Comments on: Simple, cheap invoice system needed

Question: Simple, cheap invoice system needed

wordwhiz — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 14:52:57 -0800

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.

By: voidcontext

voidcontext — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 14:56:06 -0800

I've used Blink Sale.

By: muddylemon

muddylemon — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 14:57:19 -0800

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.

By: AstroGuy

AstroGuy — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:22:15 -0800

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.

By: JohnR

JohnR — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:27:46 -0800

I use the free version of volutive.

By: bkudria

bkudria — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:30:59 -0800

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.

By: AstroGuy

AstroGuy — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:47:43 -0800

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.

By: rschroed

rschroed — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:57:35 -0800

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.

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:58:53 -0800

bkudria, aging is the time between when the invoice was submitted, and when it was paid.

By: bkudria

bkudria — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 16:17:53 -0800

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.

By: rschroed

rschroed — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 16:38:30 -0800

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!

By: bkudria

bkudria — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 16:48:11 -0800

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.

By: biscotti

biscotti — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:18:37 -0800

I'm still a big fan of Simply Accounting.

By: zpousman

zpousman — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:25:12 -0800

Jumping on the SideJobTrack bandwagon. Some of the best free web-software ever (excluding I guess, big things like gmail.) !

By: wordwhiz

wordwhiz — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 19:28:54 -0800

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.

By: drstein

drstein — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:46:42 -0800

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.

By: rschroed

rschroed — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:04:18 -0800

My apologies to Ms. Cox.

Take my money! Please!