Invoice Dragon
Web and SaaS
invoicing
SHOW HN2023
564points
175comments
#43of 3,109 in 2023
Top 2%of 2023 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
17 positive, 28 neutral or asking, 5 mixed, 11 critical, out of 61 comments about the project. Thread score +0.10.
Idea: 11 for, 6 againstDesign: 3 for, 3 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
PDF design looks nice and simple to use
From 3 comments
A lot of the complexity of invoicing isn't in the PDF generation (which this tool does a wonderful job of doing, nice work!) but on the side of tracking which invoices are open…
peterbhnews on HNWow, what are the odds another invoice tool today! This one definitely wins for PDF design WOW factor but I like how mine lets you store all the client info once SaaS style…
andrewfromx on HNNice work Lani! Super helpful for those one off invoices! Love the way it works and looks - the custom templates is a nice touch too!
matthewhartmans on HN
Good for occasional invoices
From 3 comments
A lot of the complexity of invoicing isn't in the PDF generation (which this tool does a wonderful job of doing, nice work!) but on the side of tracking which invoices are open…
peterbhnews on HNI like where this is going. The simplicity makes this a tool very worthy of a bookmark for people who occasionally need to send an estimate or invoice. Most small businesses that…
imagetic on HNI think I am exactly the target user for this, it looks great; looking forward to using it. In my case, I only generally work for one client at a time, those clients always pay…
jeremy151 on HN
Objections
Missing VAT and tax handling for EU and other jurisdictions
From 4 comments
Seriously, without ability to add VAT? Where is invoice issue date? Where is Tax ID? This looks like something USA-only thingy.
piokoch on HNBeautiful UI. Keep going. Where is the VAT, VAT ID? This will not align with German legal requirements. There could be a country specific pre-selection or some custom form fields
ensocode on HNNice effort, this is my feedback: * On a short invoice (let's say, 4 invoice lines) Font used for rendering invoice lines is way too big and space between invoice lines too…
melicerte on HNOh, what about VAT?
kunley on HN
No invoice history or saved client details
From 3 comments
Thanks! In the past, I've used https://invoice-generator.com/, which is pretty similar, but without the templates. One important thing they do is keep a history of the past…
eappleby on HNI thought about using something like this for my invoices, or even doing something on my own, but in reality I made an HTML page with a bunch of "contenteditable" attributes,…
locallost on HNI just tried it and loved the templates. One thing that I miss in these tools is keeping a record of the last invoices generated. It doesn't need to be fancy; just keeping it in…
subw00f on HN
Lacks invoice tracking of paid and overdue status
From 2 comments
A lot of the complexity of invoicing isn't in the PDF generation (which this tool does a wonderful job of doing, nice work!) but on the side of tracking which invoices are open…
peterbhnews on HNLooks good! And congrats for releasing. Some feedback from someone who recently built a very similar PoC invoice-generator[1]. 1. I'd prefer to have it live-update an HTML view.…
berkes on HN
Requests
Save client and business details locally
From 3 comments
I thought about using something like this for my invoices, or even doing something on my own, but in reality I made an HTML page with a bunch of "contenteditable" attributes,…
locallost on HNMakes sense for what it is. The only thing I'd add would be to save business details in localStorage.
tarwin on HNThanks! In the past, I've used https://invoice-generator.com/, which is pretty similar, but without the templates. One important thing they do is keep a history of the past…
eappleby on HN
Add VAT and tax fields and line items
From 2 comments
Looks good! And congrats for releasing. Some feedback from someone who recently built a very similar PoC invoice-generator[1]. 1. I'd prefer to have it live-update an HTML view.…
berkes on HNSeriously, without ability to add VAT? Where is invoice issue date? Where is Tax ID? This looks like something USA-only thingy.
piokoch on HN
Live preview instead of repeated PDF rendering
From 2 comments
Looks good! And congrats for releasing. Some feedback from someone who recently built a very similar PoC invoice-generator[1]. 1. I'd prefer to have it live-update an HTML view.…
berkes on HNthe form input boxes, are extremely slow. I'm running it on safari, but the letters are lagging behind every stroke. Are you re rendering the PDF after every stroke?
aldarisbm on HN
Translations and RTL support
From 2 comments
Feedback - Privacy would definitely forbid many people to use this. Make it offline, app or offline deployable ... would help. - obviously translations into other languages
oaiey on HNGreat job! Any planning on RTL (right to left?) ?
transformi on HN
Questions
Does it store data or send invoices by email
From 2 comments
It'll be nice if I can mail the invoice to someone straight from the website.
salamwaddah on HNThis looks nice and simple. I got frustrated with the invoicing landscape being too complex and pricy and have been using a Google Sheet for the last ~10 years. It has an export…
awb on HN
Alternatives named
Google Sheets and Excel templates
From 2 comments
This looks nice and simple. I got frustrated with the invoicing landscape being too complex and pricy and have been using a Google Sheet for the last ~10 years. It has an export…
awb on HNI use an Excel template, fill it with the numbers and print to PDF.
sAbakumoff on HN
Invoice Ninja
From 1 comment
I didnt see https://invoiceninja.com/ get mentioned yet, but it is my favorite software solution in this space. You can self host it or pay them for hosting. PDF generation and…
squier51 on HN
GnuCash
From 1 comment
If anyone is looking for a comprehensive accounting tool for personal finance or small business, GnuCash also has the ability to generate invoices. In my opinion, the PDF…
manifoldgeo on HN
Wave Accounting and Stripe
From 1 comment
I'd love to hear what people are using for sending invoices (with follow up emails if it's not paid) and collecting payment (ACH/CC). I've used Wave Accounting and Stripe for my…
joshstrange on HN