This is a real $49 brief, checked on 2026-10-30, with a source beside every fact. Yours would be about your idea.
Get one for my ideaResearch brief: Invoicing software for solo freelancers
One idea, solo freelancers (designers, developers) as the customer, 9 products. Five came from the register; research added four it doesn't hold: Bonsai, FreshBooks, Wave and Invoice Ninja.
- What we found
- Of the five past launches in the register, only one still sells simple invoicing to freelancers. Flowlance now sells an AI storefront for creators, paytango.com redirects to a gambling site, AtomPay's site doesn't load, and The New Money Company sells to B2B trade buyers.
- Why it matters
- Basic invoicing is given away free today (Wave, Invoice Ninja, Saldo), and the two earlier entrants still operating both moved away from solo freelancers.
- Still uncertain
- Why PayTango stopped, whether AtomPay closed or moved, and why Flowlance pivoted: none published a reason.
- Do next
- Ask 10 to 15 solo designers and developers which invoicing step they'd pay to fix (for example chasing late payment), given the free tools they already have.
The findings in detail
- Of the five register launches, only Saldo's Invoice Maker appears to still sell simple invoicing to freelancers. Flowlance now sells an AI tool for selling digital products; paytango.com redirects to a gambling site; AtomPay's site doesn't load; The New Money Company targets B2B trade.
- Free invoicing is widely available: Wave's $0 Starter includes unlimited invoices, Invoice Ninja is free for up to 5 clients, and Saldo lets anyone create and download invoices free. A free tier alone is unlikely to set a newcomer apart.
- The bigger paid competitors sell invoicing inside a wider suite: Bonsai with CRM, proposals and projects; FreshBooks with accounting and payroll; Wave with bookkeeping. Bonsai's cheapest plan doesn't include invoices; invoicing starts at $19 per user a month billed annually.
- The two register products still operating both moved away from solo-freelancer invoicing, Flowlance toward creators and The New Money Company toward B2B trade credit. That's consistent with freelancer invoicing alone being hard to make pay, but neither company has said why it changed.
The products, checked
| Product | The register said | Checked 2026-10-30 | Cheapest offer |
|---|
flowlance.com | Site answers (Show HN 2023: create invoices from your calendar) | Changed what it sells: now 'The All-In-One Tool to Sell Digital Products with AI'. Archive captures show the move from a tutors' invoicing tool (2023) to creator monetisation (2025–2026). source | No free tier (14-day trial). Starter $19 a month billed monthly, $14 billed annually. source |
paytango.com | Inactive, per YC's directory (YC W13) | paytango.com now redirects to an unrelated gambling site. The last archived invoicing page is from July 2021. source | No product at the domain. In 2015–2021 it offered free sign-up and free card processing on the first $50,000. source |
newmoneycompany.com | Active, per YC's directory (YC W24) | Operating: 'Protect invoices against nonpayment… Should your buyer fail to pay, we'll step in to make you whole.' source | No public price for invoice protection; pricing is 'included in your platform agreement'. source |
saldoinvoice.com | Site answers (Product Hunt, 2022) | Operating as a simple invoice maker with iOS and Android apps. source | Free to create and download invoices. Paid $4.99 a month (billing period not stated). source |
atompay.me | Site gone (Product Hunt, 2022) | The site doesn't load. The last archived working page (August 2024) offered free payment links for freelancers and creators. No shutdown announcement found, so it may have moved. source | Not verified today. In 2024: free, no commission on top of PayPal or Stripe fees. source |
Bonsai hellobonsai.com · found in research | Not in the register | Operating: 'The unified platform for service businesses'. source | No free tier (7-day trial). Invoicing starts at Essentials: $19 per user a month billed annually, $25 monthly. source |
FreshBooks freshbooks.com · found in research | Not in the register | Operating: 'Invoice and Accounting Software for Small Businesses'. source | No free tier (30-day trial). Lite $23 a month, limited to 5 billable clients. source |
Wave waveapps.com · found in research | Not in the register | Operating, 'built for small business owners and solopreneurs'. source | Free Starter with unlimited invoices. Pro $19 a month billed monthly. source |
Invoice Ninja invoiceninja.com · found in research | Not in the register | Operating: 'Free invoicing software for freelancers and small businesses'. source | Free for up to 5 clients. Ninja Pro $14 a month billed monthly. source |
Who each sells to, and how it works
- Flowlance
- Creators selling digital products.A store builder with an AI agent; advertises 0% transaction fees.Note: The register shows this site answering, which is true. The invoicing product it launched is no longer what it sells.
- PayTango
- Formerly small businesses replacing spreadsheet invoices.Formerly free sign-up plus card processing.
- The New Money Company
- Businesses selling on credit terms, such as distributors and manufacturers. Nothing for freelancers on the homepage.Underwrites the buyer and backs invoices with trade credit; sold by demo or API.
- Invoice Maker (Saldo Apps)
- Entrepreneurs, small businesses and freelancers.Freemium; a large library of free invoice templates appears to bring in search traffic.
- AtomPay
- In 2024: freelancers, side-hustlers, influencers and creators.Formerly a free one-link payment page on PayPal or Stripe.
- Bonsai
- Service businesses, 'from freelancers to enterprise'.A suite: CRM, proposals, contracts, projects, time tracking, invoicing and payments.
- FreshBooks
- Has dedicated pages for freelancers and solopreneurs.Invoicing with accounting, expenses and payroll; tiers by client count.
- Wave
- Small business owners and solopreneurs.Free core product; revenue appears to come from card processing (2.9% + $0.60 on Starter), Pro and payroll.
- Invoice Ninja
- Freelancers and small businesses.Freemium hosting plus a source-available codebase people can self-host.
What remains unknown
- Why and exactly when PayTango stopped; the archive only places it between July 2021 and November 2024, and YC gives no reason.
- Whether AtomPay closed, moved or was sold; there's no announcement, and its domain is registered until 2027.
- Why Flowlance pivoted from calendar invoicing for tutors to creator storefronts, and whether its invoicing users stayed.
- Usage or revenue for any of these products; none was checked.
What to find out next
- Interview 10 to 15 solo designers and developers about which invoicing step they'd actually pay to fix, and what they use today given the free options.
- Check whether protection against unpaid invoices exists for solo freelancers; The New Money Company describes it only for B2B trade buyers.
- Pick a narrow wedge that Wave, Invoice Ninja and Saldo don't already give away free, and test whether freelancers will pay for it before building.
What this adds over the free brief
The free brief compares launches you pick from the register using what the register holds: status, evidence and dates. A checked brief adds the products the search didn't surface, current pricing and customers from each company's own pages, and what changed since launch.
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