If you’re running a business, staying on top of your finances is critical. Estimates and invoices are both crucial to freelancers, service-based businesses, and many other types of businesses. Luckily, there’s software available to help you combine both of these. Some of them are simple and provide estimating and invoicing tools with a no-frills approach, while others also include other project management tools. To help you choose the best software for your needs, we’ve compiled the 9 best options for estimating and invoicing software.
Top 9 Estimating and Invoicing Software
- Freshbooks – best cloud-based software
- Bonsai – Best for brand invoicing
- Jobber – best for home services
- ZohoBooks – best for new businesses
- Zistemo – best for freelancers
- Apptivo – best for growing businesses
- Invoice Simple – best for small businesses
- MoonInvoice – best for detailed estimates and invoices
- Honeybook – best for creative professionals
1. FreshBooks: Best cloud-based software
Price: $1.90/month ($19/month after first three months)
FreshBooks is a cloud-based software with numerous estimating and invoicing features. FreshBooks offers customizable proposals, which you can send to your clients as estimates and, if they accept the project, easily turn into invoices. It also allows you to see whether the client has viewed your estimate and when they accept it. After adding your logo and personal information to the invoice, you can send it to the client and process their payment. Plus, you can automate many functions for your convenience.
Key features:
- Track estimate status
- Respond to estimates online
- Customizable proposals
- Customizable invoice generator
- Payment processing
- Retainer summary reports
- Inventory tracking on billed invoices
- Automatically calculate taxes
- Offer discounts
- Access anywhere via iOS or Android
Reasons to buy:
- Affordable
Reasons to avoid:
- Not ideal for large organizations
2. Bonsai – Best for brand invoicing
Price: Starts at $24 per month
With so many businesses opening up daily, you need to distinguish yourself from the rest. One of the best ways to do this is through the power of branding. This means you must add your branding elements to everything that you provide your clients and customers.
Bonsai has one of the top invoicing tools that will enable you to send personalized invoices to your clients. It will only take you a few seconds to create some of the most beautiful invoices that reflect your brand. Besides that, you can use this tool to send automatic payment reminders to clients so you can get paid on time.
There are also various global payment options that you can activate, which include PayPal, ACH, credit card, and more. Businesses also have the option of setting up subscriptions or recurring payments for clients they are working on long projects with.
So, if you are looking for the best invoicing solution to create personalized invoices, then Bonsai will be the top choice for you. There are incredible features you will get with this tool that will completely change the way you get payments from your clients.
Key Features:
- Auto-creation of invoice
- Automatic late fee reminder
- Create custom packages
- Payment reminders
- Global payment options
Reasons To Buy:
- It will take you seconds to set up invoices
- You can send invoices to customers that showcase your brand
- The plans are affordable
Reasons To Avoid:
- The Bonsai Payments are only for users from Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US
3. Jobber: Best for home services
Price: $39/month (14 day free trial)
If you’re managing a home services business, Jobber will allow you to give quotes and send invoices. Designed for small to medium home repair businesses, Jobber will save you time by streamlining your administration. This software lets you send quotes to clients via text, sends automatic follow-up emails to clients, and allows you send invoices and process payments. If you’re looking to make your service more convenient, Jobber is a great choice.
Key features:
- Service estimates
- Invoicing
- Client hub
- Online booking
- Lead management
- Referrals
- Job forms
- Time and expense tracking
- Payment processing
- Route tracking
- Mobile app
Reasons to buy:
- Great for small to medium teams
Reasons to avoid:
- Not idea for other types of businesses
4. ZohoBooks: Best for new businesses
Price: Free for businesses earning less than 50k per year
Although ZohoBooks is only free for businesses earning under 50k per year, they offer an impressive range of features free of charge. With easily customizable estimating software, ZohoBooks allows you to rapidly send estimates to clients, convert estimates to invoices, and process payments. If you’re launching a new venture and want to keep business costs low, ZohoBooks will give you everything you need to help you stay organized without breaking the bank.
Key features:
- Customizable estimates
- Client portal
- Converts estimates into invoices
- Customizable invoices
- Automated reminders
- Multi-currency pricing
- Records retainer invoices
- Handle returns and refunds
- Integrates with other Zoho products
Reasons to buy:
- Great automated features
Reasons to avoid:
- No built-in payroll features
5. Zistemo: Best for freelancers
Price: $15/month (30 day free trial)
If you’re a freelancer, Zistemo offers a simple and affordable way to streamline your business administration needs. With a simple and intuitive design, Zistemo offers all the key features you need to keep track of your business without any extraneous distractions. With the added bonus of time tracking and project management features, it allows you to track your workflow, expenses, and income.
Key features:
- Customizable estimating and invoicing templates
- Automated payment reminders
- Time tracking
- Project management
- SSL encryption
- Detailed expense reporting
- Link expenses to tax forms
- Receive online payments
Reasons to buy:
- Simple and easy to use
Reasons to avoid:
- Basic price plan only includes one user
6. Apptivo: Best for growing businesses
Price: $8/month/user
Apptivo offers an affordable solution to send estimates and invoices and keep track of your business’s resources. If you’re running a small yet growing business, Apptivo is a great option. It allows you to start small and easily add more users, clients, and access support as your business grows. They also have a highly reliable customer support team, so if tech is not your strong point, Apptivo has you covered.
Key features:
- Cloud-based
- Estimate and invoice customization
- Expense reports
- Vendor tracking and purchasing
- Inventory tracking
- Project management
- CRM
- Web help desk
- Field services
- Mobile access
Reasons to buy:
- Great customer service
Reasons to avoid:
- Annual billing
- No built-in payment processing
7. Invoice Simple: Best for small businesses
Price: Need-based
As the name suggests, Invoice Simple provides an incredibly simple way to send estimates and invoices. They don’t have as many extra features, such as time tracking and project management, but their no-frills approach is reliable, effective, and great for anyone running a small business who wants to focus on basics. Their estimating and invoicing templates are simple yet professional, and their intuitive design makes the software incredibly easy to use. Created by a small business owner for small businesses, Invoice Simple was designed with your needs in mind.
Key features:
- Customizable estimate templates
- Invoice generator
- Easily convert estimates to invoices
- Mobile app
- Receipts
- Send estimates and invoices via email or text
- Payment processing
Reasons to buy:
- Simple, easy to use
- Includes formatting guides and tips
Reasons to avoid:
- No inventory management
8. Moon Invoice: Best for detailed estimates and invoices
Price: $7.49/month (45% off for 12 months)
With many different estimating templates, ranging from simple to incredibly detailed, Moon Invoice makes it easy to tailor your estimates to your needs. Plus, Moon Invoice makes it easy to convert estimates into invoices. They also have templates for many different kinds of invoices, including proforma invoices, commercial invoices, recurring invoices, and more. This software is great for small businesses, freelancers, and small NGOs. Although it doesn’t have as many extra features as some of the other options, it makes it easy to send quotes to clients and keep your finances organized.
Key features:
- Estimating and Invoicing templates
- Online payments
- Time tracking
- Expense tracking
- Receipt maker
- Business reports
- Cloud syncing
- SSL encryption
Reasons to buy:
- Affordable
Reasons to avoid:
- Not designed for large organizations
9. Honeybook: Best for Creative Professionals
Price: $1/month for first 6 months (7 day free trial)
If you’re a creative professional, Honeybook will make it easy to manage your projects, clients, scheduling, and payments on one platform. Honeybook also allows you to combine proposals and cost estimates with invoicing and scheduling. Although they don’t offer detailed analytics like some other options, their integrated approach makes it easy to keep track of everything in one place.
Key features:
- Project proposals and estimates
- Invoice templates
- Contracts
- Online payment
- Automated responses
- Mobile app
- Project workspace
- Customization
- Scheduling
Reasons to buy:
- Great for project-based work
Reasons to avoid:
- No expense tracking
References and Links:
- https://www.capterra.com/billing-and-invoicing-software/
- https://www.getapp.com/construction-software/residential-construction-estimating/f/invoice-management/
- https://www.mooninvoice.com/blog/invoice-vs-estimate-whats-the-basic-difference/
- https://getjobber.com/pricing/
- https://www.freshbooks.com/estimating-software
- https://www.freshbooks.com/invoice
- https://www.zoho.com/us/books/estimate-management/
- https://zistemo.com/knowledge-base/content/connect-project-estimate/
- https://zistemo.com/prices/
- https://www.apptivo.com/app-pricing/
- https://www.invoicesimple.com/
- https://www.mooninvoice.com/blog/invoice-vs-estimate-whats-the-basic-difference/
- https://get.honeybook.com/getstarted/