Outgrowing the free tier by one client
A hairdresser renting a chair bills five or six regular clients a month for treatments done outside the salon's own rota, and Zoho Invoice's free plan stops at exactly five clients, so the sixth invoice needs a different route. Chasing which app still has room left is its own small job on top of the invoicing itself.
What the tools do differently
Invoice Simple's free tier allows three invoices a month from a phone, which suits an occasional job better than a regular clientele. Wave gives unlimited invoices with a bookkeeping ledger attached, built more around US tax than UK VAT. Zoho Invoice is free for up to five clients with automated reminders included. Jobbit's invoice generator, scored against five apps, has no client count or invoice count on the free plan.
Free plans and paid prices
| App | Free plan | Paid price |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice Simple | 3 invoices a month | Essentials $6.99 a month |
| Wave | Unlimited invoices | Pro $19 a month |
| Zoho Invoice | 5 clients, 500 invoices a year | Zoho Books from about £10 a month |
| Jobbit | Free plan credits, no invoice count | Plus £15 a month for heavier use |
Three steps to an invoice with no client cap
- Describe the client, the amount and what the work was for to Jobbit's invoice generator, in plain sentences rather than a fixed set of boxes.
- Choose VAT and a due date, 14 days suits most private clients billed outside a salon's own books.
- Reply once with your bank details; the layout is kept, so the sixth client's invoice takes the same one sentence as the first.
Where the free tool stops
Jobbit's free plan credits cover a steady run of client invoices with no cap on how many different people you bill each month, and the layout and your bank details stay the same from the first client to the twentieth. A proper bookkeeping ledger with Making Tax Digital filing is still Xero or Zoho Books territory, not something an invoice generator is meant to replace, so keep one of those if your accountant already relies on it.
