Issue No. 04 — Money, politely
New · Recurring invoices
The awkward art of asking to be paid
Every freelancer knows the routine: the gentle nudge, the firmer nudge, the phone call you dread. Tidy Ledger handles all of it, so you stay on good terms with the client.
- 01
- 02
- 03
- average time to paid
- 9 days
- fewer overdue invoices
- 66%
- to create an invoice
- <1 min
Features
Everything between finishing the work and getting paid
Invoices, reminders, payments and the numbers behind them — without a spreadsheet in sight.
- I.
Invoices in a minute
Pick a client, add line items or pull in tracked hours, and send. Your logo, your colors, your payment terms.
- II.
Reminders on autopilot
Set a schedule once: a nudge 3 days before the due date, one on the day, then weekly. Every email is editable and stops the moment they pay.
- III.
Card and bank payments
Clients pay by card, digital wallet or ACH bank transfer from a Pay now button. Card payouts reach your account in 2 business days.
- IV.
Recurring invoices
Retainers and subscriptions bill themselves on the 1st, the 15th or any schedule. Clients can save a card for automatic charges.
- V.
Expenses and receipts
Snap a receipt, tag it to a client and mark it billable. It appears on the next invoice as a line item, at cost or with markup.
- VI.
Cash-flow reports
See what's paid, what's due and what's late, plus a 90-day forecast built from recurring invoices and open balances.
Why it works
Built for people who'd rather not think about billing
A cash-flow chart shows money in, money out and what's still outstanding, month by month. Filter by client to see who pays on time and who should pay a deposit next time.
Invoices in a minute
Pick a client, add line items or pull in tracked hours, and send. Your logo, your colors, your payment terms.
Reminders on autopilot
Set a schedule once: a nudge 3 days before the due date, one on the day, then weekly. Every email is editable and stops the moment they pay.
Card and bank payments
Clients pay by card, digital wallet or ACH bank transfer from a Pay now button. Card payouts reach your account in 2 business days.
Recurring invoices
Retainers and subscriptions bill themselves on the 1st, the 15th or any schedule. Clients can save a card for automatic charges.
Expenses and receipts
Snap a receipt, tag it to a client and mark it billable. It appears on the next invoice as a line item, at cost or with markup.
Cash-flow reports
See what's paid, what's due and what's late, plus a 90-day forecast built from recurring invoices and open balances.
How it works
From timesheet to paid in three steps
Most people send their first invoice within five minutes of signing up.
- 1
Import clients and hours
Bring a CSV from your spreadsheet or old tool. Clients, rates and unbilled hours come across in one go.
- 2
Set terms and reminders
Choose payment terms, currency, payment methods and when reminders go out. Set it once per client and forget it.
- 3
Send it and get paid
Clients get a clean invoice with a Pay now button. You get a notification and a reconciled ledger when the money clears.
Less chasing, more cash in the bank
- freelancers and studios
- 18k
- invoiced last year
- $410M
- average time to paid
- 9 days
- average rating
- 4.9/5
Pricing
Simple monthly pricing. No per-invoice fees.
Every plan includes unlimited invoices and automatic reminders. Payment processing is passed through at cost.
- 01
Starter
For your first few clients.
Up to 3 active clients · Card and ACH payments · Branded invoices · Manual expense tracking
$0forever
- 02
Pro
For full-time freelancers. — Most popular
Unlimited clients · Recurring invoices · Receipt scanning · Cash-flow reports and forecast · Remove Tidy Ledger branding
$15per month
- 03
Studio
For small teams of up to 10.
Everything in Pro · 5 team members included · Approval rules · Multi-currency invoicing · Accountant access
$35per month
Prices in USD, billed monthly. Card payments 2.9% + 30¢; ACH 0.8%, capped at $5. Cancel anytime.
Testimonials
“I bill six retainers on the 1st. Recurring invoices plus saved cards means they're paid before I've finished my coffee.”
“My biggest client always paid 40 days late. With automatic reminders it's down to 12, and I never sent an awkward email.”
Aisha BelloIllustrator“Tax season used to mean a shoebox of receipts. Now every expense is tagged to a client and exported in one CSV.”
Mei Lin ZhouWedding Photographer“Moving clients to bank transfer cut my card fees by about $1,900 last year. Same invoice, one extra button.”
Carmen OrtizUX Consultant
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can't find what you're looking for? Our support team replies within a few hours on weekdays.
Contact supportHow do clients pay me?
Every invoice has a Pay now button. Clients pay by credit or debit card, digital wallet or ACH bank transfer without creating an account. Card payouts reach your bank in 2 business days, ACH in 4. You can also record checks and wires manually.
What do payments cost?
Tidy Ledger charges no per-invoice fees. Card payments cost 2.9% + 30¢ and ACH transfers 0.8%, capped at $5 per payment — the processor's cost, passed through. Where local law allows, you can add card fees to the invoice as a surcharge.
Can I customize the reminder emails?
Yes. Every reminder in the sequence has an editable subject and body with placeholders for client name, amount, due date and payment link. Turn reminders off per client if you prefer; they stop automatically once an invoice is paid or marked paid.
Can I move over from a spreadsheet or another tool?
Import clients, products and past invoices from CSV in a few minutes — we provide templates and map the columns for you. Open invoices keep their original numbers and due dates, so your numbering and reports stay continuous.
Does it handle sales tax and VAT?
Add multiple tax rates per line item, show tax IDs on invoices, and apply reverse-charge VAT for EU business clients. Tax totals appear in reports by period. We don't file returns, but the export your accountant needs is one click away.
Is my financial data secure?
Card details are handled by a PCI DSS Level 1 payment processor and never stored on our servers. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit, two-factor authentication is available on every plan, and you can export or delete all your data at any time.
What happens if I cancel?
Cancel anytime from billing settings; there's no contract or cancellation fee. You drop to the free Starter plan, keep read access to every invoice you've sent, and can export everything as CSV and PDF. Recurring invoices pause rather than disappear.