Free Invoicing Software: Pros and Cons

What are the Limitations of Free Invoicing Software?

Limited Customisation: Free versions often offer basic templates with limited customisation options, making it difficult to fully align with your brand's identity.

Thriday offers professional, customisable invoicing templates you can match to your brand by changing the colour and adding a logo.

Restricted Number of Invoices: Many free tools cap the number of invoices you can generate per month, potentially hindering scalability.

You can send unlimited quotes and invoices on Thriday's free plan.

Minimal Integration: Integration with other business systems (like CRM or accounting software) is usually limited, affecting efficiency.

Uniquely, Thriday's invoicing system is integrated directly with your Thriday bank account; this means income can be reconciled automatically, invoices marked as paid and tax and cash flow calculated as your money comes in. This is a huge time-saver!

Basic Support Services: Customer support might be limited, affecting problem resolution times.

There aren't too many things more important in business than getting paid. The last thing you want is for your invoicing system to go down or for your important invoice records to go missing or get deleted.

By using a bank-grade ISO-certified platform like Thriday, you're banking on success.

‍

What are Some Examples of Advanced Features Found in Paid Invoicing Software?

Automated Recurring Billing: Facilitates regular billing cycles with minimal manual intervention.

Multi-Currency Support: Essential for businesses dealing with international clients.

Advanced Reporting: Offers in-depth insights into financial health and client payment patterns.

Enhanced Security: Provides stronger data protection and compliance with financial regulations.

Thriday is designed for small businesses; these features can be costly and add complexity, which we avoid.

How Do Invoice Templates Work in Paid Invoicing Software?

Paid invoicing software typically includes a variety of customisable templates. Users can select a template and tailor it to their needs, adding logos, changing layouts, and modifying colour schemes to align with their branding.

We understand that branding and trust are important to most small businesses, so these are features that come out of the box with Thriday's free invoice software.

What are Some Common Features of Invoice Templates in Paid Invoicing Software?

Branding Elements: Options to include logos and brand colours.

This capability comes with Thriday's invoicing features.

Custom Fields: Ability to add specific fields like PO numbers, salesperson names, or unique client codes.

To keep things simple, we don't currently offer custom fields on Thriday.

Automated Calculations: Error-free calculations for totals, taxes, and discounts.

Thriday automatically does all the complex calculations needed in an invoicing software solution.

Legal Compliance: Templates designed to meet the legal invoicing requirements of different regions.

Invoices are considered legal documents; Thriday ensures that your invoice templates meet the legal requirements, including the copy 'Tax Invoice' and providing fields for the invoice senders address.

When deciding between free and paid invoicing software, a small business owner should consider various factors to ensure they choose a solution that best fits their business needs. Here's a detailed list of considerations:

Free Invoicing Software Considerations

1. Budget Constraints:

• Ideal for businesses with limited financial resources.
• No upfront costs or monthly fees.

2. Basic Functionality:

• Typically includes essential features like invoice creation, sending, and basic tracking.
• Evaluate if the basic features meet your current business needs.

3. User Limitations:

• Often restricts the number of invoices you can issue monthly.
• It may limit the number of clients you can manage.

4. Customisation:

• Limited options for personalising invoices to match your brand.
• Evaluate if the available templates are suitable for your business image.

5. Integration:

• Limited or no integration with other business tools like accounting software, payment gateways, or CRM systems.
• Consider the impact on your workflow and data management.

6. Scalability:

• Assess if the software can grow with your business.
• Consider the potential need to switch to a more robust system as your business expands.

7. Security:

• Basic security features may be provided, but they might not be as comprehensive as paid versions.
• Evaluate the importance of data security for your business operations.

8. Support and Reliability:

• Limited customer support options.
• Consider the potential impact of software issues on your business operations.

Paid Invoicing Software

1. Advanced Features:

• Access to a wider range of features like automated billing, multi-currency support, and advanced reporting.
• Evaluate which advanced features are necessary for your business.

2. Customisation and Branding:

• Enhanced customisation options for invoices, aligning them with your brand identity.
• Consider the importance of presenting a professional image to clients.

3. Integration Capabilities:

• Better integration with other business tools, streamlining workflow and data management.
• Assess the need for integration with your existing business software.

4. Scalability:

• Designed to grow with your business, offering more flexibility as your needs evolve.
• Consider the long-term vision for your business and potential software requirements.

5. Enhanced Security:

• Stronger data protection measures and compliance with financial regulations.
• This is important for businesses handling sensitive client data or operating in regulated industries.

6. Customer Support:

• Access to comprehensive customer support, including help centres, live chat, and phone support.
• Consider the value of timely and effective support in resolving software issues.

7. Cost vs. ROI:

• Assess the monthly or annual subscription costs against the potential return on investment.
• Consider if the time and resource savings justify the expense.

8. Reporting and Analytics:

• Advanced reporting features for better financial insights and decision-making.
• Evaluate the need for in-depth financial analysis in your business.

By carefully considering these factors, a small business owner can make an informed decision on whether free or paid invoicing software is the right choice for their business needs.

Conclusion:

Free invoicing software is all most, if not all, small businesses should need.

It's fundamental to many businesses, so you want to make sure you're using a quality product with the support and technological infrastructure to back you up.

Invoicing software should be intuitive and easy to use.

It should be accurate, and it should have the end goal of helping you to get paid faster.

Bonus features like early payment incentives, bank account integration, automated follow-ups and SMS alerts should be high on your list of requirements.

We made sure Thriday has the simplest, most efficient invoicing software available, and we directly linked it to your Thriday bank accounts to remove the financial admin of reconciliation and marking as paid.

We added flexible automated unpaid reminders, so there's one less job for you to do as a as busy business owner.