• What to check for a firm
  • The tools

Accounting and bookkeeping firms bill in two ways at once: the same fee every month for ongoing work, such as monthly bookkeeping, and hourly or project fees for one-off work, such as cleanup or advisory projects. Invoicing software for a firm needs recurring invoices, time tracking for the hourly work, payment reminders, online payments and a way to export the figures. This page sets out what five tools say about those features on their own websites.

Billed publishes this page, and Billed is listed first. The other four tools are in alphabetical order. The page doesn't rank them. Each description quotes the vendor's own pages, opened on October 29, 2026. Prices and plans change, so check each vendor's pricing page for current details.

What to check for a firm

  • Recurring invoices for monthly engagements, set up once per client.
  • Time tracking that turns hours into invoice lines for hourly or project work.
  • Both on the same client, if a client has a monthly fee and occasional extra work.
  • Payment reminders you can set to go out automatically.
  • Online payments from the invoice, such as card or PayPal.
  • Team access and permissions, if staff prepare invoices and a partner reviews them.
  • Exports of invoices and reports for your own records.

The tools

Billed

From Billed's own product pages:

  • Recurring invoices: "For clients you bill on a schedule, set up a recurring profile once" (invoice software), and Billed "creates a recurring profile for your customer and keeps all the payments and invoices related to that profile in one place" (recurring invoices).
  • Payments and follow-up: invoices you can "take card and PayPal payments on", and "Invoice reports show which invoices are paid, partially paid or past due, and you can see who owes you money and send them a payment reminder."
  • Time tracking: "Log time for each task as you work, and see how much time goes into each project" (time tracking).
  • Team: "Invite teammates, accountants and contractors to your Billed account and grant them permissions".
  • Clients: "Billed supports client imports so you can quickly onboard your existing client list without entering each contact manually" (client management).
  • Exports: "All reports in Billed can be exported for use with your accountant, bookkeeper, or tax software" (financial reporting).

See Billed's pricing page for plans.

FreshBooks

From FreshBooks' invoice software page:

  • "Recurring invoicing, time tracking, project management and reporting all seamlessly work together with this one, easy-to-use tool."
  • "Automate your entire billing workflow, from recurring invoices and card-on-file payments to sending reminders and charging late fees."

QuickBooks Online

From QuickBooks' invoicing page:

  • "Set up recurring invoices to auto-send every day, week, month, or year."
  • "Send customers an invoice they can pay online right away."
  • One of the page's feature headings is "Add billable hours".

QuickBooks' page for accountants describes the Intuit Accountant Suite as "The AI-powered platform you tailor to your firm."

Xero

From Xero's invoicing page:

  • "Customers can pay online straight from the invoice."
  • "Xero emails payment reminders for you, before or after the due date."

Xero's page for accountants and bookkeepers says: "Add jobs, time and billing with Xero Partner Hub plus Practice Management".

Zoho Invoice

From Zoho Invoice's features page:

  • "Create recurring invoices for transactions that occur at regular intervals, so you don't have to create them individually every time."
  • "Effortlessly track time and bill your clients for hours spent on their projects."
  • "Offer your clients access to all their transactions in one place with the collaborative customer portal."
  • "Pick the payment gateway that suits you and start collecting payments online, on time."

Worked example: one month of firm billing

The firm and figures here are a sample, invented for this example.

A small bookkeeping firm bills these in one month:

  • Monthly bookkeeping: 12 clients at a fixed $450 each: 12 × $450 = $5,400, from 12 recurring invoices.
  • Cleanup projects, billed hourly at $110:
    • Client A: 6 hours;
    • Client B: 9 hours;
    • Client C: 4.5 hours;
    • total 6 + 9 + 4.5 = 19.5 hours × $110 = $2,145, from 3 invoices built from tracked time.
  • Month total: $5,400 + $2,145 = $7,545 across 15 invoices.

For this firm, the features that matter are recurring invoices for the 12 monthly clients, time tracking that feeds the 3 hourly invoices, and reminders and online payments for all 15. Run your own month through the same check before choosing a tool.

Your firm's own receivables

Reviewing which of your own invoices are unpaid each month, and following up on a set schedule, keeps the firm's cash flow as predictable as the clients'. See how to follow up on unpaid invoices and invoice payment terms explained.

When this guide isn't for you

This page covers invoicing for small accounting and bookkeeping firms. If you need practice management for workflows and deadlines, trust accounting, or invoicing built into the software you use for clients' books, look at the vendors' practice-management products and talk to each vendor.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What should accountants look for in invoicing software?

Recurring invoices for monthly engagements, time tracking for hourly work, both on the same client, payment reminders, online payments, team access with permissions, and exports of invoices and reports.

Can one tool handle both monthly fees and hourly work?

All five tools on this page describe both recurring invoices and time tracking or time-based billing on their own pages. Check how each one combines a client's monthly fee with extra hourly work before you commit.

Which of these tools should an accounting firm choose?

This page doesn't rank them. The right choice depends on how your firm bills, the software your team already uses and each vendor's current plans, so compare their pages and try them with your own month of billing.

Do these tools show prices on this page?

No. Prices and plans change, so check each vendor's own pricing page for current details.

Can clients pay online from the invoice?

All five describe online payments on their own pages: Billed, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online and Xero from the invoice, and Zoho Invoice through the payment gateways you connect. Zoho Invoice also describes a customer portal where clients see their transactions.

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