The Best Invoicing Apps for Busy Tradies

May 6th, 2021
Domenic Calabretta

In our article 10 Reasons New Businesses Don’t Survive, we pointed to financial mismanagement as one of the common reasons that new businesses fail. Not having a handle on your accounting, bookkeeping, cash flow, taxation, and other financial essentials can see a small business sink without trace under its own mismanaged paperwork.

And not every business can afford to outsource these tasks to accountants, tax agents and bookkeepers either. Some startups only make a profit in their initial years by doing all the hard yards themselves… including their finances.

So, if you’re a small business entity such as a self-employed tradie trying to make ends meet but drowning in paperwork, there are some fantastic apps that can help you out and make your life a whole lot easier. We’ve described some fantastic apps (many of them free) that can turn you into a paperwork whiz, and your phone or tablet into a portable finance department.

Invoicing Apps – List of the Top Apps

Bridge – An easy to use the app for tradies who want to streamline their business procedures and allows you to professionally handle every aspect of your business.
Invoice2go – Creates great looking professional invoices on your mobile device.
Wave – Provides easy invoicing on the go, allowing you to send unlimited professional invoices for free.
Xero – Offers a range of award-winning mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing you to easily take care of all your financials.
Tradify – Used by more than 5000 tradespeople around the world making invoicing, quoting, and scheduling easy.
ServiceM8 – Allows you to keep track of every element of a job from quoting, scheduling and management through to invoicing and payment tracking.
Reckon Invoices – A user-friendly interface that allows you to store product and customer data in one location and use it to create accurate personalised invoices on the go.
Zoho Invoice – llows you to send quotes, track time on projects, monitor your expenses, invoice for projects, accept credit card payments, and send thank you letters to clients.
MYOB – Manage your accounts and cash flow on the go, automatically update your accounting software, and less manual data entry required.
Joist – A free tool for contractors that allows you to quote, invoice, record payments and manage projects on your mobile device.
Saver6 – Instantly create invoices and declaring expenses with just a few taps of the screen.
QuickBooks Self-Employed – Easy to use the app for business owners who are always on the go and want to stay in control of their business finances.
ZipBooks – A free accounting app that lets you create and send invoices, capture business expense receipts, track time, and add clients on the go.
Book Keeper Accounting – A complete accounting app for small to medium businesses that help you maintain your books and do all your financial essentials.

Bridge is easy to use the app for tradies who want to streamline their business procedures. It allows you to professionally handle every aspect of your business from your mobile device including new customer leads through to quoting, invoicing, and payment tracking. Features include:https://australiandebtsolvers.com.au/corporate-insolvency/news/the-best-invoicing-apps-for-busy-tradies

Generate professional-looking quotes and invoices
Receive notifications when a customer views and accepts
Receive notifications when an invoice is paid or overdue
View enquires and jobs on the dashboard and get a clear overview of where your business is at
Keeps job notes, images and customer details all in one place
Everything is backed up to the cloud, so no more double handling or lost paperwork.

Invoice 2go creates great looking professional invoices on your mobile device. It has a lot of excellent features including:

Send an invoice as soon as the job is done, meaning you get paid sooner
Choose from a range of invoice templates to which you can add your company logo
Create professional quotes on the spot and convert them into invoices with a single tap
Track when a customer views your invoice so you know when to follow up with a payment reminder
Automatically sync data across all your devices.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

Invoice by Wave provides easy invoicing on the go, allowing you to send unlimited professional invoices for free, with an optional credit card processing service to get paid even faster. Its many features include:

Create and send customised invoices with your company logo
Receive payment notifications
Check invoice status (i.e. sent, viewed, overdue, paid)
Send payment reminders and receipts.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.
Try it now, for free

Xero offers a range of award-winning mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing you to easily take care of all your financials. Features include:

Invoicing – get paid fast with online invoicing
Bank reconciliation – connect to your bank for automatic updates and simple reconciliation
Inventory – track inventory, control stock and add items into invoices and orders
Bill payment – pay your bills on time, reduce admin and keep control of your cash flow
Expense claims – record, claim and manage expenses and receipts online
Quotes – produce and send professional online quotes
Purchase orders – simplify your purchasing process and keep track of orders
Business dashboard – see how your business is performing at a glance.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

Used by more than 5000 tradespeople around the world, Tradify makes invoicing, quoting, and scheduling easy. Features include:

Manage all jobs online – track every job online from quote to invoice
Easy invoicing – collects all your timesheets and receipts for instant invoicing
Smarter scheduling – assesses the availability of every team member when booking jobs
Syncs with your accounting system – allows you to collate everything into Xero or MYOB for end-to-end workflow
Fast easy quotes – pull up templates and quote quickly and accurately
GPS location tracking – see where everyone is working and easily reassign them to new jobs.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

ServiceM8 is the ideal app for every service business, allowing you to keep track of every element of a job from quoting, scheduling, and management through to invoicing and payment tracking. Features include:

Integrates with MYOB, Xero and QuickBooks accounting software
Easy scheduling and viewing of all job details
Instant text to notify clients of your ETA
View all jobs and other staff members on a map
Record job check-in and check-out times
Collect a client’s electronic signature
InstantPost – one tap to send your invoice via Australia Post.

Download the iOS app here.
At this time the app is only available on iOS devices.

Reckon Invoices is a user-friendly interface that allows you to store product and customer data in one location and use it to create accurate personalised invoices on the go. The Reckon app gives you access to a big range of features, based on the modules you subscribe to, including:

Display account balances for open accounts
Transfer money between accounts
Add and manage customer and supplier details
Create and email customer invoices
Record invoice and bill payments and view history
Capture your own expense claims as you incur them.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

Zoho Invoice is the best way to invoice, remind, and accept payments from your customers. It allows you to send quotes, track time on projects, monitor your expenses, invoice for projects, accept credit card payments, and send thank you letters to clients. Features include:

Ready to use templates for invoices and quotes
Categorised expenses for easy tracking
Online payment acceptance via PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net, and 2Checkout
Download or print invoice and quote PDFs using AirPrint
Track status on quotes, invoices, and overdue payments
Multi-lingual and multi-currency options for invoicing international clients.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

If you use MYOB, you can apply for their MYOB OnTheGo app service. This allows you to manage your accounts and cash flow on the go, automatically update your accounting software, and less manual data entry required. Other features include:

Easily stay on top of late payments
Check who has and hasn’t paid you in real-time
Send and track invoices from your smartphone
Simple and secure login
Take card payments on your smartphone.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

iOS –https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/contractor-estimating-invoicing/id592163563?mt=8
Android –https://www.joist.com/

Joist is a free tool for contractors that allows you to quote, invoice, record payments, and manage projects on your mobile device from wherever you are. Features include:

Customise quotes and invoices with your company logo and letterhead
Attach a contract and collect a client’s signature on the spot
Attach photos to your quotes and invoices
Print or email quotes and invoices on the spot
Keep track of payments and how much you’re owed
Save and manage client information
Export everything into your accounting program.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

The Saver6 invoicing app makes bookkeeping easy, instantly creating invoices and declaring expenses with just a few taps of the screen. Features include;

Recording of invoice information such as service description and hourly rate and with the option to include tax
Invoices can be printed or emailed and their status tracked
Captures images of your receipts/expenses and records information such as the percentage that is business-related
Allows weekly or monthly monitoring of invoices and expenses
Provides a comparison of recorded sales versus expenses.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is easy to use the app for business owners who are always on the go and want to stay in control of their business finances and maximize their deductions at tax time.

Untangle expenses on the go
Never touch a logbook again with automatic mileage tracking
Get paid faster with effortless invoicing
Snap and store receipts

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.
50% discount off the QuickBooks Self-Employed app

ZipBooks is a free accounting app that lets you create and send invoices, capture business expense receipts, track time, and add clients on the go. Features include:

Create, edit, preview or email a quote or invoice, view its history and customise it with your business info and logo
Add, edit or delete clients and view current clients via an alphabetical list
Submit a time entry with time tracker and view, pause and delete time entries from the list
Connect to your bank account and finance an invoice right from your phone.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

Book Keeper Accounting is a complete accounting app for small to medium businesses that help you maintain your books and do all your financial essentials. Features include:

Invoicing – create invoices for products and services, customise them, add your logo, sign your invoices, print or email them and track outstanding payments
Quotes – create and send estimates to your clients and then convert them to invoices later on
Expenses – enter business expenses, payments made, income earned and analyse profits
Inventory – manage your entire inventory in one place
Financial reports – create 15 different reports for an in-depth analysis of your business.

Download the iOS app here.
Download the Android app here.

Using apps for easy business finance management

While many of the apps described here are free, some do charge a small monthly fee for access. But given the potential savings, they can provide for a business in terms of increased mobility and productivity, you would have to think it’s a small price to pay for having all your financial eggs in one handy online basket!

If your business is suffering from financial difficulties and you’re not sure of the next step, you can speak with the experts at Australian Debt Solvers now to discuss a plan for your business.