Best invoicing software for Canadian freelancers and sole props

Invoicing software for a Canadian freelancer has one job: send a CAD invoice that can carry GST/HST, look like a real business, and get marked paid. Wave Starter does that at $0. FreshBooks, Xero, and QuickBooks Online Canada are the paid path when late reminders, client caps, or a bookkeeper’s file matter.

The scoped quote that comes before the invoice is quote and proposal software. Checked against public vendor and CRA pages, 29 August 2026.

Comparison

Wave — the honest free starting point

Wave was founded in Toronto and is owned by H&R Block. The public pricing page lists Starter at $0 with unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. Pro is $25 CAD/month or $250 CAD/year and adds automatic bank import, auto-categorization, extra user roles, and a cheaper card rate on the first ten card payments each month (2.9% + $0 on first 10 card payments per month, then +$0.60). Receipt capture on Starter is $11/month or $96/year on Starter (add-on). Source: https://www.waveapps.com/pricing.

For GST/HST you add a tax (Ontario HST 13%, GST 5%, zero-rated export at 0%) and apply it. The sales-tax report is what you transcribe into CRA My Business Account. Wave does not file GST/HST for you.

Card fees are real money: 2.9% + $0.60 (Visa/Mastercard); 3.4% + $0.60 Amex on Starter. Many Canadian sole props skip Wave Payments and take Interac e-Transfer, then mark the invoice paid. That is a valid workflow.

Wave also sells payroll as an add-on starting from $25/month on the same pricing page. Canadian T4 help articles exist; Wave generates an XML file and does not file T4s with the CRA for you. See the payroll guide.

Wave has no affiliate on this site. The button is the official Wave URL.

FreshBooks — when unpaid invoices are the whole business

FreshBooks Lite at $26 CAD/month is enough if you have five billable clients and you want late reminders, deposits, and a client portal. Plus at $42 CAD/month raises the cap to 50 and adds proposals, retainers, receipt scanning, and accountant access. Recurring invoices and tax reports are the reason people pay.

Canadian payments on the marketing page include cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PAD, and Affirm. Those are conveniences with processing costs. PAD matters in Canada more than US ACH blog posts admit.

GST/HST is manual rates plus reports — same honesty as Wave. Head to head with Wave only: FreshBooks vs Wave for Canadian freelancers. With QBO and Xero: FreshBooks vs QuickBooks vs Xero.

When the “invoicing app” should just be your ledger

If you already need bank reconciliation, bills, and a bookkeeper in the file, paying for FreshBooks and QuickBooks is waste. Xero Starter is $25 CAD/month but only 20 invoices, 5 bills — fine for a new sole prop, tight if you invoice weekly. QBO EasyStart is the Intuit equivalent for “I invoice and I want the accountant to recognize the file.”

Trades businesses that invoice from the field usually want Jobber (or similar) for the job, then a ledger for GST and year-end. That split is in software for Canadian trades. Booking tools beyond invoicing: scheduling software for Canadian small businesses. Client self-booking, deposits, and GST/HST on the slot: online booking software for Canadian small businesses.

What must be on the invoice (Canada)

CRA’s input-tax-credit information rules scale with the amount. Under $100, $100–$499.99, and $500+ have different required fields — registration number, tax shown, buyer name, description, payment terms. Official chart: CRA ITC information requirements. Register the account first: how to register for GST/HST in Canada. Walkthrough with Ontario 13% HST: how to invoice GST/HST in Ontario.

Software will not refuse to send a non-compliant invoice. You still set the template.

A practical pick

1. New sole prop, few invoices, no staff: Wave Starter.
2. Same person who hates chasing payment and has more than five clients: FreshBooks Plus, or Wave Pro if bank feeds are the only pain.
3. Bookkeeper already in QBO or Xero: invoice from that ledger.
4. Need Interac tap at a counter: that is POS or a payment processor, not this page.
5. Need a place for those e-Transfers and processor deposits to land: business bank accounts.
6. Need quotes, dispatch, and field invoices for a trades crew: Jobber vs Housecall Pro, not Wave vs FreshBooks.
7. Need receipt photos and GST/HST ITCs more than a sales invoice: expense and receipt tracking.
8. Need billable hours before the invoice: time tracking for Canadian freelancers.
9. Need a public site that can send those invoices: website builders for Canadian small businesses.
10. Need a newsletter, not an invoice: email marketing for Canadian small businesses. Do not treat Mailchimp as CRA invoice mail.
11. Need a public calendar and a deposit at book: online booking software for Canadian small businesses. The booking receipt is not a substitute for a CRA invoice.
12. Need a signature on the agreement before you invoice: e-signature software for Canadian small businesses. A signed PDF is not a GST/HST invoice.
13. Need a scoped quote or designed proposal first: quote and proposal software. FreshBooks Lite is estimates; PandaDoc and Qwilr are USD decks. The accepted quote is still not the invoice.