ForkFree

Business tools

InvoiceShelf

by InvoiceShelf

InvoiceShelf is a self-hosted web application for creating invoices and estimates, recording payments and tracking expenses. It is aimed at freelancers and small businesses that want to keep their invoicing data under their own control.

Worth a lookEstablished, with a few things to check (listed below).

View on GitHubProject website

Stars
1.9k
Licence
AGPL-3.0
Runs on
A small server
Setup
Moderate
Language
PHP
Age
1007 days

What you can do with it

  • Create invoices and estimates and export them as PDFs
  • Record payments, track expenses and see what each customer owes
  • Schedule recurring invoices and give customers a portal to view their invoices

Make money with it

A freelance bookkeeper or web agency could host InvoiceShelf for small clients and charge a monthly fee for setup, hosting and invoicing support.

An idea, not financial advice. Check the licence before charging for anything built on it.

Ways a business could use it

  • Replace a monthly invoicing subscription by hosting your own invoicing and payment tracking
  • Send recurring invoices to repeat clients and follow up on unpaid balances to improve cash flow

Can you use it commercially?

Free to use. Anything you distribute that includes it must be open-sourced under the same licence. Running it as an online service also counts, so a hosted version must offer its source.

Not legal advice. Read the project's licence file before building a product on it.

Getting it running

Install it with the official Docker Compose setup (SQLite option available) or manually with PHP and a database, then finish the setup wizard in your browser.

Follow the official instructions in the project README.

Things to check

  • The default 3.x branch is an alpha preview and not for production data; use the 2.x release instead
  • E-invoicing needs an extra module and the Gotenberg PDF driver
  • AGPL-3.0 licence has obligations if you modify and offer it as a service
  • Self-hosting means you are responsible for backups and security

Who's talking about it

Checked 30 Oct 2026. Summary drafted by AI from the project's README.

More in Business tools

macro macro-inc
Worth a look

Macro is a team workspace that brings email, chat, documents, tasks, calls and a simple CRM into one app, with everything linked together and searchable. It also includes AI agents that share a team-wide memory and can act on your behalf.

Could replace Slack, Notion

5.7k stars +218 a day AGPL-3.0
twenty twentyhq
Check the licence

Twenty is an open-source customer relationship management (CRM) system that lets teams track contacts, companies and deals. It can be used as a hosted service or self-hosted, and can be extended with custom objects, workflows and AI agents defined as code.

Could replace Salesforce

60.1k stars +75 a day Unclear
erpnext frappe
Worth a look

ERPNext is a free, open-source system that brings accounting, stock, orders, manufacturing, assets and projects into one web application. It is for running the day-to-day operations of a business without paying for separate tools for each job.

Could replace NetSuite, SAP Business One

40.8k stars +32 a day GPL-3.0