for Plus and Premium plans )
- It comes with a timer that you can use to track the amount of time your team works through a certain project.
- It allows you to track your expenses by adding an expense tool to your bank account.
- Has a mobile app that allows you to manage your accounts and project concerns on the go.
Freshbooks has a free 30-day trial. After this period has been depleted, there are charges that you incur based on the number of billable clients.
For Lite Plan it is about $15 per month/5 billable clients, for Plus Plan, about $25 per month/50 clients, and Premium Plan at $50 per month/500 billable clients. There is also a plan called Select which caters to 500+ billable clients and for this, the pricing is customized.
Xero
Xero is an accounting software optimized for use by small businesses without any over-complicated things. It is online invoicing software that comes equipped with amazing features. They include such as customizable templates, online payment options, automatic reminders, and inventory management. Below are some of the features that make it one of the best invoicing programs for small business.
Xero’s key features are:
- You can send quotes and invoices from your tablet or smartphone to your clients
- Tracks time and expenses for individual projects.
- You can maintain your bill records.
- Easily add costs and expenses to your invoices.
- It comes with customizable invoice templates.
- Has bank transaction reconciliation.
Xero offers a 30-day free trial that comes with all the features. After this, you can select a monthly plan. The plans range from $9/month to $60/month.
Zoho Invoice
Zoho is a great choice for those who do business on the go as it offers mobile invoicing and a wide variety of business tools. It is a great tool for small business owners and freelancers who are looking for simple and efficient invoicing.
Zoho is integrated with several payment gateways such as Google Checkout, Stripe, and PayPal. As it is an effective on-the-go tool, you can access it when in multiple countries.
Some of Zoho Invoice’s features are:
- It offers an array of payment gateways such as Google Checkout, Stripe, PayPal, and much more.
- It has customizable templates that allow you to send appropriately branded invoices.
- It allows you to create quotes and convert them into invoices.
- You can manage, create and send invoices on the go using the mobile application
- It allows you to automate recurring invoices.
Zoho has different payment plans including one that is free. For the free plan, you get to invoice up to 5 customers, 5 automated workflows, and 1 user. The basic plan goes at $9 per month with invoices up to 50 customers, 5 automated workflows, and 1 user.
The Standard Plan offers invoices up to 500 customers, 3 users, and 10 automated workflows for $19 per month. The Professional Plan comes with unlimited customer invoices, 10 users, 10 automated workflows, and a custom Domain for $29 per month. In a yearly plan, you only pay for 10 months and enjoy two months absolutely free. That is why it is the best invoicing software for small business.
Hiveage
Hiveage offers an invoicing system geared to support small businesses and freelancers. It offers the business owner many features that focus on improving their invoicing experience. If you want to use one of the top invoicing programs for small business, this is the one.
Some of the features you would enjoy as a business owner are:
- It provides invoices that are customizable and accessible through any device including tablets and smartphones.
- It provides unlimited invoices, bills, and estimates for unlimited clients.
- It helps you set up automatic payment reminders.
- The app is cloud-based as such you don’t’ have to install or download anything. It is accessible online whenever you want.
- It helps you create recurring invoices to save up on time.
Hiveage has a price plan that caters to every business owner from entrepreneurs who are just starting up, freelancers, small business owners, and thriving business owners. The pricing range from $0 to $42 per month based on the plan of choice.
Quickbooks Online
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Quickbooks is a popular cloud invoicing software that helps business owners monitor all their accounting data efficiently. It helps make it easy to create and send invoices to customers.
The features that Quickbooks carry are:
- Ability to create and customize professional estimates and invoices.
- It gives you the ability to save time by scheduling recurring payments.
- It helps you track sales and expenses.
- You can access it through your PC, tablet or smartphone
- It has the ability to track inventory and projects.
- You can transact in multiple currencies.
- It helps you pay your employees and keep track of your taxes.
Quickbooks offers a wide range of plans that you can choose from. The prices are $15/month,$23/month, and $31/month.Each payment plan has unique features that are added to it. You also get a 30-Day trial period that is absolutely free.
INVOICE2GO
Invoice2go is a simple and complete invoicing solution software that allows business owners to make payments with ease. It has many invoice templates that are customizable to relay your brand to your customers.
Features that Invoice2go has are:
- It offers professional invoicing templates.
- It allows you to easily track your expenses
- You are able to send an invoice through multiple channels.
- Invoice2go can be accessed on the go and allow you to accept payments made through major debit and credit cards.
- It has the ability to track invoices and alerts you when your client views the invoice.
Invoice2go has four pricing plans ranging from $2.99/month to $33.99/month based on various available features for each plan. And that is why it is among the most preferred invoicing programs for small business.
Conclusion
For any growing business, invoicing software is an essential tool in your business. The benefits you receive from an invoicing software outweigh the costs that you incur subscribing to one.
Using an invoicing software helps you maintain a professional image through the templated invoices and documents that represent your brand. It also helps you minimize the number of overdue invoices by use of alerts and reminders based on their payment schedule. Above all, it helps you keep track of your bill and projects while maintaining efficiency in your business.
