Invoicing software – which is the best?
Found in: Forms & Organization
Joanne H.
Hi all,
I’d appreciate the perspectives of others on the topic of finding a reliable app/software package for tracking music lessons and creating invoices. I was using Music Teachers’ Helper but became disappointed by the fact that their invoicing system became very ‘confused’ by any alterations I made to the existing calendar (such as splitting a class into two). I’d like to find one that has enough smarts to figure out what I’m asking it to do. What are other teachers using successfully?
Thanks all, for your time.
Rebecca G., Colorado
Hi Joanne – I’ve struggled with the best way to manage this side of things, too. I tried one system online that I liked fairly well called Privio – you might check out the free 30-day trial and see if you like it. I think they were recently bought by Music Teacher’s Helper but I also seem to remember they were planning to keep it as a separate product. The main disadvantage overall that I can see with this system is now that the originators have sold the site and are in the background, support and updates for the software may be less than optimal.
In the end, I decided that invoicing on one system like Privio when I’m using Quickbooks to track all of my income and expenses (and ostensibly having to create sales receipts or invoices in that program too) didn’t make much sense. So I’m going to start using Quickbooks to create and track invoices since I already use it for financial tracking of my business anyway.
Joanne H.
Right, thanks Rebecca! I have not used Quickbooks before, and I hadn’t heard of Privio.
In the meantime I have just discovered a tool called My Music Staff, which so far seems pretty good, and is cheaper than Music Teacher’s Helper. Don’t know why these things don’t seem to come up when you search Google for “invoicing software”.
Sandra B.
You might look at Moosic Studio, I don’t know if it generates invoices but it does keep track of your finances and students and what books they are in and I do think it reminds you about invoicing. I don’t know if it works on a computer but I do have it on my iPad.
The creator is very open to working with you and is wanting to update the app more often to work on things. Look in the iTunes store or Apple app store.
Rebecca G.
Yes, Moosic Studio can generate invoices, but I found it rather clunky – it’s only available as an app, and there’s no way to try it out before you commit to buying the whole thing, which is pretty expensive. That was $60 out the window for me; I don’t personally recommend it from my experience, though it has gotten some good reviews.
Nancy B., Kansas
I have been using My Music Staff for over 6 months, and I love it. I only have 8 students, but I think it would work well with a larger studio. I do not like a lot of complication with invoicing. I tried Wave accounting and quickbooks, and my little brain could not make sense of either at tax time. I am sure the average person probably would do a lot better, but I was tearing my hair out every March/April.
I think MMS is really great, especially with all the specifics for piano teaching, and even a website. For me it has been a huge return on the investment and I feel confident that I have finally gotten my books under control and won’t be so frustrated next tax season. Their support is very very good as well.
Shanta H., Minnesota
Joanne – There are many accounting programs out there, some better than others. I don’t think any of the music teachers helper/my music staff/studio helper type sites offer what a small business owner needs with regards to accounting–though there might be other reasons why you’d choose to use one.
I am personally a big fan of Quickbooks, because it can not only do invoices, generate them automatically, allow you to email them with a few clicks (and edit individual emails/invoices every month); it can also track the payments that come in, match them to individual customers and track it all the way to the bank; and it can automatically download all your bank transactions so that you can do your bookkeeping in the minimum amount of time with the maximum accuracy. It also generates profit/loss and balance sheet reports with a click of a button that you can send to any accountant to make tax time as easy as pie. I strongly recommend having your accountant help you set it up.
Carrie L., Michigan
We use quickbooks for tax purposes and use Studio Director for all things related to scheduling, invoices and emails. It’s a ‘cost’ that you’d need to pay per month but for us as a larger studio with employee teachers it is worth it.