Simply the Best, Simply Invoiceable

Freelancing can be a lot of fun. Dealing with invoices - not so much. Invoices are something you want to handle automatically, but at the same time you need them to look professional, and the data needs to be well-organized and secure. Joining the ranks of awesome web applications like Picozu, Zeen and Bucketlistly, here is Invoiceable - a free online invoicing service that will make your life easier.

As you probably already know, invoicing is an important aspect of a freelancer's life. There are many ways to manage invoices: from reusing templates to installing complex invoice management software. If all you want is a fast and simple solution, you should choose Invoiceable. This web application makes it so easy to start – just sign up for a free account. No downloads required, no installation necessary.

Your next step is customizing your profile. There are separate settings for your account and your company profile. You can set your name and upload an avatar, change password and allow PayPal payments.

When it comes to your company details, make sure to devote some attention to editing them because they will be visible on your invoices. You can add a logo, adjust regional settings, set the default currency and your PayPal address, enter the company name and address, as well as some details about your business. They will appear in the top right corner of your invoice, just below the name and address.

Here you can also edit the default invoice footer and the invoice e-mail template which will be sent to your clients if you so decide. Advanced users will appreciate the Custom CSS option which can be used to modify the appearance of your invoices.

After the setup, you can start building your clients database. Adding new clients is really simple, and you can organize them into groups, export the database in .csv file format, view all invoices and add notes for each client. Multiple contacts can be linked to each client, but you can only enter one of them as the main contact.

The Dashboard is the main part of Invoiceable; from here you access the information about clients, create reports and manage your invoices. There's an activity feed with information about your recent actions, and a graph with statistics about the yearly amount you collected so far. If there are some unpaid invoices, a red box with the outstanding amount will be visible on the right side of the screen. As you can see, the interface is bright and neat, which makes it a pleasure to use Invoiceable.

To create a new invoice, switch to the Invoices tab and click the green Add Invoice button. The editing form lets you add a reference number for your invoice, choose the client and set payment terms. You can also mark the invoice as paid, which means that you can transfer your old invoices to Invoiceable and keep tracking your earnings.

Choosing Advanced Options will let you change the currency, allow PayPal payments, or make the invoice visible to the client. You can also set recurring invoices and enter discount and tax amounts which will be automatically calculated once the invoice is finished.

When you decide to save changes, the invoice design form will open, where you can fill out the details about the invoice. You can later download it as a PDF document and attach it to an e-mail, or send it directly to the client from Invoiceable.

Every invoice can be edited, marked as paid/unpaid, archived or deleted from the Invoices tab. You can also duplicate invoices, add partial payments and export all invoices to .csv. Invoiceable makes it even more practical by letting you access invoices via mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Android) – all while staying perfectly safe thanks to the 256-bit SSL certificate used to protect your data.

Now, I know what you're thinking. “This app seems too good to be true...there must be some catch!”
Fair enough, there is a minor detail that I should mention. Invoiceable adds a link and a “Powered by Invoiceable” message to the bottom of your invoices. This link is discreet and unobtrusive, so it shouldn't bother you at all. In case it does, a one-time payment of £49 will remove it for good – and that's all. There are no “hidden”, premium-user-only features; Invoiceable is completely free and completely awesome.

I found this little gem entirely by accident, and I'm so glad I did, because for me it's the best way to manage invoices. It's still a “young” project, so expect even more features in the future...but why wait? If you're a freelancer, try it out today – I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. 

Ivana Isadora Devcic is a freelance writer, copyeditor and translator fluent in English, Swedish, Croatian and Norwegian. She's a Linux user and KDE fan interested in web design, productivity and personal branding. Ivana tweets about the world around her as @skadinna.