# an invoicing tool for small agencies **There is a real agency billing pain, but the market is crowded with partial tools and only a small open-source niche stands out.** Confidence: high · 83 signals · checked 2026-08-01 [Full report with live links](https://showsitsworks.com/idea/an-invoicing-tool-for-small-agencies) ## Who is already building this *From data* - matthiask/workbench is a Django-based agency software project with 44 stars and it is still maintained, with the last push on 2026-08-02. It already covers time tracking, project management, address book, offering, and invoicing. - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - oreko is an open-source, self-hosted visual quote and invoice builder for freelancers, agencies, and small businesses. It has 22 stars and is still maintained, with the last push on 2026-07-01. - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM has 34 stars but is stale, with the last push on 2021-08-25. It is not a live competitor in this search. - [rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM](https://github.com/rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM) `github` — 2021-04-21 - There are also adjacent open-source agency platforms that bundle invoicing with other ops: foundry-crm has 10 stars and a last push on 2026-04-28, ClientX has 5 stars and a last push on 2026-01-01, Soseki has 4 stars and a last push on 2026-07-31, and InvoixPro has 4 stars and a last push on 2026-07-26. - [AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm](https://github.com/AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm) `github` — 2026-02-09 - [prajwallshetty/ClientX](https://github.com/prajwallshetty/ClientX) `github` — 2025-08-31 - [ayushsolanki29/soseki-app](https://github.com/ayushsolanki29/soseki-app) `github` — 2026-07-04 - [mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system](https://github.com/mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system) `github` — 2026-07-26 ## What people actually say *From data* - "I run what is essentially a dev agency in EU that invoices clients based on either flat fees or time spent." This HN post is a direct agency-use case, not a generic invoicing comment. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - "We used to use Stripe, but it was very difficult to get time tracking calculations and sent multiple erroneous invoices." This points to a concrete workflow failure between time tracking and invoicing. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - "Earlier this year we switched to Productive... which was promising but has been a disappointment." This suggests people try broader agency suites and still feel pain. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - "I have spent much of the past two days looking at various options for recurring billing and related automation for a start-up." This is a first-person sign of active buyer research, even though it is older. - [Rate my Startup: SnapBill - Automated recurring billing](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2139905) `hackernews` — 2011-01-25 - "For a long time I used a Google Sheets template for tracking work and generating invoices. Print to PDF, email, done." This shows the spreadsheet-to-invoice workaround still shows up in agency/freelance workflows. - [Ask HN: Freelancers of HN, how do you manage your clients?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32827951) `hackernews` — 2022-09-13 ## People asking to be sold to *From data* - "Yes you can sign the n8n Enterprise subscription in your own company's name, pay it yourself, and then invoice your client for the total service (including n8n costs + your margin)." That is a live agency billing pattern and implies people need tooling for pass-through costs plus margin billing. - [Enterprise subscription for a client: can we contract and pay, then bill client with margin?](https://community.n8n.io/t/enterprise-subscription-for-a-client-can-we-contract-and-pay-then-bill-client-with-margin/255918/2) `discourse` — 2026-01-26 - "The employer pays the agency, usually around 30% more than the agency pays me." This shows agencies routinely sit between vendor cost and client invoice, which is exactly the gap a billing tool can serve. - [Poll: long-term contractors, what is your hourly rate?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5770433) `hackernews` — 2013-05-26 - "We are a small agency business, and we probably do anywhere between 10 - 15k in revenue per month." This is a concrete small-agency revenue band where billing software purchasing is plausible. - [Ask HN: Is it me, or are Stripe fees somehow getting worse?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38206550) `hackernews` — 2023-11-09 - "I made Sundaysub, a little platform for me to create my invoice and save it easily." This is a self-built solution, which is a weak but real sign of willingness to adopt a purpose-built tool. - [Show HN: I made Sundaysub to help small startup create invoice for free](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46943963) `hackernews` — 2026-02-09 ## Where the opening is *Model estimate* - The signals do not show a product that is narrowly focused on small agencies doing flat-fee plus time-based invoicing, especially with error prevention around time calculations and invoice generation. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - The open-source projects found are mostly broader agency OS or quote/invoice builders; none clearly focuses on the workflow of converting tracked agency work into correct client invoices with pass-through costs and margin. - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - [AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm](https://github.com/AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm) `github` — 2026-02-09 - [prajwallshetty/ClientX](https://github.com/prajwallshetty/ClientX) `github` — 2025-08-31 - [ayushsolanki29/soseki-app](https://github.com/ayushsolanki29/soseki-app) `github` — 2026-07-04 - [mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system](https://github.com/mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system) `github` — 2026-07-26 - No first-hand signal here asks for a new invoicing UI alone; the pain is operational: calculations, recurring billing, and fitting agency billing into the rest of the workflow. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - [Rate my Startup: SnapBill - Automated recurring billing](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2139905) `hackernews` — 2011-01-25 - [Ask HN: Freelancers of HN, how do you manage your clients?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32827951) `hackernews` — 2022-09-13 ## How big the market might be *Model estimate* - This search found 2 named open-source projects, with 1 active and 1 dead. - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - [rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM](https://github.com/rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM) `github` — 2021-04-21 - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - There were 2 first-hand complaints and 0 unsolved questions or stated wants in the counted facts. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - [Ask HN: Freelancers of HN, how do you manage your clients?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32827951) `hackernews` — 2022-09-13 - The largest usage signal in adjacent invoicing infrastructure was the Docker image invoiceshelf/invoiceshelf with 603,882 pulls, and the biggest npm usage signal was @aws-sdk/client-invoicing at 14,961 downloads last month. - [docker: invoiceshelf/invoiceshelf](https://hub.docker.com/r/invoiceshelf/invoiceshelf) `registries` - [npm: @aws-sdk/client-invoicing](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@aws-sdk/client-invoicing) `registries` — 2026-07-31 - One matching community forum thread was found on community.n8n.io, so the topic is discussed in at least one live community. - [Enterprise subscription for a client: can we contract and pay, then bill client with margin?](https://community.n8n.io/t/enterprise-subscription-for-a-client-can-we-contract-and-pay-then-bill-client-with-margin/255918/2) `discourse` — 2026-01-26 ## What could go wrong *Model estimate* - The market is crowded at the broad level: many tools already bundle invoicing with CRM, project management, time tracking, or agency ops, so a plain invoicing app for agencies will not stand out. - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - [AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm](https://github.com/AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm) `github` — 2026-02-09 - [sdrahnea/translation-management-system](https://github.com/sdrahnea/translation-management-system) `github` — 2019-05-01 - [prajwallshetty/ClientX](https://github.com/prajwallshetty/ClientX) `github` — 2025-08-31 - [RiteshGenAI/AIAgencyOS](https://github.com/RiteshGenAI/AIAgencyOS) `github` — 2026-06-30 - [ayushsolanki29/soseki-app](https://github.com/ayushsolanki29/soseki-app) `github` — 2026-07-04 - [mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system](https://github.com/mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system) `github` — 2026-07-26 - [mojaswi/agency-colony](https://github.com/mojaswi/agency-colony) `github` — 2026-03-25 - [Vijayanandkrishnan/task-manager-open-source](https://github.com/Vijayanandkrishnan/task-manager-open-source) `github` — 2026-06-12 - [inloopstudio-team/pi-ledger](https://github.com/inloopstudio-team/pi-ledger) `github` — 2026-07-08 - The strongest pain is tied to workflow correctness, not just invoice creation, so if the product does not solve time-to-invoice accuracy it will look interchangeable with existing tools. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - [Show HN: Made it so time tracking isn’t the worst part of your day](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36312350) `hackernews` — 2023-06-13 - [Show HN: I made Sundaysub to help small startup create invoice for free](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46943963) `hackernews` — 2026-02-09 - One competitor here is stale, but the live ones show that this space is still being built in public, which means maintenance and differentiation will matter a lot. - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - [rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM](https://github.com/rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM) `github` — 2021-04-21 - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - [AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm](https://github.com/AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm) `github` — 2026-02-09 - [prajwallshetty/ClientX](https://github.com/prajwallshetty/ClientX) `github` — 2025-08-31 - [ayushsolanki29/soseki-app](https://github.com/ayushsolanki29/soseki-app) `github` — 2026-07-04 - [mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system](https://github.com/mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system) `github` — 2026-07-26 ## What to do this week *Model estimate* - Start by nailing one narrow job: agency time-tracking to correct invoice generation, including flat-fee, hourly, and pass-through cost handling. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - [Enterprise subscription for a client: can we contract and pay, then bill client with margin?](https://community.n8n.io/t/enterprise-subscription-for-a-client-can-we-contract-and-pay-then-bill-client-with-margin/255918/2) `discourse` — 2026-01-26 - [Poll: long-term contractors, what is your hourly rate?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5770433) `hackernews` — 2013-05-26 - Build around the failure mode in the HN complaint: prevent erroneous invoices caused by bad time calculations before they are sent. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - Test with agencies already mixing tools like Stripe, Productive, spreadsheets, and billing overlays; they are the clearest early users in the signals. - [Ask HN: What are the good invoicing solutions for agencies?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40727381) `hackernews` — 2024-06-19 - [Ask HN: Freelancers of HN, how do you manage your clients?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32827951) `hackernews` — 2022-09-13 - [Show HN: I made Sundaysub to help small startup create invoice for free](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46943963) `hackernews` — 2026-02-09 - If you want a sharper wedge, position it as an agency billing layer rather than a general invoicing app. - [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) `github` — 2019-03-11 - [orekoapp/oreko](https://github.com/orekoapp/oreko) `github` — 2026-01-30 - [AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm](https://github.com/AxiumFoundry/foundry-crm) `github` — 2026-02-09 - [prajwallshetty/ClientX](https://github.com/prajwallshetty/ClientX) `github` — 2025-08-31 - [ayushsolanki29/soseki-app](https://github.com/ayushsolanki29/soseki-app) `github` — 2026-07-04 - [mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system](https://github.com/mah-shamim/invoixpro-invoice-and-payment-system) `github` — 2026-07-26 ## Competitor strength | Project | Stars | Downloads/mo | Activity | |---|---:|---:|---| | [matthiask/workbench](https://github.com/matthiask/workbench) | 44 | — | active | | [rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM](https://github.com/rcesunil9/WALLET-CORPORATE-SHIPPING-AND-RECEPTION-SYSTEM) | 34 | — | dead | ## Domain names - `agencyinvoicing.com` — available - `agencyinvoicing.io` — available - `agency.com` — taken - `getagency.com` — taken --- Sources searched: hackernews (30), github (20), githubissues (none), discourse (2), intent (none), stackexchange (none), registries (14), tavily (7), devto (10) Generated by Shows Its Work — https://showsitsworks.com/idea/an-invoicing-tool-for-small-agencies Findings link to their sources. Estimates are marked as estimates.