Freshbooks
Over five million freelancers and small businesses trust Freshbooks for their invoicing and basic accounting needs. Freshbooks initial focus was on freelancers but they have expanded to cater for the needs of small businesses as well. The companies moto is to help you focus on your work by making invoicing and accounting as simple as possible.
Pricing
Plans range from $15 to $50 per month with 10% discount on annual subscriptions.
Features
- Mobile apps
- Time tracking
- Basic accounting
- Custom branding on invoices
- Online client payments via Strip and PayPal
- Custom login domains
- Great integration’s with some other major apps
- Import/export features
- 30 day money back guarantee
- Basic project management features
- Client portal
- Late payment reminders
Positives
- Intuitive and user friendly interface
- Great customer support
- Reasonable price for the features
- Great reputation
- Easy to learn
Negatives
- More expensive than some of the competition
- Limited invoice customization
- New app version has less features than Freshbooks classic
- Limited direct integration with major eCommerce sites
- No free plan
Conclusion
With the money back guarantee Freshbooks is worth a try. Most features freelancers and small businesses need are there. Their reputation is great and many users have been with them for years. However, for sending the occasional invoice it may be overkill and too expensive.
Zoho Invoice
Zoho is one of the main competitors of Freshbooks. The interface is slick and they are constantly adding new features. Zoho invoice was created in 2008. Their moto is to allow users to ‘spend more time on growing your business and less time on sending bills’. They have a great free plan to start you off and then reasonably priced paid plans as you grow your business.
Pricing
Free for up to 5 clients. Paid plans range from $9 to $29USD per month. Yearly subscriptions get 2 months free.
Features
- Payments collection
- Recurring invoices
- Estimates that can be turned into invoices
- Time tracking
- Expense recording and reporting
- Mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows
- Customization templates
- Workflow automation
- Collaboration features
- Great selection of integration’s
- Client portal
Positives
- Good supporting documents
- Responsive online support via chat
- Great integration with other Zoho products
Negatives
- Free version limited to 5 clients
- Custom domains only available on the most expensive plan
- No integration with Zoho inventory
Conclusion
If you are looking for something with all the features of Freshbooks but for substantially cheaper you should checkout Zoho invoice. Zoho are a solid company that has been around for over a decade. They have many apps to cater to different business needs and Zoho invoice is on of their best.
Wave Invoice
Wave is a unique product in that they offer a full featured and mature platform for free with no catches. They do however collect a small commission if you use their payment processing facilities (optional) and they are transparent about this. Wave has been operating since 2010 and have served over 3 million customers and tracked over $180 billion in income and expenses.
Pricing
Wave is free for all features with no credit card required unless you use their payroll service. They do however charge a small percentage to use their online payments.
Features
- Recurring billing feature
- Automated payment reminders
- Payment processing (with small fee)
- Invoice in any currency
- Invoice customization
- iOS and Android mobile apps
- Email integration with main services
- Automated sales tax calculations
Positives
- Free platform
- Maintained by a large team
- Intuitive and user friendly interface
- More advanced accounting and payroll features when needed
Negatives
- Fee on payment processing
Conclusion
Wave is one of the more exciting options on this list. They have a great reputation, a solid team and fantastic features. If you are looking for a free or paid solution they are worth checking out. They do charge a small fee on payments they process but that’s only if you use them for payments.
Invoicera
Invoicera is a full features invoicing app that has over 3 million users. Their focus is more on small to large enterprises rather than freelancers. Their products started as a premium invoicing solution but has since reduced prices to be more competitive.
Pricing
Free for up to 3 clients. Paid plans range from $15 to $149 USD a month. Annual plans get a 20% discount.
Features
- 15 day free trial
- Free limited plan for up to 3 clients
- Mobile apps
- Client portal
- Financial reporting
- Online payments with 25+ payment gateways
- Custom workflows
- Time tracking
- Multi currency support
- Purchase orders
- Late payment reminders
- Local installation available
- Over 35 integration’s
Positives
- Full featured
- Good reputation
- In business for over 10 years
Negatives
- Expensive compared to Zoho invoice
- Customer support lacking
- Features not updated as much as the competition
Conclusion
Invoicera is a premium invoicing solution that has been through good and bad stages. Their customer support was lacking but seems to have improved. They have a free plan so its worth checking out.
Hiveage
60000 small businesses and freelances use Hiveage for their small business invoicing. Their platform has been running since 2006. It is feature rich and capable. Unfortunately they began as a free service but no longer offer free plans. The current iteration focuses more on small businesses than freelancers.
Pricing
Plans range from $19 to $99USD a month. No free plans.
Features
- Estimates and quotes
- Accept online payments
- Reporting and basic accounting
- Recurring and subscription billing
- Team management
- Time tracking tool
- Expenses tracking
- Mileage/km tracking
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android
- Automated payment reminders
- Open API
Positives
- Invoice customization
- 14 day free trial
- Impressive automation features
- Extensive third party integration’s
- Focus on ease of use
- Data portability with export/import features
Negatives
- Expensive relative to the competition
- No free plan
- Mobile apps still in beta
Conclusion
Hiveage has a great set of features. At first glance the pricing seems expensive but looking at what you get it seems reasonable. It may however be overkill for solopreneurs and freelancers wanting to send the occasional invoice.
Due Invoicing
Due invoicing is a part of the due.com platform. They offer a fully featured service. Its not however transparent how they generate revenue. There is also less information available about due than the competition and not many comprehensive reviews.
Pricing
The due.com service is free. There isn’t any information available on paid plans.
Features
- Accept payments online
- Security focus
- Automated payment reminders
- Payment processing
- Advanced payment features such as digital wallet and eCheck
- Multiple languages and currencies
- Unlimited clients
- Automated late fees
- Tax calculation
- Team permissions
- Data export feature
Positives
- Clean intuitive interface
- Many of the same features as the paid alternatives
- Support section with FAQ and tutorials
- Used by some large companies
Negatives
- Selective on who are allowed to use the platform
- Numerous negative reviews
- No mobile apps
Conclusion
Due is another of the free options on this list. Their service is full featured with minimal restrictions. It is however unclear how they generate revenue. They also seem to be selective on who can use the platform. If your feeling adventurous they are worth a look. If you are looking for a simple free solution you might be better off with Zoho.
Sighted
Sighted is the first 100% free solution so far. It has a simple interface that will do what most freelancers and small businesses need. Its full featured so quite unique in that its free. Some websites indicate that the free plan offers 20 invoices per month for a single user and up to 10 clients.
Pricing
Free for all features. Some research suggests that their are limits on the free plan but no information on paid plan pricing.
Features
- Contact database
- Customization of invoices
- Hourly billing
- Multi currency
- Payment processing
- CSV file downloading
Positives
- Simple interface
- Free
- Most of the features freelancers need
Negatives
- No mobile apps
- Lack of transparency regarding paid plans
Conclusion
If you are looking for a free solution that isn’t as restricted as the others listed here then definitely checkout Sighted.
Simplybill
Simplybill is a full featured invoicing app that caters to medium to large businesses.
Pricing
Free for up to 3 invoices a month. Paid plans range from $5 to $25 USD a month.
Features
- Reporting
- Invoice open tracking
- PDF invoices
- Customizable invoices
- Overdue invoice tracking
- Reminders and thank-you messages
Positives
- 14 day free trial
- Custom headers on paid plans
Negatives
- Limited information on website
- No mobile apps
- Limited features compared to competition
- Branding on free plan
Conclusion
Simplybill has good reviews and offers a free plan so its worth investigating. The limited information on the website put it at a disadvantage to the competitions great websites with transparent information.
