Invoicing

Create and send professional invoices to your clients.

Every sole trader who charges clients for their work needs a reliable way to send invoices. At minimum, an invoice needs your business name and address, your client’s details, a description of the work, the amount, and your payment terms. A good invoicing tool makes all of this quick and professional, and gives you visibility over who’s paid and who hasn’t. Some tools are standalone invoicing products; others are modules within larger accounting packages.

What to look for

• Free options - Wave and Zoho Invoice are both completely free and more than capable for most sole traders. There’s no need to pay for invoicing software unless you want it bundled with accounting features.

• Online payment - some tools let clients pay directly from the invoice via card or bank transfer. Wave includes this (with payment processing fees); FreshBooks and Zoho Invoice also offer payment integrations.

• Time tracking integration - if you bill by the hour, Harvest and FreshBooks both let you track time and convert it directly into an invoice. That saves a step and reduces errors.

• Recurring invoices - if you have clients on retainer or regular arrangements, look for recurring invoice functionality. FreshBooks and Zoho Invoice both handle this well.

• Branding - most tools let you add your logo and customise the look of your invoices. Worth checking how polished the output looks, especially if the invoice itself is part of the client experience.

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FreshBooks

Invoicing-focused software with time tracking, expenses and client management built in.

Best for: Freelancers who need professional invoicing with payment tracking

Pricing: Paid from £16 per month

Free trial: Yes

MTD compatible: No

Mobile app: Yes

UK specific: No

Visit FreshBooks

Zoho Invoice

Free invoicing software from Zoho. Covers quotes, invoices, payment reminders and basic expense tracking.

Best for: Sole traders who just need invoicing without full accounting software

Pricing: Free

Free trial: N/A

MTD compatible: No

Mobile app: Yes

UK specific: No

Visit Zoho Invoice

Wave

Free invoicing with payment processing. Simple and clean interface.

Best for: Sole traders wanting free invoicing with online payment capability

Pricing: Free (payment processing fees apply)

Free trial: N/A

MTD compatible: No

Mobile app: Yes

UK specific: No

Visit Wave

If you just need to send professional invoices and track payments, Zoho Invoice or Wave will cover you for free. If you bill by the hour and want time tracking built in, Harvest (in the Time Tracking category) or FreshBooks are the better fit. If you’re already using accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks, use the invoicing that comes with it rather than running a separate tool.

Last reviewed: June 2026