As a freelancer or small business owner, it can be challenging to decide on an appropriate means to bill clients. Obviously, you want to ensure that you invoice for the work you perform and receive proper payment. A common complaint of small and medium-sized businesses is that they don't know how to account for their services or products accurately or don't have the time to do so. Using good accounting software is a great way to get rid of the kinks and ensure that your business runs smoothly. Enter Zoho Invoice, a free invoicing platform.
What Is Zoho Free Invoice Platform?
Zoho Invoice is a cloud-based invoicing software that allows users to issue invoices, track expenses, and accept online payments. It is 100% free and integrates with many other cloud-based accounting software programs to maximize efficiency.
Companies that use Zoho Invoice can track estimates and project completion and convert them to invoices when a milestone or job is completed.
Once you submit a Zoho invoice to a client, users can follow up with customers whose invoices remain outstanding. You may also review your customer invoice history and collect advance payments when required.
Zoho Invoice provides a large assortment of premade invoice templates you can use for your business. Companies may also customize their invoice features to add a personal touch to billing.
The software supports multiple languages, currencies, and tax groups. This makes it fully functional for small businesses around the world.
Individuals who are not technical wizards can quickly adapt to using the Zoho interface, as it’s highly intuitive and straightforward.
What Are the Features Available in Zoho Invoice?
There are a variety of features and functionality available for users of Zoho Invoice.
Dashboard of Reporting Tools
The invoicing process available in Zoho allows customers to review various reporting items. When you first log in, a dashboard consisting of charts and graphs gives you insight into your company's activity. Graphs show Total Receivables, Sales and Expenses, Projects, Top Expenses and Sales, Receipts, and Dues.
Ability to Bill Multiple Customers
There is no limit to the number of customers you can invoice using the invoicing system. All details of prior, collected invoices and outstanding invoices are stored within the system.
The customer contact settings are particularly well developed. You can save your client’s basic contact information as well as tax preferences and payment preferences and you can also add custom fields and notes if needed.
In addition, you can set or attribute a default currency and language to each client. Each contact is given a dashboard where you can view their information, including any outstanding invoices. Zoho Invoice also allows companies to request customer reviews and testimonials directly from their clients.
Multilingual and Multi-Currency Invoice
Zoho free Invoice allows users to create invoices in a variety of different languages and currencies. This makes billing a breeze for companies that operate across borders and ensures clients are correctly billed each time.
Automated Payment Reminders
As payments become due, the software proactively sends payment reminders to customers. These reminders are especially helpful for clients with a regular history of paying late.
Automated payment reminders can also result in increased collection time.
Better Control Over Employee Expenses
Zoho Invoice has a built-in expense tracking API devoted to scanning receipts. Receipts can be promptly attributed to employees within the company. This is much quicker than the traditional paper trail of receipts that would need to be submitted to Accounts Payable for review before finally being reimbursed to employees.
Transactions may be entered manually (individually or in bulk), imported, connected through your bank account, or added using receipt photos. Zoho Invoice has the ability to create custom expense categories to organize your finances easily, and you can set recurring expenses.
Means to Produce Invoices
Zoho's free invoicing solution allows companies to quickly create invoices based on time tracking, milestones, and project completion. The system immediately notifies users when a billable event has occurred, eliminating the possibility of missing receivables due.
There are 16 invoice templates that are fully customizable. You can add discounts, shipping charges, attachments, and sales tax. You can also opt to add a salesperson to each invoice as well as custom fields.
Zoho Invoice supports invoice reminders, late fees, packing slips, and retainer invoices. The software also supports recurring invoices and the ability to auto-schedule invoices.
Online & Offline Payment Collection
Customers may pay their invoices quickly online or offline—no more waiting for paper checks sent through the mail or long wire transfer times. Zoho can collect payments via cash, credit card, checks and ACH.
Time-Tracking and Workflow Management
The software includes a built-in timer to track hours spent on a project accurately. You can use the timer via your mobile app or desktop.
Any logged time can be quickly attributed to a project and used to invoice a client. There is also an option to establish a budget for each project.
You can record time and log it toward a specific job or assignment. You and your customer receive notifications when the project is close to its established budget. This eliminates the possibility of running over the set budget.
Availability of Client Portal
The customer service portal allows customers to view current invoices due, previously paid invoices, and current project details. Clients can view their home dashboard, estimates, invoices, and projects and make partial or full payments directly through the portal. They can easily request estimate changes, as well.
The portal eliminates the need for lots of back-and-forth emails, as customers can easily check their account status. When a customer logs into the portal, you will get real-time notifications about when your invoices and estimates have been viewed and paid.
Billing Process Management Using Online Apps
The Zoho free Invoice platform is available for mobile devices through both iOS and Android apps.
What Are the Benefits of Using Zoho?
There are a number of benefits to using Zoho Invoice. Many freelancers and small business owners find that they are able to fully integrate the software with other apps and significantly improve their collection processing time.
Ability to Issue Invoices in Multiple Currencies
One of the most significant advantages of Zoho Invoice is its ability to issue professional invoices in multiple currencies. Currently, invoices may be issued in over 170 different currencies and 14 different languages. This is very helpful for companies with clients across the globe.
Online Payment Gateway
Zoho Invoice allows users to utilize a payment process directly through the software. Clients may log in online and quickly make payments via ACH or credit card. There is no need for multiple platforms when setting up a payment.
Data Retention and Security Is Taken Seriously
Users are able to recover data anytime they need it due to local servers and external data centers. Automatic backups are completed frequently alongside data replication so no information is lost. Data is kept safe and protected by 256bit SSL encryption.
Software Is 100% Free
Not only is the program fully functional and stocked with lots of features, it is also free. There are no paid pricing options for Zoho Invoice.
Anyone may sign up for the program and begin issuing invoices, tracking time and utilizing the numerous reporting tools available. Freelancers or small business owners may issue up to 1,000 invoices per year.
Specific features comprising a Zoho Invoice include:
- Ability to create estimates
- Secure data storage
- Customer service portal for clients
- Expense tracking
- Project management
- Time tracking
- Reports
- Multi-currency support
- Multiple invoice languages
Zoho also accepts a variety of payment methods.
Customer Support
Zoho Invoice offers excellent customer support and tons of support resources for its users. You can access almost all of the support sources right within the software.
Customer support is available Monday through Friday. There are a variety of support options available:
- Phone: You can contact Zoho Invoice support via phone. Wait times are generally short, and representatives are helpful. Phone numbers for support are listed in the software itself, based on where your company is located.
- Email: A support engineer from Zoho Invoice can be reached through email. Turnaround time is generally within 24 hours.
- Support Form: There is an option to submit a request for support.
- Live Chat: A chat feature within Zoho Invoice allows you to talk directly with Zoho Invoice representatives.
- Knowledgebase: Zoho Invoice has an extensive knowledge base, complete with guides, how-to articles, FAQs, video demos, blog posts, and a community forum. Even better, you can access these resources directly from within Zoho Invoice.
The customer support available for Zoho Invoice is impressive, especially considering that it is a free product.
Are There Other Zoho Products Available?
There are a variety of other Zoho products available, though most must be paid for. The company offers software to assist in CRM, Finance, Marketing, Sales, HR, IT, and Business Analytics.
Zoho Books is the full-service cloud-based ERP solution for businesses that need end-to-end accounting tools. Companies that elect this solution will receive access to sales and purchase order management, a fully functional treasury option, and the ability to record expenses in real-time.
Purchasing Zoho Books gives access to a variety of reports designed to provide operational insight to the business. In addition, there is an option to develop fully-customized reports tailored specifically for the company.
The cost of Zoho Books is relatively expensive. It begins with a free plan for those companies with revenue of less than $50K per year.
Other plans start at $10 per month to $30 per month. Pricing varies according to the functionality provided and the number of users.
HappyAR is a seamless SaaS that quickly and easily boosts your accounts receivables work. We have simple monthly pricing that includes unlimited users and unlimited invoice escalations. There's no long-term contract and you can try HappyAR for free."