Please suggest free or low cost invoicing software

[Alan]

Nothing personal, but I just hate anything MicroSoft, it goes back a long way but may be rooted in the thought that MS effectively invented viruses through the creation of fundamentally flawed operating system design.

 

[ffox]

Nothing personal, but I just hate anything MicroSoft, it goes back a long way but may be rooted in the thought that MS effectively invented viruses through the creation of fundamentally flawed operating system design.

Alan, it makes no difference what personal likes and dislikes you have. I'm afraid that Google Docs has similar formatting inconsistencies with MS Word as Open Office. It's a thing you would expect. The point to remember is that if you are sending documents electronically to a client you should generate them using the same application that the recipient will use to view them.

 

[Alan]

The point to remember is that if you are sending documents electronically to a client you should generate them using the same application that the recipient will use to view them.

Absolutely -= if they are non collaborative documents, i.e.ones that the client isn't expected to update - I always send them in PDF, as it doesn't make any assumptions about the end users technology.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

The moral of the story is that if you create documents that represent you and you care about your customer's perception of your image and services don't cut corners to save a few quid. It can backfire.

But MS Office produces such ugly documents full of formatting problems. I would rather work in Simpletext or Textedit for quick drafts and then import into a proper DTP programme for final presentation and then convert to PDF.

 

[ffox]

But MS Office produces such ugly documents full of formatting problems. I would rather work in Simpletext or Textedit for quick drafts and then import into a proper DTP programme for final presentation and then convert to PDF.

Sounds complex. Especially when the client's software preference is already known.

 

[GraemeL]

May I congratulate @Clinton on creating a long thread with a relatively simple question!

 

[Clinton]

Thanks, GraemeL, this thread has gone completely off-topic, but let's roll with it, aye?

...if you are sending documents electronically to a client you should generate them using the same application that the recipient will use to view them.

And if the recipient is stuck to some proprietary solution that is far too complicated, not compliant with other software, breaks documents created in other programmes, expensive, bloated ... we should take a stand and find a workaround. Using PDF is one good solution. Let's start with that. Let's change the world and bring some sanity back into this small corner.

I hear what Alan's saying about not liking MS. I won't say I hate MS but I do remember the dirty games they played to wipe out Wordperfect, Lotus etc. Also, for years, IT in schools involved just learning how to use Word and Excel. That was it! That was by Microsoft design. MS bribed schools, via "educational discounts", to handicap millions of kids. There are good reasons to dislike MS but I would advise against MS for practical reasons rather than emotional ones, for what it is now rather than what the company did in the past.

Today MS Office is a bunch of over-featured, over-complicated, exploitative bullsh*t.

Just the fact that it's a subscription service should be enough to ditch it. If all you want is a WP and SS I think it's bonkers to pay by the month.(Or to pay at all when there are excellent free alternatives!)

This will go down as the decade businesses woke up to the fact that they can make a lot more money if they charge the punters by the month. All the business gurus, advisors and experts out there are urging businesses to find some way to inject a recurring payment revenue stream into their cash flow. I advise my clients that if they move to recurring they can expect a higher price when they sell their business. Recurring is all the rage.

So a lot of businesses are trying to find some way to move us punters to a subscription model, usually by adding a whole bunch of unnecessary features (like £1.37 worth of Skype calls to a word processing package - this is nuts!).

I can see the argument for tax software being subscription, but a word processor? That's taking the p*ss!

Sure, they've thrown in some cloud something and some Skype something else to try and confuse the fact that they're way overcomplicating the humble WP & SS (just in order to squeeze some more money out of you by signing you up to a sub).

My advice to businesses is to think carefully about whether you need those features before you decide to go down the MS Office route. My clients range from from restaurants to SaaS businesses to manufacturers of security equipment to facilities management companies to companies providing calibration services for scientific instruments. As you would expect in my line of business - helping business owners sell their businesses - a lot of docs and spreadsheets go back and forth between my clients and me. I can assure you that I have not had a single instance in the last few years that made me feel I need to sign up with MS Office (no, I didn't even bother with the free version).

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Using PDF is one good solution.

I should mention that the accounts software I use, Easy Books, sends invoices as PDFs.

https://easybooksapp.com/

 

[Newchodge]

I use dropbox for a lot of storage, including client invoices. As my invoices are pretty repetitive I usually open the last one for that client, make the necessary changes and save the new invoice under the correct reference. Until dropbox automatically started opening documents in Word Online, or whatever it is called. As soon as I had opened the old invoice and change the invoice number it automatically saved it under the old reference, thereby losing the old invoice copy. This is insane.

I know I can open documents by choosing to use Word 2010, which is on my machine, but I have to remember to do that.

I too hate MS

 

[ffox]

Thanks, GraemeL, this thread has gone completely off-topic, but let's roll with it, aye?

I'm game if you are.

Stats show that Open Office cumulative downloads are something like 200 million since 2012. MS office boasts 1.2 Billion users.
So, you are arguing a lost cause. Unless Open Office (and all other open source applications) find a different marketing model, the commercial guys will win.
Lets look at development. MS pours billions into ongoing proactive development. What you call gizmos and

over-featured, over-complicated, exploitative bullsh*t.

MS have researched and developed in response to customer demand. Open source software, on the other hand, is developed reactively, as and when users find issues or needs. The Google Apps development follows a similar pattern to open source.

Small business does not need the problems of complex IT. What is needed is low cost, stable platforms that deliver what is asked when it is required without worry for the user. G-Suite and Office 365 deliver that on whatever device the user wants to use. No need for a desktop PC, let alone a server, no need for network switches, less need for on site backup, just feed in the data and find it again when you want it. Okay, I'll grant that to do this an Internet connection is always required.

If Internet is an issue, and costs are really tight I would recommend a local Open Office install and upload to the cloud as soon as possible.

Your original question was about Invoicing and someone pointed out that many small businesses use spreadsheets to create and track the sales process. Office 365 allows a user to create an invoicing suite without the need for any coding whatsoever. If it can be done with a SS it can be done with SharePoint on-line. There are templates available if time and/or skill are lacking.

That's all in the subscription price.

Comparing Office 365 with Office 2016 is very wrong.

To say that small business don't need these 'gizmos' is also wrong. Most business' need data storage, processing and some business apps. G-Suite and Office 365 allows this to happen without large start up costs. Ongoing subscription costs are not great and also include all servicing charges, just like leasing a vehicle or business premises.

 

[The Byre]

There is one software package that does invoices, audio editing, webpage design, PDF generation, layouts, image manipulation, graphic design, video editing - you name it and it can do it - and that is Adobe Creative Suite. It is of course an expensive subscription package for the latest version, but hold onto your hats folks - CS2 is totally free!

Go to the Adobe website, register as a user and go to 'other downloads' and download those bits of CS2 that you want or need. From Photoshop to InDesign, from Illustrator to Audition, it's all there!

Yes, it is ages old, but it does the job brilliantly!

Add to that, this InDesign plugin http://www.bcv-creation.com/calculs-dans-indesign/calculs-raynaux_EN.php (to turn InDesign into a pukka calculations tool) and you will be creating invoices or any other calculation sheets such as costings, estimates, or any of the other things that one normally struggles to do with Excel - and you will be doing those tasks with a level of design, sophistication and stability that users of Microsoft programmes can only dream about!

Anyone still mucking about with rubbish like 'Word' and the dreadful MS Publisher, needs to be lead into the light and air of using proper adult SW that is easy to use and covers all the bases without bugs.

From invoices to laying out nearly all newspapers, from the local parish news to the Sunday Times, InDesign is the weapon of choice!

That's right! The most sophisticated invoicing tools are yours for free! Enjoy!

 

[Clinton]

Most business' need data storage, processing...

Like most people, I've got hundreds of GB of unused storage on my HDD and access to tons more online for free.

Word processing isn't CPU hungry and neither is 99% of SS work; I doubt most businesses need processing.

Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree about all these needs.

 

[MikeJ]

I spend much of my time on Word and Excel

I doubt I use any function in these two that wasn't available in Wordperfect or Supercalc in 1990.The biggest difference is now the help functions take five times longer to load.

 

[MikeJ]

Actually, that's not true. I use the save to PDF function regularly.

 

[QF Accounts]

I would suggest quickfile.co.uk
The best cloud accounting software for UK based companies.
Free of charge up to 1000 entries.

 

[ffox]

Like most people, I've got hundreds of GB of unused storage on my HDD and access to tons more online for free.

Word processing isn't CPU hungry and neither is 99% of SS work; I doubt most businesses need processing.

Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree about all these needs

I don't get your point. Let me say it another way -
'Most business' need data storage, processing and some business apps' That is -
Data storage - somewhere to park documents and other files.
Processing - someway to turn keystrokes into something meaningful like a letter or a spreadsheet calculation
Business Apps - a means to run data that has been input through some algorithms that make some calculation or analysis. Payroll or accounts for instance.

Now if you know a business that doesn't need these simple things, then you know a business that doesn't need a computer of any sort.

But, your original question was about a business that, apparently, does need a computer. My point here is that the business you describe does not need a Desktop or a Laptop or a server. All that is necessary is a tablet or netbook (very low cost) and either a free Google Docs or a free Microsoft account.
Both of these deliver ample storage and the use of Word processor and Spreadsheet applications. Invoicing can be done more than satisfactorily with either solution and with a little learning the business person can even run a full bookkeeping suite using the spreadsheet apps.

If the regular user has issues with working on a small screen, simply add a BT keyboard and an external monitor. Why would you advise a business to spend any more that that?

 

[qurttlfqrq]

I think the point is being missed.

There just wont be any one off payment software solutions going forward.

There will be

• Open source - self hosted
• Cloud subscription
• In house developed

and combinations of the above, but the one off piece of software distributed on a CD ( or floppy drive ) is a dead concept. No software developer would chose that business model so it wont exist. Sure, there are some laggard and right now they do exist, but that is the nature of what they call 'digital disruption'.

Can a small business ave some money by finding some non subscription software, sure they can.

Is it worth the effort? Maybe / maybe not

This. It used to be you would make a downloaded software product and then stop supporting it after you build a new version with enough new features that most everyone will make the switch. So you really are paying a recurring charge but it is a bigger amount, less often.

How many hours of data entry did we all put ourselves through before bank feeds?

Whether you agree with the above or not it is true that from a companies perspective, they have always looked at SaaS as a recurring revenue model and a cloud subscription model is just an extension of that. There's added convenience and more frequent updates for customers and a more predictable source of revenue for companies.