One of the tools needed by individual contractors is a way to collect money from your clients. Invoicing software has come a long way since I started consulting. The choices are vast. But, don’t forget that a simple Word document template you can download for free is still probably the simplest way. If your recruiting company doesn’t manage the invoicing and billing for you, then software is your next step. Here is a list of software you can use to invoice clients.
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Desktop Invoice Tools
Microsoft Word
This is probably the simplest way to invoice your client. You can download free templates off the internet.
Microsoft Excel
Using Excel is probably better than using Word since the calculations would be easier to manage than the table cells in Word.
LibreOffice Writer
If you don’t have Microsoft Word, you can download LibreOffice for free. This is a fully functional word processor that rivals Microsoft Word. I haven’t used Word at home, ever. I just use LibreOffice. It can read Word documents and save as Word documents as well. So you don’t have to worry about compatibility, except when there are macros involved.
LibreOffice Calc
This is the free alternative to Microsoft Excel. Like Word, I haven’t used Excel at home, either.
NCH Software Express Invoice
I’ve seen this software often at Staples and formerly Business Depot. I haven’t used it, but, their software looks good and I would try it if I wasn’t using LibreOffice or Freshbooks already.
Online Invoice Software
Wave
Wave offers free online invoicing and charges a percentage fee if you want to accept payments online. I would prefer Freshbooks since you can integrate your payments with their bookkeeping. Wave doesn’t offer the bookkeeping services.
Website: https://www.waveapps.com/invoice/
Invoicely
Invoicely offers free online invoicing and charges a flat rate for accepting payments online. I prefer this kind of payment than the percentage fee that Wave uses.
Website: https://invoicely.com/
Zoho Invoice
Zoho Invoice offers flat rate plans like Invoicely. They also offer Accounting, Expense, and Subscription management software that can be integrated with their invoice software.
Website: https://www.zoho.com/ca/invoice/
All the major accounting software also offers invoicing such as Intuit and Sage50 (formerly Simply Accounting). But, their costs are higher, except for Freshbooks which offers free online invoicing. There are a multitude of other invoicing software, but, they are for larger businesses or enterprise. I don’t cover them in this article.
If there is a software you think should be included, feel free to post a comment below.
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