Simple, cheap invoice system needed

February 28, 2006 2:52 PM

Can anyone suggest a simple, cheap invoicing software for a one-person service biz like mine? Nothing fancy, please. I just need it to track invoices, aging and payments. Most important: it has to be simple enough that even a financial doofus like me can use it.
posted by wordwhiz to work & money (16 comments total)

I've used Blink Sale.
posted by voidcontext at 2:56 PM on February 28, 2006

Here's a couple:
Veetro
Projux (this is what i use, it's a little clunkier than the newer ones, but i'm used to it, so i've stuck with it.)
Second Site - this is new, I tried it out, good for just invoicing, aging and payments.

I've used blinksale too - but it didn't do enough for hours, project management. But I have weird needs.
posted by muddylemon at 2:57 PM on February 28, 2006

Define "cheap." I used QuickBooks for a number of years and it did everything I needed. I started out as a strictly service-based business and ended up as a retailer. I think it was around $200.
posted by AstroGuy at 3:22 PM on February 28, 2006

I use the free version of volutive.
posted by JohnR at 3:27 PM on February 28, 2006

I really like SideJobTrack.
It tracks:
- Clients
- Projects
- Services and Items
- Hours
- Invoices, incremental or atomic, ongoing or final.

Plus, it's free, very easy to use (I think) and pretty. And free.

I'm not sure what you mean by aging.
posted by bkudria at 3:30 PM on February 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

Aging means a report showing how old your outstanding invoices are--current, 30 days, 60 days, 90 etc. Used to manage cash flow and collections.
posted by AstroGuy at 3:47 PM on February 28, 2006

I use blinksale right now and love it, it's super easy. That said I'll probably be moving to 2ndSite or SideJobTrack soon for the time tracking features.
posted by rschroed at 3:57 PM on February 28, 2006

bkudria, aging is the time between when the invoice was submitted, and when it was paid.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 3:58 PM on February 28, 2006

Err, I guess SideJobTrack does that...it shows you the time the invoice was issued, it's due date, and whether it is overdue or not.

The invoicing system is really flexible, by the way. You can send invoices as emails, or generate a RTF that you can print out. You can also upload your own RTF "template", so it is very customizable.

This may not apply to you, but one feature I find really useful is the XML export. This is a data-dump of all your clients, projects, etc. I wrote a script to download this, parse it (using XSLT) and generate a customized HTML report. Very cool.
posted by bkudria at 4:17 PM on February 28, 2006

um, OK. I just signed up for SideJobTrack and WOW. Why isn't this guy charging me money to use his completely kick-ass system?? It totally rules. Bye Bye Blinksale!
posted by rschroed at 4:38 PM on February 28, 2006

rschroed: It's a girl, FYI. And she is just really really nice. Since I've signed up, she has put in a lot of work, reworking the home page and adding several very useful features, one of which I asked for in a private email. Very cool app, and very cool author.
posted by bkudria at 4:48 PM on February 28, 2006

I'm still a big fan of Simply Accounting.
posted by biscotti at 5:18 PM on February 28, 2006

Jumping on the SideJobTrack bandwagon. Some of the best free web-software ever (excluding I guess, big things like gmail.) !
posted by zpousman at 5:25 PM on February 28, 2006

Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions, folks. I'll check 'em out. FWIW, I've been using a cheapo package from Proventure (bought at Staples) for five years or so. Worked OK, but very unintuitive and completely inflexible. When I moved to a different PC, it refused to restore my backup files. So it's definitely time for a change. Thanks again.
posted by wordwhiz at 7:28 PM on February 28, 2006

New product.

QuickBooks: Simple Start

The simplest way to manage your business finances. See how money moves in and out of your business. Quickly create sales receipts and invoices, pay bills, print checks, organize customer information, and prepare for tax time.

$99

Probably just what you need.
posted by drstein at 9:46 PM on February 28, 2006

My apologies to Ms. Cox.

Take my money! Please!
posted by rschroed at 11:04 PM on February 28, 2006