Choose a method
Best way to invoice without Xero or FreshBooks
You can send a proper invoice without Xero or FreshBooks if you do not need their bank feeds and reports. Type the line, text the link, keep the PDF.
Leave the accounting suite until you need the suite
Xero and FreshBooks earn their price when you reconcile accounts, invite a bookkeeper and run the year from them. They are a lot of product if the only outcome you want is “the cafe owes me for the launch”. InvoiceTXT is that outcome. It is not a secret free tier of those products, and it will not pull your bank transactions. The best way, if you are a sole trader with a handful of jobs, is to send the invoice in the text, download the PDF for your records, and keep a simple list of what was paid. Add Xero or FreshBooks when a bookkeeper asks for them, not because an invoice feels unofficial without a logo from a suite.
Launch hours and this month’s hosting, due in 30 days: https://invoicetxt.com/i/your-link
Send the job invoice the day you finish
Waiting for the perfect setup is the unpaid month.
Store the PDFs
A folder of PDFs is a record. It is not a ledger, and for a small volume it may be enough.
Move to a suite when the questions get harder
Tax codes, a bookkeeper, multiple bank accounts.
Do not pay for two systems out of anxiety
One sending tool is enough until the books hurt.
What to put on this invoice
- The job lines
- A text with the link
- A PDF kept on purpose
- A ledger only when you have outgrown a folder
Questions about this job
Will an accountant accept this?
They will accept the PDFs and a list of payments more readily than a year of unsent invoices. Ask them before you buy a suite “just in case”.
What about VAT or sales tax?
You can put a tax rate on the API invoice and show tax on the page. The return itself is still your responsibility, or your accountant’s. This page is not tax advice.
Is this a migration off Xero?
Only if you were using Xero as a typewriter. If you reconcile in Xero, stay there and use this only for the send, recording the total once.
The best way is the one you will actually send today. A suite you have not set up is not a way.
Related guides
Simple text invoice vs full accounting software
A text invoice asks for payment. Accounting software explains the year. Most sole traders need the first one every day and the second one on a schedule.
Open guide →Best free way to send invoices by text
The free part is the message and the preview. Type a line, copy a script, and text the link. Saving a workspace and sending invoices all month is a paid plan from $9.
Open guide →Text invoice vs email invoice
Text reaches the phone that booked the job. Email is better when a finance team files PDFs all day. Many businesses should use both, for different customers.
Open guide →