Invoice Ninja is a full-featured, source-available invoicing and time-tracking application built with Laravel that enables businesses to manage invoices, quotes, projects, expenses, and payments—all while retaining full control over their data. Designed as an open alternative to proprietary SaaS platforms, it offers both hosted and self-hosted options with identical Pro and Enterprise features. The platform supports multi-tenancy, client portals, mobile apps, and integrates with payment processors like Stripe. Its architecture follows Laravel best practices with a clear separation of concerns using repositories, services, events, and transformers. This makes it ideal for businesses requiring data sovereignty, custom branding, or integration with internal systems.
Developers and DevOps teams can deploy Invoice Ninja via Docker, Cloudron, YunoHost, or directly on servers using Composer and Artisan commands. With a robust API, extensive documentation, and active community support, it’s suited for SMBs, freelancers, agencies, and enterprises that need to automate billing workflows without relying on third-party cloud services.
What You Get
- Full-featured invoicing and quoting - Create, send, track, and automate invoices and quotes with customizable templates, recurring billing, tax calculations, and payment reminders.
- Time tracking and project management - Log billable hours against projects, generate time-based invoices, and visualize workflows with Kanban-style boards.
- Client portal access - Clients can view invoices, make payments, download documents, and communicate directly through a secure web portal accessible via /client/login.
- Multi-platform support - Native mobile apps for iOS, Android, and F-Droid; desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux (Snap/Flatpak); all sync with the self-hosted server.
- Self-hosting flexibility - Deploy on any Linux server, VM, or container using Docker, Cloudron, YunoHost, Softaculous, or Elestio with full access to source code and configuration.
- API and developer extensibility - RESTful API with documented endpoints, Laravel-based architecture using repositories, services, and events for easy customization and integration.
- White-labeling options - Remove Invoice Ninja branding from client-facing interfaces with a $30/year license for private deployment and white-labeling.
Common Use Cases
- Building a freelance billing system - Freelancers use Invoice Ninja to track time, generate professional invoices with payment links, and accept credit card payments via Stripe—all without paying SaaS subscription fees.
- Managing a multi-client agency - Agencies use the client portal and multi-company support to manage separate billing for each client, assign projects, and track hours per account—all from a single self-hosted instance.
- Problem: Losing control over financial data → Solution: Self-hosting Invoice Ninja - Businesses concerned about SaaS vendor lock-in or data privacy migrate to self-hosted Invoice Ninja to retain full ownership of invoice history, client details, and payment records.
- Team workflow for accounting departments - Finance teams use the API to sync Invoice Ninja with ERP systems, automate payment reminders, and generate monthly financial reports using exported data.
Under The Hood
Invoice Ninja is a feature-rich, open-source invoicing and accounting platform built on PHP with the Laravel framework, designed to support both individual users and enterprise-level business workflows. It emphasizes extensibility, multi-tenancy, and seamless integration with third-party services like Quickbooks.
Architecture
Invoice Ninja follows a monolithic architecture grounded in Laravel’s MVC conventions, enabling clear separation of concerns and modular organization across functional domains.
- The system is structured around core business areas such as invoicing, payments, and client management with well-defined layers and modules
- Design patterns like casting, data mapping, and command handling are consistently applied to manage data flow and operation logic
- Service providers and middleware facilitate standardized component interactions and configuration-driven behavior
- Component communication is managed through a combination of Laravel’s built-in tools and custom-defined interfaces
Tech Stack
Invoice Ninja leverages a modern PHP ecosystem with Laravel as its core framework, complemented by React and TypeScript for frontend development.
- Built primarily in PHP with Laravel as the foundational framework, integrating React and TypeScript for enhanced frontend capabilities
- Extensive use of libraries such as Spatie’s Laravel Data, Redis, and various third-party services for email, analytics, and payment processing
- Employs Vite and Webpack for asset compilation, Tailwind CSS for styling, and PostCSS for CSS processing to support a contemporary frontend pipeline
- Utilizes PHPUnit and Cypress for backend and end-to-end testing, with comprehensive tooling for linting and code quality checks
Code Quality
Invoice Ninja demonstrates a mature approach to software development with strong emphasis on testing and structured error handling.
- Comprehensive test coverage and consistent use of try/catch blocks ensure robust error management throughout the system
- Adherence to PHP standards and structured code organization contribute to maintainability and readability
- Despite some technical debt indicators such as duplicated relationships and inconsistent naming in models, overall code quality remains solid
- Type annotations and API documentation further enhance clarity and reduce potential for runtime errors
What Makes It Unique
Invoice Ninja distinguishes itself through its deep integration capabilities and extensible architecture tailored for enterprise invoicing needs.
- A modular data mapping system enables complex serialization and deserialization, particularly for syncing with platforms like Quickbooks
- Data mappers and typed collections enforce strict data contracts while allowing dynamic content transformations across systems
- Built-in multi-tenant support and distinct handling for cloud vs self-hosted deployments provide flexibility in deployment models
- Comprehensive activity logging and backup mechanisms maintain audit trails with remote storage support for enterprise compliance