5 Best Free Invoicing Software in 2024

Are unpaid invoices piling up and troubling your cash flow management? 

Manually creating, sending, and tracking dozens of invoices is a time-sucking process that all too often results in errors and late payments. 

Notably, 87% of businesses paid late, and 61% of delayed payments are attributed to inaccurate invoices. 

Free invoicing software can offer a cost-effective solution. These tools simplify and automate the billing process, enabling you to reduce the time spent on paperwork, create accurate invoices, and send them instantly.

In this article, we will explore the best free invoicing software that can help you invoice in less time and get paid faster. 

Let's get into it. 

1. Statrys Invoicing

Statrys Invoicing is a user-friendly and effective online tool that allows anyone to create, send, track, and manage their invoices in multiple currencies, as well as manage and settle invoices from vendors. 

The signup process is simple and fast, and no credit card is required because the service is available for free.

Statys Invoicing Key Features

• Create branded invoices easily
• Duplicate and edit invoices
• Offer various payment options, including PayPal links, QR codes, and PayMe
• Download PDF files
• Share invoices via email and WhatsApp
• Get notified when clients view invoices
• Automate payment reminders
• Upload and store supplier invoices
• Capture invoice details with invoice OCR technology
• Define approval workflows for supplier invoices
• Real-time payment tracking to vendors

Statys Invoicing Pricing 

Statrys Invoicing is entirely free with no paid plans.

Statys Invoicing Pros and Cons 

2. Zoho Invoice

Zoho is a software company that offers a wide range of business products with over 55 offerings in areas like sales, CRM, finance, and office tools. They serve a wide customer base of over 100 million users.

One of their notable products is Zoho Invoice, an invoicing software solution that includes features like invoicing, payment processing, quotes, a customer portal, time tracking, and expense management.

Zoho has catered to various industries, including professional services, startups, house maintenance services, estate Consultants, and trust and nonprofit entities.

Zoho Invoice Key Features

• Invoice templates
• Recurring invoice
• Scheduled invoice
• Digital signature  
• Print or email a copy of an invoice
• Real-time report 
• Payment collection via credit card, cash, checks, and ACH.
• Integration with payment gateways
• Create quotes and turn quotes into invoices 
• Customer portal where customers can monitor their transactions 
• Request customer feedback
• Track expenses from invoice analysis 

🔎 Tip: Read our detailed Zoho invoice review for more information

Zoho Invoice Pricing

Zoho Invoice

Zoho Billing

Zoho Invoice Pros and Cons 

3. Wave

Wave invoicing software, headquartered in Toronto, Canada's East Bayfront neighborhood, offers financial services and software tailored for small business owners, freelancers, self-employed entrepreneurs, consultants, and contractors. 

Wave covers invoicing, payment, payroll, accounting, mobile receipt, and advisor features. They are trusted by more than 300,000 small business owners in North America.

Wave Key Features

• Quickly create and send invoices
• Set up recurring billing
• Manage accounts receivable
• Access a dashboard
• Enjoy automated bookkeeping
• Accept all major credit cards 
• Accept card payments over the phone, online, and in person
• Accept Apple Pay
• Receive notifications when invoices are viewed, become due, or are paid
• Access bookkeeping and accounting support as an add-on service

🔎 Tip: Want to know more about Wave? Read our Wave Invoicing Review

Wave Pricing 

Wave Pros and Cons

4. Square Invoice

Square is a versatile company that provides comprehensive commerce solutions to businesses of all sizes. Initially established as a payment service, they have since diversified into software, financial services, and omnichannel solutions.

Among its array of products is Square Invoice, a free invoicing software that streamlines invoice, estimate, and payment management for businesses, facilitating both online and in-person payments.

Square has catered to freelancers, professionals, field service providers, retailers, health and wellness establishments, food and beverage businesses, as well as various organizations.

Square Invoice Key Features

• Unlimited invoicing
• Recurring invoice feature
• Automatic payment reminder
• Status tracking
• Digital receipts 
• Request payments via email, SMS, and shareable links
• Offer Afterpay Buy Now Pay Later option
• Accept swipe, dip, or tap payments with the Square Invoices app and Square Hardware
• Store customer details
• Reports

🔎 Tip: Explore our Square Invoice Review for more details.

Square Invoice Pricing 

The Free Plan offers the software for free. However, card processing fees are applicable when customers opt to pay their invoices with a card. 

Note that card processing fees differ between the Free Plan and the Pro Plan as well.

Square Invoice Free Plan Features

• Unlimited invoicing, estimates, and contracts
• Unlimited users and customers
• Send through email, SMS, or by manually sharing a link 
• 24/7 payment acceptance

Square Invoice Plus Plan

Everything in the free plan plus 

• Multi-package estimates
• Auto-conversion of accepted estimates to invoices
• Milestone-based payment schedules
• Customizable and reusable invoice templates
• Project workspaces
• Project tracking
• Client-accessible project files and updates

Square Invoice Pros and Cons

5. Invoice Ninja 

Invoice Ninja is another invoicing solution that you can use to generate invoices, accept online payments, monitor expenses, billable tasks, and more.

Invoice Ninja also comes with open-source development with a self-hosting option, REST-based API, and documentation. 

They have served freelancers, coaches, consultants, business services, tradespersons, gig-economy providers, and other small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). 

Invoice Ninja Key Features

• Invoice templates
• Recurring invoices features
• Multiple payment options
• Dashboard and reports
• Inventory management 
• Client and vendor portals
• Support for quotes and purchase orders
• Task and project management tools
• Integration with Gmail, MSN, Zapier, and other API compatibility

Invoice Ninja Pricing

Free Plan Features

• 20 clients with unlimited invoicing
• 4 invoice templates
• Automate billing and recurring invoices
• Generate real-time invoice PDFs
• Accept online payment
• Accept deposits and partial payments
• Set up vendor accounts and track expenses
• Access to product item library and inventory
• Project management using Kanban boards
• Apply taxes on a per-line item or invoice total basis
• Receive alerts when invoices are viewed and paid
• Client Portal
• Configure credit card gateway fees
• Monitor invoice email delivery statistics
• Automatically handle currency conversions

Ninja Pro Features

Everything in the Free plan, plus

• Unlimited clients and invoices
• 10 invoice templates
• Remove "Powered by Invoice Ninja"
• Email invoices via Gmail and MSN
• Use a branded URL 
• Customize invoice designs
• Automate recurring invoices
• Integrate with third-party apps via API
• Password-protect the client portal
• Set up auto-reminder emails
• Auto-attach invoice PDFs to emails
• Display client e-signatures on invoices
• Include an 'Approve Terms' checkbox
• Access various reports
• Bulk email invoices, quotes, and credits
• Manage 10 companies with one login
• Configure unique "Client Group" settings

Enterprise Plan Features

Everything in the Ninja Pro plan, plus

• Add up to 20 users with tailored access
• Attach diverse file types to emails and client portal
• Get a fully branded client portal
• Integrate financial accounts and sync bank transactions

Invoice Ninja Pros and Cons

Why Use Invoicing Software?

Businesses have been creating invoices and managing invoice payments in spreadsheets for ages,  so why switch to software? 

There are several important reasons to make the move:

Efficiency, Accuracy, and Time-Effectiveness

Almost 40% of invoices contain mistakes, including incorrect billing addresses, overbilling, or duplicate payments. These errors result in delayed payments, lost revenue, and extra administrative work and time to correct mistakes.

Invoicing software can help eliminate those errors. You only need to enter details like customer information, company addresses, product codes, pricing, and more once, and the next time, they can be retrieved from the company's existing records, eliminating the potential for typos and incorrect values.

Storing all invoice data in one place also minimizes duplications and ensures consistency across documents. 

Additionally, these invoice templates can be easily duplicated and customized for returning customers, saving a significant amount of time. 

Tasks like sending invoices can also be automated—they can be emailed immediately after placing an order. This frees up employees to focus on more strategic work that is less repetitive. 

Faster Payment Collection

Late payments are a significant challenge for businesses today, with 87% of them facing delayed payments.

Invoicing software can help address this issue by offering a more convenient and user-friendly invoicing and payment process for clients, thereby encouraging quicker payments. 

To elaborate,

• Software can be automated - Invoices can be automatically sent as soon as an order is received, and you can configure automatic reminders to keep clients informed about due dates and overdue payments. This not only saves time but also reduces the effort spent on chasing outstanding invoices. 
• Software can provide convenient payment options - Many software allows you to generate payment links, add a "Pay Now" button, and integrate various payment gateways to your invoices, enabling clients to make prompt online payments.

Simplified Tax Management

If you rely on paper invoices, emails, and spreadsheets for bookkeeping, then you need to manually filter, fill out forms, and track expenses.

On the other hand, efficient invoicing software includes a comprehensive expense tracking feature and organized reporting. This simplifies the process and ultimately reduces the workload during tax season. 

You can effortlessly filter and view precise financial data in customizable reports. 

The software makes it simple to stay on top of pending business transactions as well. 

In many cases, automatic application of tax rates to invoices adds an extra layer of convenience. This leads to even more seamless reporting and financial management over the course of a fiscal year.  

Integration Capabilities 

Invoicing software can integrate with your other business-related software, such as accounting, project management, CRM, and inventory management. You can also sync your data across different devices and platforms, helping you streamline your workflow and avoid data duplication.  

Professionalism 

Visual appeal that represents your brand and usability that ensures clients can easily find the payment information are equally important.

A well-designed template in invoicing software can achieve both, saving you time compared to manually designing invoices in programs like Word or Excel.  

Templates and software can handle formatting and alignment intuitively; no more squinting at crooked lines or spending extra minutes dragging elements into place. 

How to Choose the Right Invoicing Software? 

These are some of the main factors that you should consider when choosing the right invoicing software for your business. 

Understand Your Business Needs

Start by taking inventory of your actual payment processing needs, and focus on the core features that will benefit your business.  

For instance, consider:

• How many invoices do you send per month?
• What kind of payment methods do you accept?
• Do you need to send invoices in multiple currencies or languages?
• Do you need to track time, expenses, or inventory?
• What software integration do you need? 
• What kind of reports or analytics do you need?

Select software with the exact features you need. An excess of features can lead to complexity, a steeper learning curve, and potentially higher costs.

💡 Tip: Always start with the free plan or trial to determine if the software truly suits your needs.

Set A Budget

Invoicing software prices are typically determined by the functionality and support they offer. 

Factors influencing the cost include

• The number of allowed users, clients, and invoices
• The level of customization or branding options
• Availability of customer service or technical support

To make the best choice, it's a good idea to have a budget in mind and compare various plans and pricing options.

Take into account the pricing models as well, as there are options like subscription plans and some pay-as-you-go services to choose from. A subscription may work best if you process payments regularly, while pay-as-you-go could save money if volumes fluctuate.   

At the end of the day, the goal is to find a payment processing solution that facilitates payments without hurting your bottom line.

Evaluate Integration Capabilities

Assess if you need to integrate your invoicing software with other existing tools or apps that you use for your business, such as accounting software, CRM system, project management tool, or payment gateway. 

If you do, it's best to check not only what integrations are available but also how easy they are to set up and use.

Explore Customization Options

Effective invoicing software should allow you to create professional-looking invoices that reflect your brand identity. 

Specifically, it should allow customization of layout, design, colors, fonts, logos, and signatures. You should also be able to add custom fields, terms, discounts, taxes, or notes. 

Assess User-Friendliness

Invoicing software should be easy to navigate for both you and your clients.

Look for invoicing software with a user-friendly interface, fast performance, and responsive customer support. It should let you create and send invoices from various devices, track payments, and notify you of any overdue or disputed invoices. 

Your clients should also find it easy to view and pay their bills with a few clicks.

Free plans or free trials can help you grasp how user-friendly the platform is for you.

Final Thoughts  

To wrap up the list, we recommend Statrys for handling different currencies, Zoho Invoice for its large user base, Wave for North American small businesses, Square Invoice for both online and in-person solutions, and Invoice Ninja for its unique self-hosted invoicing system offering. 

When selecting invoicing software, align it with your business requirements and budget. Prioritize user-friendliness, customization, and integration capabilities. Lastly, testing free versions is the best approach to determine the best fit. 

With the right fit, invoicing software can streamline billing, save time, and speed up your payments!