The Best Billing and Invoicing Software for Professional Services Firms 2023

Billing software allows you to organize and automate your company’s invoicing and payment process. It helps improve cash flow by collecting timely payments and reducing manual data entry errors. Cloud-based billing and invoicing is popular among professional services industries for its ability to: 

• Save money

• Save time

• Prevent billing errors

• Speed up payments 

• Offer clients greater convenience

• Allow teams to focus on client-facing work

• Reduce paperwork

Billing software gives you a competitive advantage over firms stuck doing it manually. While tech utilization is on the rise, a surprising 80% of businesses still use paper invoices, which cost $15-30 each to complete, compared to only $2.25 to process a digital, automated invoice. Invoicing software makes it easy to generate custom invoices fast, set up automatic billing schedules, and accept ePayments in multiple currencies.

Best Billing and Invoicing Software for Professional Services Firms

So, with an abundance of billing solutions available, which one should you choose? We reviewed the top billing and invoicing platforms to help you decide. 

BQE CORE

BQE CORE is an award-winning all-in-one solution that’s popular with professional services. It combines intuitive billing and invoicing, project management, time and expense tracking, accounting, and reporting, all in a single powerful dashboard. 

No matter how complicated or unique a project is, BQE CORE gives you the flexibility and precision needed to ensure you’re paid accurately and on time. Contract type, fee schedule, and invoice frequency can all be customized and automated, so you simplify your billing process, enjoy a more consistent revenue stream, and eliminate manual tasks. 

BQE CORE features

• Customizable invoice templates

• Automatic billing

• Recurring invoicing

• Time and expense tracking

• Online payments

• Multi-currency support

• Preferred invoice schedule and frequency

• Invoices for hourly, fixed fee, cost plus, unit cost, or total contract percentage

• Split invoices

• BQE CORE mobile app

• Metrics and reporting

BQE CORE pros

• Easily customizable templates and workflows

• Invoices look professional and are easy for clients to understand

• User-friendly interface

• Detailed reporting 

• Available on mobile

• Automatic accuracy checks

• Well-organized

• Integrates with popular solutions like QuickBooks 

• 24/7/365 customer support

• Tailored to professional services and project-based work

BQE CORE cons

• A plethora of workflows and customizations may initially overwhelm you, but BQE CORE’s user-friendly resources and customer support provide training to help you effectively leverage what you need

Try a free demo today to see how BQE CORE can streamline your billing and invoicing, increase productivity, and support consistent cash flow. 

BigTime

BigTime is a Professional Services Automation (PSA) software that includes billing and invoicing features, as well as time tracking and project management. It’s geared toward engineers, architects, accountants, IT consultants, lawyers, financial advisors, and graphic designers.

Recognizing that many businesses fail due to cash flow problems, BigTime aims to help companies get paid more regularly while saving valuable time and centralizing important business metrics. It’s worth noting that while BigTime receives overall positive user reviews, its invoicing and payment features noticeably receive the most criticism.

BigTime features

• Customizable invoices templates based on bill rates and industry

• At-a-glance dashboards

• Automatic workflow approval

• Payment processing 

• Time and expense tracking

• Automatic payment reminders

BigTime pros

• Integrates with QuickBooks

• Efficient bulk invoice processing

• Simple onboarding 

BigTime cons

• Cumbersome data import from QuickBooks

• Limitations on sorting and tracking invoices by user

• Difficult report customization

• Clunky mobile app

NetSuite

NetSuite is a cloud-based business platform that includes invoice and billing management, accounting, and ERP. It dates back to the ‘90s and has evolved over the years to help thousands of businesses speed up key processes and make data-driven decisions.

While NetSuite has impressive name recognition and legacy, users frequently express frustration with its old-fashioned interface and usability challenges. Its emphasis on ecommerce, supply chain, and customer service features doesn’t align with the needs of most professional services companies.

NetSuite features

• Subscription management 

• Automatic billing

• Invoice processing

• Reporting

• Multiple currencies

• Project accounting

• Timesheet management 

NetSuite pros

• Ideal for businesses with subscription billing models

• High level of reporting customization 

• Integrates with Stripe and PayPal

NetSuite cons

• Expensive if you don't plan to use many of its features

• Outdated UI

• Steep learning curve requires extra setup time and training

• Weak integrations with some third-party tools

   

QuickBooks Pro

QuickBooks Pro is a well-known accounting software that allows users to create invoices, accept and track payments, and pay vendors. It centralizes your company’s finances and makes it simple to customize and send invoices from mobile or desktop so that you can manage your bookkeeping on the go.

QuickBooks is generally known to be easy to set up and use, with no accounting knowledge necessary. However, QuickBooks falls short if you’re looking for a platform with advanced or additional capabilities, like financial forecasting or project management. It also has limited functionality for teams of more than three people. 

QuickBooks Pro features

• Custom invoices, sales receipts, and estimates

• Recurring payments

• Multiple currencies

• Inventory tracking

• Sales by customer

• Payroll

• Accounts payable and accounts 

• Automatic reports

QuickBooks Pro pros

• Robust accounting capabilities 

• Includes 100+ reports

• User-friendly

• Easy to share with your accountant

QuickBooks Pro cons

• Three-user limit 

• Lacks industry-specific features

• Outdated desktop version

• Poor tech support

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is an invoicing and time and expense tracking tool for small businesses, sole proprietors, and freelancers. It’s built for ease of use and helps you stay organized by keeping track of invoices, payments, and expenses. 

It’s not a good fit for larger companies, as it caps the number of users and clients you can have. FreshBooks doesn't estimate quarterly income tax payments, and if you're on a lower-tier plan, it doesn't support accountant access.

FreshBooks features

• Customizable invoices

• Recurring invoicing

• Automatic payments

• Double-entry accounting

• Credit card and ACH payments

• Automatic late payment reminders and fees 

• Time tracking and mileage tracking

• Reporting and dashboards

FreshBooks pros

• Intuitive interface

• Unlimited customizable invoices 

• Multiple online payment gateways, including Stripe and PayPal 

• Thorough accounting features

• Sends updates when invoices are viewed or paid

FreshBooks cons

• Limited template customization

• Mobile app lacks some features

• Invoices have to be added manually to modify them

• Monthly billable clients limited by plan

• Automatically imported expenses are often miscategorized

All-in-One Invoicing and Accounting Software for Your Firm

Invoicing software boasts so many helpful features that free up your company from error-prone, mundane billing tasks while delivering significant time and cost savings — simplifying the process for your clients, too. 

Out of all the billing and invoicing software on the market, customers have reviewed BQE CORE to be the best fit for professional services. It’s the smoothest, most efficient way to manage payments, projects, personnel, and more, in one place. In seconds, generate and send invoices using customizable templates for different project types, consolidate or split invoices, process online payments, and create financial reports.

BQE CORE is seamless for you, your collaborators, and your clients. It's scalable, integrates with your favorite tools, and provides the best ROI for project-based firms. Sign up for a free demo of BQE CORE today to see how it can enable you to save money, gain deeper insights, and manage your projects end-to-end for better performance and profitability.