Top 5 Best Invoicing Software for Small Businesses

In a recent survey, 62% of small businesses in the UK admitted to being owed money from unpaid invoices¹. While using an invoicing tool could significantly reduce these unpaid invoices and late payments, not all of them are designed with small businesses in mind.

The best invoicing software for small businesses should be affordable, easy to use, and have features to help you save time and get paid faster.

In this guide, we will review five of the best invoicing software for small businesses in the UK. We will compare their costs, features, integrations, and Trustpilot score to help you make the right choice for your business.

As you explore the best invoicing app for small businesses, also consider solutions like Wise Business. A user-friendly multi-currency account seamlessly that integrates with popular invoicing software and helps you receive payments faster from customers around the world.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

Invoice software for small business

As a small business owner already wearing many hats, chasing payments and having to deal with unpaid invoices can be overwhelming. The right invoicing software can help you stay in control of your cash flow with features like automated, customisable invoices, payment reminders, recurring billing, accounting tool integrations, and detailed analytics.

With so many options available, finding the best invoicing system for your UK small business can be challenging. To help you make the right choice, we will review the best invoicing apps for small businesses in the UK, including:

• Zoho
• Stripe
• FreshBooks
• Square
• Quickbooks

Best invoicing software for small business: overview of providers

Provider	Trustpilot score	Best known for
Zoho	N/A	Affordable and advanced invoicing solutions
Stripe	1.8 from +16k reviews²	Customisable invoices and comprehensive online payment acceptance
Freshbooks	3.9 from +950 reviews³	Easy-to-use invoicing and accounting features
Square	4.3 from +3k reviews⁴	Receiving invoice payments directly to bank account
Quickbooks	4.1 from +16k reviews⁵	Strong invoice tracking and HMRC-compliant invoicing

Comparing invoicing software for small business: criteria

In this guide, we will compare the best invoicing software for small businesses in the UK using the following criteria:

• Features and services
• Pricing
• Integrations

Zoho

Zohobooks is a comprehensive accounting software perfect for sole traders and retail or inventory-based small businesses. It has a free plan that lets you create and send invoices and stay compliant with tax regulations, making it one of the best invoicing software for small businesses in the UK. Zohobooks also integrates strongly with payment platforms, expanding its capabilities. For instance, you can link Zohobooks to Wise Business to pay bills and automatically reconcile bank charges.

Features and services

• Send one-time and recurring invoices
• Fulfil sales orders
• Track expenses
• Generate reports
• Make payments online
• Manage purchase orders
• Create digital signatures
• Reconcile bank accounts
• Manage inventory and stock
• Use MTD accounting software
• File VAT returns
• Create journal templates
• Track CSI contractors
• Customer portal

Pricing⁶

• Free plan: £0 up to 1,000 invoices annually
• Standard plan: £10 up to 5,000 invoices a year
• Professional plan: £20 up to 10,000 invoices a year
• Premium plan: £25 up to 25,000 invoices each year
• Elite plan: £85 up to 100,000 invoices a year
• Ultimate plan: £165 up to 100,000 invoices a year with advanced features

Although these are monthly prices, they are billed annually. They also come with advanced invoicing, accounting, and business management features.

Integrations

• Wise Business
• Zapier
• Payment platforms: Stripe, PayPal, Square, Paymentspro, Braintree, GoCardless
• Zoho apps, including Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects, Zoho Inventory, Zoho Billing

Stripe

Stripe is a leading payment processor designed to help companies accept payments both online and in person. It's tailored for startups and well-established businesses in SaaS, marketplaces, e-commerce, crypto, and the creator economy. With Stripe's invoicing tool, you can add line items and include taxes and discounts directly to invoices.

Stripe has a Trustpilot score of 1.8 from +16k reviews². Many of the low reviews are from users who experienced payment issues, unexpected charges, and unresponsive support.

Features and services

• No code invoicing (25+ languages, 135+ currencies)⁷
• Payment links
• Payment acceptance through credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers and mobile wallets
• In-person payments
• Recurring payments
• Automatic payment reminders
• Quote to invoices conversion
• Revenue recognition
• Sales tax and VAT automation
• Custom reports
• Customer portal
• Insights and analytics

Pricing⁸

• Starter plan: 0.4% per paid invoice (basic invoicing features)
• Plus plan: 0.5% per paid invoice (all features in the starter plan, as well as quotes)
• Custom plan: You can contact sales for custom pricing for your business

Integrations

• Xero
• Quickbooks
• Netsuite
• Wix
• Shopify
• Mercury
• Revenue cat

Check out our guide on how to use Stripe for payments.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is an accounting and invoicing app designed to help freelancers and small businesses manage finances on the go. Its in-built time-tracking, recurring billing, and client management features make it one of the best invoicing apps for small businesses in the UK, especially those in the service-based industry.

When you integrate FreshBooks with Wise Business, you can pay bills directly, sync all transactions, and easily reconcile payments. FreshBooks has a Trustpilot score of 3.9 from +950 reviews³.

Features and services

• Customisable invoicing and payments
• Recurring invoicing
• Time tracking
• Accounting and bank reconciliation
• Expense tracking and billing
• Bookkeeping and reporting
• Payroll management
• Team management and client communication
• Multicurrency accounting
• MTD-compliant VAT returns straight to HMRC

Pricing⁹

• Lite: £7.50 with the option to get 50% off for 3 months
• Plus: £12.50, and you can also get 50% off for 3 months
• Premium plan: £17.50 and 50% off for 3 months

Each of these plans lets you add team members for an extra £8/month. You can also reach out to a consultant for a custom plan to meet your business needs and there’s a 30-day free trial available.

Integrations

• Wise Business
• Zapier
• Gusto
• Hubspot
• Acquity scheduling
• Square

Square

Square is a global payment provider that helps companies streamline their operations, get paid faster and manage their staff. It has one of the best invoicing software for small businesses in the restaurant, retail and beauty industries. Square stands out for its unique features, like milestone-based payments on invoices and batch invoicing. Square has a Trustpilot score of 4.3 from +3k reviews⁴. Here’s what a user has to say:

"Love [Square] and highly recommend it to anyone starting their business and needing to collect payments by card or invoice via email"-- Alex Scolari

Features and services

• Send instant and custom invoices through email, SMS, or a shareable link
• Set up recurring and batch invoices
• Send automatic payment reminders
• Accept multiple and milestone-based payments
• Convert estimates to invoices
• Accept in-person and online payments (credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App, ACH bank transfer or Cash App AfterPay)
• Open a free checking account
• Maintain a customer directory
• Apply automated discounts and taxes to invoices
• Accept customer tips
• Track projects and invoices
• Build unique item/service packages for customers
• Use editable and reusable contract templates
• Collect e-signatures
• Access insights and reporting

Pricing¹⁰

• Free: £0 for unlimited invoicing, estimates, and contracts, 2.5% (online card payment), 1.75% (in-person card payment), 6% + 30p (card payments with Clearpay).
• Plus: £20. Everything in the free plan and advanced features like invoice customisation. 2.5% (online card payment), 1.75% (in-person card payment), 6% + 30p (card payments with Clearpay)

Integrations

• Wix
• WooCommerce
• Acuity scheduling
• Jotform
• Zohobooks
• Freshbooks
• Bench

Check out our stripe vs square guide

QuickBooks

QuickBooks is an accounting and bookkeeping software developed by Intuit. Its HMRC integration and automated VAT calculations make it one of the best invoicing systems for small businesses in the UK who want to stay MTD compliant. QuickBooks invoices are well-optimised for mobile, and you can easily create custom invoices and receive alerts when customers view and pay the invoices.

You can also integrate QuickBooks with Wise Business to sync transactions, automate reconciliation, and pay bills. QuickBooks has a Trustpilot score of 4.1 from +16k reviews⁵.

Features and services

• Invoicing with automated reminders
• Expense and budget management
• Accounting
• Inventory management
• Online and in-person payments
• Data migration
• Time and income tracking
• Cloud-based accounting and reporting
• Multicurrency support
• VAT and income tax compliance

Pricing¹¹

• Sole trader: starts at £5/month for 6 months and then £10/month with access to invoicing and inventory management features.
• Simple start: starts at £8/month for 6 months, then £16 a month. Best for small businesses or sole traders managing VAT and Income Tax.
• Essentials: costs £16.50/month for 6 months and then £33/month. Great for small UK businesses working with suppliers.
• Plus: costs £23.50/month for 6 months, then £47 a month. Perfect for UK businesses managing VAT and Income Tax in addition to managing projects and stock.
• Advanced: starts at £57.50/month for 6 months, then £115 a month. Best for growing businesses needing more comprehensive tools like batch invoicing and automated workflows.

Find out more about Quickbooks in our 2025 Quickbooks review

Integrations

• Wise Business
• E-commerce tools: Shopify, Amazon, eBay
• Payment platforms: Square, PayPal
• Gusto
• Zapier
• SOS Inventory
• Float
• Transaction Pro

How to choose the right invoice tool for a small business

Here are some features to look out for when selecting the best invoicing software for your small business:

• Automated invoicing: The right invoicing tool should help you save time and minimise errors. Look out for tools that let you schedule and send invoices automatically, set up recurring billing, send payment reminders and track the status of invoices.
• Invoice quality and customisation: The quality of your invoices influences how customers perceive your business. Choose an invoicing software that allows you to generate quality invoices and customise them with your brand's logo, colours, fonts, layout and even custom messages.
• Tax and compliance: It can be exhausting keeping up with tax and compliance requirements. The best invoicing software will automatically handle that. Look out for tools that can help you make MTD submissions to HMRC and stay VAT compliant.
• Integration with other software: Often, you will need to use several tools to manage your small business. It’s really important to use tools that work well with each other. The best invoicing software should be able to integrate with accounting and payment options, so you can easily streamline all your tasks.
• Analytics and reporting: Data-driven decisions usually turn out to be the smartest. Look out for invoicing tools that provide invoice tracking, payment status updates and other reports like outstanding balances, customer payment histories and tax reports.

International finances made easy with Wise Business account

Wise Business can help UK businesses, freelancers and sole traders to manage finances across multiple currencies, with low fees and the mid-market exchange rate.

Wise Business account connects with Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, FreshBooks and more solutions to help you seamlessly manage your finances across borders.

When you open a Wise Business account, you’ll benefit from all of these useful features:

• Hold and exchange 40+ currencies;
• Send payments to 140+ countries for low fees and the mid-market exchange rate - this is a fair exchange rate with no margins or mark-ups added to it;
• Get local account details to get paid in 8+ currencies like a local;
• No monthly fees or minimum balance requirements;
• Debit and expense cards for you and your team, which you can use in 150+ countries;
• Multi-user access for team members, with ways to control and manage permissions;
• Pay up to 1,000 people at once with the Wise batch payments feature;
• Integrate with your favourite cloud accounting solutions, like Quickbooks.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

FAQs - best invoicing app for small business

Do I really need dedicated software, or can I just use a spreadsheet template?

While you can create and send invoices using a spreadsheet template, a dedicated invoicing software offers more features to streamline your business's invoicing, accounting and payments. With an invoicing tool, you can send customised invoices automatically, track invoices, accept payment and submit VAT returns or stay tax compliant.

Are the free versions of invoicing software powerful enough for a small business?

Yes, free versions can be powerful enough for small businesses, but it depends on the invoicing software and your specific needs. For example, Zohobooks allows users to send up to 1,000 invoices a year on a free plan, which is enough for many freelancers and small businesses. But oftentimes, advanced features like fully customisable invoices, tax management, expense tracking, and integrated payment acceptance are only available on paid plans.

What are the most critical features a small business should look for?

When choosing the best invoicing software for your small business, look out for critical features like easy invoice creation, payment tracking, automated reminders, recurring invoicing, integration with accounting or CRM tools and reporting and analytics.

How can invoicing software help improve my business's cash flow?

Invoicing software helps improve your business cash flow by providing features like automated and recurring invoicing, automated payment reminders and multicurrency support. These features help you get paid faster, reduce time spent chasing late payments and allow customers to settle payments in their preferred currency.

How important is mobile access for a small business owner?

Mobile invoicing is very important for small business owners because it helps them save time and get paid faster. When you have an invoicing tool on your mobile or tablet, you can send and track invoices, receive alerts and follow up on overdue accounts, and respond to customer concerns anytime, anywhere.

Will my client data be secure on a cloud-based invoicing platform?

Yes. Most reputable invoicing software platforms make data security a top priority. Look out for invoicing tools with 2-factor authentication, data encryption, regular back-ups and compliance with standards like GDPR and PCI-DSS.

How does invoicing software handle different currencies for international clients?

Many invoicing software offer multicurrency support, which makes working with international clients easier. With this feature, you can create invoices in the client's preferred currency, automatically convert prices based on exchange rates and even integrate with payment systems to accept payments in multiple currencies.

The best invoicing software for your small business depends on a number of factors like your budget, features you need and type of clients. To make the right choice, compare the prices, functionality and reviews of invoicing software in the uk and see if they meet your business’s needs. Luckily, some tools offer a free plan or a free trial so you can test the waters before committing.

used in this article

1. Quickbooks small business report
2. Stripe Trustpilot score
3. Freshbooks Trustpilot score
4. Square Trustpilot score
5. Quickbooks Trustpilot score
6. Zohobooks pricing page
7. Stripe invoicing
8. Stripe invoicing pricing page
9. Freshbooks pricing page
10. Square pricing page

Sources last checked 17/09/2025