If it is that time of the business where your operations are growing or business trade is increasing and small office software such as Excel and Word is just not sufficient enough to handle work balance then, it is perfect time for you to opt for the best & free invoice maker.

If you want to change the look of invoices & templates or maybe facing issues keeping the track of time, expenses and/or payments, then it is best to go with online invoicing solutions. There are many features that an online invoice generator has to offer but the important decision is to on what basis or factors you should select an invoicing software for your business? We have listed a few of the critical points based on which you can make the decision as per your business need.

Accounting or Invoicing?

First of all, you’ll need to derive the requirements of your invoicing purpose. As long as you don’t require auto-billing, most of today’s available cloud-based accounting software contains all the qualities of an invoicing generator. There are advantages to manage accounting with invoicing software such as you can perfectly integrate your invoicing & accounting and also in most of the cases they both will cost you almost similar.

You should go for the invoicing platform if any of the following points apply such as:

– You already have an accounting software and it can be integrated with any invoicing program
– Your business requires all the invoicing features and benefits
– You need auto-billing
– You have deduced the accounting software options and none of them fulfils your invoicing features need

Local Server or Cloud-based?

Most of the accounting or invoicing solutions are cloud-based on which our primary focus would be however, there are many locally installed invoicing programs available. Cloud-based professional invoice services give you convenience, instant access anywhere-anytime, secure data storage and easy backup facility. Local server based invoice programs are usually cheaper as it has one-time cost rather than subscription.

Free or Paid?

Most free versions of invoicing apps offer basic features but for the advanced features, there would be subscription charges with it.

What Features You Need?

You’ll have to finalize a list of features that is feasible and useful to your business. Moreover, if you want all the invoicing features available then you should go with this one. Also, check whether the invoicing platform could be integrated with your current software or not. But, the sensible thing would be to not pay for all the features when you don’t need all of them.

The best way to proceed is with a list of all the features based on their necessity for the business. We have generalised and mentioned them below:

Online payment option        Customizable templates                  Estimates/quotes
Recurring invoices                Automatic payment reminders       Client portal
Interactive Dashboard         Attach files to invoices                      Stock/Inventory list
Automatic receipts               Financial reports                                Automated late fees
Customer statements          Offer percentage discounts            Multi-lingual
Auto-billing                          Inventory tracking                              Multi-currency
Time tracking                        Expense tracking                               Sales tax
Mobile apps                       Calculate Discounts                          Import/Export & Print

Options, Trial & Decide

Now that you have the list of possible features that you would like based on your business requirements, it is time for you to consider your options for the best invoice service provider who could fulfil your needs. Whichever the option you choose, then it is time for you to go for the free trial offer to know the features and functionality to try before you buy. More importantly, you can initially evaluate on the basis of invoice templates, custom settings, payment, billing, time tracking, reporting, etc. If you didn’t find it suitable for your business than you can go with other options available.

Moon Invoice lets your business be on top of the competition with Instant Invoicing & Billing, an Easy track of Payment & Notifications, Accurate Insights & Reporting Data. Few amazing add-ons with Moon Invoice are that you can add & “Manage Multiple Businesses”, “22+ Professional PDF Templates”, “Import/Export & Print Utility” and data backup “iCloud sync & MoonSync support”.

Recurring Payments Vs Recurring Invoices

Recurring Payments	Recurring Invoices
Recurring payments charge the customer’s credit card account or debit card account on a predetermined schedule for the same amount as preapproved.	Send an invoice to your customer on a regular basis. The client receives the invoice but, money is not paid unless the customer approves.
A business that takes prepayment of money and sells a monthly subscription service and product. Subscription services are excellent examples of this.	A company that provides fixed services with billable hours is an excellent choice for recurring billing. For example law firms and consulting agencies.

Pros and Cons of Recurring Invoices

Pros	Cons
You eliminate the possibility of human error by automating the billing process. If you use a recurring invoice, you will not be concerned about forgetting to charge your customers for the things they ordered.	You must exercise caution while recurring billing to prevent issuing inaccurate pricing. This also holds for price changes that could take place right once an invoice is created.
If you provide your customers with the option for recurring billing, they are more likely to buy products regularly.	It could be difficult to cope with recurring invoices if a transaction fails for any reason.

Net 45	Invoice is due in full within 45 days with no early payment discount offered
2/10 net 45 terms	2% discount if you pay within 10 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/15 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 15 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/10 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 10 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/7 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 7 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days

Category	Net Method vs. Gross Method	Explanation
Calculation Approach	- Applies tax credits first; reduces taxable income before computing tax liability.	- Doesn't apply tax credits; computes taxable income without considering tax credits.
Tax Credit Eligibility	- Allows for greater likelihood of tax credit eligibility due to reduced taxable income.	- Limits tax credit eligibility because taxable income hasn't been reduced yet.
Itemized Deduction Requirement	- Lowers threshold requirement for itemizing deductions due to decreased taxable income.	- Raises threshold requirement for itemizing deductions due to higher taxable income.
Advantages	- Leads to lower taxable income and increases chances of meeting qualifications for other tax benefits.	- Results in higher taxable income compared to net method.
Disadvantages	- May miss opportunity to reduce tax burden if taxpayer doesn't itemize deductions or take advantage of tax credits.	- Increases taxable income and may result in higher overall tax bill.