Opportunities › Self-hosted lightweight invoicing software › Proposed app
Plainbill
Minimal invoicing you own: send invoices, track payments, keep your data
- Score
- 47
- confidence 57
- Evidence
- 6
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 3
- named in sources
- First version
- 25 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop and mobile
- PWA: on computers and phones alike
- Market since
- 2009
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop and mobile: Freelancers need to create and review invoices at a desk but check payments and send reminders on the go. Sample screens on a computer and a phone, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Overview
3 invoices open$4,860
- Outstanding
About this appAI proposal
Plainbill is a small invoicing app for freelancers and small service businesses. You make a client, write an invoice, send it, and mark it paid. That is the whole job. No inventory, payroll or project modules to switch off.
You choose where your data lives. Run Plainbill on your own server with one container, or let us host it and export everything whenever you like. Data is stored in open formats (CSV and JSON), so you are never locked in.
It is installable as a progressive web app, so you can create an invoice from your phone after a job. Existing tools are described as bloated; Plainbill keeps to a short list of things an invoice needs.
- Tagline
- Invoices without the extras. Your data stays yours.
- Voice
- plaincalmdirect
- Why this name
- Plain and bill: a plain way to bill. Two common words joined, easy to say and spell.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Invoice in under a minute
Pick a client, add lines from saved items, set tax and due date. Reuse the last invoice as a starting point.
No member yet
Self-host or hosted
Run it on your own server, or use our hosting. Same app, same export, and you can move between the two.
No member yet
Open export
Download clients, invoices and payments as CSV and JSON at any time. No fee and no waiting.
No member yet
Client invoice page
Each invoice has a clean page your client can open, save as PDF and read the payment instructions.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#1F5D50Ledger Green · primary#F7F4ECPaper · surface#1B2421Ink · text#E0A030Amber · accent#B8553AClay · overdue / warning
Typography
Aa
Plainbill
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Invoices without the extras. Your data stays yours.
PricingAI proposal
SolidInvoice's pricing page (verified) lists a free plan and three paid plans from $90 to $390 a year. Our Supporter tier sits at its lowest paid price; the hosted price is a guess to test.
Self-hosted
Free
- Core invoicing, clients, payments
- Run on your own server
- CSV and JSON export
- Community support
Hosted
$6 a month
- We run and back it up
- Unlimited invoices and clients
- Reminders and recurring invoices
- Email support
Supporter
$90 a year
- Self-hosted with priority email support
- Premium plugins
- Upgrade guidance
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Every invoice goes to a client through a link or PDF. A small 'Made with Plainbill' line on the client page, removable on paid plans, shows the product to people who also send invoices.
- Do they become customers?
- Clients are often freelancers or small firms who invoice too, so some may become users. This needs testing: measure how many invoice-page visitors click through and sign up.
- First customers
- Solo freelancers and tiny agencies (1 to 5 people) in design, development or consulting who already care about owning their data.
- Where to reach them
- Self-hosting communities: Share the open install guide in forums and GitHub discussions where people compare self-hosted invoicing tools.
- Open GitHub repo: Publish the core with a clear README and demo so people can try it in minutes.
- Freelancer groups: Offer free migration from spreadsheets to ten freelancers and ask for feedback.
- First milestone
- Ten freelancers use it for real invoices and five pay for hosting or support within 60 days.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedGitHub repository gained 1191 stars in 411 days
- Public claimExisting invoicing solutions are perceived as bloated with unnecessary features
- VerifiedGitHub repository gained 3210 stars in 4532 days
- Public claimInvoicePlane is an application for managing invoices, clients and payments
- Verified
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Self-host packagingDocker image with SQLite or Postgres optionSelf-hosters need a one-command install that does not depend on our Supabase.
- This app · PDF generationServer-side HTML-to-PDF libraryInvoices need consistent PDFs on both hosted and self-hosted installs.
RisksAI inference
- CommercialFree self-hosted options exist (InvoicePlane, SolidInvoice). Users who self-host may not pay, so conversion to hosted or support plans needs testing.
- TechnicalSupporting both a self-hosted build and our hosted version doubles testing and upgrade work for a small team.
- RegulatoryInvoice and tax rules differ by country. Starting in one or two regions limits the work but narrows the market.
- CommercialHosted price is a guess. The only price in the material is SolidInvoice at $90 to $390 a year; the tiers are a starting point to test.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.