Whether you are running a company or a freelancer, you may often need to invoice or send receipts to your clients. Are you still using Word or Excel templates to construct and manage your invoices? Read about our 4 recommendations on invoicing tools below!
Comparisons of invoicing tools
Criterion |
FreshBooks |
Zoho Invoice |
Reap |
Invoicely |
Monthly Charge |
Starts from USD 6 |
USD 0 - 33 |
Free |
USD 0 - 29.99 |
Interface Language |
English/ French |
English |
Traditional Chinese/ English |
English |
Number of invoice to be created |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
5/Month for free version |
Number of recipients |
5 For Basic Plan |
5 For Free |
Unlimited |
3 For Free |
Stripe enabled? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Only Paid Version |
Paypal enabled? |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Currency support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Automated invoice tracking? |
Only For Premium Plan |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Invoicing tool #1: FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a paid invoicing and bookkeeping management software. Different plans are available, which are applicable to and widely adopted by freelancers, SMEs and even large corporations. FreshBooks' biggest selling point is its double-entry accounting functionality, which further strengthens the accuracy of auditing and bookkeeping of a company. As a result, you will even have to pay for its most basic plan.
Other than providing several templates for invoicing, FreshBooks accepts payment via bank transfer and credit cards. It also provides a tracking system that tracks the date of invoice and notifies you automatically whenever clients still have not made the payment before the due time. More that, FreshBooks also provides an application that supports mobile use, facilitating your convenience whenever you would like to check the records.
Invoicing tool #2: Reap Invoice
Reap Invoice is the only payment collection tool that also supports the use of a Traditional Chinese integrated interface and provides Cantonese and English speaking customer service for its users among the 4 software we are recommending. This makes it more user friendly for Hong Kongers.
On top of that, the all-in-one service provided by Reap is free. From simply creating and sending out an invoice, Reap also provides Reap Collect, which allows you to collect payments from over 135 currencies and methods ranging from credit cards, cheques or bank transfer, enabling you to collect your payments as quickly as possible. The whole collection process is trackable with the help of Reap Dashboard, which also supports automated bill follow-ups. With Reap, you can visualise all the expenses and income data of your company and avoid manually inputting and managing the numbers using Excel. Even if Reap Invoice is a free tool, you can also customise your own invoice on our platform, such as adding your business logo or changing the colour. Reap is the go-to tool that provides an all-rounded service for your business' financial management.
Invoicing tool #3: Zoho Invoice
Zoho is famous for providing a series of cloud-integrated SaaS. Zoho Invoice is suitable for those who want to create highly customised invoice templates. Additionally, Zoho Invoice can also integrate with multiple software, such as Zoho's CRM software, Google Apps, One Drive etc., which can further synchronise your workflow and management.
Zoho Invoice targets SMEs. Its free version allows users to access the majority of its features, but limits you to send out invoices to 5 recipients per month. If you are not going to frequently invoice, perhaps Zoho may be the right choice for you.
Invoicing tool #4: Invoicely
Invoicely is the simplest tool that creates different invoices for companies, while supporting multiple country currencies, with powerful reporting functionalities. Although Invoicely provides a free version, its functions are much more limited than the other 3 software suggested - only 3 recipients can be supported and 5 invoices can be created per month.
On top of that, the level of customisability of invoice templates by Invoicely is relatively low, and you cannot add your own brand elements using the free version. If you are not looking for sophisticated functionalities in an invoicing tool, Invoicely can also be an option for you.
Conclusion
Traditional invoicing relies heavily on manual labour in terms of data inputting and auditing, which means that errors or delays in payments are inevitable. If you would like to save your time and reduce errors, just give the above suggestions a go! Say goodbye to your Excel spreadsheets!