Invoiceplane takes another step

I took quite some time to find an accounts/invoicing package that suits my work style but I finally came upon Invoiceplane last year. The basic requirements were:

• product/service database
• client database
• create quotes
• create invoices
• send invoices via email
• classification of invoices and quotes ( workflow eg. created, sent, overdue, etc. )
• list invoices by client
• list overdue invoices
• create recurring invoices

And Invoiceplane delivered on all accounts with a nicely designed interface with good usability and ergonomics. The UI includes a top bar menu divided into a few prime categories: clients, quotes, invoices, payments and reports. There is also a one-shot dashboard giving an overview of quotes and invoices, with quick links to various aspects of the quotes and invoices.

Installation is straightforward – you need a LAMP or WAMP system with MySQL, Apache and PHP support. Once installed, there is some basic setup, which includes setting up email and invoice/quote templates and then you can start adding clients. Custom fields are a nice addition allowing one to add fields/parameters to customers that aren’t available by default.

The next step is to add services/products – these can be created ( and saved ) while generating invoices or you can pre-create them in the Products section.

And finally, start creating invoices selecting pre-created products from the database or creating these on the fly. VAT and Tax are catered for in invoices as well as invoice terms ( I use this field to include my bank details ) and due date.

The latest version 1.2 includes the ability to lock invoices to read-only once created as many tax authorities require that an invoice not be altered once it’s created. As payments are processed on the system ( which includes amount, payment date and type ), these are offset against the invoices which have their status altered to Paid. Any invoice can also be converted into a recurring invoice with variable generation terms ( ( eg. monthly or yearly ).

For reporting, there is invoice ageing available as well as payment history and sales by client. All invoices, quotes and reports are generated as PDF files which can be tailored with logos and some other items. One really neat feature if the quote system is that a URL is generated at which a client can approve or disapprove the quote. Once approved, you can convert the quote into an invoice.

All in all , this is a fantastic piece of software that does the basics and does it well.