When you need to create an invoice for clients, the process can become quite tedious and time consuming. Many freelancers and small businesses need to be able to easily create invoices and save time, while doing it. There is a way to create invoices for your clients through WordPress and it will save you time and money. Here’s how you can make this happen.
Using FreshBooks to Create Invoices in WordPress
FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial and a forever free plan. They are known as one of the best ways to create professional invoices through WordPress. It’s an accounting tool designed perfectly for those without the skills of an accountant. This is the perfect solution for WordPress professionals.
You can use the 30-day free trial for any of the paid features offered or just sign up for the forever free plan. The sign up process is very easy and they don’t ask for a credit card number. After the free sign-up, you will be taken to a page like this:
You can use the tutorial video to learn how to create an invoice, but it’s not always necessary.
How to Create an Invoice with FreshBooks
Creating an invoice with FreshBooks is very easy. Simply start by clicking on the “create an invoice” button.
Now, you will need to enter your business address if you have not already done so.
After entering your business address, you can choose to create an invoice for time, items or both.
Once you’ve made your choices, you can enter the New Client information, the PO number, the Invoice Number and other details.
Once you save the client details, you can scroll down and add the tasks into your invoice. You will have different options for time and for items.
After you are finished, you can choose to save the invoice as a draft, send it by email or send it by snail mail.
You can also add payments methods including Stripe and PayPal within your FreshBooks Profile. This powerful program will also let you track time, expenses, create estimates and more.
Using the WP-Invoice Plugin to Create an Invoice in WordPress
Even though FreshBooks doesn’t work directly with WordPress, it’s a great way to manage your invoices and create them for clients. However, if you want a solution to work directly from WordPress, the WP-Invoice plugin is the best choice.
This plugin will allow you to create and send invoices directly from WordPress. Simply download the plugin and install it in your WordPress dashboard. Once installed, you will be able to access it from the Invoice menu added to the sidebar in your dashboard.
From here, you can create a new invoice by clicking the “add new” option. This will take you to a page allowing you to enter your business name, payment method and what type of payment methods you are willing to accept.
Save all the settings and you will be able to enter an email address for the invoice on the next page.
Now, you will be taken to a page that looks much like the Post Edit screen. It will allow you to enter all the details including whether the invoice is a quote or recurring bill. After you enter all the invoice information, just click the publish button and your client will receive the invoice by email.
How to View Reports and Invoices
With this plugin, you can also view your invoices and your reports. Viewing the reports is done by clicking on the Invoices>>Reports link, while viewing all your invoices is done by clicking on Invoices>>View All
Both of these options will come in handy and make it very easy to see how much you have earned and which invoices still need to be paid.
Both the WP-Invoice Plugin and FreshBooks are great choices for sending invoices for WordPress professionals. The biggest difference is that the plugin will be right in your WordPress dashboard, while FreshBooks is an outside program. However, FreshBooks does provide more than just the ability to send invoices and it does have plenty of great paid features you can use, as well.