Best of

Best invoicing & retainer billing software for agencies

Most agency invoicing runs on a retainer schedule, not one-off bills — so recurring billing, not just invoice design, is the feature that matters most.

For an agency, invoicing software and recurring-retainer-billing software are really the same evaluation — almost every agency bills at least some clients on a repeating schedule. HoneyBook, Bonsai and Dubsado all support recurring invoicing as a core feature. PandaDoc is the outlier: it collects one-time payments on documents rather than running a recurring billing engine. Hanko matches the recurring-billing group and adds a stablecoin payment option.

How we evaluated these

PlatformBest forStarting price
HoneyBookUS/CA/UK/AU agencies wanting invoicing bundled with scheduling$29-$109/mo (billed yearly)
BonsaiSmall agencies wanting invoicing bundled with time tracking~$19/mo Essentials tier and up (reported)
PandaDocTeams that only occasionally need to collect a one-time payment on a document$19/user/mo Essentials, $49/user/mo Business (annual, reported)
DubsadoAgencies wanting invoicing and payment plans on unlimited clients$335/yr Starter
HankoThis is usAgencies wanting recurring billing with a stablecoin option, no conversion fee$19/mo Starter

Pricing checked September 2026. Hanko and Dubsado figures verified directly from their own pricing pages. HoneyBook figures (including fees) verified from honeybook.com/pricing. Bonsai and PandaDoc figures cross-referenced across independent sources — confirm directly before quoting to a prospect. Checked September 2026.

01

HoneyBook

Best for: US/CA/UK/AU agencies wanting invoicing bundled with scheduling

Invoicing with recurring billing, card and ACH payments, and automations on higher tiers.

What we like

  • Recurring billing well-established as a core feature
  • Card fees (2.7%+10¢) and ACH fees (1.5%) are clearly published

Where it falls short

  • No stablecoin payment option
  • Restricted to US/CA/UK/AU

Pricing: $29-$109/mo (billed yearly)

Choose it if: you're in a supported country and bill primarily in USD/CAD/GBP/AUD

Skip it if: you invoice international clients who'd prefer a non-wire option

02

Bonsai

Best for: Small agencies wanting invoicing bundled with time tracking

Recurring invoicing alongside time tracking, so hours logged can convert directly into a bill.

What we like

  • Time-tracking-to-invoice flow is a genuine strength for hourly billing
  • Recurring invoicing included from its Essentials tier

Where it falls short

  • Per-user pricing
  • No native crypto payment option

Pricing: ~$19/mo Essentials tier and up (reported)

Choose it if: you bill hourly and want time tracking to feed directly into the invoice

Skip it if: you don't need time tracking and want to avoid per-seat costs

03

PandaDoc

Best for: Teams that only occasionally need to collect a one-time payment on a document

Payment collection via Stripe, PayPal, Square or Authorize.net integrations attached to a document, rather than a dedicated recurring-invoicing engine.

What we like

  • Solid for one-time payment collection tied to a signed document
  • Multiple payment gateway integrations to choose from

Where it falls short

  • No dedicated recurring/scheduled invoicing feature
  • No client portal to track invoice history over time

Pricing: $19/user/mo Essentials, $49/user/mo Business (annual, reported)

Choose it if: you mostly need one-time payments tied to signed documents, not retainers

Skip it if: most of your billing is recurring retainers

04

Dubsado

Best for: Agencies wanting invoicing and payment plans on unlimited clients

Invoicing and payment plans included from the Starter tier, with unlimited clients and multi-currency support.

What we like

  • Unlimited clients even on the entry tier
  • Multi-currency invoicing for international clients built in

Where it falls short

  • International payments carry a reported 1-2% currency conversion fee
  • Annual billing only

Pricing: $335/yr Starter

Choose it if: you invoice a high volume of clients and want unlimited on the entry tier

Skip it if: the currency conversion fee on international payments is a concern

05

Hanko

This is us

Best for: Agencies wanting recurring billing with a stablecoin option, no conversion fee

Recurring/scheduled invoicing with line items, taxes and discounts, accepting card, ACH, wire and stablecoins on the same invoice, reconciled automatically.

What we like

  • Stablecoin option avoids the currency-conversion fee that fiat cross-border payments often carry
  • Payments reconcile to the invoice automatically regardless of method
  • Recurring billing included from the $19/month Starter tier

Where it falls short

  • No time-tracking-to-invoice flow like Bonsai's
  • Fewer published payment-processing fee details than HoneyBook's

Pricing: $19/mo Starter

Choose it if: you want recurring billing plus a payment option that avoids currency-conversion fees

Skip it if: you specifically need time tracking to feed into invoices

Verdict

Bonsai is strongest if hourly time tracking feeds your invoices. Dubsado handles high client volume well. HoneyBook is polished within its four supported countries. PandaDoc isn't really built for recurring retainer billing. Hanko is the pick for recurring billing with a stablecoin option that sidesteps currency-conversion fees on international invoices.

Frequently asked questions

Which of these is best for retainer billing specifically?

HoneyBook, Bonsai, Dubsado and Hanko all support recurring/scheduled invoicing as a core feature. PandaDoc is built more around one-time payment collection on individual documents.

Which invoicing software avoids currency-conversion fees for international clients?

Hanko's stablecoin payment option settles without the currency-conversion fee that Dubsado (reported 1-2%) and typical card/wire processing can carry on cross-border payments.

Does any of these have published payment-processing fees?

HoneyBook publishes card (2.7%+10¢) and ACH (1.5%) fees. Confirm current processing fees directly with the others, as they weren't consistently published at research time.

Other "best of" guides

Bill retainers without the currency-conversion fee

Recurring invoicing with card, ACH, wire and stablecoin on the same invoice.

One account for proposals, agreements, invoices and client payments.

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