The 6 Best Billing and Invoicing Apps for Small Business in 2021

Wave

Wave is a cloud-based invoicing app designed specifically for freelancers, consultants, contractors and other small business owners. Part of a collection of Wave business apps that handle everything from payment processing to accounting, Wave Invoicing is a free and intuitive solution for anyone who needs to create and send professional looking invoices.

Pros:

• Easy to use, professional invoice templates
• Receive notifications when you’ve been paid
• Real-time invoice status updates
• Cloud backups
• Easy to save customer details for future use

Cons:

• Some users experience customer service issues
• Users can’t create estimates

Price: Free (plus payment processing fees)

App Store Rating: 4.6

 Square

For small business owners, Square is best known for its point of sale system and mobile credit card reader. But for professionals offering various services, Square’s invoicing app provides a flexible solution to creating and sending invoices and estimates.

Pros:

• Instant access to funds using the (free) Square card
• Built-in invoice and estimate maker
• Accepts credit, debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cash, check and ACH
• Can send invoices via email, text, SMS or print a physical copy

Cons:

• Partial payments can be a chore to set up
• Navigated past invoices can be counter intuitive
• Limited recurring invoice feature

Price: Free, with 2.9% plus $0.30 for credit card payment processing

App Store Rating: 4.9

  Quickbooks

Quickbooks is more than just an invoicing app, it’s a full-on accounting department in your pocket. On the invoicing side of things, the Quickbooks app allows you to build invoices in the app with the invoice generators and keep track unpaid invoices. If you use Quickbooks for accounting, you’ll be one step ahead of the game when

Pros:

• Easy to quickly create and send invoices
• Create invoices in multiple currencies
• Integrates with other accounting functions
• Quick bank transfers (with QuickBooks Payments)

Cons:

• Adding new items to invoices is cumbersome
• Mobile app lacks some features of the desktop version
• No estimates feature

Price: $12.50/mo, $20/mo, $35/mo or $75/mo depending on plan. Begins with a 30-day trial.

App Store Rating: 4.7

Venmo

Venmo isn’t exactly an invoicing app, but it can be a good option if you’re dipping your toes in the small business or side hustle pool. With over 70 million users, it’s a safe bet the majority of the folks you do business with will have access to it. You can pair it up with a simple invoice template in Excel or Google Docs. In the long run, moving to a more professionally presented invoicing solution might be your best move.

Pros:

• Create a seperate profile for your small business under your personal Venmo account
• Widely used by over 70 million people
• Easily transfer money from your Vemo account to a linked bank account

Cons:

• Doesn’t allow you to create invoices in the app 
• Adding new cards to your account can be a struggle
• Public transaction feed is off-putting to some

Price: Free. Instant transfer have a 1%, $10 maximum fee

App Store Rating: 4.9

 PayPal

PayPal has been synonymous with online payments for over two decades. For freelancers, independent contractors and small online vendors it’s a perfect option to quickly send invoices and get paid. Custom QR codes for sellers are among some of PayPals more recent innovations.

Pros:

• Very easy to set up and use
• PayPal is well-known and trusted among most buyers and sellers
• Instant push notifications for spending and payments

Cons:

• Creating invoices within the app is more difficult than using the desktop version
• Balance transfers often take longer than expected
• Spotty customer service reputation
• PayPal can suspend accounts at any time over activity they deem suspicious

Price: Free to use, 2.9% plus $0.30 fee for all sales

App Store Rating: 4.4

 Invoice2Go

Invoice2Go is an app with a singular focus: take all the fuss out of creating invoices. Built specifically with freelancers and sole proprietors in mind, Invoice2Go presents an easy way to create invoices and estimates on the fly. Other bells and whistles like expense and time tracking round out what shakes out to be a great option for self-employed go-getters.

Pros:

• Invoice2Go excels at its primary function, which is creating invoices
• Invoices are easily accessible via the app or desktop version
• Instant payments with the “Pay Now” feature
• Automatic payment reminders

Cons:

• Not many features aside from invoicing
• Glitches such as missing invoices or syncing errors have been reported
• No free version

Price: Ranges from $3-$33.34 per month depending on plan after 30-day free trial

App Store Rating: 4.8

 Clover

For restaurants and retail businesses, Clover offers credit card processing and POS functions with a plethora of tracking and management options on the back end. Clover Virtual Terminal allows you to quickly create, send and manage invoices. It also has a secure credit card payment feature so customers can pay invoices online.

Pros:

• Intuitive reporting features
• Mobile POS is fantastic for pop-up stores or events
• Users enjoy how easy it is to learn
• Manage inventory, customers and employees from the same dashboard

Cons:

• Users report having issues with customer support
• App functionality is extremely limited

Price: $9.95/mo

App Store Rating: 4.6