In this article, you will discover what is the best invoicing software for your business and how to choose it simply.
Invoicing is an essential business activity but time-consumingthe right invoicing software can help you take control and regain valuable time.
It can also help you improve invoice accuracy, obtain additional financial information and speed up payments, all of which benefit your business.
Choosing the right invoicing software depends on several factors, including your budget, industry, business size, and personal preferences.
What is invoicing software?
A billing software is used to perform accounting and financial tasks.
A billing software is a tool that generates automatically billing services and products rendered. This tool creates a list of services and products with corresponding costs and sends them to your customers as an invoice.
These invoices are usually created using ready-made templates, most often professional-looking, making the process easier and clearer for businesses.
Having reliable invoicing software will allow you to grow your business peacefully while respecting the regulations in force in your country.
7 Best Free Invoicing Software
FreshBooks
FreshBooks offers a scalable billing software with neat models. Convenient payment processing solutions, inventory tracking and a host of other accounting tools and services.
FreshBooks offers users customizable invoices with recurring billing and autopay options. Everything you need to get your business off the ground.
Billing and other services are accessible via computer, tablet, or mobile, although some users report that the mobile app lacks some features.
Besides billing, FreshBooks also allows users to access tracking time and expenses, project management, payments and reporting. The software integrates with over 100 third-party applications, including Salesforce, Gusto, Zoom, etc…
FreshBooks offers a 30-day trial period and, if it suits your business, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
Sellsy
Sellsy is a Powerful billing and business management software.
This French software, based in La Rochelle, has many features beyond a complete invoicing suite.
Sellsy also allows you to do accounting reconciliation, pre-accounting, manage your contacts via their CRM and even has numerous integrations with your favorite software.
You can test Sellsy for free before opting for a paid plan.
Axonaut
Axonaut is business management software helping you manage different stages of customer acquisition, from prospecting to collection through invoicing.
Regarding invoicing features, Axonaut allows electronic signature, quote and invoice management, support for stripe and GoCardLess for payments and many others.
Axonaut has many other features and is used by thousands of customers in France, making it a major player in the market.
Other “all-in-one” business management tools like Teamleader also offer an invoicing module and are reviewed in our comparison of best free CRM tools and paying.
Henry
Henriri is free invoicing software intended for SMEs/VSEs.
The only software offering a free forever plan in this ranking, Henrri is a complete invoicing tool and will allow you to go even further than invoicing by easily managing unpaid debts for example, or to manage your turnover in the blink of an eye.
We clearly advise you to try it because it costs nothing and you will form your own opinion!
We recommend this invoicing software if you have little or no budget.
You may also like: the best payroll software
Freebe (for freelancers)
Freebe is an all-in-one micro business management solution.
If you are freelance or have a micro-enterprise, this software will allow you to manage your activity simply with the management of quotes and invoices, automatic declaration of turnover to URSSAF, integrated CRM, management of unpaid debts and many more. ‘others.
Freebe is relatively new to the invoicing software market but has already proven itself.
You can test the platform for free for 30 days (without using your card).
Sinao
Sinao is easy-to-use activity management software.
Indeed, Sinao does not only do invoicing but allows you to manage all your professional activity via the platform.
Among Sinao’s flagship features, you have integrated accounting software, cash flow management, quote and invoice management and expenses.
invoice.net
Facture.net is a simple and completely free invoicing software.
This software has only a few features, but are sufficient for most entrepreneurs.
The 3 main features are:
- Quote management
- Invoice management
- Managing your customers via an integrated CRM
As you can see, invoice.net is less sophisticated than its competitors seen previously, but has the advantage of being completely free, which will delight entrepreneurs with little budget.
You may also like: the best free quote creation software
You don’t know how to choose the right invoicing software for your situation?
We recommend asking yourself these key questions about what you’re looking for before diving into our reviews:
- How much money are you willing to spend on invoicing software?
- Does this software save you time with automated billing features, such as automatic recurring billing and late payment reminders?
- Is this software compatible with other products you already use, such as your accounting software?
- How many payment solutions does this invoicing software integrate? Does it limit you to just one common payment portal, like PayPal, or does it allow you to also accept wire transfer, credit card payments?
As a reminder, almost all accounting software already includes billing features. But standalone invoicing software offers more benefits, including better templates and complete invoicing automation. If you’re not satisfied with the invoicing features of your current accounting software, an invoicing-specific option can give you more professional invoices and help you get paid on time.
The key features of invoicing software
The following features are the most common for invoicing software:
- Creation of invoices. This feature should allow you to create clean, professional invoices and customize them to match your brand. The system must be able to pull relevant information, projects and customer records, and disable duplication of invoices.
- Creation of customer files. This feature allows you to summarize customers’ personal and purchasing information and attach relevant files into a single, centralized database. The database should ideally have a search filter that you could use to navigate to a particular customer’s record.
- Accept PayPal or credit card. The invoicing tool should save you time and facilitate invoicing by, for example, accepting credit cards, and allow recurring invoicing and secure customer management. Some systems even allow cards to be billed automatically so customers don’t miss a due date.
- Predefined invoice templates. The visual appearance of your invoices is almost as important as their accuracy, which is why you should look for a system that offers beautiful, predefined communication templates. This will not only save you time, but also allow you to customize accounting and make it more suitable for your brand.
- Currency setting. You need this feature to connect your billing system to the rest of your software architecture, similar to your basic financial operations. Setting up multiple currencies can also be useful for issuing receipts, accepting payments, and managing taxes, which is very important for international businesses.
- Import/export clients. This feature allows you to send quotes to your customers in seconds, as there is a centralized database where all their information is stored and made available.
What are the advantages of using invoicing software?
After detailed comparisons and testing, we found that the best invoicing software should be able to offer you the following benefits:
- Reduce late payments : THE ideal invoicing software can help you streamline your billing process and help you get payments on time. You can keep your data organized and not miss any collections, which will increase your profitability.
- Maintain a professional image : a good invoicing solution can help you give a professional image to your business. Most systems support custom logos and other design enhancements for payment documents and invoices. You can use the software to showcase an organized and timely approach that can improve your reputation with your customers.
- Manage subscriptions : Using automated billing software allows you to track recurring payments from the beginning to the end of the subscription. This helps minimize errors for stopped or canceled accounts.
- Reduction of overhead costs : Automating the invoicing process considerably reduces the risk of errors compared to manual processing, and also helps avoid missing certain accounts. This results in less need for labor and overtime costs.
Is it mandatory to use invoicing software?
No, it is not obligatory to use invoicing software For Your Business. However, we strongly recommend it in order to avoid many complications in terms of payment. (Management of unpaid debts, automatic reminders, etc.) Your cash flow will thank you.