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A real week of leads for Ledgerly, a freelance invoicing tool. Same feed, same scoring, same drafts you get after signing up.

12 leads this week

Sorted by score

Hot leadr/freelance3 hours ago21468
I am spending more time chasing invoices than doing the actual work
Third month in a row where I've got 4 invoices past 30 days and one at 62 days. I've been sending the reminders manually and honestly I put it off because it feels awkward every single time, then two weeks go by and I've lost the thread. I'm a freelance illustrator, maybe 8-10 clients a month, and right now it's a Google Sheet plus invoice templates in Docs. That worked when it was 3 clients. It does not work now. What are people actually using? I looked at some of the big all-in-one things and they're 30-40 a month which feels insane for what is basically "send PDF, remind them politely". Does something exist that just does invoices and chases people for me? Genuinely willing to pay, I just don't want to learn accounting software.
chasing paymentinvoicinglate paymentvia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
Describes the exact workflow Ledgerly replaces (manual reminders on top of a spreadsheet), names the pain as recurring across three months, objects to the price of 30-40/mo suites rather than to paying at all, and asks directly for a tool recommendation.
Hot leadr/freelance7 hours ago17894
Bonsai just went up again — what are you all switching to?
Got the email this morning, my plan is going from 25 to 39 a month. I use maybe three features. Invoices, the odd contract, and reminders. I've been on it two years and I don't want to lose the invoice history but 39 a month for what I use is not defensible anymore. That's nearly 500 a year. What's everyone moved to? Ideally something that can import existing clients so I'm not retyping 40 records. Not looking for full accounting, my accountant handles the books at year end.
bonsai alternativetoo expensiveswitching fromvia People leaving Bonsai / HoneyBook
Actively switching away from a named competitor over a price increase, uses only the three features Ledgerly covers, and asks about migration — a buying question, not a browsing one.
Hot leadr/webdev14 hours ago331142
Built my own invoicing script and I regret it
Two years ago I wrote a little Node script to generate invoice PDFs because I didn't want to pay for software. Classic. Now it's 900 lines, the PDF library had a breaking change, and last week it silently sent an invoice with the wrong VAT number. I'm going to stop pretending this is a good use of my time. Looking for something dead simple — generate an invoice, email it, remind them if they don't pay. I do not need projects, time tracking, proposals, or a CRM. What's the least bloated option in 2026?
invoicingpayment remindervia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
Explicitly abandoning a home-grown solution and listing the exact feature set Ledgerly ships while ruling out the bloat competitors add. High thread visibility (331 upvotes) means a good reply is seen by many similar buyers.
Hot leadr/smallbusiness11 hours ago9651
How do you handle a client who is 90 days late without burning the relationship?
Client owes me 4,200. They're a decent client otherwise, been working with them 18 months, but their finance person has gone quiet on the last two invoices. I've emailed four times. I don't want to go legal over it, they'll probably pay, but I need this to stop happening. Part of the problem is I'm the one who has to remember to chase and I'm bad at it. Is there something that just does escalating reminders on a schedule so it's not me personally nagging them every time? Feels like this should be solved.
late paymentunpaid invoicepayment remindervia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
A live 4,200 receivable at 90 days with a stated wish for scheduled escalating reminders, which is Ledgerly’s core mechanic. Intent sits below the top band because they ask "how do you handle" rather than "what should I buy".
Hot leadr/Upwork16 hours ago11947
Moving clients off Upwork — how do you handle invoicing directly?
Two of my long term clients want to work directly and skip the 10%. Great for me but now I'm responsible for contracts and invoicing and getting paid, which Upwork was doing silently. What's the actual stack for this? I need to send a professional looking invoice, accept card or bank transfer, and ideally not have to chase. Willing to pay for it, it's saving me a lot in fees.
invoicinghow do you invoicevia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
Moving clients off a platform and explicitly assembling a billing stack, with "willing to pay for it" stated outright. The need is slightly broader than Ledgerly covers (contracts), so problem fit is not maximal.
Strongr/SaaS22 hours ago15672
Cancelled 4 subscriptions this month, here is what I replaced them with
Doing a proper audit of what I pay for. Killed a scheduling tool, a form builder, an all-in-one freelance suite and a design tool I opened twice. The freelance suite one was hardest because I do need invoices going out. Currently back on a spreadsheet plus manual PDFs which is not sustainable, so I'm actively looking for a replacement that's under 15 a month. Suggestions welcome, I'll report back on what I land on.
cancelling my subscriptioncheaper alternative tovia People leaving Bonsai / HoneyBook
Has already cancelled an all-in-one suite, is back on spreadsheets, states an explicit price ceiling under 15/mo that Ledgerly sits below, and has invited suggestions.
Strongr/agency3 days ago7429
Rebuilding the same 9 retainer invoices every month is insane
Small agency, 9 clients on monthly retainers, same amounts every month give or take a change order. Our ops person spends most of the first working day of the month recreating invoices by hand. What are other small shops using for recurring invoices? Doesn't need to be fancy, needs to fire automatically and let us adjust a line item when something changes.
retainer invoicerecurring invoiceagency billingvia Small agencies — retainer billing
Recurring retainer invoicing rebuilt by hand every month, with a named cost (a full day of an ops person). Asks directly what other shops use.
Strongr/smallbusiness19 hours ago610comment
Comment in r/smallbusiness
honestly same boat. honeybook is great if you use the whole workflow thing but i'm a solo photographer, i send maybe 6 invoices a month and i'm paying for a CRM i never open. i've been meaning to move for months, just haven't found something that isn't either a spreadsheet or another 40/mo suite. if anyone has found the middle ground please shout
honeybook alternativeswitching fromvia People leaving Bonsai / HoneyBook
A comment rather than a post, but states the switch intent plainly ("been meaning to move for months") and asks the thread for exactly the middle-ground product Ledgerly is. Lower reach than a post.
Strongr/smallbusiness2 days ago245116
QuickBooks is overkill for a one person business, change my mind
I'm paying 30 a month and I use invoices and nothing else. Every time I open it there are eleven things shouting at me about payroll and inventory. I have no payroll. I have no inventory. I am one man with a van. Is there a genuinely simple option or do I just accept this is the tax for being organised?
invoicingtoo expensivevia People leaving Bonsai / HoneyBook
Paying for accounting software and using only invoicing — the textbook over-served buyer. Framed as a "change my mind" rant, so intent is real but softer than a direct request.
Worth a lookr/digitalnomad1 day ago5234
Invoicing clients in 3 currencies is doing my head in
Clients in the UK, US and Germany. Every month I'm manually working out what to bill in what currency, and half of them pay late anyway so the FX has moved by the time it lands. Mostly venting but if there's a tool that handles multi-currency invoices without being a full accounting package I'd love to hear it. Wise handles the money side fine, it's the invoice admin that's killing me.
invoicingvia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
Genuine invoicing admin pain and an open request for tools, but the specific need is multi-currency handling, which Ledgerly does not lead on. Worth a reply only if multi-currency is on the roadmap.
Worth a lookr/freelanceWriters5 hours ago4327
first freelance client, how do i actually invoice them
sorry if this is basic. i just landed my first paying client (blog posts, 400 for the month) and they asked me to "send an invoice" and i realised i have no idea what that means in practice. do i need software? can it just be a document? what has to be on it legally (uk if it matters). i don't want to look like an amateur on the first one.
how do you invoiceinvoice templatevia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
Directly about invoicing and easy to help, but this is a first client at 400/month — likely to use a free template for a year before paying for anything. Good for goodwill, weak as revenue.
Worth a lookr/graphic_design1 day ago8863
Do you charge late fees? Does it actually work?
I put 30 day terms and a 5% late fee on my invoices but I've literally never enforced it because it feels confrontational and I don't want to lose repeat clients. Curious whether anyone actually applies it, and whether it changed behaviour. Also open to the argument that the real fix is reminding people properly instead of penalising them at the end.
late paymentvia Freelancers drowning in invoicing
Adjacent to the problem — the poster half-suggests the reminder-based fix themselves — but they are asking a policy question about late fees, not shopping for software.

Hot leadr/freelanceu/inkandoat3 hours ago

I am spending more time chasing invoices than doing the actual work

214 upvotes68 commentsFreelancers drowning in invoicing

Original post

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Third month in a row where I've got 4 invoices past 30 days and one at 62 days. I've been sending the reminders manually and honestly I put it off because it feels awkward every single time, then two weeks go by and I've lost the thread. I'm a freelance illustrator, maybe 8-10 clients a month, and right now it's a Google Sheet plus invoice templates in Docs. That worked when it was 3 clients. It does not work now. What are people actually using? I looked at some of the big all-in-one things and they're 30-40 a month which feels insane for what is basically "send PDF, remind them politely". Does something exist that just does invoices and chases people for me? Genuinely willing to pay, I just don't want to learn accounting software.

Suggested reply

You post it, not us

Open thread

The awkwardness is the actual problem, not the admin. Once chasing is a thing *you* have to decide to do each time, it gets deferred, and 30 days becomes 62. Two things that helped me before any tool did: 1. Put the escalation in the invoice terms up front — reminder at day 7 after due, again at 14, a firmer one at 30. When it's stated on the invoice, the follow-up stops being a personal nag and becomes the process the client already agreed to. 2. Automate the first two reminders so you're only ever personally involved at day 30. On tools — full disclosure, I build Ledgerly, which is invoicing plus automatic escalating reminders for freelancers, so I'm not a neutral party. It is the middle ground you're describing rather than a 40/mo suite. But you genuinely don't need it to fix this: Wave is free and does invoices with reminders, and if your sheet is working otherwise, bolting scheduled reminders onto what you already have solves most of it. For 8-10 clients a month the sheet is fine. It's the reminder step that has to stop being manual.

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“I've been sending the reminders manually and honestly I put it off because it feels awkward every single time”
“they're 30-40 a month which feels insane for what is basically "send PDF, remind them politely"”

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See it working

A real week of leads for Ledgerly, a freelance invoicing tool. Same feed, same scoring, same drafts you get after signing up.

12 leads this week

I am spending more time chasing invoices than doing the actual work

Bonsai just went up again — what are you all switching to?

Built my own invoicing script and I regret it

How do you handle a client who is 90 days late without burning the relationship?

Moving clients off Upwork — how do you handle invoicing directly?

Cancelled 4 subscriptions this month, here is what I replaced them with

Rebuilding the same 9 retainer invoices every month is insane

Comment in r/smallbusiness

QuickBooks is overkill for a one person business, change my mind

Invoicing clients in 3 currencies is doing my head in

first freelance client, how do i actually invoice them

Do you charge late fees? Does it actually work?

Original post

Suggested reply

Grounded in

Point it at your product instead

12 leads this week

I am spending more time chasing invoices than doing the actual work

Bonsai just went up again — what are you all switching to?

Built my own invoicing script and I regret it

How do you handle a client who is 90 days late without burning the relationship?

Moving clients off Upwork — how do you handle invoicing directly?

Cancelled 4 subscriptions this month, here is what I replaced them with

Rebuilding the same 9 retainer invoices every month is insane

Comment in r/smallbusiness

QuickBooks is overkill for a one person business, change my mind

Invoicing clients in 3 currencies is doing my head in

first freelance client, how do i actually invoice them

Do you charge late fees? Does it actually work?

Original post

Suggested reply

Grounded in