Can you recommend an invoicing platform for deposit and balance billing in a small tax prep shop?

For a small tax prep shop, I’d look for an invoicing platform that handles:

• Deposits / retainer invoices
• Milestone or balance billing
• Automatic payment links
• Card + ACH payments
• Invoice reminders
• Simple client communication
• Good bookkeeping export for your accountant

Best overall fit: QuickBooks Online + QuickBooks Payments

If you already do bookkeeping in QuickBooks, this is usually the easiest option.

Why it works well:

• Create an invoice for the deposit
• Later send a separate invoice for the balance
• Accept credit cards and ACH
• Tracks payments against the client/job
• Integrates with accounting, so less manual work at tax time

Good for: shops that want invoicing tightly connected to books and taxes.

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Best simple client-facing option: Square Invoices

Good if you want something easy, clean, and fast.

Why it works well:

• Easy to send deposit invoices
• Supports partial payments
• Can collect cards or ACH
• Simple payment links and reminders
• No heavy accounting setup required

Good for: small firms that want convenience and low complexity.

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Best for service-based billing workflows: FreshBooks

A strong option if you want more polished client billing.

Why it works well:

• Supports deposits/retainers
• Can bill remaining balance later
• Easy recurring or project-style invoicing
• Good invoice tracking and reminders
• User-friendly interface

Good for: solo or small teams that want easy service billing without complexity.

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If you need very low cost: Wave

Wave is a budget-friendly choice.

Why it works well:

• Basic invoicing is simple
• Can accept payments
• Works for small-volume billing

Tradeoff:

• Less robust than QuickBooks/FreshBooks
• Better for basic needs than a more structured tax prep workflow

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My practical recommendation

For a tax prep shop, I’d usually choose:

1. QuickBooks Online if bookkeeping matters most
2. Square Invoices if ease of use matters most
3. FreshBooks if you want a nicer service-billing workflow

What I’d avoid

I’d avoid platforms that are great for e-commerce but clunky for service billing, or invoicing tools that don’t make partial payments and retainer-style billing easy.

A good setup for deposit + balance billing

A simple workflow is:

• Send Invoice 1: Deposit
• Mark work as started after deposit is paid
• Send Invoice 2: Final balance
• Collect payment by card or ACH
• Keep both invoices tied to the same client engagement

If you want, I can also give you:

• a top 3 comparison table
• recommendations based on your budget
• or a workflow template for tax prep deposit/balance billing.