Billing and invoicing customer relationship management (CRM) software centralizes accounting data—natively or through third-party integrations with accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero—to help users manage customer data from initial contact to invoice into a single application or platform.
We compared dozens of types of CRMs and narrowed it down to the six best, including the best overall, based on price, third-party integrations, invoicing features, and customization options. We found these to be the best solutions for the following use cases:
- Apptivo: Best overall for businesses requiring a comprehensive, all-in-one billing and invoicing solution
- Zoho CRM: Great for teams wanting a solution with unlimited customer and client billing
- Bitrix24: Ideal for small businesses needing automated billing and invoicing workflows
- Freshworks CRM: Well-suited for companies wanting highly customizable billing forms and templates
- Salesforce Essentials: Especially benefits teams wanting access to the widest range of accounting integrations
- Agile CRM: Best serves businesses that create quotes and invoices based on product catalogs
How We Evaluated the Best CRMs for Billing & Invoicing
Small businesses and companies require a CRM software that can create custom invoices, streamline transactions, and send unlimited invoices and quotes. By digitizing billing and invoice processes, businesses can simplify the accounting process and receive or make payments for products and services in an instant.
Based on my evaluation and research, Apptivo CRM is the best overall solution for small businesses looking for a comprehensive, all-in-one billing and invoicing solution. It’s packed with features for teams that need a robust billing system inside their CRM, with features that include custom templates, multicurrency support, and payment reminders.
Click on the tabs below for more information on how we evaluated each CRM on our list.
20% of Overall Score
Most small businesses are on a tight budget, so price is often a big factor in purchasing decisions. We reviewed each solution’s service plans, including free tiers, for value as well as affordability of plan upgrades.
15% of Overall Score
Small business CRM solutions should be very simple to set up and maintain. Users should be able to easily update information and find what they need within the platform with a minimum of fuss.
10% of Overall Score
It would be impossible for a CRM to contain features for every possible use case, so its business app integration capabilities are an important part of our evaluation. In this instance, we focused on billing- and invoice-specific apps like QuickBooks and Xero.
5% of Overall Score
A CRM’s core features should include deal and opportunity management tools that ensure no leads or prospects slip through the cracks. We assessed each solution on how customizable these features are and how easily they help agents track important information.
10% of Overall Score
No CRM will universally meet the needs of every company, so it’s important that users be able to customize as many features as possible, including invoices, pipelines, reports, and dashboards.
10% of Overall Score
Workflow automation tools allow users to set triggers to help them manage data and complete tasks. We reviewed each solution’s ability to automate common tasks like reminders, pipelines, webforms, and sales processes.
30% of Overall Score
During our evaluation process, we looked at the availability of features specific to invoicing and billing, including unlimited quotes, advanced security options, multiple currency support, and email integration with these tools.
Apptivo
PROS
- Unlimited invoices and quotes
- Customizable invoice template
- Offers ordering and invoicing functionalities
CONS
- Free plan limited to one user
- Mobile app available in higher-level service plans
- Calendar sync is clunky
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 4.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.38 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| System Integrations | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Deal Management | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Customization | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Automation | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Billing Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
Apptivo is an all-in-one billing and invoicing CRM for operations that include creating detailed invoices. Its web app and mobile app both offer a drag-and-drop builder for creating custom invoices, as well as additional features such as unlimited invoices and quotes, product catalogs, and support for multiple currencies.
Apptivo CRM Pricing
- Starter: Supports one user
- Lite: $8 per user, per month
- Premium: $12 per user, per month
- Ultimate: $20 per user, per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 30 days
Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Apptivo Features
Apptivo invoicing dashboard
(Source: Apptivo)
- Supports multiple currencies
- Sales and marketing automation
- Product catalog available in all plans
- Create invoices and deals from quotes in one click
- Mass email, two-way sync, tracking, and scheduling
- Third-party integrations include QuickBooks and Xero
Zoho CRM
PROS
- Customizable invoices
- Generates auto-populated invoicing
- Easy product catalog management
CONS
- Lacks unlimited quotes
- Free plan limited to three users
- Invoicing features not available on all plans
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 5..00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Ease of Use | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| System Integrations | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Deal Management | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Customization | 4.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Automation | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Billing Features | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 |
Zoho CRM creates auto-populated invoices for fast and unlimited customer and client billing. The platform also centralizes the status of transactions or shipments, order contents, and outstanding balances so everyone on the team can access the information. While Zoho CRM is a powerful billing and invoicing CRM, it narrowly missed being in the top spot because it does not offer unlimited quotes.
Zoho CRM Pricing
- Free: Supports three users
- Standard: $12 per user, per month
- Professional: $20 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $35 per user, per month
- Ultimate: $45 per user, per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 15 days
Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Zoho CRM Features
Zoho CRM invoice dashboard
(Source: Zoho CRM)
- Automatic updates of transaction status
- Product catalogs
- Advanced security options
- Third-party integrations with QuickBooks, Slack, Mailchimp, Shopify, and Google Workspace
Bitrix24
PROS
- Unlimited quotes, invoices, and online payments
- Customizable invoice templates
- Billing and invoice feature available in free plan
CONS
- Complex pricing structure
- Limited mobile app features
- Web-based app, requires internet connection
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| System Integrations | 4.50 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Deal Management | 4.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Customization | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Automation | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Billing Features | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
Bitrix24 CRM offers advanced billing and invoicing functionalities, as well as unlimited transactions, even on its free plan. Customizable invoice forms let users include logos, rearrange information, and add custom fields. It also converts invoices with one click and supports multiple currencies. While Bitrix24 has a robust system, it lost some points for its lack of support for product catalogs.
Bitrix24 Pricing
- Free: Supports unlimited users
- Start+: Supports two users for $19 per month
- CRM+: Supports six users for $55 per month
- Project+: Supports 24 users for $55 per month
- Standard: Supports 50 users for $79 per month
- Professional: Supports unlimited users for $159 per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 30 days
Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Bitrix24 Features
Invoicing in Bitrix24
(Source: Bitrix24)
- Recurring invoices
- Product catalogs
- Supports bulk email
- Two-step authorization for maximum security
- Workflow automation tools
- Third-party integrations include QuickBooks, Mailchimp, DocuSign, and Box
Freshworks CRM
PROS
- Mobile app with invoicing features
- Offers activity-triggered transactional emails
- Supports multiple currencies and languages
CONS
- Unable to convert quotes to bills
- Can get expensive when adding multiple users
- Does not support unlimited invoices and quotes
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.88 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| System Integrations | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Deal Management | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Customization | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Automation | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Billing Features | 3.25 | OUT OF | 5 |
Freshworks CRM is a powerful tool that offers third-party integrations with many popular billing, payment, and accounting apps. The solution supports over 150 currencies, and includes a mobile app for managing expense claims, giving agents the ability to close deals and attract international customers and clients. Freshworks CRM does not support unlimited invoices and quotes, but it does offer highly customizable billing forms with all service plans.
Freshworks CRM Pricing
- Free: Supports unlimited users
- Growth: $29 per user, per month
- Pro: $69 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $125 per user, per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 21 days
Based on annual billing.
Freshworks CRM Features
Freshworks and QuickBooks integration
(Source: Freshworks CRM)
- Custom fields and sales activities
- More than 150 currencies
- Product catalogs
- Automate workflows and repetitive tasks
- Mobile app for sending invoices
Salesforce Essentials
PROS
- Quote and order tracking
- Unlimited invoices and quotes
- Automated invoicing tools
CONS
- Lacks product catalog
- Limited to one pricing plan
- Only supports 10 users
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 1.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Ease of Use | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| System Integrations | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Deal Management | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Customization | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Automation | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Billing Features | 4.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
Salesforce Essentials is the ideal billing and invoicing solution for small businesses that want sales teams to close deals fast through a desktop or mobile app. What’s more, they offer prebuilt business apps for email, e-signatures, billing, and accounting. Though Salesforce Essentials is a powerful CRM for billing and invoicing, it did lose points for its lack of product catalogs.
Salesforce Essentials CRM Pricing
- Essentials: $25 per user, per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 14 days
Salesforce Essentials Features
Salesforce’s lead management dashboard
(Source: Salesforce)
- Customize and automate processes
- Customizable billing forms
- Supports multiple currencies
- Automatic email tracking
- Enterprise-level security
- Third-party integration dozens of apps, including Mailchimp, Outlook, and QuickBooks
Agile CRM
PROS
- Detailed product listing
- Marketing workflows and automation
- Features e-doc proposals with signature capture
CONS
- Cap on per-month invoices and quotes
- Limited customization options
- Free plan only supports 10 users
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing | 4.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.88 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| System Integrations | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Deal Management | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Customization | 3.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Automation | 5.00 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Billing Features | 3.25 | OUT OF | 5 |
Agile CRM offers a user-friendly platform for seamlessly managing multiple products in your catalog. This solution may be last on our list, but it’s still a great value, with features such as lead scoring, custom data fields, unlimited deals, deal milestones, two-way email integration, and sales forecasting.
Agile CRM Pricing
- Free: Supports up to 10 users
- Starter: $9.99 per user, per month
- Regular: $39.99 per user, per month
Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Agile CRM Features
Agile CRM product catalog
(Source: Agile CRM)
- Marketing automation
- Supports multicurrency
- Email tracking and two-way email integration
- Integration with third-party service billing plugins, such as QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Stripe, and Xero
- Intuitive interface
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