While the upgraded features aren't free, they are affordable (Payroll, for example, starts at $20/month), and you won't have to switch apps as your business grows.īut if all you need is invoicing, Wave is still one of the easiest and best options. There's a good chance you'll need these additional features down the road. You can even use Wave Money as your main business bank account. It's the additional features, like payroll and tax filing, that make this platform ideal for growing businesses. Need to add a discount, adjust pricing, or add a note? You can do all that with the click of a button. And with Wave's newly overhauled mobile app, you can do it from anywhere. Choose from several templates, add a logo, and adjust colors. To create an invoice, click Create a new on your dashboard, then select Invoice. Wave's invoicing features are intuitive to navigate and include several templates, so you can customize the layout and design. It's a full-featured business app that connects to your bank account to track expenses, send invoices, access detailed reports, and (if you need it) even reconcile your accounts for free. Wave is a solid option to send invoices and track where all your cash goes-including cash coming and going. Invoices aren't as customizable as some other options For those that use third-party payment gateways, the fees are typically subject to the terms of the payment gateway you use to accept payments.įull feature set with accounting features For invoicing apps that are also payment gateways, I've listed the applicable fees.

Others use third-party payment gateways to process payments. Some of the tools below-like PayPal and Stripe-are payment gateways. Those fees are automatically deducted from any payment you receive. So even though the invoicing software itself is free to use, all of the apps charge payment processing and transaction fees for accepting payments. In that case, you can use this invoice template in Google Docs and just email it off when it's ready.Īnother important thing to note: all online payments require the use of a payment gateway-a service that processes card and bank payments. If you only send one or two invoices a month, you might not need the bells and whistles of a complete platform. I looked specifically for tools that offer this feature whenever possible. Whether you have a subscription-based company or use retainers, being able to bill automatically can save you tons of time. I looked for invoicing tools that offer robust reporting features, so you can see where you stand. Knowing where your money is going is crucial to running a successful business. I tested all the customization features for each of these invoice tools. Customizing your invoice to add brand colors and logos also helps your clients know your invoice is legitimate. Branding is what sets your business apart. All the invoicing tools on this list offer a solid suite of features for free.Ībility to customize invoices. Some 'free' plans are just lead magnets to get you to sign up for a paid plan.

To find the best platforms, I signed up for a free version of each and tested it by creating and customizing a few invoices, adding new clients, digging into the report settings, and testing any automation features. That's because every business is different-a freelance SEO consultant, for example, needs different features than a business coach. There's no one perfect solution when it comes to the best free invoicing tools. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog. We're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site-we value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. Unless explicitly stated, we spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it's intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. Our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software.

Online billing software