Software ratings › Invoicing · Facts checked October 23, 2026 · 6 products scored
Scored on our six criteria, Zoho Invoice comes out on top for a small Canadian service business: free in Canada, every Canadian sales tax including QST, and phone support. Our own MapleInvoice is second, held back by its English-only interface. FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online score well on French and support but cost more.
Disclosure: Joel & Nanz Inc. builds and sells MapleInvoice.
It is scored with the same rubric as everyone else and ranked by that score, including the criteria where it loses.
No vendor paid to be listed, scored or ranked here.
How this comes up in client work
Our AI collections and follow-up work plugs into whatever the client invoices from, so we audit the invoicing tool early. The two failure modes we see: a business paying for full accounting when it only sends a handful of invoices a month, and a business on a free tool whose tax settings were never configured for its province.
When we score these products we take the plan a five-person service business would buy at regular (not promotional) price. When a bookkeeper is already working in QuickBooks Online or Xero, we leave it in place and integrate with it.
Scores at a glance
0 to 5 per criterion, equally weighted. Read the rubric for what each number means. Ranked by overall score.
1.Zoho Invoice
Zoho · www.zoho.com
· Overall 4.2 / 5
Best for: Businesses that want free invoicing with every Canadian sales tax, including QST, configured.
Pricing
- Free: $0 CAD per month ('Free for all businesses in Canada'; invoices carry Zoho branding)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 5/5Price: Free for all businesses in Canada.
- 4/5Canadian data: Zoho publishes Canadian data centres (Toronto and Montreal).
- 5/5CAD and sales tax: Canadian edition configures GST, HST, PST, QST and RST rates.
- 2/5French: Zoho Invoice has a French website option and an organization language setting; French not named in the help article.
- 5/5Setup effort: Self-serve and free.
- 4/5Support: Toll-free phone (weekdays) and email listed on the Canada page; no hours or targets.
Where it wins: Free with Canadian tax handling including QST and RST.
Where it falls short: Free invoices carry 'Powered by Zoho Invoice' branding; return filing is not part of this product.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
2.MapleInvoiceOur product
Joel & Nanz Inc. · Canada · mapleinvoice.com
· Overall 3.8 / 5
Best for: Canadian service businesses that invoice in CAD, charge GST/HST, and want Interac e-Transfer or pre-authorized debit payments without a full accounting package.
Pricing
- Free: $0 CAD per month (unlimited invoices, estimates and clients)
- Starter: $15 CAD per month (advanced invoice designer, API and webhooks)
- Pro: $29 CAD per month (adds time tracking and receptionist integration)
- Premium: $49 CAD per month (adds inventory and projects, removes Maple branding)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 5/5Price: Free plan covers unlimited invoices and clients; paid plans start at $15 CAD/month.
- 4/5Canadian data: Privacy page says data is stored in Canada-based infrastructure 'where possible', which is a hedge, not a guarantee.
- 5/5CAD and sales tax: Priced in CAD with GST/HST/provincial tax settings and Canadian payment methods built in.
- 1/5French: We found no French interface or French site on mapleinvoice.com.
- 5/5Setup effort: Self-serve signup, no technical steps to send a first invoice.
- 3/5Support: Priority email/chat listed from Starter; no published response target, and the free plan lists no support.
Where it wins: The free plan includes unlimited invoices, estimates and clients, with GST/HST and provincial tax settings and Canadian payment methods (Interac e-Transfer, pre-authorized debit).
Where it falls short: Not full double-entry accounting with bank feeds and payroll the way QuickBooks Online or Xero are; English only; automated payment workflows carry a $0.60 per transaction fee.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
3.FreshBooks
FreshBooks · Canada · www.freshbooks.com
· Overall 3.2 / 5
Best for: Service businesses that want polished invoices, time tracking and a Canadian-headquartered vendor.
Pricing
- Lite: $26 CAD per month (invoices up to 5 clients; extra team members $13/month each)
- Plus: $42 CAD per month (up to 50 clients)
- Premium: $72 CAD per month (unlimited clients)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 2/5Price: $26 CAD/month caps you at 5 clients; most small businesses need Plus at $42.
- 1/5Canadian data: Sub-processor list names US locations; no Canadian storage stated.
- 4/5CAD and sales tax: CAD prices; GST, HST and PST on invoices (QST not named).
- 4/5French: Interface language can be set to Francais in account preferences.
- 4/5Setup effort: Self-serve with a 30-day trial.
- 4/5Support: Free support during office hours, with a region-specific phone line depending on plan; self-serve 24/7.
Where it wins: Toronto-headquartered with CAD pricing and GST/HST/PST on invoices.
Where it falls short: Lite plan caps invoicing at 5 clients; extra team members cost $13/mo per user.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
4.QuickBooks Online
Intuit · quickbooks.intuit.com
· Overall 3.2 / 5
Best for: Businesses that want full accounting, payroll filing to CRA and Revenu Quebec, and phone support.
Pricing
- Lite: $20 CAD per month, 1 user (regular price; introductory discount shown)
- EasyStart: $30 CAD per month, 1 user
- Plus: $110 CAD per month, up to 5 users
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 2/5Price: Regular price $30 CAD/month for one user and $110 for up to five.
- 2/5Canadian data: Primary hosting is in the US; a backup of Canadian customers' data is stored in Canada.
- 5/5CAD and sales tax: Canadian edition tracks sales tax for CRA filing; payroll files to CRA and Revenu Quebec.
- 2/5French: Intuit's French-Canadian site is fully in French with French phone support listed; no help article confirms a French QBO interface.
- 3/5Setup effort: Self-serve with a 30-day trial; full accounting setup takes time.
- 5/5Support: Live chat weekdays 8am-9pm ET and weekends; callbacks in English and French with published hours.
Where it wins: Canadian edition covers CRA sales-tax filing and payroll to CRA/Revenu Quebec, with phone and chat support.
Where it falls short: Regular price is high for small teams (Plus $110/mo for up to 5 users) once the 6-month promo ends; currency not labelled.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
5.Wave
Wave Financial · Canada · www.waveapps.com
· Overall 2.8 / 5
Best for: Sole proprietors who want free invoicing and basic bookkeeping from a Canadian company.
Pricing
- Starter: $0 CAD per month (card payments 2.9% + $0.60)
- Pro: $25 CAD per month billed monthly ($250 CAD/year billed annually)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 5/5Price: Free Starter plan; Pro is $25 CAD/month.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 3/5CAD and sales tax: CAD prices; you create GST/HST/QST taxes yourself (name, rate, tax number); no presets named.
- 1/5French: Wave says it is only available in English.
- 5/5Setup effort: Self-serve free plan.
- 3/5Support: Email and chat, weekdays 9-5 ET, only for businesses using a paid feature; free users get self-serve help.
Where it wins: Genuinely free Starter plan for invoicing, with CAD-priced Pro at $25/month.
Where it falls short: Support limited to chat/email weekday business hours (no phone stated).
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
6.Xero
Xero · www.xero.com
· Overall 2.3 / 5
Best for: Businesses that want full accounting with automatic Canadian sales tax rates and an accountant in the same file.
Pricing
- Starter: $25 CAD per month (regular price; introductory discounts shown)
- Standard: $60 CAD per month
- Premium: $80 CAD per month (multiple currencies)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 3/5Price: $25 CAD/month entry; most growing teams need Standard at $60.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 5/5CAD and sales tax: Prices in CAD; preset Canadian sales tax rates update automatically.
- 0/5French: No official page found stating a French interface.
- 3/5Setup effort: Self-serve with a 30-day trial; full accounting setup (chart of accounts, bank feeds) takes time.
- 3/5Support: Free online support 24/7 through cases; no phone helpline (they can call you back).
Where it wins: Prices stated in CAD and Canadian sales tax rates preset and auto-updated.
Where it falls short: Expense claims and projects cost extra (add-ons from $5/$10 per month).
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
Suggest a company we missed
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Our editorial pick
This page shows the scoring. For the short version, what we recommend and why, read our invoicing recommendation on joelnanz.com.
Sources
Every price and claim above comes from the vendor's own website. Pages read on the date shown.
Spotted something out of date? Use the suggestion form above or contact us, and we will re-check it.