Originally published in May 2024. Last updated on November 25, 2024.
For your small business to keep the lights on and grow, you need your customers to pay invoices on time. Using online invoicing software is the best way to stay on top of that—you’ll bill customers faster, track invoices more easily, and send follow-ups automatically.
It’s tough to choose the best invoicing software out of the hundreds of tools out there. So, we’ve narrowed them down to the most well-reviewed, flexible, and cost-effective invoicing options for small businesses.
Our top 8 invoicing software picks:
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Jobber: best invoicing for field services
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Wave: most beginner-friendly invoicing software
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QuickBooks Online: best all-in-one accounting and invoicing solution
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Zoho Invoice: best free billing software for small businesses
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Stripe: best for product-based and e-commerce businesses
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Square Invoices: best for in-person sales
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Hiveage: best for freelancers and consultants
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Bill.com: best for vendor invoicing and payments
What to look for in your invoice software
You’ll find many of the same features across all online invoicing software—like invoice customization, tracking, and automatic payment reminders. But some tools will fit your business better than others.
Choose software that’s built for your business type, size, and experience level. To help you, we labeled each software on this list with a quick description of who it’s best for.
Still, try to answer these questions when you’re choosing between invoicing tools:
- How easy is the software? How many steps does it take to create and send an invoice? Your invoicing software should be relatively easy to learn with some support. More specialized options, like accounting software that includes invoicing tools, will have a steeper learning curve.
- What invoice scheduling options are available? Does the software let you schedule progress invoices at specific milestones if you need to? Can you accept recurring payments for weekly customers?
- Does it automate your payment reminders? This is essential for any business owner to save time. Look for a tool that gives you templates for payment reminder messages, lets you customize them, and sends them automatically on a schedule you set.
- Is it easy to track your accounts receivable? Does the software give you a clear picture of who’s paid and who hasn’t? You might also want alerts when someone opens an invoice, or details on when a customer last opened their unpaid invoice.
- What are the payment processing fees? Most invoice apps let you accept online payments from customers. But each app offers different payment methods and processing fees, and may or may not provide a tip collection option.
- How much can you customize your invoices? Are custom colors and designs important? If so, look for software that gives you lots of templates to work from.
- Will it grow with you? If you plan on hiring more people or serving more locations, will the software be flexible enough to support that growth?
How we evaluated the invoicing software
We chose the software on this list by searching for invoicing tools made specifically for small businesses. We looked through hundreds of online invoicing solutions before narrowing our list down to the ones with the best customer reviews.
Then, we evaluated these options side by side to see which had better invoice creation, customization, scheduling, tracking, and follow-up tools. After reading what customers had to say about these features, we tested them out ourselves.
1. Jobber: best invoicing for field services
Available on desktop and mobile | See pricing
Jobber helps field service businesses invoice customers, collect payment, and run an all-around efficient business. You can use Jobber to invoice from your computer or mobile device—it’s made for teams that need to move from jobsite to jobsite.
With one click, you can generate a professional invoice that has accurate job details and convenient payment options, ready to send to the customer.
Or, make your invoice using the simple and flexible invoice builder if you’ve already completed the job.
Additional invoicing features
- Customize customer-friendly templates with your company branding, contact information, and your own message or disclaimer
- See which jobs are ready to invoice, and get reminders to send invoices for jobs you’ve just finished
- Send invoices in batches to save time and boost cash flow with just a few taps
- Automatically send a customized email or text follow-up to customers, reminding them to pay their outstanding invoice
- Accept online card payments, bank payments, or get paid in person with the Jobber Card Reader
- AI-powered business insights to get instant access to invoice KPIs
| Pricing | • Three subscription plans available starting at $69/month • 14-day free trial available |
| Integrations | • QuickBooks Online, Gusto, DocuSign, Zapier, and over 2,000 other popular business software |
| Customer support | • Live chat, email, and phone support available daily • Award-winning support team |
2. Wave: most beginner-friendly invoicing software
Available on desktop and mobile | See pricing
With a simple, clutter-free interface and quick setup process, Wave is great invoicing software for brand-new or less experienced business owners.
The invoice builder and reports in Wave are sleek and intuitive, so you’ll save time on top of saving money.
From a simple invoice tracking dashboard, you can see the total amount due from all outstanding invoices.
Wave lets you create, send, and track invoices for free. You’ll only pay credit card processing fees when you accept payments online.
Additional invoicing features
- Track the status of your invoices
- Set up automatic credit card payments
- Send automated payment reminders
| Pricing | • Free and paid plans available • Transaction fees apply when you accept online payments (fees are lower for paid plan users) |
| Integrations | • Only connects with other apps through Zapier and other third-party tools |
| Customer support | • Support is only available via email |
3. QuickBooks Online: best all-in-one accounting and invoicing solution
Available on desktop and mobile | See pricing
QuickBooks Online is invoicing and accounting software that helps you manage your accounts receivable and the rest of your finances, too—without bouncing between multiple tools.
QuickBooks Online offers every essential invoicing feature, like customization, automatic payment reminders, batch invoicing, and expense tracking.
You also get progress invoicing, which means you can invoice clients partially for deposits and after certain milestones or stages.
After you send an invoice, you can easily run an accounts receivable aging report to see which customers are late paying and how much cash you have in your business bank account to pay your bills.
Additional invoicing features
- Track billable expenses and link them to your invoices
- Set up alerts to know when customers pay invoices
- Schedule recurring invoices
| Pricing | • Two basic plans starting at $12/month • 30-day free trial available |
| Integrations | • Shopify, Method, Jobber, SOS Inventory, and many more |
| Customer support | • Quick setup and onboarding • Live chat, phone, and email support |
READ MORE: See our top accounting software picks for small businesses
4. Zoho Invoice: best free billing software for small businesses
Available on desktop and mobile | Free
Zoho Invoice is free invoicing software that works great for freelancers, startups, and any small business on a tight budget.
While building your invoice in Zoho, you can toggle between a ‘simplified’ view and a more complex one that shows you recommendations on what to include to complete your invoice.
Zoho stands out for having a ton of invoice templates with plenty of variety in their designs. Before selecting an invoice template, you can even live-preview each one with your own business’s information.
Additional invoicing features
- Customize the sender, CC, and subject line of your email before sending an invoice
- Invoice directly from your goods and services list
- Send automated payment reminders
- Choose between multiple payment gateways (like Stripe, Paypal, or GoCardless)
| Pricing | • No monthly fees or setup fees • Transaction fees apply if you use a payment gateway with Zoho Invoice |
| Integrations | • Connects with all other Zoho products (Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects, etc.) • Works with Stripe and Paypal |
| Customer support | • Support available by email or support form on their website |
5. Stripe: best for product-based and e-commerce businesses
Available on desktop and mobile | Free
Stripe is invoicing software for businesses that sell merchandise online or in person. Stripe is mostly known as a popular payment processing tool that integrates with many other business management apps, but it’s also great for invoice creation, automated invoice follow-ups, and reporting.
From your Stripe product catalog, it’s easy to create and manage merchandise items, then see reports on your best-selling inventory. Then grab items from your catalog, select quantities, and add them directly to your invoice.
In Stripe, you can customize invoices with your company branding and a thank-you note. Stripe lets you send invoices for free—you only pay a processing fee when your customers pay invoices online.
Additional invoicing features
- Schedule recurring invoices for product subscriptions
- Send one invoice to multiple customers at once
- Save and charge credit cards on file
- Track invoice and payment statuses in real time
6. Square Invoices: best for in-person sales
Available on desktop and mobile | Free
Just like Stripe, Square Invoices helps product-based businesses and on-the-go service providers invoice faster. The main difference is that Square is better as an in-person point-of-sale machine for sellers who need to invoice on the spot.
Your homepage will display a big “create invoice” button, which pops open a new window where you can add products to your Square invoice. Select a product from your existing item library, or add a new one on the spot.
Unlike Stripe, however, you can’t customize your invoice email before you send it—you’ll have to exit and edit your settings. What Square lacks in email personalization, it makes up for with a fast invoice sending experience that saves you time when selling in person.
Additional invoicing features
- Add attachments to invoices
- Send digital receipts through email or text
- An unlimited number of users can send out invoices
| Pricing | • Free and paid plans available • Processing fee for every successful charge • Accept pre-authorized debit for a separate processing fee |
| Integrations | • Connects with QuickBooks, Xero, Freshbooks, and many e-commerce tools |
| Customer support | • 24/7 chat support • Phone support available Monday–Friday |
7. Hiveage: best for freelancers and consultants
Available on desktop and mobile | See pricing
Hiveage (formerly Curdbee) is a freelancer and consultant-friendly invoicing software thanks to its flexible time tracking tool.
While most online invoicing tools include time tracking capabilities, Hiveage lets you save tasks and turn them into task templates after you’ve logged time on them.
So when you’re ready to do regularly scheduled work for a client, you can quickly add a new task starting from a saved template—then plug it right into your invoice.
Hiveage also has a live invoice editor, letting you see your invoice exactly how your client will see it as you edit.
Additional invoicing features
- Send invoices manually or automatically for recurring payments
- Save outgoing recurring payment invoices as drafts so you can approve them first
- Assign billing responsibilities to your team members
| Pricing | • One free plan and four paid plans available • Transaction fees apply for every successful charge |
| Integrations | • Enables payments through Worldpay and 14 other payment gateways |
| Customer support | • Only available through email and Twitter |
8. Bill.com: best for vendor invoicing and payments
Available on desktop and mobile | See pricing
Bill is the best invoicing app for businesses that need to manage vendor relationships. This app comes with strong accounts payable tools like easy invoice imports and an automated bill approval process.
When vendors email you their invoices, you’ll receive them directly in your Bill app inbox where your outgoing invoices are also stored. Then, you can pay vendors with credit card, check, ACH, and even international wire transfer.
Additional invoicing features
- Create custom fields for your invoices
- Send recurring invoices
- Track invoice and payment statuses
- Pay vendors and accept payments through an online portal
| Pricing | • Three monthly plans available • Offers custom pricing for businesses with special requirements |
| Integrations | • Connects with NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Xero, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 |
| Customer support | • Live chat and phone support are available daily during daytime hours |
If you try one of these online invoicing software options and it doesn’t work out, you can always switch to another. Take advantage of free trials—and monthly subscriptions that you can opt out of at any time.
Come back to this guide when you need help choosing software that fits your business better and helps you get paid faster.