If you’re a photographer looking for accounting, project and/or invoicing software then look no further.
There are many options out there; Blingbid, fotoBiz, Freshbooks, Quickbooks, Blinksale, Bill.com
The list can go on forever, however, I found my favorite solution.
Easy Photographer Invoicing
Why Pancake App over Freshbooks?
- Self hosted which means you control access to the database
- One-time fee ($49 as I write this)
- Built on PHP and includes an API for extending capabilities
- No limits to invoicing
- Branding
- No limits to clients
- Recurring invoices
- Project management w/ milestones, tasks and multiple rates
- Time tracking w/ timer
- Proposals (drag and drop template creation)
- Estimates
- Client access area w/ dashboard
- Email invoices w/ PDF capability
- Custom short URL for customer invoices
- Reporting
- File delivery on payment
- Client health check (who didn’t pay?)
- Payment via Cash, Check, PayPal, etc
- Automatic updates
So now you may be thinking… “Well, if this is self hosted and I have a problem aren’t I screwed?”
Nope!
The guys at Pancake App are incredible. Their customer service is top notch. I’ve been using Pancake since its launch and of course, found some bugs. They fixed the problems right away and the service has not stopped since.
Just recently I had a major problem (which turned out to be my fault) – the guys not only offered to Skype chat, but also gave me their cell phone number to text when I was online. Nice, right?
To top that off, even though the problem was my fault, they decided to add extra code to the product (in the roadmap) in case it happens to other people.
How I Use Pancake App
I have been using Pancake in two ways
- Invoicing my freelance photography and consulting work
- Keeping track of affiliate sales by creating an invoice upon receipt of commission checks and then instantly marking them as paid.
Pancake App doesn’t stop there, however. There are plans for the app to grow beyond its current features. They are building CRM (Customer Relationship Management) into the app, there is an iPhone app in the future, and so much more.
So if you’re a freelance photographer looking for simple invoicing with a suite of amazing features and the best customer service available… and do not want to pay monthly fees… Check out Pancake App.
Don’t forget to tell them I sent you.
Thanks for reading and happy shooting,
Scott
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