Best Invoice Generator Tools You Can Use As a Freelancer

An invoice generator is a useful tool for anyone who is working and earning. It helps create invoices and credit notes under the standard format. Accountants and business owners often swear by invoice-generating tools in order to keep track of all the transactions, interact with vendors/customers, and calculate the taxable amounts in an efficient way. The management part becomes tougher when we bring international payments into context. There are several formalities and procedures to complete if you want to receive money from abroad.   

As a freelancer, an invoice generator would be extremely helpful in managing your finances and recording all transactions in a secure manner. This article goes through some of the best invoice generator tools available on the market today that would help you live that be-your-own-boss life. 

And the cherry on top? All the following invoice generators are completely free! You can focus on working hard and not racking up huge bills with these free and easy-to-use financial tools. And for the managing-your-finances bit, aka inward remittances and international payments, on Salt, your go-to digital banking solution. 

Wave

Wave is a full-featured business application that helps you track your expenditure and revenue as well as generate invoices by connecting with your bank account. It is available on the web, iOS, and Android. 

Accessing and generating invoices is relatively simple with the Wave platform. You need to select the ‘Create a new’ option on your dashboard and then click ‘Invoice’. There are many opportunities for customizing layouts and designs since you can choose different templates, add a logo if you have one for your own brand, and adjust the colours as you require. Adding discounts, adjusting pricing or even adding a note in the invoices is also easily done through a click of a button. 

It is a great and easy-to-use platform for a freelancer looking to make to receive international payments via inward remittances easier while they grow their brand. If you need to access additional features such as payroll and tax filing, you will need Wave’s upgraded plan, which is also pretty affordable. 

Since Wave uses a third-party payment gateway, some processing fees may apply:

Wave payment processing fees: 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction for card payments (3.4% + $0.60 for card payments from American Express); 1% per transaction for bank payments (ACH)

PayPal

This one needs no introduction. PayPal is a famous service available in many countries worldwide, and it has made its name for being reliable and easy to use. It is available on the web, iOS, and Android. 

Creating an invoice simply involves putting in the international client’s name, contact information, and pricing. In customisation features, you can add your own logo, include custom fields on the invoice and notes, and send payment reminders to your clients. If you want to be consistent with the templates you use, you can find the three dots next to the ‘Send’ button, clicking on which would give you the option to ‘Save as template.’ 

While PayPal may not have as many customisation features as Wave, it is a robust application that is generally trusted by everyone and is a popular method to receive international payments from abroad. It also makes the invoicing process much easier by generating invoices on your phone and sending them off to clients, no matter where you are. 

Since PayPal is a payment gateway, some processing fees may apply:

PayPal payment processing fees: 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction

Zoho Invoice

Zoho Invoice might be one of the most impressive invoice generator tools available in the market today, with many interesting features. It is available on the web, macOS, Windows iOS, and Android. 

Sending an invoice from the Zoho application is relatively straightforward. You have to input your business name, location, and currency. You can also add terms and conditions, upload additional files, adjust the invoice receipt, and add taxes wherever needed with the customisation features. Moreover, in case you are dealing with a recurring bill, you can simply click the ‘Recurring billing’ button at the bottom of the invoice, and the app will handle everything else. 

What takes the cake are Zoho’s additional features apart from the invoice generators since it lets you send estimates, sign contracts, track payments and track time in business operations and transfers. Customer and client files can also be maintained by adding their name, contact information, website, and other custom fields. On top of that is the customer portal feature of Zoho. It allows you to invite customers to see what they owe you, their payments, and their available credits. 

Zoho Invoice is a powerhouse software that allows you to create and send invoices as well as keep ahead of all your finances in the case of domestic and international payments. 

Zoho Invoice payment processing fees: Since Zoho Invoice uses third-party applications like PayPal, Stripe, and Square, transaction fees vary. 

Invoicera

Invoicera is a reliable platform and tool that helps you keep track of your invoices as a freelancer. It is available on the web, macOS, Windows iOS, and Android. 

To add an invoice, you only need to select the ‘Create Invoice’ option from the main navigation bar. While there are only four invoice templates available, Invoicera makes up for it in the automation features. It acts as a bookkeeping assistant since you can set up “dynamic parameters”  to pull billing from the time tracker, add expenses, and automatically send payment reminders and invoices. 

Therefore, even though the customisation features might not match up to Wave’s, Invoicera is a great platform for freelancers to manage their invoices and international payments from clients. You can only have 3 clients on the basic plan for Invoicera, after which it would be chargeable. 

Invoicera payment processing fees: The platform works with 30+ payment gateway systems, so fees may vary.

Honourable mentions

• Stripe 

It is best known as a payment gateway, but it does have its own invoice generator. It has limited customisation and automation features but has an entire section dedicated to your subscription and recurring bill setting, which could be very useful. It is available on the web, iOS, and Android. 

You can create up to 25 customised invoices a month with the basic, free plan, after which you would be charged 0.4% per invoice. 

Stripe payment processing fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction

•  Square

Square may be a good option since its invoice generator has a number of customisation features. It can also send recurring invoices, schedule invoices to be sent at a later date, accept digital signatures, and schedule automatic payment reminders. It is available on the web, iOS, and Android.