Best Square Invoices Alternatives in Australia (2026): 8 Options Compared

Square Invoices alternatives Australia-wide come down to one number, and on that number the best answer is InvoiceSonic: Square is free to send with, so the real price is the 2.2% it takes on online card payments at the time of writing. If you only need a compliant PDF today, the free Australian tax invoice generator on this site builds one in the browser with no signup. If your clients will not pay any other way, stay on Square and price the 2.2% in. We put all eight options through one test: for every $1,000 invoiced, how much actually lands in your account?

Quick comparison

How we tested: the take-home test. Three questions per option: for every $1,000 invoiced, how much lands in your account; what the tool itself costs across a trading year; and whether it produces a proper Australian tax invoice — ABN, 10% GST where registered — without a workaround. The take-home column assumes payment by bank transfer or PayID, because that is the only way $1,000 invoiced becomes $1,000 received. Every figure is at the time of writing.

Square is free to send with, so the subscription is not the cost. At 2.2% on online card payments at the time of writing, $1,000 invoiced returns $978. A sole trader billing $120,000 a year through card links pays $2,640 in fees and banks $117,360. Invoice the same $120,000 for bank transfer or PayID and the full amount lands; the only cost is the software, A$168 for a year of InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually, leaving $119,832 — A$2,472 of difference on identical work.

The break-even is lower than most people guess. A$168 is 2.2% of A$7,636, so once more than $7,640 of your yearly billing goes through a card link, the fee has cost more than a whole year of a paid subscription. Put another way: eight $1,000 jobs paid by card cost $176, and one $5,000 job costs $110.

No software makes a card network free. Two fees are in play: the tool's own cut and the payment rail's cut. Square's 2.2% is the rail, and any alternative with a card button pays a rail too. What you can change is which rail the invoice asks for — a bank transfer or PayID moves bank to bank, never touches the software, and has nothing taken off it.

Who fails the take-home test. One option loses more of a $1,000 invoice than Square does: PayPal Invoicing, whose per-transaction cut is the highest here. Two fail on the second question — a free PDF generator takes nothing but chases nobody, and Xero and Rounded return the full $1,000 with no free plan to test it on. Everything else takes zero from a transfer.

Who should stay on Square. The 2.2% is a price, not a defect. You get unlimited free invoices, estimates and automatic reminders with no subscription, and card money often lands the same or next day rather than whenever the client opens their banking app. If cash flow is tight, being paid on Tuesday rather than the 30th is worth $22 per $1,000. Stay if your clients tap a card, or if chasing transfers costs more in unpaid hours than the fee costs in dollars.

1. InvoiceSonic — Best overall

InvoiceSonic is the closest like-for-like replacement for Square Invoices: it builds a tax invoice in about a minute, emails it, tracks whether it was opened and chases it automatically. The difference is where the money goes — bank transfer and PayID need no gateway and carry no InvoiceSonic transaction fee, so $1,000 invoiced arrives as $1,000.

Pro adds recurring invoices, custom branding, invoice open tracking, online quote acceptance that converts a quote in one click, and an email receipt when you mark something paid. Australian formatting is built in — ABN field, BSB, the 10% GST label — as part of localised support across 19 countries.

Pros

• No InvoiceSonic transaction fee on bank transfer or PayID: the take-home on $1,000 is $1,000.
• Annual Pro is price-locked — the rate never rises while the subscription is active.
• Deposits up front, and automatic reminders on invoices already sent.

Cons

• The free plan stops at 3 saved invoices, 1 tracked send and 1 reminder a month, so anyone leaving Square's unlimited free invoices needs Pro.
• No native Android app (web app to the home screen instead), and the 7-day Pro trial requires a card.

Price: at the time of writing, the free plan is A$0 and the first invoice needs no sign-up; Pro is A$19 a month, or A$168 a year billed annually, which is A$14 a month and saves A$60. Best for: sole traders paid by transfer who want invoices chased without losing 2.2%.

2. Invoice-Generator.com.au — Best free tool

Invoice-Generator.com.au is a free tax invoice generator that produces a finished PDF in your browser with no signup, no watermark and no invoice limit. On the take-home test it is unbeatable and useless at once: it takes nothing from your $1,000, and it will not send or chase the invoice.

The Australian tax invoice generator is pre-set with an ABN field, a 10% GST line and a live compliance checklist that flags a missing ABN before you email anything. Nothing you type leaves the browser. Put your BSB and account number, or your PayID, in the payment details and the money moves outside any software. The GST calculator checks the maths.

Pros

• Free forever, no signup, no watermark, no invoice limit.
• The compliance checklist catches a missing ABN or GST line before your client does.

Cons

• No sending, tracking, reminders or saved customer list — every follow-up is yours to do.
• No payment collection, a real downgrade from a card link if clients expect one.

Price: free, always. Best for: anyone leaving Square who sends a handful of invoices a month and is paid into a bank account.

3. Zoho Invoice — Best free tool that still sends

Zoho Invoice is free — Zoho states no cost and no contracts — and unlike a PDF generator it sends the invoice, stores the client and keeps the history. It is the most direct free-for-free swap from Square.

It returns the full $1,000 on a transfer and costs nothing across a year, which is hard to argue with. The trade-off is the surroundings: a dense interface, a large upsell suite behind it, and support aimed at paid-suite customers. Pair it with tight invoice payment terms so the free reminders have a due date to work from.

Pros

• Free at the time of writing, with sending, a saved client list and invoice history.
• Multi-language invoicing across 19-plus languages.

Cons

• The interface is dense, and it is the front door to a large upsell suite.
• Real support is a paid-suite affair, so a free-tier billing problem is your problem.

Price: free at the time of writing. Best for: people who want Square's sending and tracking for A$0.

4. Bookipi — Best on a tiny budget with recurring invoices

Bookipi is a simple invoice app that syncs between web and mobile, and it lists overdue reminders and recurring invoices even on its free plan. If what you valued in Square was the automatic reminder, this is the cheapest place to get it back.

The take-home on a transfer is the full $1,000. The catch is volume and currency: three free invoices a month is very few, and Starter is priced in US dollars, so US$9.99 a month is US$119.88 a year and the AUD cost is not knowable in advance.

Pros

• Recurring invoices and overdue reminders even on the free plan.
• Web and mobile stay in sync, so an invoice started on the phone finishes on the laptop.

Cons

• Three free invoices a month is far too few for a working business.
• Priced in USD, so your cost moves with the exchange rate.

Price: at the time of writing, free for 3 invoices a month; Starter US$9.99 per month; Professional US$52 per month. Best for: part-timers who want reminders back without paying a percentage.

5. Wave — Best free invoicing with basic books attached

Wave is free in Australia at the time of writing and bundles invoicing with light accounting, so you get a ledger alongside the invoice list. On the take-home test it returns the full $1,000 on a transfer at no software cost.

The caveat is that Wave is built around North America. Payments and payroll are US and Canada-centric, so the practical Australian use is invoicing for a bank transfer rather than collecting inside the app. GST is generic rather than shaped around what the ATO expects, so check your first invoice against the tax invoice requirements.

Pros

• Free in Australia at the time of writing, invoicing and basic bookkeeping together.
• No subscription and no tool-side cut, so the year costs nothing.

Cons

• GST is generic rather than ATO-shaped, so compliance is yours to verify.
• Payments and payroll are built for the US and Canada, and Australian support is thin.

Price: free in Australia at the time of writing. Best for: cost-conscious sole traders who want a ledger as well as invoices.

6. Rounded — Best Australian-built option for sole traders

Rounded is built in Australia for sole traders and freelancers, covering invoicing, expenses and tax estimates in one place. For someone who has never set money aside for tax, that estimate is often worth more than the fee they saved by leaving Square.

It returns the full $1,000 on a transfer and the annual cost is knowable: Solo is $99 a year regular AUD at the time of writing, cheaper than InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually and cheaper than 2.2% on $4,500 of card billing. That is a real reason to pick it over our number one.

Pros

• Australian-built, so expenses and tax estimates are shaped for the ATO.
• Solo is $99 a year regular AUD at the time of writing.

Cons

• No free plan, so there is no zero-cost way to trial your real billing.
• Promotional pricing varies, and Pro at $70 a month regular is a big step up.

Price: at the time of writing, Solo $99 per year regular and Pro $70 per month regular in AUD; promotional pricing varies. Best for: Australian sole traders who want invoicing, expenses and a tax estimate in one app.

7. Xero — Best if your bookkeeper is already in it

Xero is accounting software with invoicing inside it, not an invoicing app. It returns the full $1,000 on a transfer, and it is the right answer when your bookkeeper already works in Xero and wants invoices, bank feeds, GST and BAS in one system.

For one person leaving Square over a percentage it is a heavy swap: no free plan, no way to test a month for nothing, and you are buying a general ledger to solve a payments problem. The picture flips once you have staff and a quarterly BAS. Our roundup of the best invoice apps in Australia is a better starting point.

Pros

• Invoicing, bank reconciliation, GST and BAS in one system your accountant knows.

Cons

• No free plan, and far more software than a solo operator needs.
• It solves bookkeeping, not payment fees — the card rate depends on the gateway you connect.

Price: paid plans available — check current pricing. Best for: businesses whose books are already run in Xero.

8. PayPal Invoicing — Best only if the client insists on PayPal

PayPal Invoicing is free to send with, has no monthly fee, and is the one option here that does worse than Square on the take-home test. PayPal's per-transaction cut is the highest of anything on this page, so $1,000 lands below Square's $978.

It is on the list because sometimes it is the only thing that works. An overseas client holding a PayPal balance will pay today and argue about an international transfer for a week. For Australian clients it is the wrong swap: leaving Square over a percentage and choosing a bigger one.

Pros

• No monthly fee — you only pay when you actually get paid.
• Overseas clients already on PayPal can pay immediately.

Cons

• The highest per-transaction cut here, so take-home is worse than staying on Square.
• Buyer-side friction, and GST presentation is generic rather than ATO-shaped.

Price: free to send; fees on payment — check current pricing. Best for: occasional overseas invoices to clients who will not pay any other way.

What to look for in a Square Invoices alternative

Leaving Square is a payments decision dressed up as a software decision. The subscription line is usually the smallest number involved and the rail is the biggest.

• Separate the tool's fee from the rail's fee. A tool that charges $0 a month but routes you into a card gateway can cost more than an A$168-a-year subscription that asks for a transfer.
• Work out your card-paid share first. If only $3,000 of your billing goes through card links, 2.2% is $66 and switching gains almost nothing. Above roughly $7,640 it exceeds a year of a paid subscription.
• Check that reminders survive the move. InvoiceSonic includes them on Pro and Bookipi lists them even on free; a PDF generator has none, and chasing overdue invoices becomes your evening job.
• Confirm PayID and BSB fields. A PayID removes the account-number retyping behind most misdirected payments, and it clears fast enough to blunt the cash-flow argument for cards.
• Make sure it still produces an Australian tax invoice. Registered for GST means the words "Tax invoice", your identity and ABN, the date, a description of what was supplied, the GST amount, and the buyer's identity or ABN on sales of $1,000 or more.
• Price the speed you are giving up. Card money often lands same or next day; a transfer lands when the client gets around to it. Tighten your terms to 7 or 14 days first.

Which one should you choose?

Run a year at $120,000 of billing. At the time of writing that costs A$0 with the free generator, Zoho Invoice or Wave, A$168 with InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually, about US$119.88 with Bookipi Starter, $99 with Rounded Solo, and $2,640 in card fees on Square if every client taps a card — $3,000 with Plus. The cheapest software is rarely the cheapest year.

• If you send a few invoices a month and clients pay to a bank account → the free Australian tax invoice generator.
• If you want Square's sending, tracking and reminders without the 2.2% → InvoiceSonic on Pro, invoiced for PayID or transfer.
• If the budget is genuinely zero but you still need to send → Zoho Invoice, and accept the dense interface.
• If you want an Australian app that also estimates your tax → Rounded, on Solo.
• If your clients only ever pay by card and cash flow is tight → stay on Square, and add the 2.2% to your prices.

When not to use InvoiceSonic or a free generator. If your customers are walk-up consumers who tap a card, an invoicing app is the wrong tool — Square already collects at the point of sale, and InvoiceSonic does no in-person card payments. If your budget is truly zero, Zoho Invoice and Wave are free at the time of writing while a free InvoiceSonic account stops at 3 saved invoices a month. And once you have staff, a bookkeeper and a quarterly BAS, this is accounting territory: Xero or MYOB, not an invoicing app — neither a free PDF generator nor InvoiceSonic gives you bank feeds or BAS lodgement.

Frequently asked questions