When I started my business, I built invoicing into my own WordPress site because the options were expensive or clunky. It worked, but it did not handle expenses, reports or taxes. Moving to real accounting software was one of the best decisions I made. Here is what to look for.
What freelancers actually need
- Invoicing with your branding, automatic reminders and recurring invoices for retainers.
- Online payments so clients can pay by card or bank transfer from the invoice.
- Expense tracking with bank connections and receipt capture on your phone.
- Time tracking if you bill hourly.
- Reports your accountant can use: profit and loss, and tax summaries.
- Integrations with your payment processor and the rest of your tools.
Options worth considering
- FreshBooks: built for service businesses and freelancers. Strong invoicing, time tracking and client experience. This is what I used for years.
- QuickBooks Online: the most widely used by accountants, with deep reporting. More than a solo freelancer needs at first, but you will not outgrow it.
- Xero: similar in scope to QuickBooks, popular outside the US, with a clean interface.
- Wave: low-cost option for very small businesses, with free invoicing and accounting features.
Try two with free trials and send yourself a test invoice from each. Pick the one you will actually open every week.
Should you invoice from WordPress instead?
For a few services or a monthly plan, taking payments directly on your site can make sense. See invoicing from WordPress. Most businesses still want accounting software for the books, and the two can be connected.
Connect it to your website
The best setup has no retyping: a form or payment on your site creates the client and invoice in your accounting software automatically. That is the kind of connection our Systems work builds. Tell us how you bill today.