Invoicerr: The Open-Source Invoicing Platform for Freelancers

Let's be real: invoicing is the least fun part of freelancing. You finish a cool project, feel that sense of accomplishment, and then... you have to stop and deal with templates, client details, payment terms, and reminders. It's a context switch that drains the creative energy. Most solutions are either overly complex, expensive, or lock your data away.

That's why Invoicerr caught my eye. It's a straightforward, self-hosted invoicing platform built specifically for freelancers and small teams. It takes the headache out of getting paid, so you can get back to what you actually enjoy doing.

What It Does

Invoicerr is a web application that handles the core invoicing workflow. You can create and manage clients, generate clean, professional invoices, and track their status (sent, viewed, paid, overdue). It covers the essentials without bloat, focusing on the process from delivering an invoice to getting paid.

Why It's Cool

The appeal here is in its simplicity and control. It's not trying to be a full accounting suite. Instead, it does one job well. As an open-source project, you can see exactly how it works, contribute to it, and—most importantly—host it yourself. You own your client data and invoice history. No monthly SaaS subscription, no surprise limits on how many invoices you can send.

The tech stack is also very approachable. It's built with Go on the backend for performance and reliability, and uses SQLite for the database, which makes backups and deployment incredibly simple. The UI is clean and functional. It's the kind of tool you can set up once and forget about, trusting it to just work.

How to Try It

Getting started is pretty standard for a Go app. You'll need Go 1.21+ and Node.js 18+ installed.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/invoicerr-app/invoicerr.git
cd invoicerr

# Install backend and frontend dependencies
make setup

# Run the application
make run

The Makefile handles the heavy lifting. After running, the application should be available at http://localhost:8080. Check the project's README.md for the most current setup details, especially for initial configuration and creating your first admin user.

Final Thoughts

Invoicerr solves a real, mundane problem with a clean, developer-friendly approach. It's perfect for the freelancer who wants automation without a third-party service, or for any developer who just wants a transparent, host-it-yourself tool in their toolkit. It might not have every bell and whistle, but it excels at the 80% of invoicing tasks you actually need. Sometimes, that's exactly what you want.

Follow us for more cool projects: @githubprojects