Best Open Source Accounts Receivable Software for Small Business (2026): 6 Tools Compared

Accounts receivable (AR) is the money customers owe you. Late payments are one of the main cash problems for small businesses, so you need invoices, reminders and an aging report. These open source tools help you chase what is owed.

We write for small businesses, freelancers and growing teams, not large enterprises. Every tool below was checked on GitHub for license, archive status and recent activity, and prices are never quoted because they change. Our picks are based on each project's documentation and repository data, not on hands-on benchmarks, so always try a tool with sample data first. This is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.

Top picks at a glance

• InvoicePlane: Invoices and client payments.
• InvoiceShelf: Invoices, estimates and payments.
• ERPNext: Receivables linked to sales orders.

What to look for in accounts receivable software for a small business

• Invoice status. See sent, overdue and paid at a glance.
• Reminders. Automatic email reminders reduce late payments.
• Aging report. An aging report groups invoices by how overdue they are.
• Payment recording. Support for part payments and credit notes keeps balances accurate.
• Project health and license. Choose a project that is not archived, has recent releases and a real open source license. Check the LICENSE file, not just the website.

Comparison table: best open source accounts receivable software

Stars and update dates are a snapshot from 16 October 2026 and change daily. They show activity, not quality.

The 6 best open source accounts receivable tools, reviewed

1. InvoicePlane

Best for: Invoices and client payments
License: MIT · Stack: PHP · GitHub: 3,208 stars, repo updated Oct 2026

Create invoices, record payments and see which invoices are outstanding in a simple self-hosted app.

Source on GitHub · Official website

2. InvoiceShelf

Best for: Invoices, estimates and payments
License: AGPL-3.0 · Stack: PHP (Laravel), Vue · GitHub: 1,857 stars, repo updated Oct 2026

Modern invoicing with payments and estimates. A good fit for freelancers and small agencies.

Source on GitHub · Official website

3. ERPNext

Best for: Receivables linked to sales orders
License: GPL-3.0 · Stack: Python (Frappe), MariaDB · GitHub: 40,232 stars, repo updated Oct 2026

Sales invoices, payments and receivable reports inside a complete ERP.

Read our full guide to ERPNext · Source on GitHub · Official website

4. Dolibarr ERP CRM

Best for: Customer invoices and payments
License: GPL-3.0 · Stack: PHP, MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL · GitHub: 7,732 stars, repo updated Oct 2026

Tracks customer invoices and payments in a suite for small companies.

Read our full guide to Dolibarr ERP CRM · Source on GitHub · Official website

5. Bigcapital

Best for: Receivables in accounting
License: AGPL-3.0 · Stack: TypeScript (Node.js, React) · GitHub: 3,939 stars, repo updated Oct 2026

Invoices and reports in one accounting app, so receivables show up in your financials.

Source on GitHub · Official website

6. LedgerSMB

Best for: Customer invoices in double-entry
License: GPL-2.0 · Stack: Perl, PostgreSQL · GitHub: 570 stars, repo updated Oct 2026

Receivables inside a double-entry system with reporting.

Source on GitHub · Official website

Open source vs paid accounts receivable software

Paid cloud products usually win on polish, mobile apps, automatic bank connections and support. Open source wins on running cost as you grow, data ownership and the freedom to customize. The real cost of open source is hosting, backups, updates and your own time, so count those honestly. Several of these projects also sell hosting or support if you would rather not run a server yourself.

How to choose the best accounts receivable software

• You are a freelancer or small agency: InvoicePlane or InvoiceShelf.
• Invoices should feed accounting: Bigcapital.
• Receivables must connect to sales orders: ERPNext or Dolibarr.

Popular tools that are not open source (or not maintained)

These names show up in many "open source" lists, so check the license before you choose them:

• Invoice Ninja: Licensed under the Elastic License 2.0, which is source-available but not open source. Repository

Checked from the projects' LICENSE files and GitHub status on 16 October 2026. Licenses can change.

Mistakes to avoid

No tool collects money for you. Set clear payment terms, send invoices promptly and follow up consistently. If customers are in other countries, check currency and tax handling.

Where to host it

All of these tools can be self-hosted. A small VPS or a web hosting plan from a provider such as Hostinger is enough to get started with most of them. Check each project's requirements first, and read our security and backup checklist before you add real data.

Related comparisons

• Best Open Source Invoicing Software for Small Business
• Best Open Source Accounts Payable Software (2026)
• Best Open Source Cash Flow Management Software (2026)
• Best Open Source Billing Software for Small Business

All open source business software comparisons

• Accounting
• Bookkeeping
• Billing
• Invoicing
• Payroll
• Inventory Management
• Warehouse Management
• Expense Tracking
• Spend Management
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Cash Flow Management
• Bank Reconciliation
• Purchase Order
• Vendor Management
• Point of Sale (POS)
• Time Tracking
• Quotation & Estimates
• Revenue Recognition
• Financial Reporting
• Asset Management
• Lead Management
• Sales Pipeline
• ERP

Also see our directory of 50 open source CRMs.