Ah, the end of the month. That magical time for freelancers. The code is shipped, the client is happy, and the only thing standing between you and that sweet, sweet direct deposit is… The Invoice. Dun dun dunnn.
If you’re anything like me, you absolutely dread this part. It’s a painful archeological dig through your memory, project management boards, and Slack channels. What did I do on the 7th again? Was that a four-hour feature build or a two-hour bug fix? It’s tedious, it's time-consuming, and honestly, it’s the one part of my job that feels like, well, a job.
So when I stumbled across a tool called invoices.dev, my curiosity was definitely piqued. The promise is simple, almost deceptively so: it automates your invoice creation by reading your Git commits. Yeah, you read that right. The work you’re already doing to document your code could be the key to getting paid faster and with way less of a headache. Let's talk about it.
So What Exactly Is invoices.dev?
At its core, invoices.dev is a bridge between your code repository and your bank account. It’s an automation platform specifically for us developers. You connect your GitHub account, tell it what repository and date range to look at, and its AI gets to work. It doesn't just list your commits; it analyzes them and turns them into clean, client-friendly line items for an invoice.
Think of it as the ultimate admin assistant. One who silently watches you work (via your commits) and then hands you a perfectly formatted timesheet at the end of the week, saving you from that Sunday evening scramble. It's a clever idea that leverages a habit most of us (should) already have: writing descriptive commit messages.
Visit invoices.dev
How The Magic Happens
The process seems refreshingly straightforward. There’s no clunky software to download or arcane command-line interface to master. It’s all web-based.
- You Connect Your GitHub: This is the first step. You grant it access to the repos you want to bill for. Standard OAuth stuff, so it feels secure.
- The AI Scans Your Commits: This is the secret sauce. Instead of just `"feat: added button"`, the AI aims to translate that into something a non-technical client can understand, like "Implemented a new user sign-up button on the main landing page." That translation is worth its weight in gold.
- An Invoice Is Drafted: It spits out a pre-filled invoice with all these detailed line items. You can review, edit, and tweak it before it goes anywhere.
The Things I Genuinely Like
Saving Time Is a Massive Understatement
Let's be real, time is the one resource you can't get back. I once spent a solid three hours reconstructing an invoice for a two-week project. That’s three hours I wasn’t coding, wasn’t looking for new clients, wasn't relaxing. It was just… lost administrative time. If invoices.dev can give me those three hours back every month, it’s already paid for itself several times over. The ROI here is incredibly obvious for any freelance developer who bills by the hour or by the project milestone.
The AI-Powered Descriptions Are a Game Changer
This is the part that impressed me most. Just listing commit messages would be kinda useful, but still messy. Clients don’t want to see `"refactor: updated user service to new spec"`. They want to see the value. The AI’s ability to interpret and professionalize those messages adds a layer of polish that can make you look much more organized and professional to your clients. It justifies your bill without you having to manually write a novel.
You Can Try It for Free
The first invoice is on the house. This is smart. It removes any barrier to just giving it a shot. You can connect a past project, generate an invoice, and see for yourself if the output is any good without pulling out your credit card. I’m a huge fan of any service that’s confident enough to let you see the results before you pay a dime.
Let’s Be Honest, It’s Not Perfect Yet
I always get a little suspicious of reviews that are all sunshine and rainbows. So, let’s talk about the current limitations, because they do exist.
The GitHub Gated Community
Right now, it’s GitHub or bust. If your team is on GitLab, Bitbucket, or some other self-hosted Git service, you're out of luck for the time being. This is probably the biggest hurdle for a lot of developers and agencies. It dramatically narrows the potential user base, but I get it. You have to start somewhere, and GitHub is the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
Your Invoice Is Only as Good as Your Commits
This is the big one, the major caveat. The platform relies on you having decent commit hygiene. If your commit messages are consistently `"wip"`, `"stuff"`, or `"bugfix"` with no context, the AI isn’t a mind reader. You can't give it gibberish adn expect a masterpiece. In a way, it forces you into a good habit. Writing clear, descriptive commit messages is a professional best practice anyway. This tool just happens to turn that good practice into direct financial efficiency.
What's The Price Tag?
As of right now, there's no public pricing page that I could find. This usually means a product is either very new or targeting enterprise clients, but given the "first invoice free" model, I suspect they're still figuring out the perfect subscription tier. My guess? It'll likely be a monthly fee that's a no-brainer for anyone billing more than a few hours a month. We'll have to wait and see on the exact numbers.
The Future Roadmap Looks Promising
The team behind invoices.dev has mentioned plans for future integrations with tools like Slack, Linear, and Google Calendar. Now that gets me excited. Imagine an invoice that not only pulls in your code commits but also references the Linear ticket you closed, the Slack conversation where the requirements were decided, and the Google Calendar event for the client meeting. It would create a truly undeniable, fully documented record of work. That’s the holy grail of automated invoicing right there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is invoices.dev a free tool?
Not entirely. It offers your first invoice for free so you can test it out, but it's a premium service. You'll likely need a paid plan for ongoing use once they finalize their pricing structure.
What happens if my commit messages are terrible?
The quality of the output directly depends on the quality of the input. Vague commit messages will lead to vague invoice line items. The tool will still work, but you'll have to do a lot more manual editing on the drafted invoice to make it client-ready. It's a great incentive to improve your commit discipline!
Does it integrate with GitLab or Bitbucket?
Not at the moment. Currently, invoices.dev only supports integration with GitHub. They may add other platforms in the future, but for now, it's GitHub-exclusive.
Is it secure to connect my GitHub account?
While I can't audit their security myself, they appear to use the standard, secure OAuth protocol for connecting your account. This means you grant specific permissions, and you don't share your password directly with the service. It’s the same method used by thousands of other trusted developer tools.
Can I edit the invoice before I send it?
Absolutely. The platform generates a draft invoice. You are expected to review, tweak, and approve all the line items before finalizing and sending the invoice to your client. It automates the grunt work, not the final sign-off.
So, What's the Verdict?
I'm genuinely optimistic about invoices.dev. It's a tool that solves a real, nagging problem for a very specific group of people: us. It’s not for everyone, not yet. If you're not on GitHub or your commit messages are a disaster, it won't be the magic bullet you're looking for. But for the solo freelance developer or small agency that lives and breathes on GitHub, this could be a phenomenal time-saver.
It’s a sharp, focused tool that does one thing and seems to do it well. By turning a daily developer task into a powerful administrative asset, invoices.dev lets you spend less time justifying your work and more time actually doing it. And that’s a win in my book every single time.
References and Sources
- invoices.dev Official Website
- How to Write a Git Commit Message (A great resource for improving commit hygiene!)
