Which invoicing tool is best for freelancers in Germany or Austria?

It depends on what you need. If you want bookkeeping, the EÜR profit statement and VAT pre-registration in the same tool, sevDesk or Lexware Office are the established choices. If you sell on marketplaces, easybill is strong. If you mainly bill your work, want chasing payment and collecting receipts off your plate, and a tax advisor does your books anyway, Backbone is built for exactly that.

What makes Backbone different from sevDesk and Lexware Office?

Two things. First, focus: sevDesk and Lexware Office are accounting software with an invoicing module; Backbone is a back office — time tracking, invoices, dunning, receipts and bank statements — with no EÜR, VAT filing or DATEV export; your tax advisor does the books from the export. Second, the AI: at sevDesk and Lexware Office, "AI" means receipt recognition or a support chatbot (as of July 2026). Backbone's assistant drafts invoices from a sentence, emails them, tells you who has not paid and prepares reminders — anything that leaves your workspace waits for your OK. It works straight from Claude or ChatGPT too.

Do small businesses (Kleinunternehmer) have to issue e-invoices (XRechnung/ZUGFeRD)?

No. Under §34a UStDV, German Kleinunternehmer (§19 UStG) are permanently exempt from the obligation to ISSUE e-invoices — though they must be able to RECEIVE e-invoices since 1 January 2025. Everyone else: issuing becomes mandatory from 2027 (prior-year revenue above €800,000) and from 2028 for all domestic B2B. Austria has no B2B e-invoicing mandate at all so far, only the B2G obligation towards the federal government.

Which invoicing tool works in Austria?

Of the popular German tools, only sevDesk offers a dedicated Austrian version (sevdesk.at); Lexware Office states in its own help center that it is suitable for Germany only. Backbone is built for Austria and Germany: it checks the §11 öUStG mandatory details while you write, adds the small-business and reverse-charge notes, and calculates late-payment interest under § 456 UGB or § 288 BGB. Purely Austrian alternatives like ProSaldo.net or FreeFinance are covered in dedicated comparisons.

What about Billomat, Papierkram or Accountable?

All three are solid niche tools: Billomat is a pure invoicing tool (from €19, capped at 30 invoices/month), Papierkram shines at project time tracking, Accountable handles tax returns too. This comparison focuses on the most widely used tools — for most freelancers, the shortlist comes down to these names.

What does Backbone cost, and can I try it?

Backbone has three plans: Solo €19, Studio €29 and Agency €49 a month incl. VAT (€190, €290 or €490 a year, two months free). Every plan starts with a 7-day trial — you put a card on file at Stripe, €0.00 is due today, cancel monthly. There is no permanently free plan.

Market overview · October 2026

Invoicing software compared: sevDesk, Lexware Office, easybill & co. — and where Backbone fits in

Anyone shopping for invoicing software in the German-speaking market in 2026 runs into the same big names: sevDesk, Lexware Office, easybill, FastBill — or a full ERP suite like Odoo. All are established, and at all of them “AI” has mostly meant receipt recognition so far.

This comparison focuses on exactly these tools and the two questions that matter day to day: how fast does your work turn into a paid invoice — and what does the AI actually take off your plate? Plus an honest note on when another tool is the better pick. The comparison is with Backbone (formerly Billy), the back office for freelancers in Austria and Germany.

The feature comparison: AI, dunning & e-invoicing in focus

Feature comparison: Backbone, sevDesk, Lexware Office, easybill, FastBill and Odoo
	Backbone	sevDesk	Lexware Office	easybill	FastBill	Odoo
Best for	Time, invoicing, dunning & receipts with AI (DE/AT)	Bookkeeping & invoicing in one tool	Full bookkeeping with ELSTER (Germany only)	E-commerce & marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Shopify)	VAT filing from the tool & deep template design	Growing companies with ERP needs
Document limit	Monthly allowance per plan; numbers not published yet	Free: 3 invoices/month; paid unlimited	No limit stated (fair use per T&Cs)	Free: 50/month; Starter: 250/month	No invoice limit stated	No limit — even on "One App Free"
Price	from €19 / month incl. VAT	from €12.90 / month	from €12.90 / month (plan M)	Free; from €9 / month	from €9 / month (Solo)	"One App Free"; Standard €19.90 per user/month
Invoice from AI prompt	Yesassistant Billy, asks before sending	No	No	No	No	No
All features via AI assistant	Yesnearly everything; also from Claude/ChatGPT (MCP)	Nosuggestions only (receipts, bookings)	Nosuggestions you must accept	NoAI drafts text, you decide	NoOCR; receipts checked manually	NoAI in places (documents)
Professional templates	Partially2 templates (Basic, Minimal), logo + accent color	Yes11 layouts, 6 of them Premium	Partially5 base layouts	Partially2 base layouts you clone	Partiallyeditor with own fonts; Solo: 1 template	Partiallyconfigurable layouts
Live preview	Yesyou write on the page itself	–	Nopreview is a separate step	Nopreview on click	Yes	–
Recurring invoices	Yesevery plan	Yes	Yesseries invoices	PartiallyProfessional (€25) and up	PartiallyPro (€27) and up	Yes
Automatic email sending	Yesinvoices by email; reminders on schedule from Studio	Partiallyseries invoices optionally automatic; dunning manual	Partiallyseries invoices optionally automatic; no automatic dunning	Partiallyseries from Professional, dunning Premium only	Partiallydunning as a paid add-on	Partiallyfollow-up reminders automatic once configured
Bookkeeping	Nono EÜR/VAT filing; export for your tax advisor	Yesin the accounting plan	Yesplan L and up	No	PartiallyVAT filing yes, EÜR no	Yesaccounting module
E-invoicing	PartiallyZUGFeRD; XRechnung coming soon	Yeseven in the free tier	Partiallysending from plan M	Yeseven in the free tier	Yesin every plan	Yes

Competitors: net prices with annual billing per the vendors’ pricing pages, verified 31 July 2026; Odoo prices vary by country. Backbone: prices incl. VAT per back-bone.io as of 9 October 2026; exact per-plan allowances are not published yet. All information without guarantee — the vendors’ own pages are authoritative. On e-invoicing: German Kleinunternehmer (§19 UStG) are permanently exempt from the issuing obligation — details in the FAQ below.

Invoicing app or accounting software? The honest difference

sevDesk and Lexware Office are, at their core, bookkeeping tools: they generate the EÜR profit statement, file the VAT pre-registration via ELSTER, reconcile bank accounts and export to DATEV. Odoo goes further still and ships an entire ERP suite. That is a lot — and exactly right for anyone who wants to do their entire bookkeeping themselves.

Backbone deliberately does not do the books. It is a back office for everything that happens before bookkeeping: time tracking, legally compliant invoices and quotes (§14 UStG / §11 öUStG, §19 small-business scheme, §13b reverse charge) with ZUGFeRD and a QR code to pay, cancellations by credit note, recurring invoices, dunning with statutory interest, receipts with AI matching and bank statements — plus an AI assistant that does much of it on request. At month end your tax advisor gets a ZIP or a free login of their own. If they handle your books, you often don’t need the rest at all.

Where Backbone has a clear edge

The most important difference is in the AI rows of the matrix: at every vendor compared here, "AI" as of July 2026 means receipt recognition, booking suggestions or a support chatbot. None of these tools has an assistant that does the actual work.

A real AI assistant: "Invoice Anna €1,200 for the March workshop" — the assistant drafts the invoice, you approve, then it goes out. In Backbone itself or straight from Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok.
Dunning with the law built in: a reminder, then 1st and 2nd notices with statutory late-payment interest and the €40 fee where allowed — scheduled automatically from Studio. easybill offers automatic dunning only in its Premium plan, FastBill as a paid add-on, sevDesk and Lexware Office as a per-invoice click.
Austria as a home market: §11 öUStG, the small-business scheme and reverse charge are built in — Lexware Office, easybill and FastBill don’t support Austria at all.
Everything before bookkeeping in one place: time tracking, receipts with AI matching, bank statements and a ZIP for your tax advisor in every plan.
Invoices in German or English, in EUR, USD, GBP or CHF, with a QR code to pay and ZUGFeRD for business clients.
Control: anything that leaves your workspace waits for your OK.

Pricing Invoices Dunning Receipts Bookkeeper export AI connector

The head-to-head comparisons

Torn between Backbone and one specific tool? There is a dedicated, detailed comparison for each major vendor:

When another tool is the better choice

A fair comparison names the other direction too. You should pick another tool if any of these apply to you:

You want to file the EÜR and VAT pre-registration yourself inside the tool: sevDesk and Lexware Office (plan L) file directly via ELSTER, FastBill includes VAT filing in every plan. Backbone has no bookkeeping or tax-filing features and no DATEV export.
You sell on Amazon, eBay or Shopify: easybill specializes in marketplace billing, OSS and shipping integrations.
You need ERP features like inventory, manufacturing or CRM: Odoo covers far more ground as a modular suite than any invoicing app.
You must issue XRechnung today (e.g. for public-sector clients): the tools compared here create it, some even in their free tiers. Backbone produces ZUGFeRD e-invoices; XRechnung is coming soon — though as a Kleinunternehmer you are permanently exempt from the e-invoice issuing obligation (see below).
You want an automatic bank connection or a native app: Backbone takes bank statements by upload today (PDF, CSV), a direct bank connection is coming soon, and it runs as a web app. sevDesk and Lexware Office have banking sync and iOS and Android apps.

The e-invoicing mandate: what actually applies as of October 2026

For many freelancers and small businesses in Austria and Germany there is therefore no obligation to issue e-invoices as of today. What remains important is being able to receive and open incoming e-invoices. If you want to send business clients structured invoices anyway: Backbone produces ZUGFeRD, XRechnung is coming soon.

The tools in brief

sevDesk

The market leader for freelancers who want invoicing and bookkeeping in one: EÜR, VAT filing via ELSTER, banking, DATEV, plus a dedicated Austrian version (sevdesk.at). E-invoices (XRechnung/ZUGFeRD) are included even in the free tier with 3 invoices per month. "AI" here means receipt capture and the support chatbot Sevi; reminders are created per invoice with a click.

Lexware Office (formerly lexoffice)

The Haufe-Lexware classic with over 230,000 customers, a very approachable interface and a payroll add-on. Invoicing starts with plan M (€12.90 net), bookkeeping/EÜR/ELSTER with plan L. Important for Austrians: per its own help center, Lexware Office is suitable for Germany only.

easybill

Strong for e-commerce: Amazon, eBay and Shopify integrations, OSS and shipping labels, plus a permanently free tier with 50 documents per month including e-invoicing. Recurring invoices require the Professional plan, automated dunning the Premium plan; archiving costs extra.

FastBill

Back in its founders’ hands since the 2024 buyback. Its specialty: VAT pre-registration goes directly to the tax office via ELSTER in every plan. Recurring invoices require Pro, fully automatic dunning is a paid add-on, and an official EÜR is missing.

Odoo

The modular open-source ERP suite: invoicing, accounting, CRM, inventory, manufacturing and dozens more apps. A single app is free ("One App Free"); beyond that you pay per user per month — often plus setup or partner effort. Usually oversized for pure invoice senders; the detailed comparison is linked above.