If you are a small business owner, you likely don’t have an accountant. While an accountant can definitely be beneficial to a business, hiring one is not in everyone’s budget.
Thankfully, you don’t need to have a background in accounting to ensure your business’ finances run smoothly. That is why accounting and invoicing software was created. Business owners can utilize the software to manage and organize their finances on their own.
Invoicing software, in particular, can be used for sending invoices and receiving payment on them. A process that can be cumbersome but is extremely important. Otherwise, you won’t get paid. Utilizing invoicing software ensures that your clients receive professional invoices.
They can easily pay the invoices online. This also ensures that no invoices will go unnoticed as the software will notify you of any overdue payments.
If this happens, you can set up your software to send automatic payment reminders to your client. You won’t have to spend time following up on every invoice you send out.
Let’s take a look at four of the best options of invoicing software: Freshbooks, QuickBooks, Sage 50cloud, and Xero.
FreshBooks
First on our list of best invoicing software is FreshBooks. FreshBooks is actually a cloud-based accounting software. It is the perfect software for small businesses as it is super easy to use. FreshBooks has been around since 2003, so they have had plenty of time to perfect their accounting software.
FreshBooks can be used for any accounting needs. This includes time tracking, tax reports, accepting credit card payments and much more. Although FreshBooks has plenty of features, the software’s invoicing features are some of the best. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of using this accounting software for invoicing. Also, find out more about other top accounting software.
Pros
- FreshBooks has three different plans available: lite, plus, or premium. Each has different features and a different cost per month.
- With the lite plan, you can use the FreshBook billing and invoicing features for up to five clients.
- The FreshBooks Plus plan allows you to utilize billing and invoicing for up to 50 clients.
- Billing and invoicing up to 500 clients can be done with the premium plan.
- Customers can use FreshBooks to create an unlimited amount of customized invoices.
- Once you send invoices, you can get paid via online payments through FreshBooks.
- You can also set up recurring invoices at an extra cost.
- There is a free trial available to test out the accounting software.
- FreshBooks is extremely easy to use as it has a simple interface.
- There is also a mobile app so you can access the accounting software on the go.
- FreshBooks is one of the cheapest yet best accounting software options.
Cons
- Online payments made via invoices cost 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction for most credit cards.
- The lite plan is not great for billing and invoicing as you can only send invoices to 5 clients.
- There are also additional fees for recurring invoices. You will have to pay $20 extra per month and 3.5% per transaction.
Summary
If you are a small business looking to improve your billing and invoicing system, FreshBooks is a great option. With it, you can create customized invoices to send to your customers every month. You can then get paid completely online by credit card. Although FreshBook offers three plans, lite plus and premium, the lite version is not the best for billing and invoicing. Plus and Premium, however, are great options.
FreshBooks offers a free trial that you can take advantage of to test out the accounting software. This is the best way to see if it suits your business needs, so why not try it out?
Intuit QuickBooks Online
Another one of the best invoicing software options available is Intuit’s QuickBooks. The original QuickBooks software has been around since 1998, but an online version was created in 2002.
QuickBooks Online can be used for a number of things, such as payroll, expense and cash flow tracking, billing and invoicing, and much more. Here are the pros and cons of using Intuit’s QuickBooks Online software to send invoices.
Pros
- Invoices can be customized to represent your small business.
- You can turn estimates or quotes you created for customers into invoices.
- Small business owners can track invoicing payments at any time, anywhere. QuickBooks will show you invoices that are due and overdue.
- Clients that are overdue on their payments can be sent automatic email reminders.
- Invoices can be automated. This is great for small businesses that have regular clients as invoices can be scheduled (see the best scheduling software here) and will then generate and send automatically.
- The accounting software will create invoices with tax, discounts, and shipping costs calculated for you.
- Invoices can be sent via phone, tablet, or computer. You can even send invoices via Whatsapp if you want to.
- A 30-day free trial of the accounting software is available.
- You can accept payments from credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers.
Cons
- Time tracking is only available at an extra cost.
- QuickBooks is one of the more expensive invoicing software options. Plans range from $15 to $31 per month.
- As QuickBooks has so many features, learning how to use the software can be complicated.
Summary
Even though QuickBooks is one of the more expensive invoicing software options and it can be hard to learn, it is still one of the best platforms. Businesses of any size can take advantage of all the features QuickBooks has to offer, especially for billing and invoicing. Small businesses can save time by automating their invoicing system with QuickBooks.
As QuickBooks offers a 30-day free trial, users can test out the invoicing software before committing to any monthly payments. This is the best way to learn how to navigate the invoicing software to see if it works for your small business or not.
Sage 50cloud
The next best invoicing software is Sage 50cloud. Sage 50cloud has made a name for itself as the accounting software has been around since the 1980s. It is the best accounting software for small businesses and medium-sized ones.With it, you can create budgets, track expenses, send invoices, complete payroll and more. There are also add-ons for credit card processing and time tracking projections.
Although Sage 50cloud is invoicing software from the 80s, plenty of upgrades have been made since then. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of using Sage 50cloud for billing and invoicing.
Pros
- Payments can be made directly through your invoices as Sage 50cloud partnered with Paypal and Stripe.
- Small businesses can also accept payments via debit or credit card.
- Invoices can be customized and personalized depending on the client you are doing business with.
- Stripe and Paypal payments are fully secure.
- There is a free trial of Sage 50cloud available to test out the invoicing software.
- Sage 50cloud has great customer support that can be reached via email, live chat, or phone. Simply look for the ‘contact us’ section on their website.
- The invoicing software can be accessed on your desktop, web, or mobile.
- There is an easy to follow set-up guide to get started with the invoicing software.
- You can link your small business bank account with Sage 50cloud to record receipts and sales in real-time.
- Users can also track transactions to monitor when invoices are paid and when the money is received.
Cons
- Although Sage 50cloud is targeted to small business owners, it tends to be out of their budget. The cheapest plan available for this software is $50 per month.
- Learning how to use Sage 50cloud for accounting or invoicing can be hard.
Summary
Sage 50cloud is one of the best accounting software options for bigger businesses. Small businesses may have a hard time utilizing all the features Sage 50cloud has to offer. Learning how to use the software is also another challenge. As Sage 50cloud is also expensive, the cheapest plan being $50 a month, it tends to be out of budget for most small business owners.
That being said, Sage 50cloud is the best option for any business that needs in-depth accounting software. Try out their 30-day free trial to see if this accounting software is the best option for your business.
Xero
Last but not least, on our best invoicing software list is Xero. Xero is the best option for small business owners because it is affordable and easy to use. This accounting software has many great features, including the ability to easily send invoices. The company is based in New Zealand, but their accounting software is available globally.
Xero is also a cloud-based accounting software. This means you can easily access the financial information for your business from anywhere. Here are some of the pros and cons of using this accounting software for invoices.
Pros
- Xero comes with great templates for invoices that can be customized easily. For example, you can edit the themes, add payment terms, and upload a logo.
- You can send automated invoice reminders to any clients you do business with.
- If a client sees the invoice, this accounting software will show you.
- It is possible to speed up your invoicing by inputting preset inventory items, replicating previous invoices or setting up recurring ones.
- Invoices are protected from unauthorized changes. This is the best way to ensure that what you send out cannot be changed by any clients.
- It is possible to send multiple invoices at once.
- Clients you do business with can make payments via debit card, credit card, or Stripe.
- You can create and send an invoice on your phone or tablet for accounting on the go.
- There is a 30-day free trial of this accounting software.
- You can easily add any billable expenses to your business invoice.
- An unlimited amount of users can use your software. Perfect for any business that has multiple people in accounting.
Cons
- There is a limit of 1,000 invoices and purchase orders per month with this accounting software.
- Similarly, there is a limit of 2,000 monthly transactions.
Summary
This software best suits the needs of small businesses. This is due to its transactions, invoices, and purchase order limitations. Bigger businesses may benefit more from one of our previous recommendations. That being said, Xero has everything a smaller business could need. You can create customized invoices that recur every month and easily access your business data from any phone or computer.
Xero also allows you to have an unlimited amount of users, so anyone in your business can access the pertinent information. The best part of Xero is that it is constantly updated and improved, so you’ll always have the best software available for your business.
How to Pick The Right Invoicing Software
As we discussed four of the best options of invoicing software, you still may not be sure which is the best one for your business. When choosing the right invoicing software, here are some of the things you should consider.
The first thing you should think about is your budget. If your business is fairly new or small, you likely won’t have a big budget for invoicing software. This means platforms like Sage 50cloud at $50 a month are likely out of your budget. You can still get great software, such as QuickBooks, for around $15 per month.
The next thing you should consider is the features you need for your business. Do you just need a simple system that will send out invoices? Do you need time tracking to be integrated? Do you need automatic payment reminders? Whatever your needs are for your business, you should ensure the software offers the necessary features first.
Using a free trial to test out the software is a great way of checking if it will work well for your business’ needs and budget.
The Bottom Line
Although every business wants to be paid, reaching out to customers to ensure they receive that payment can be tiresome. There is nothing fun about billing and invoicing, and the process likely seems never ending because it is. You will likely always have an outstanding payment. Thankfully, billing and invoicing software exists to help make the process easier.
With invoicing software, businesses can easily create personalized invoices to be sent out to their customers. This can either be done manually or automatically for recurring customers. Then, businesses can monitor whether or not the invoice gets paid. If it is overdue, your software can typically email a payment reminder automatically to clients. This saves you the trouble of tracking and following up on every invoice yourself.
Similarly, customers can pay the invoice directly with your invoicing software. Most platforms accept credit and debit cards. Some partner with third-party platforms like Paypal or Stripe to make payment even easier.
Using invoicing software can also help you keep track of your finances much easier as all the transactions and payments will be generated into reports.
If you aren’t sure what kind of invoicing software is best for your business, try a few! Most companies offer free trials of 30 days for businesses to try out the software. FreshBooks, QuickBooks, Sage 50cloud, and Xero all offer a free trial. Head to their respective websites now to test one out!
