For independent consultants and advisory firms
Invoice Crowd takes a consultant from a signed proposal to project time, expenses tagged to the client, retainers and the client invoice in one account.
The workflow
Fixed diagnostics, hourly advisory work and monthly retainers are billed in different ways. Invoice Crowd keeps the scope, the hours, the costs and the invoices for an engagement in one place.
Scope and price before delivery starts
Create a proposal that explains the engagement, phases, price and terms, then let the client approve and sign it in the browser. When it is approved, convert the proposal into the first invoice.
Project time stays attached to the work
Log time against the client's project and task, then bill the unbilled hours straight from that record. Clients can approve or question each week's hours in the customer portal before you invoice; they see hours, never rates. Each project's Profitability tab then sets the hours at your cost rate, and the expenses, against what you billed.
Travel and research remain distinct records
Record travel, research and other business costs with the vendor, category, amount, tax and receipt. When your terms allow it, expenses tagged to a project can be re-billed on the next time invoice, with an optional markup.
Why it fits
Scope, hours, retainers and costs end up on the same invoice, so an engagement never has to be pieced together from four tools.
Time is logged, approved by the client and billed from the same project, so every hourly line has the entries behind it.
A retainer counts the hours you log against the monthly allowance, carries unused hours over or lets them expire, and bills extra hours on the next invoice. Paid plans.
Connect Stripe (including US bank payments), PayPal, GoCardless or ten others, and the client pays from the invoice.
Invoice a client abroad in their currency while your reports total in yours, with the exchange rate stored on each invoice.
Also included
These sit in the same account as your proposals, hours and invoices.
Clients approve or question each week's billable hours on their project in the customer portal. They see hours, never rates.
Associates submit their week and you or a timesheet manager approve it, and a project can require approved time before it is billed. Paid plans.
Reminders go out before and after the due date. Set a flat or percentage late fee when you send the invoice, and it is added automatically if the invoice is still unpaid after the due date.
A retainer paid in advance is held as an advance with its own receipt, then applied to the invoices it covers.
Lock a finished period so its numbers can't change once the books are closed. Only the owner can lock or unlock, and every change is logged. Paid plans.
Type “log 2h on the Northwind strategy review yesterday” and the assistant drafts the time entry for you to confirm. Paid plans, with AI credits.
Send invoices, customers and expenses to your other tools through webhooks or Pabbly Connect.
Billing from India? When a client deducts TDS, record it with the payment and it is booked to TDS receivable.
When you compare tools, test each one on the same job: a fixed diagnostic, two hourly entries and a retainer.
Questions
Yes. A proposal sets out scope, pricing and terms, and the client approves and signs it in the browser, by typing or drawing a signature.
Yes. Log time to a project and task, then the invoice wizard bills the unbilled hours up to a date you pick, rounded to 6, 15 or 30 minutes if you want. Review the entries before you send the invoice.
Yes. A recurring invoice handles a flat monthly fee. If the retainer covers a set number of hours, a retainer counts the time you log against that allowance, carries unused hours over or lets them expire, and bills extra hours on the next invoice without billing that time twice. Retainers need a paid plan.
Use Invoice Crowd for proposals, time, retainers, expenses, invoices, payments and the books, alongside the CRM or planning tool your firm already uses. There is no built-in CRM sync, but webhooks and Pabbly Connect can send invoices, customers and expenses across.
Yes. Record each cost with its vendor, category, amount, tax and receipt. Tag it to the client's project and it can be re-billed on the next invoice, with a markup if your agreement allows.
Yes. Connect any of 15 gateways, such as Stripe (including US bank payments), PayPal or GoCardless, and the client pays from the invoice. The provider's own fees apply.
Send the proposal, log the hours, let the retainer count them and invoice it all from one account.
