Zoho Invoice, Square, Wave, QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks are five invoicing software Canada businesses can compare; Zoho Invoice, Square and Wave offer a free plan, while QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks offer only a free trial. Test a representative invoice and its tax report before choosing a plan.
The comparison below covers invoicing, rather than the whole accounting or income-tax filing workflow. Vendor documentation was checked on October 21, 2026. Features, eligibility, limits and fees can change; the descriptions are starting points, not a guarantee that a particular account can handle every transaction.
Best invoicing software in Canada: five tools compared
| Tool | Documented invoice workflow | What to check before choosing | Free plan? | Payment fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Invoice | Configure tax rates and registration information; create recurring invoices with a schedule, tax and payment options. Zoho documents PDF templates and export of recurring profiles in CSV or XLS. Tax setup; recurring invoices; PDF templates. | Useful to test for repeat billing and portable profile data. Check whether the invoice PDF displays both your registration numbers when required, and whether the export contains the historical invoices and payment details you need. The vendor also describes an inactive-account data policy. | Yes — up to 2 users, 500 invoices per year, “Powered by Zoho Invoice” branding on documents. | Not set by Zoho itself: Zoho Invoice connects to a payment gateway such as PayPal or Stripe, which sets its own rate; no fee is published on Zoho’s own pricing page. | Small teams testing recurring billing and data exports before paying. |
| Square Invoices | Create one-time or recurring invoices, select payment options and request a deposit. Square’s tax settings allow you to create named tax rates. Invoice steps; tax settings. | Worth testing if deposits and a payment workflow matter. Square lists custom invoice fields and milestone payment schedules on its Plus plan; verify that the plan and invoice output show the fields you need. Plan comparison. | Yes — Free plan, no monthly fee. | 2.8% + 30¢ per online card payment, 2.5% in-person credit, 0.75% + 7¢ in-person debit on the Free plan (Square’s pricing page). | Businesses that also take in-person card payments. |
| Wave | Create an invoice with customer, items and sales taxes; its recurring-invoice guide describes scheduled sending and online payments. Invoice and payment information connects to Wave’s accounting feature. Recurring setup; invoicing overview. | Consider it if you want invoices connected with bookkeeping. Wave says recurring sending through Wave requires its Pro plan or accepting online payments through Wave; check current eligibility, payment conditions and your export needs. | Yes — Starter plan, $0/month, unlimited invoices and estimates. | 1% per bank payment (minimum $1); card rates are on Wave’s pricing page, not quoted here. | Invoicing kept together with free bookkeeping. |
| QuickBooks Online | Create an invoice with customer, line items and payment terms; configure sales tax and check the location of sale. Recurring invoices are not included in the Lite plan. Invoice creation; tax on invoices; recurring templates. | Consider it if you also want invoicing within a bookkeeping system. Check the plan: Intuit’s recurring-template instructions are for the named plans, and confirm whether your template creates a draft, a reminder or an automatically sent invoice before enabling the schedule. | No — 30-day free trial only; the cheapest paid plan is Lite. | 1% per bank payment through QuickBooks Payments; card rates are not quoted here. | Businesses that want invoicing inside a full bookkeeping system and can do without a free tier. |
| FreshBooks | Its Canadian invoicing page describes recurring invoices, payment reminders and sales tax on applicable invoices. FreshBooks also documents pre-authorized debit for eligible Canadian businesses and customers using a Canadian bank account. Invoicing; Canadian debit requirements. | Useful to test for regular client billing. Confirm your client limit, chosen plan, processor setup and payment eligibility; test the Canadian tax and document fields for your own invoices. | No — 30-day free trial, no credit card required; the cheapest paid plan (Lite) is limited to 5 billable clients. | 2.9% + $0.30 CAD per Visa, Mastercard or Discover card payment through FreshBooks Payments; American Express and Managed Payments are 3.5% + $0.30 CAD. | Service businesses billing a small, fixed list of regular clients. |
A feature in a vendor’s documentation may require a particular subscription, payment processor or configuration. Check current terms and transaction fees directly with the vendor. For example, Zoho describes its Invoice product as free and Square lists a free invoicing plan; a no-subscription plan does not mean online payment processing is free.
For Sage Accounting and other full bookkeeping suites, see our accounting software for GST in Canada guide; the five tools above are invoicing-focused.
What is the best free invoicing software in Canada?
Three of the five offer a permanently free plan; the other two offer only a trial:
- Zoho Invoice — free for up to 2 users and 500 invoices a year, with Zoho’s own branding on the document; pay to remove the branding or add users and projects.
- Square Invoices — free software with no monthly fee; you only pay the card or debit processing rate when a customer pays online or in person.
- Wave — free Starter plan for unlimited invoices and bookkeeping; automatic recurring sending needs the paid Pro plan or Wave’s online payments, which charge 1% per bank payment (minimum $1).
Is QuickBooks free for invoices? No. QuickBooks Online has no free plan — Intuit offers a 30-day trial, after which the cheapest plan (Lite) covers invoicing but not recurring invoices. FreshBooks is the same shape: a 30-day trial with no permanently free tier.
Test an invoice before choosing
Create a draft for a typical sale and preview the version your customer would receive. Try a recurring version as well if you bill the same customer regularly.
- Set up the supplier. Enter the business name and contact details, and your actual GST/HST and, if applicable, QST registration numbers. Confirm those details appear on the output where needed. A business number alone is not the complete GST/HST account number.
- Set the tax for the transaction. Identify the type and place of supply first, then choose the applicable tax code or rate. Do not assume the customer’s address alone settles every place-of-supply question, or that an unregistered buyer makes the sale exempt. For example, an ordinary taxable Ontario supply at 13% HST produces $13 HST on a $100 price before tax; the total is $113. Check a Quebec example separately if you charge both GST and QST. CRA: place of supply.
- Preview the actual document. Check the line descriptions, dates, amount, applicable tax details and buyer information described below. If you use a tax-inclusive price, check that the output identifies the tax treatment, rate and amount to which the rate applies where needed for the buyer’s records.
- Test payment and export. Check whether you can record an outside payment, offer your preferred online method and see outstanding balances. Save a sample invoice and export the records you would need if you moved to another system. A recurring-profile export alone is not an archive of all invoices and payment records.
- Review costs and retention. Check plan limits, processor fees, cancellation and inactive-account rules, and keep a usable copy of your records. In particular, Zoho’s Canadian pricing FAQ describes possible deletion after an extended period of inactivity; review the current policy and maintain backups.
Tax setup in an app is not tax registration with the CRA or a provincial authority. You remain responsible for choosing the correct treatment and reviewing the result.
Fields to check for GST/HST and QST records
Seller disclosure rules and the supporting information a business buyer needs to claim an input tax credit (ITC) are related but different. Federal ITC documentation requirements depend on the total paid or payable, including tax, and get stricter as the total rises: a supplier name, date and total amount paid or payable are needed under $100, a GST/HST registration number and tax information are added from $100, and a buyer name, brief description and payment terms are added at $500 or more. See our GST/HST invoice requirements guide for the full table, the federal ITC information regulations for the detailed alternatives, and note that a correctly presented invoice does not by itself make an expense eligible for an ITC.
Quebec: Revenu Québec’s supporting-document table is not identical to the federal one — it requires a description of the property or service for QST purposes under $500, while the federal ITC table requires one only at $500 or more. Show GST and QST clearly and check the Revenu Québec: preparing invoices guidance for the applicable details; special invoicing rules can apply in some sectors.
For a field-by-field illustration, see how to show GST/HST on an invoice.
Do you need a full application or a one-off invoice?
If you only need an occasional invoice, a document template or one-off generator may be enough provided you can show the correct tax information and save your own records. Repeated billing, online payments and payment follow-up make invoicing software for small business more useful than a one-off template. A generator does not automatically register your business or determine whether a sale is taxable, zero-rated or exempt.
Before committing to an application, compare the actual client-facing invoice and the records you can take with you. Then choose the product and plan that support your own volume, payment methods and tax situations.
Sources checked October 21, 2026: the CRA, Department of Justice Canada, Revenu Québec and the vendor documentation linked above.