Core operating stack · Invoicing
Invoicing software for small business: send invoices and get paid without a full accounting system
Short answer. Most small businesses can invoice for free: Zoho Invoice, Square Invoices and PayPal charge nothing to send, and Square and PayPal take a fee when a card payment is made. If you bill for time, FreshBooks builds invoices from tracked hours. If you already take payments with Stripe, Stripe Invoicing adds hosted invoice pages and recurring billing. Invoice Ninja suits owners who want to self-host.
Pick by the size of your business
A few invoices a month
Zoho Invoice
Free, with online payments, reminders, recurring invoices and a customer portal.
Billing hours and expenses
FreshBooks
Turns tracked time and expenses into invoices.
Estimates, deposits and card payments
Square Invoices
Free plan with unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts; Plus adds milestone payments.
Recurring or usage-based billing
Stripe Invoicing
Hosted invoice pages and recurring invoices through Stripe Billing.
The options, and what each one costs you in effort
Just you, free
Zoho Invoice
Free invoicing with gateways, reminders, recurring invoices and a client portal; moves up to Zoho Books.
You give up: Zoho’s pages differ on free-plan limits.
When you grow: Free → Zoho Books when you need full accounting.
Small teams that take cards
Square Invoices
Free plan with unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts; card-on-file and recurring invoices.
You give up: Card payments carry processing fees; milestones need Plus.
When you grow: Free → Plus for milestones, multi-package estimates and batch invoicing.
Customers who pay with PayPal
PayPal Invoicing
No monthly fee, templates, reminders on by default and recurring invoices.
You give up: You pay a fee per paid invoice; check current rates.
When you grow: Templates and recurring invoices inside PayPal Business.
Billing for time
FreshBooks
Invoices from tracked time and expenses with accounting underneath.
You give up: Paid plans only, and Lite limits clients.
When you grow: Lite → Plus → Premium → Select.
Already on Stripe
Stripe Invoicing
Invoices from the Dashboard with Stripe-hosted payment pages and recurring billing.
You give up: A fee per paid invoice on top of payment processing.
When you grow: Invoicing → Stripe Billing for subscriptions and recurring invoices.
Owners who want control
Invoice Ninja
Hosted free plan or self-hosted source code without client limits.
You give up: Hosted free plan is limited to 5 clients; self-hosting needs upkeep.
When you grow: Free (5 clients) → Pro (unlimited clients) → Enterprise; or self-host.
Worksheet
| Product | Smallest practical team | Setup | Users | Locations | Try first | Pricing model | Data out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Invoice | 1 person | Light setup: Free; connect a payment gateway and send. | Not stated on current pages | — | Free plan | Free core | Customer portal; reports |
| Square Invoices | 1 person | Light setup: Free plan with unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts; card fees per paid invoice. | Team access through Square | — | Free plan | Per transaction | Square dashboard exports |
| PayPal Invoicing | 1 person | Light setup: Free PayPal Business account; reminders on by default; fee per paid invoice. | PayPal Business account users | — | Free plan | Per transaction | PayPal activity exports |
| FreshBooks | 1 person billing time | Light setup: Invoices built from tracked time and expenses. | Team members on higher plans | — | Free trial | Plan tiers | Report exports |
| Stripe Invoicing | A business already taking payments with Stripe | Light setup: Create invoices in the Stripe Dashboard; Stripe hosts the payment page. | Stripe team roles | — | Not stated | Per transaction | Stripe exports and API |
| Invoice Ninja | 1 person with few clients | Light setup: Hosted free plan or self-hosted source code. | Hosted free plan: 5 clients | — | Free plan | Free core | Self-hosted option keeps data in your hands |
“Not stated” means the vendor pages we checked do not say, not that the feature is missing. Check current prices on each vendor’s pricing page.
Signs you are outgrowing your current setup
- You reconcile invoice payments into accounting by hand every month.
- You need purchase orders, inventory or multi-currency books.
- Several people raise invoices and you need approvals.
Invoicing or accounting?
Invoicing tools send invoices and collect payment. Accounting software also handles bills, bank reconciliation and tax reports. Owners with simple books can start with invoicing and add accounting later; several of these tools (Zoho Invoice, FreshBooks) sit inside fuller accounting products.
Before you choose
Check how customers prefer to pay (card, bank transfer, PayPal) and what each payment method costs you. Exact fees change; check the vendor’s pricing page.
Sources
| Source | Used for | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho | Zoho Invoice: free | |
| Zoho | Zoho Invoice: features | |
| Square | Square Invoices: free plan features | |
| PayPal | PayPal Invoicing: invoicing features | |
| FreshBooks | FreshBooks: invoicing, time, plans | |
| Stripe | Stripe Invoicing: product | |
| Stripe | Stripe Invoicing: hosted invoice page | |
| Invoice Ninja | Invoice Ninja: plans | |
| Invoice Ninja | Invoice Ninja: 2026 pricing update |
More size guides
- Accounting software for small business: what fits one person, a small team or fifty staff
- CRM for small business: the right CRM for one person, a small team or a growing sales team
- Email marketing for small business: by list size, sending pattern and store
- Inventory software for small business: from a hundred items to multichannel stock
- POS systems for small business: from one card reader to several locations