Looking for a QuickBooks alternative for invoicing
QuickBooks is accounting. Invoicing is one module inside it. If you are searching for an alternative, you are usually not trying to replace the accounting, you are trying to make the invoicing part faster.
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The short answer
QuickBooks is the right tool if you need books, bank reconciliation, tax reporting and an accountant who can log in. Invoice Local is the right tool if you want to raise and send invoices on a phone in thirty seconds. Many trades use both, and that is a perfectly sensible arrangement.
This is the one comparison on the site where using both is often the correct answer rather than a compromise. Accounting and invoicing are related but they are not the same job, and the software that is best at one is rarely best at the other.
What you should not do is drop your accounting to get faster invoicing. Nothing here replaces a set of books, and pretending otherwise would be doing you harm.
What QuickBooks does that this does not attempt
Everything on this list is outside the scope of an invoicing app, permanently.
- Double entry accounting. Real books that an accountant can work from at year end.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation. Transactions matched automatically rather than by hand.
- Tax reporting. Returns and filings supported directly in the product where available.
- Payroll. Where you employ people, in the same system as the books.
- Accountant access. Your accountant can log in and work, which is a real convenience.
What Invoice Local does better
One narrow thing, and the places where it works.
- Speed at the property. About thirty seconds from opening the app to a sent invoice.
- Offline first. Created and stored on the device, so no connection is required to build or save.
- Free without a cap, so a busy month costs nothing extra.
- No account, no onboarding. Install and invoice.
- Twelve languages on the PDF, not just the interface.
Two different jobs
| Invoice Local | QuickBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting and bookkeeping | None | Full |
| Bank reconciliation | None | Yes |
| Tax reporting | None | Yes, where supported |
| Accountant access | No | Yes |
| Invoice on a phone in seconds | Yes | Possible, heavier |
| Works with no signal | Yes, offline first | Needs a connection |
| Card payments | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free, Pro $4.99 a month | Subscription, check current pricing |
Rows are weighted heavily toward QuickBooks because that is the truth. It does far more. The only rows we win are the two this product was built for.
When QuickBooks is the answer
These are not edge cases, they describe most established businesses.
- You need proper books rather than a record of invoices
- You reconcile a business bank account regularly
- Your accountant expects to log in and work in your system
- You run payroll or need tax filings supported in software
- You want one system holding everything financial
When to add a separate invoicing app
Usually alongside your accounting rather than instead of it.
- Invoices go out days late because they need a computer
- You want to hand a customer a PDF before you leave the property
- You work where there is no signal and still need to bill on site
- You want invoicing that costs nothing regardless of volume
- Your customers reply on WhatsApp rather than email
- You bill in a language other than English and want the PDF to match
Cost, and the sensible arrangement
Invoice Local is free for unlimited invoices, quotes and customers. Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year for the extra designs and no watermark.
The arrangement plenty of small trades land on is this: invoice from the phone at the property, and give your accountant or your accounting software the record at month end. The two do not talk to each other automatically, so this works best when your volume is low enough that re entering totals is not a burden. Being clear about that limitation is more useful to you than pretending it does not exist.
Questions about using both
Does Invoice Local sync with QuickBooks?
No. There is no integration and none is planned. If you use both, the invoices from here are entered into your accounting the same way you would enter any other sale. For a low volume trade that is a few minutes a month, and for a high volume business it would be a genuine annoyance.
Should I stop using accounting software?
No. This does not produce books, does not reconcile a bank account and cannot support a tax filing. It records what you invoiced and what was paid, which is a payment record rather than accounting.
Can I export my invoices?
There is no spreadsheet export today, which is worth knowing before you build a workflow around it. Your invoices are on your device and in your account if you sign in for cloud backup.
Why would a trade use two tools?
Because the fastest way to raise an invoice at a property and the best way to keep books are not the same product. Using the right tool for each is normal, and it is what most one van businesses end up doing regardless of what any software company suggests.
Which devices does it run on?
Android phones and tablets through Google Play, and any modern browser at app.invoicelocal.com. There is no iPhone app yet, so on an iPhone you use the browser version, which builds and sends the same PDF from the same account.
Other comparisons
If you would rather see the app in context than in a table, the trade pages show it billing real work. There is also a free invoice template and a guide to writing an invoice that gets paid.
Keep the books, speed up the billing
Invoice from the phone, keep your accounting where it is. Free forever for unlimited invoices and quotes.