Invoicing software- Cloud/Installed

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rexuzroma

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#174935 11-Jun-2015 11:58

Hi friends,

A friend of mine has started an Auto repair business (1 week now) and is on a very tight budget. He has asked my opinion on Invoice/Quote generating software. Because he has just started he hasnt got that much of a client base and doesnt want subscribe for the popular ones like SAM which I beleive is widely used by Auto repairers throughout NZ.

I tried looking for freewares, and surprisingly there are hardly any . A few other ones like Fusioninvoice/InvoicePlane are hosted applications and requires to have a MySQL database created and hosted on the Server which I had some success on but not sure if that is a fail proof method to store information and I might not be able to help with these databases as I'm no guru.

I do understand you have to invest in technology for the best possible results but since he is just starting and a simple invoicing tool is all he needs for now, do you guys have any suggestions? It doesnt have to completely free, a one off fee is ok. Im Currently trying a a service found on waveapps.com. If there is a standalone/faster version or any other suggestions, please let me know.

Dynamic

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#1322751 11-Jun-2015 12:03

Just use whatever accounting software is recommended by his accountant to start with... possibly Xero of MYOB Online.

Or make up an invoice template in Excel (download samples online) and have him save each file as a new invoice number file (e.g. MyDocs\Invoices\INV0001.docx, INV0002.docx, etc)

Or do the same with Google Docs Spreadsheet. just take care not to overwrite the last invoice accidentally... stick a note to his screen saving SAVE AS NEW FILE BEFORE UPDATING ANY INVOICE.

He doesn't NEED any sort of invoicing system other than Excel or Google Docs Spreadsheets to start with.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

rexuzroma

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#1322753 11-Jun-2015 12:12

Thank you mate. That is what I have done for now.

We have currently set him up with Excel template based invoice until I find a good one. Xero and MYOB are excellent tools but I don't think he needs all that functionality now, a more cheaper/easier solution is what I am looking. Thanks for your suggestion.

andrewNZ

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#1322755 11-Jun-2015 12:13

There's Quotient. https://www.quotientapp.com/.

Disclaimer: I know the developer.

rexuzroma

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#1322760 11-Jun-2015 12:23

Thank you Andrew. Its good and Kiwi. I will add to the shortlist I'm preparing although I need to find what differences it has to Waveapps which is completely free.

timmmay

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#1322763 11-Jun-2015 12:29

Xero is great. $30/month for the version with 20 transactions per month, $50/month for the full version. Highly recommended.

andrewNZ

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#1322765 11-Jun-2015 12:33

I know the company that developed it did so primarily for their own use, then decided it was good enough to market. As far as I'm aware they use it on a daily basis for their primary business.

I've unfortunately never tried it because i just have no use for it.

I'd expect support to be very good.
Pretty sure it hooks into Xero too.

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itxtme

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#1322795 11-Jun-2015 13:41

Out of interest what is he planning on doing for his accounting. Xero has been suggested for invoicing, and if he is going to use an accountant (no brainer) then he is best to get xero through the accountant, as they will price it into his monthly fee and generally they will provide the cost saving on to him (15% from memory).

timmmay

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#1322814 11-Jun-2015 14:26

I pay for Xero directly, my accountant has access to it.

Dynamic

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#1322860 11-Jun-2015 15:45

rexuzroma: Xero and MYOB are excellent tools but I don't think he needs all that functionality now, a more cheaper/easier solution is what I am looking. Thanks for your suggestion.

He should have established a relationship with an accountant by now, and if not he should do so promptly IMHO.

The accountant should be able to advise on accounting systems suitable. The more he can do in the accounting system in terms of marking transactions in the bank account as expenses, parts purchases, sales income, drawings, etc, the cheaper his accounting fees will be at the end of the year. If the accountant deems MYOB Online or Xero suitable, these can generate invoices. The accountant might recommend cheaper Cashbook software and suggest he stick with Excel-based invoices.

Ideally the software would let him do his own GST, again so the end of year charges are cheaper.

I prefer Xero, but the basic MYOB (Essentials or AccountRight Basics) @ $25/month would be my recommendation to invoice from and save accounting expenses long-term.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

BradYoung04

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#1334542 1-Jul-2015 03:05

When I was starting out I used Brightbook and InvoiceBerry to handle my invoicing and accounting. Both free and simple to use online tools.

I still recommend these when I'm helping out very small operations get off the ground. Whereas when it comes to enterprise users I'll point them at a system like Adaptive Insights

The cloud accounting market really has exploded in recent years and there seem to be new startups every other week. Does your friend have an accountant already?