Best invoice software for small business, compared on facts

Invoice Simple is a phone-first invoice maker, with an app for iPhone and Android and a web version. The free plan of the Invoice Simple app sends a few invoices a month, with estimates included, and the paid plans lift the cap. The Invoice Simple estimate maker turns an accepted estimate into an invoice. There are no recurring invoices on any plan, and no accounting behind it.

Best for: A trade that invoices on site from a phone.

Invoice Simple’s site

Invoice Home (invoicehome.com) is a web and mobile invoice tool with a large library of templates. The Invoice Home free plan is capped by the total you invoice each month; the paid plan removes the cap. Recurring invoices and online payments through PayPal or Stripe are in. The Invoice Home app is on both phone stores.

Best for: A side business that sends a few invoices a month and wants them to look finished.

Invoice Home’s site

The Bookipi invoice app, from an Australian company, is free for iPhone, Android and the web. The free plan sends a few invoices a month; the paid plans add unlimited invoices, recurring invoices and reminders. Invoices can be paid online through its own payments.

Best for: A sole trader who wants a free app that grows into a paid one.

Bookipi’s site

Invoice2go is a mobile invoice app now owned by Bill. The Invoice2go app does invoices, estimates, recurring invoices, expenses and online payments, with a web version. There is no free plan, only a trial.

Best for: A small business that wants a phone app with recurring invoices and expenses.

Invoice2go’s site

Skynova invoice software is the product that used to be Aynax; the Aynax invoice site was renamed in 2020. It sells modules, one at a time: invoices, estimates, receipts, recurring invoices and bookkeeping, each with a free tier and a paid tier. Online payment runs through PayPal only. It is web first, with no accounting system underneath.

Best for: A small business that wants to pay for the invoice module and nothing else.

Skynova (formerly Aynax)’s site

SumUp Invoices is free to use, from SumUp, the card-reader company. Invoices, quotes, recurring invoices, credit notes and a mobile app are all on the free plan; SumUp earns a fee only when an invoice is paid online. It suits a shop or a trade that already takes SumUp card payments. There is no accounting behind it.

Best for: A shop or a trade that already uses a SumUp reader.

SumUp Invoices’s site

Harvest invoice tools sit on top of time tracking: hours and expenses become an invoice, and the invoice can be paid online. The free plan covers one person and a couple of projects. Estimates, recurring invoices and retainers are in. It is used by freelancers and small agencies that bill by the hour.

Best for: A freelancer or small agency that bills by the hour.

Harvest’s site

Bonsai invoice tools are part of a freelancer suite: proposals, contracts, time tracking, invoices, a client portal and simple bookkeeping. It suits a solo consultant or a small studio that wants the paperwork in one place. There is no free plan, only a short trial, and the top plan has a three-user minimum.

Best for: A solo consultant who wants the contract, the hours and the invoice in one tool.

Bonsai’s site

The Odoo invoice app, Odoo Invoicing, is free on its own for unlimited users under Odoo's one-app-free plan. Invoices, credit notes, online payments and customer statements are in; quotes come from the Sales app and recurring billing from the Subscriptions app, and adding either makes the account paid. There is a full accounting system underneath if you want one.

Best for: A company that expects to grow into Odoo accounting and inventory.

Odoo Invoicing’s site

Spodus is a client-operations workspace with invoicing inside it: invoices, recurring invoices, quotes and estimates, tax rates, and an invoice link the client opens without an account. The invoice sits on the same record as the deal and the support ticket. Spodus has no card checkout, so you record a payment when it arrives. There is no free plan and no seat minimum.

Best for: A service business with repeat clients that wants invoices beside the CRM and support.

InvoicePlane is free, open-source invoicing software that you install on a web host. Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, clients and payment gateways are in, and there is no company behind it selling plans. It suits someone comfortable hosting a PHP app. There is no mobile app and no support desk.

Best for: A technical owner who wants invoicing with no subscription at all.

InvoicePlane’s site

Invoiced is accounts-receivable software for finance teams at mid-sized companies. Each invoice by Invoiced goes out with automated reminders, collections and payment matching on top of your accounting system. Pricing is by quote, and there is no free plan. It is too much for a solo business.

Best for: A finance team chasing hundreds of invoices a month.

Invoiced’s site

There is no Google invoice product. A Google Docs invoice or a Google Sheets invoice is a template you copy, fill in and export as a PDF, and Google Workspace has no invoicing tool of its own. A Sheets template can add up line items; a Docs one cannot. It works for a few invoices a year, and nothing tracks whether they were paid.

Best for: Someone who sends a handful of invoices a year and already lives in Google Docs.