TiloBox
Back to directory
Invoice Ninja project preview
ProductivityAlternative to WaveAlternative to QuickBooksAlternative to FreshBooks

Invoice Ninja

Open-source invoicing, billing, and time-tracking platform and free alternative to FreshBooks.

View on GitHub Visit website
LicenseEULA
GitHub stars10.0k
Last commit1 weeks ago
Tags7 topics
PaymentsTime TrackingBillingSelf HostedPhpFreelanceInvoicing
Overview

Why consider Invoice Ninja?

Invoice Ninja is an open-source invoicing and billing platform for freelancers and agencies. It features invoices, quotes, expenses, time tracking, payment gateways, and a client portal.

Guided learning

Learn Invoice Ninja by building

Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.

3 min read 10 sections
In this guide10 sections

What is Invoice Ninja?

Invoice Ninja is a comprehensive open-source invoicing, billing, and business management platform developed with PHP (Laravel) and Flutter. It operates as a self-hosted, feature-complete alternative to commercial invoicing SaaS platforms like FreshBooks, QuickBooks, and Wave.

Invoice Ninja handles the complete revenue cycle for freelancers and growing agencies: create professional quotes and invoices, track billable time and project expenses, accept online payments via 40+ integrated payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree), manage vendor bills, generate financial reports, and provide clients with a self-service billing portal.

Who Is It For?

  • Freelancers & Independent Contractors: Automating invoice generation, tracking billable hours, and accepting online payments from clients.
  • Small Agencies & Studios: Managing dozens of active client projects, vendor expenses, and recurring subscription billing.
  • Businesses Needing Data Privacy: Hosting all financial records entirely on private infrastructure.

Key Features

  • Professional PDF invoice and quote generation with customizable branded templates.
  • Integrated time tracking: Log project hours directly against client invoices with billable rate calculations.
  • 40+ payment gateway integrations: Accept credit cards, ACH bank transfers, and cryptocurrency payments via Stripe, PayPal, and Square.
  • Recurring invoices and subscription billing: Auto-generate and auto-deliver invoices monthly, quarterly, or annually.
  • Client self-service billing portal for viewing invoices, making payments, and downloading receipts.

Deploying Invoice Ninja with Docker Compose

yaml
1version: '3.7'
2
3services:
4 db:
5 image: mysql:8.0
6 container_name: invoiceninja_db
7 restart: unless-stopped
8 environment:
9 - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root_secure_pass
10 - MYSQL_DATABASE=invoiceninja
11 - MYSQL_USER=ninjauser
12 - MYSQL_PASSWORD=secure_ninja_db_pass
13 volumes:
14 - ./mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
15
16 app:
17 image: invoiceninja/invoiceninja:latest
18 container_name: invoiceninja_app
19 restart: unless-stopped
20 depends_on:
21 - db
22 environment:
23 - APP_KEY=base64:generate_a_32_char_base64_app_key
24 - APP_URL=http://localhost:8080
25 - DB_HOST=db
26 - DB_DATABASE=invoiceninja
27 - DB_USERNAME=ninjauser
28 - DB_PASSWORD=secure_ninja_db_pass
29 - MAIL_MAILER=smtp
30 ports:
31 - "8080:80"
32 volumes:
33 - ./storage:/var/app/storage
34 - ./public:/var/app/public

Start the instance:

bash
1docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser to register your initial administrator account.

Practical Use Cases

1. Automated Monthly Client Retainer Billing

A web agency sets up recurring monthly invoices for 20 retainer clients; Invoice Ninja delivers PDF invoices automatically and processes credit card payments without manual effort.

2. Project Time Tracking Integration

A developer logs 40 hours across 3 client projects using the built-in timer; at month end, all tracked time generates itemized, billable invoice line items.

3. Multi-Currency International Client Invoicing

A global agency invoices European clients in EUR and Asian clients in JPY, with Invoice Ninja handling exchange rates and localized tax configurations automatically.

Troubleshooting and Limitations

  • APP_KEY Generation: Generate a valid Laravel application key using php artisan key:generate --show and set it as a Base64-encoded value in the APP_KEY environment variable.
  • Storage Directory Permissions: Ensure the /var/app/storage directory has write permissions for the web server user to generate PDF invoices and store uploaded documents.

Official Resources

Related tools

More options with a similar category or technology profile.

McFly logo

McFly

Fly through your shell history with an intelligent neural network search engine.

cheat logo

cheat

Interactive command-line cheatsheets for system administrators and software engineers.

Pipenv logo

Pipenv

Python development workflow for humans uniting Pipfile, pip, and virtualenv.

Rye logo

Rye

Comprehensive Python package and workspace management tool written in Rust.

Invoice Ninja FAQs

Invoice Ninja is listed as a Productivity tool on TiloBox. Review the overview, features, and official documentation on this page to decide whether it solves your specific workflow.

Start with the project's GitHub repository and official website for supported installation and deployment instructions. Test the setup with representative data or a small project before rolling it out more widely.

Invoice Ninja is listed under the EULA license. Read the complete license text and the project's notices before using, modifying, or distributing the software.

Production readiness depends on your requirements. Review maintenance activity, security practices, documentation, backup and upgrade procedures, and compatibility with your stack; then validate it in a non-production environment.

Invoice Ninja is listed as an alternative to Wave. Compare the core workflow, deployment model, integrations, and licensing against your must-have requirements before switching.