While I was testing this plugin I showed it to a friend of mine who said “I like Freshbooks because you can email invoice PDF attachments.” I think sending PDF invoices to your clients is stupid. What is the point? So they can print it out and keep a paper trail? And then what do they do, fax it back to you? Granted there are a lot of people who must keep a paper copy of everything, but I am a firm believer that at this point it is really counterproductive.
In any case, a Web Invoice has no PDF files, no printing, no faxing. A client gets a link in their email, they follow the link to your website, on your website is their invoice. They don’t have to remember any passwords because ther is no logging in, the link they follow is a hashed invoice ID, example:
Somebody guessing that by chance is very unlikely (nearly impossible with most regular PCs), so no passwords are necessary. After looking at their web invoice, they pay it, and a receipt is sent to them automatically, you’re done.
Why WordPress?
I know there are a lot of third-party billing/invoicing websites, and there are also a few free scripts available that can bill people. However, over the years I’ve come to realize that all the good invoicing sites cost money, the free scripts are horrible, and sending people PayPal invoices is cheap-o. Furthermore, the “good invoicing” sites that cost money always have way too many functions and tools. Typically when I am trying to get money out of somebody I am looking for the shortest and quickest way of doing that, I don’t care about time tracking and road mileage.
Furthermore, WordPress has an awesome user management system. Why not tie that user management system in with your clientele management system?
How do customers pay?
Two ways, the cheap-o PayPal, or via credit card. Either way credibility is added to your business because customers actually view their invoice and enter in their information on your website. However, once you step up to credit card processing it does add even more credibility. However, one must acquire an SSL certificate and a merchant account. I use MerchantPlus for my credit card processing, and GoDaddy for my SSL certificates. MerchantPlus is an Authorize.net reseller, so they, like many other resellers, are compatible with WP-Invoice. Altogether it costs about $50-75 to setup SSL and CC Processing, assuming you already have a website.
Click to view an actual invoice setup for demo purposes.
A Word on the User Interface
I want to mention the UI because I spend a lot of time on it. I tried to stay in sync with the WordPress look, which is about as clean as it gets. The goal is minimalism, a non-cluttered interface, but the ability to dynamically add more content when necessary.
The Invoice Overview is a very basic list, with only a few twists. I added a jQuery filtering function which searches through the table as you type. It’s a really useful function, I don’t understand why more interfaces don’t use it.
And of course table ordering. There is nothing more annoying then trying to reorder a table by a column and having to wait for a page to reload, here it happens on the fly.
Adding invoices is pretty damn easy. It’s best to create your recipient’s profile first, and fill out their billing information while you’re at it. By “billing information” I mean street address, city, zip, etc. The more you fill out the easier it’ll be for the recipient to simply type in their credit card number / PayPal address, and pay you.
User interface note – the text boxes adjust to how much content you type, itemized list entries are added dynamically, totals calculated on the fly, etc.
Bugs & Improvements
I’ve tesed the plugin a number of times on different platforms and WP versions. However, I know for a fact there is going to be a number of things I’ve missed. I don’t really care for the bugs, they will get worked out rather quickly once I get feedback, what I care about is functionality and usability. I hope with enough feedback and Rockstar Energy drinks I can give Freshbooks a good run for their money.
Send Invoices Directly from WordPress
If you are a WordPress user, and you need to bill a client, or a roommate, here is the solution for you: WordPress invoice and billing plugin.
Why “Web Invoices”?
While I was testing this plugin I showed it to a friend of mine who said “I like Freshbooks because you can email invoice PDF attachments.” I think sending PDF invoices to your clients is stupid. What is the point? So they can print it out and keep a paper trail? And then what do they do, fax it back to you? Granted there are a lot of people who must keep a paper copy of everything, but I am a firm believer that at this point it is really counterproductive.
In any case, a Web Invoice has no PDF files, no printing, no faxing. A client gets a link in their email, they follow the link to your website, on your website is their invoice. They don’t have to remember any passwords because ther is no logging in, the link they follow is a hashed invoice ID, example:
https://company.com/invoice/?invoice_id=69b141e65b0f5d832530d41269f8dbbe.
Somebody guessing that by chance is very unlikely (nearly impossible with most regular PCs), so no passwords are necessary. After looking at their web invoice, they pay it, and a receipt is sent to them automatically, you’re done.
Why WordPress?
I know there are a lot of third-party billing/invoicing websites, and there are also a few free scripts available that can bill people. However, over the years I’ve come to realize that all the good invoicing sites cost money, the free scripts are horrible, and sending people PayPal invoices is cheap-o. Furthermore, the “good invoicing” sites that cost money always have way too many functions and tools. Typically when I am trying to get money out of somebody I am looking for the shortest and quickest way of doing that, I don’t care about time tracking and road mileage.
Furthermore, WordPress has an awesome user management system. Why not tie that user management system in with your clientele management system?
How do customers pay?
Two ways, the cheap-o PayPal, or via credit card. Either way credibility is added to your business because customers actually view their invoice and enter in their information on your website. However, once you step up to credit card processing it does add even more credibility. However, one must acquire an SSL certificate and a merchant account. I use MerchantPlus for my credit card processing, and GoDaddy for my SSL certificates. MerchantPlus is an Authorize.net reseller, so they, like many other resellers, are compatible with WP-Invoice. Altogether it costs about $50-75 to setup SSL and CC Processing, assuming you already have a website.
Click to view an actual invoice setup for demo purposes.
A Word on the User Interface
I want to mention the UI because I spend a lot of time on it. I tried to stay in sync with the WordPress look, which is about as clean as it gets. The goal is minimalism, a non-cluttered interface, but the ability to dynamically add more content when necessary.
The Invoice Overview is a very basic list, with only a few twists. I added a jQuery filtering function which searches through the table as you type. It’s a really useful function, I don’t understand why more interfaces don’t use it.
And of course table ordering. There is nothing more annoying then trying to reorder a table by a column and having to wait for a page to reload, here it happens on the fly.
Adding invoices is pretty damn easy. It’s best to create your recipient’s profile first, and fill out their billing information while you’re at it. By “billing information” I mean street address, city, zip, etc. The more you fill out the easier it’ll be for the recipient to simply type in their credit card number / PayPal address, and pay you.
User interface note – the text boxes adjust to how much content you type, itemized list entries are added dynamically, totals calculated on the fly, etc.
Bugs & Improvements
I’ve tesed the plugin a number of times on different platforms and WP versions. However, I know for a fact there is going to be a number of things I’ve missed. I don’t really care for the bugs, they will get worked out rather quickly once I get feedback, what I care about is functionality and usability. I hope with enough feedback and Rockstar Energy drinks I can give Freshbooks a good run for their money.