Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Square Invoices

Akaunting is an online accounting application for small businesses and freelancers, designed to manage day-to-day bookkeeping from a web interface. It provides core finance workflows like invoicing, expense tracking, and cash flow visibility, with an extensible modular architecture.

Key Features

• Create and send professional invoices and track payments
• Track expenses and categorize income/expense transactions
• Cash flow overview to monitor business finances
• Modular app system with an integrated app marketplace for extensions
• RESTful API for integrations and automation
• Multi-language interface supported by community translations

Use Cases

• Freelancers issuing invoices and tracking client payments
• Small businesses managing expenses, categories, and basic bookkeeping
• Organizations extending accounting features via modules and integrations

Limitations and Considerations

• Some advanced accounting/ERP functions may require additional apps/modules
• License is BSL, which may impose restrictions for some commercial use cases

Akaunting is a practical choice for teams that want a web-based accounting system they can run on their own infrastructure. Its extensibility and broad language support make it suitable for a wide range of small-business workflows.

Bigcapital is an open-source accounting and inventory application designed for small and medium businesses. It helps organize transactions using double-entry bookkeeping and provides financial statements and reporting to support day-to-day decision-making.

Key Features

• Double-entry accounting with journals and account categorization
• Sales and purchase invoicing, including recurring invoices
• Customer and vendor payment tracking
• Expense tracking and expense accounting workflows
• Inventory tracking with automatic stock adjustments on buy/sell
• Financial statements and business reports
• Multi-currency accounting with exchange-rate conversion
• Organization collaboration with role-based permissions for accountants/bookkeepers
• API-first “headless accounting” for integrating with other systems

Use Cases

• Replace or complement proprietary small-business accounting tools
• Track invoices, bills, expenses, and inventory for a growing business
• Integrate accounting and reporting into an existing product via API

Limitations and Considerations

• Some advanced features expected in mature ERP/accounting suites may be incomplete or evolve over time

Bigcapital is a solid choice for teams that want an open-source, API-capable accounting system with invoicing, expenses, inventory, and reporting in one place. It is particularly suitable for SMBs that need control over deployment and data while keeping a modern web-based workflow.

InvoiceShelf is an open-source web and mobile application for creating professional invoices and estimates, tracking expenses and payments, and automating common billing workflows. It provides a web UI plus mobile app sources and a REST API for integrations.

Key Features

• Create, send and manage invoices and estimates with configurable PDF templates and a template generator/CLI.
• Expense and payment tracking with attachments and categories, plus dashboard stats for revenue and cashflow.
• RESTful API (token-based) covering customers, invoices, expenses, recurring invoices and dashboard endpoints for integrations and automation.
• Recurring invoices support (API endpoints for scheduling and frequency control) and custom fields for extended data on models.
• Customizable PDF templates (blade-based) with a make:template command to preserve templates during upgrades.
• Installer and deployment options including manual install guides and Docker Compose instructions; configurable database drivers (SQLite used as default in examples).
• Mobile app sources provided (React Native) for iOS/Android and community-provided extensions and modules.

Use Cases

• Freelancers and small businesses needing a self-hosted invoicing and expense tracking solution.
• Teams integrating invoicing data with other systems via the provided REST API (automation, accounting sync, webhooks).
• Developers customizing invoice PDF templates, adding custom fields, or extending functionality via modules and open-source contributions.

Limitations and Considerations

• Hosted mobile apps are not universally available; mobile app source code exists but official app availability is listed as "coming soon" in project notes.
• Built-in payment processing is not bundled by default; payment integrations (e.g., Stripe) are listed on the roadmap rather than fully integrated out-of-the-box.
• Installation requires familiarity with PHP/Laravel environment requirements (PHP 8.2+ and typical PHP extensions) or Docker tooling for easier deployment.

InvoiceShelf is a practical open-source alternative for self-hosted invoicing, with an extensible codebase and API-first design that supports customization and integrations. It is maintained as an AGPL-licensed project with community contributions and documentation for installation and developer workflows.

Rachoon is a modern, self-hosted invoicing platform for freelancers and small businesses that want full control over billing data. It helps you create, manage, and track invoices and offers, and produce professional PDF documents.

Key Features

• Create and manage invoices and quotations/offers
• Client management with searchable customer details
• Payment tracking, balances, and overdue invoice status
• Customizable document templates and branding
• Multi-currency billing with tax support
• PDF export via an external PDF rendering service
• Dashboard overview of revenue, pending payments, and client stats

Use Cases

• Freelancers creating branded invoices and tracking paid vs. overdue items
• Small businesses managing clients, offers, and multi-currency invoicing
• Teams running invoicing in a private environment for data-control needs

Limitations and Considerations

• PDF generation relies on an additional service (Gotenberg) that must be deployed and maintained
• Requires a PostgreSQL database for persistence

Rachoon provides a clear, focused workflow for invoicing, client tracking, and document export while remaining deployable with common container tooling. It is well-suited for individuals or small organizations that want a modern invoicing UI without relying on third-party billing platforms.

SolidInvoice is an open-source invoicing application built to help freelancers and small businesses manage billing operations. It centralizes clients, quotes, and invoices, and supports online payments and integrations via an API.

Key Features

• Client and contact management
• Create, send, and manage quotes and invoices
• Taxes and discounts handling
• Online payment acceptance (gateway support)
• RESTful API for integrations with other systems
• Notifications via multiple channels (for example email and SMS)
• Multi-currency support and team collaboration

Use Cases

• Freelancers issuing quotes and invoices and tracking payments
• Small businesses managing recurring billing and payment reminders
• Integrating invoicing data with external tools through the REST API

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires a modern PHP runtime (project targets PHP 8.4+)

SolidInvoice is a practical choice for organizations that want a clean, extensible billing workflow they can run on their own infrastructure. It fits teams that need quotes, invoicing, and payment collection in one place, with automation and API access for integration.

Invio is a minimalist, self-hosted invoicing application focused on quickly creating invoices and sharing them with clients without unnecessary CRM or project-management features. It is designed to be fast, transparent, and easy to run while keeping your billing data under your control.

Key Features

• Create and manage invoices with a streamlined, low-configuration workflow
• Share invoices via secure public links so clients can view without accounts
• SQLite-backed storage for a simple, lightweight deployment
• JWT-based authentication for the admin session with configurable TTL
• Built-in rate limiting to help protect login endpoints from brute-force attempts
• Security headers support (including optional HSTS) for safer web deployments

Use Cases

• Freelancers who want a lightweight invoicing tool they fully control
• Small businesses that need a simple invoice workflow without bundled CRM features
• Privacy-conscious teams that prefer local ownership and exportable billing data

Limitations and Considerations

• Built to stay minimalist, so it may not suit complex accounting workflows or full ERP needs

Invio is a practical choice if you want a fast, no-bloat invoicing tool with sensible security defaults and a simple storage layer. Its focus on public invoice sharing and a straightforward workflow makes it well-suited for individuals and small teams.

Invoicerr is a simple, open-source invoicing application designed for freelancers to manage their quotes and invoices efficiently. It provides a clean interface for creating, sending, and tracking quotes and invoices — so you get paid faster, with less hassle.

Key Features

• Create and manage invoices
• Create and manage quotes (convertible to invoices)
• Manage clients and their contact details
• Track status of quotes and invoices (signed, paid, unread, etc.)
• Built-in quote signing system with secure tokens
• Generate and send quote/invoice emails directly from the app
• Generate clean PDF documents (quotes, invoices, receipts, and more)
• Custom brand identity: logo, company name, VAT, and more
• Authentication via JWT or OIDC (stored in cookies)
• International-friendly: Default English UI, customizable currencies
• SQLite database for quick local setup
• Docker & docker-compose ready for self-hosting
• Built with modern stack: React, NestJS, Prisma, SQLite/PostgreSQL
• REST API backend, ready for future integrations (mobile & desktop apps)
• Plugin system for community-made features

Use Cases

• Freelancers and solo operators issue invoices and track payments for multiple clients
• Small teams convert quotes to invoices, send via email, and monitor statuses
• Agencies manage client billing and generate PDFs for records and audits

Limitations and Considerations

• Docker images are built for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64/v8; 32-bit ARM architectures are not supported due to Prisma requirements
• Local development and self-hosting require some technical setup (Docker or Node.js environment) to run

Conclusion

Invoicerr provides a focused, self-hosted invoicing solution with quotes, invoices, client management, and secure signatures. Its modern stack (React/NestJS/Prisma) and Docker-based deployment make it suitable for freelancers and small teams who want control over their data and workflows.