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.
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 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.
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
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
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 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.
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
Integrates with QuickBooks
Efficient bulk invoice processing
Simple onboarding
Cumbersome data import from QuickBooks
Limitations on sorting and tracking invoices by user
Difficult report customization
Clunky mobile app
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.
Subscription management
Automatic billing
Invoice processing
Reporting
Multiple currencies
Project accounting
Timesheet management
Ideal for businesses with subscription billing models
High level of reporting customization
Integrates with Stripe and PayPal
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 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.
Custom invoices, sales receipts, and estimates
Recurring payments
Multiple currencies
Inventory tracking
Sales by customer
Payroll
Accounts payable and accounts
Automatic reports
Robust accounting capabilities
Includes 100+ reports
User-friendly
Easy to share with your accountant
Three-user limit
Lacks industry-specific features
Outdated desktop version
Poor tech support
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.
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
Intuitive interface
Unlimited customizable invoices
Multiple online payment gateways, including Stripe and PayPal
Thorough accounting features
Sends updates when invoices are viewed or paid
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
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.