# The Best Recurring Invoice Software for Retainers (2026)

Source: https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/best-recurring-invoice-software-for-retainers
Published: 2026-10-22T00:30:42.816019+00:00

If you bill clients a monthly retainer and want each invoice ready to check before it goes, LotsInvoice is the one I'd start with: $12 a month per business, recurring invoices on every plan, and a draft each period you can adjust for extra hours. For $0, Zoho Invoice and Square Invoices both repeat invoices on their free plans.

A retainer invoice is the same request for money every month, with one or two things that change: the month it covers, extra hours, a new PO number. So I judged each tool on what matters for that job: which plan recurring invoices are on, whether you can review each invoice before it goes or have it sent automatically, whether a client's card can be charged on schedule, and what a team costs. I opened every tool's own pricing and help pages on 21 October 2026. Prices are US dollars before tax, monthly unless noted, and every source is linked at the end.

## Recurring invoice software for retainers at a glance

| Tool | Price | Recurring invoices on | Review each invoice first | Charge a saved card on schedule | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **LotsInvoice** | $12 a month per business ($120 a year) | Every plan | Yes: draft mode, or send automatically | No: clients pay through your own link, bank, ACH or Zelle | Unlimited team members |
| **Zoho Invoice** | $0 | The free plan | Yes: "Create Invoices as Drafts", or create and send | Yes: "Create, Charge and Send" through a connected gateway | Up to 2 users |
| **Invoice Ninja** | Free; Pro $14 a month or $140 a year | Every plan, including Free (5 clients) | Not stated on the pricing page | Yes: "Recurring & auto-billing" on every plan | Extra users on Enterprise, from $18 a month |
| **FreshBooks** | Lite $23, Plus $43, Premium $70 | Every plan; Client Retainers from Plus | Not stated on the pricing page | Clients can store card info on every plan | $11 a month per team member |
| **Wave** | Starter $0; Pro $19 a month or $190 a year | Pro | Not stated on the pricing page | Yes, on Pro | Admin, editor and viewer roles on Pro |
| **Square Invoices** | Square Free $0; Plus $49 a month per location | Every plan, including Free | Not stated on the pricing page | Yes: card on file | Not compared here |
| **Bonsai** | Essentials $25 a user a month ($19 billed annually) | Retainer and subscription invoices from Essentials | Not stated on the pricing page | Not stated on the pricing page | Per user |
| **Moxie** | Starter $12 a month ($120 a year) | Recurring invoices described for retainer clients; invoicing on every plan | Not stated on the pricing page | Not stated on the pricing page | Up to 5 team members on Teams ($40 a month) |

Checked on 21 October 2026 on each vendor's own pricing, feature and help pages. "Not stated" means the page I opened didn't say, not that the tool can't.

## 1. LotsInvoice: a retainer invoice you check, then send

I built LotsInvoice for agencies, freelancers and small businesses who invoice their own clients, so retainers were part of it from day one. An invoice is your name on a request for money. It should be right, every month.

- **Repeats on your schedule.** Turn any invoice into a recurring one: every week, month or year, or every few of them (every 2 weeks, every 3 months for a quarterly retainer). Set a start date, and an end date or a number of invoices if the agreement has one. Pause it while a client is on hold and resume it later.
- **Draft or send, your choice.** In draft mode each period's invoice waits for you, with a preview of the real PDF, so you can add extra hours or a new PO number before it goes. In send mode it's issued, numbered and emailed from your business name on the date.
- **Each invoice names its own month.** Write the line as "Monthly retainer for {period}" and the November invoice says "Monthly retainer for November 2026". Payment terms carry over, so the due date follows too.
- **Followed up until you're paid.** Your client gets the PDF and a private portal link, and you see when it's opened. Reminders go out before and after the due date, in your words, and stop when the invoice is paid.
- **Exact and locked.** Totals, discounts and several named taxes on one line are calculated to the cent. Sent invoices are numbered and locked; a change is a revision with a reason, or a credit note.
- **Clients pay you directly.** Your invoice and portal show your own Stripe Payment Link, PayPal or Square link, bank transfer, ACH, Zelle or check details. LotsInvoice never holds your money and takes no cut. It doesn't charge a saved card on schedule: you record the payment when it arrives.
- **One price per business, the team included.** Starter is $12 a month or $120 a year for one business, Pro $29 for 5 and Business $79 for 20. Invoices, customers, recurring invoices and team members are unlimited inside a business, on every plan. New accounts get 15,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card. [See pricing](https://lotsinvoice.com/pricing).

If you work in Claude, ChatGPT or another assistant, it can set up and adjust your retainers through the [LotsInvoice MCP server](https://lotsinvoice.com/mcp), and it asks before anything is sent. You don't need one: the dashboard does all of it.

Choose LotsInvoice if your retainer invoices change a little each month and you want to see each one before your client does, with your whole team on one price. If you want a client's card charged automatically on the due date, look at Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Wave or Square below.

## 2. Zoho Invoice: free recurring invoices with auto-charge

Zoho Invoice costs $0, and recurring invoices are on the free plan. You pick a schedule in "Repeat Every", a start date, and an end date or "Never Expires". Its preferences offer three ways to run a series: create each invoice as a draft for you to send, create and send it, or create, charge the saved card and send. The recurring profile has an "Order Number" field for a PO, and you can link a project so unbilled hours go onto the recurring invoice.

The free plan's limits are on its pricing page: up to 2 users, 3 projects, 500 invoices a year, and "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding. Zoho adds no fee on payments; the gateway you connect charges its own.

Choose Zoho Invoice if you want auto-charged retainers for $0 and two users are enough.

## 3. Invoice Ninja: recurring and auto-billing, even on Free

Invoice Ninja's plan table lists "Recurring & auto-billing" on every plan, Free included. Free covers up to 5 clients with Invoice Ninja branding. Ninja Pro, $14 a month or $140 a year, adds unlimited clients, custom designs and automatic late-payment reminders. Clients pay through the gateway you connect, such as Stripe, PayPal or Square. Extra account users are on Enterprise, priced by users from $18 a month.

Choose Invoice Ninja if you're one person, want a saved card charged on every retainer, and want to pay little or nothing.

## 4. FreshBooks: recurring invoices plus client retainers

FreshBooks lists "Automated Recurring Invoices" on every plan, from Lite at $23 a month. Its separate "Client Retainers" feature starts on Plus at $43. Clients can store card details on every plan, and FreshBooks Payments charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment and 1% for ACH. It's an accounting product too, with expenses, time tracking and reports.

Lite invoices up to 5 billable clients and Plus up to 50. Each team member is $11 a month on top of the plan.

Choose FreshBooks if you want retainers inside full accounting and don't mind paying per teammate.

## 5. Wave: recurring billing on Pro

Wave Starter is free, but recurring billing with automatic card payments is a Pro feature, at $19 a month or $190 a year per business. Pro also adds admin, editor and viewer roles for your team. Online payments are an add-on you apply for: cards are 2.9% + $0.60 on Starter, and on Pro the first 10 card payments each month are 2.9% + $0. Wave includes bookkeeping.

Choose Wave if you want retainers charged to a card and bookkeeping in the same place, for one flat price per business.

## 6. Square Invoices: recurring invoices on Square Free

Square includes invoices and recurring invoices on every plan, including Square Free at $0 a month. Its pricing page says recurring invoices can go on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly schedule, and you can save a client's card on file to bill automatically. Automatic reminders go before, on or after the due date. A card payment on an invoice is 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus, which is $49 a month per location.

Choose Square Invoices if you already take payments with Square and want retainers charged to a card at no monthly cost.

## 7. Bonsai: retainer invoices inside a client suite

Bonsai's plan table lists "Retainer Invoices" and "Subscription Invoices" from Essentials, at $25 a user a month or $19 billed annually. The Basic plan doesn't include invoices. Essentials also brings proposals, contracts, a client portal and scheduling. Bonsai Payments charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card, and its help centre lists an extra 1% platform fee if you're paid through Stripe or PayPal where Bonsai Payments is available.

Choose Bonsai if you want proposals, contracts and retainers in one place and price per person works for you.

## 8. Moxie: recurring invoices for retainer clients

Moxie's invoicing page says you can create recurring invoices for retainer or monthly clients, with automatic reminders and late fees. Invoicing and payments are on every plan, starting with Starter at $12 a month or $120 a year. Clients pay through the Stripe or PayPal account you connect. Teams, at $40 a month or $385 a year, covers up to five team members. Moxie also does projects, proposals, contracts and time tracking.

Choose Moxie if you're a freelancer who wants a full client workspace with retainers built in.

## How to choose

- **Your retainer changes a little each month** (extra hours, a new PO, a one-off line): pick a tool where each invoice can wait as a draft. LotsInvoice and Zoho Invoice both say so on their own pages.
- **You want the card charged on the due date:** Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Wave Pro and Square all describe charging a saved card. LotsInvoice doesn't charge cards; your client pays through your own link or bank.
- **Several people work on invoices:** LotsInvoice includes unlimited team members per business. FreshBooks charges $11 a month each, Bonsai is per user, and Zoho Invoice's free plan stops at 2 users.
- **You want it free:** Zoho Invoice, Square Free and Invoice Ninja Free all repeat invoices at $0.

## How to set up a retainer in LotsInvoice

1. Create the first invoice for the client, with the line written as "Monthly retainer for {period}", your payment terms and your payment options.
2. Check it in the preview of the real PDF and send it.
3. Make it recurring: every 1 month, starting on the 1st, as a draft (to review each one) or sent automatically.
4. Each month, open the draft, add any extra hours or a new PO number, check it and send.

There's a full worked example in [How to Invoice a Monthly Retainer](https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/how-to-invoice-a-monthly-retainer), and every payment option your clients can use is in [How Clients Pay You With LotsInvoice](https://lotsinvoice.com/blog/how-clients-pay-you-with-lotsinvoice).

## Common questions

### What is the best recurring invoice software for a monthly retainer?

It depends on how you bill. If you want to check each retainer invoice before it goes and have your whole team included, LotsInvoice is $12 a month per business with recurring invoices on every plan. For free with auto-charge, Zoho Invoice. If you're already on Square, Square Invoices.

### Is there free software for recurring invoices?

Yes. Zoho Invoice is free with recurring invoices, for up to 2 users and 500 invoices a year, with Zoho branding. Square Invoices includes recurring invoices on Square Free, with card fees of 3.3% + 30¢ on invoices. Invoice Ninja lists recurring invoices on its free plan for up to 5 clients. Checked on 21 October 2026.

### Can recurring invoices be reviewed before they're sent?

In LotsInvoice, yes: a recurring invoice in draft mode creates each period's invoice as a draft with a preview of the real PDF, and it goes only when you send it. Zoho Invoice also has a "Create Invoices as Drafts" option for recurring invoices.

### Can LotsInvoice charge my client's card automatically?

No. LotsInvoice never holds or moves money. Your recurring invoices show your own Stripe Payment Link, PayPal or Square link, bank, ACH or Zelle details, your client pays you directly, and you record the payment. Reminders follow up until it's paid.

### Does Wave do recurring invoices for free?

No. Wave's invoicing page says recurring billing comes with a Wave Pro subscription, which is $19 a month or $190 a year per business. Wave Starter is free for one-off invoices.

### How often can a recurring invoice repeat?

In LotsInvoice, every week, month or year, or every few of them, such as every 2 weeks or every 3 months. Square lists daily, weekly, monthly or yearly schedules on its pricing page.

## Sources

Checked on 21 October 2026:

- LotsInvoice: [pricing](https://lotsinvoice.com/pricing), [AI assistants](https://lotsinvoice.com/mcp), [API docs](https://api.lotsinvoice.com/docs.md)
- Zoho Invoice: [pricing](https://www.zoho.com/us/invoice/pricing/), [features](https://www.zoho.com/us/invoice/features/), [new recurring invoice](https://www.zoho.com/us/invoice/help/recurring-invoice/new-recurring-invoice.html), [recurring invoice preferences](https://www.zoho.com/us/invoice/help/recurring-invoice/recurring-invoice-preferences.html), [online payments](https://www.zoho.com/us/invoice/accept-online-payments/)
- Invoice Ninja: [pricing and plan comparison](https://invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans/)
- FreshBooks: [pricing and plan comparison](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing)
- Wave: [pricing](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing), [invoicing](https://www.waveapps.com/invoicing)
- Square: [invoices pricing](https://squareup.com/us/en/invoices/pricing), [invoices](https://squareup.com/us/en/invoices)
- Bonsai: [pricing](https://www.hellobonsai.com/pricing), [payment methods and fees](https://help.hellobonsai.com/en/articles/452273-understanding-online-payment-methods-and-fees-at-bonsai)
- Moxie: [pricing](https://www.withmoxie.com/pricing), [invoicing](https://www.withmoxie.com/product-pages/invoicing-for-freelancers)