Agencies and consultants
Retainers invoiced on schedule, projects invoiced from the quote.
Follow new work in a pipeline, bill monthly retainers automatically, let clients pay by link and keep reminders and the books in the same system. Self-hosted, with no fee per user.
01
A month in this business
A month in steps, with the feature behind each step.
- 01 · Week 1
Follow the pipeline
Move deals from lead to won on a board linked to contacts and companies. A won deal becomes a quote in one click.
CRM → - 02 · Month start
Invoice retainers on schedule
Contract templates generate sales invoices weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly, every n periods. Generated invoices are ordinary sales invoices.
Recurring invoices → - 03 · Week 2
Offer a payment link
An invoice can carry a Stripe Checkout or Mollie payment link. The provider’s webhook books the payment. You need your own account with either.
Sales and invoicing → - 04 · Week 3
Match the bank
Import the statement (camt.053, MT940 or CSV) and match lines to open invoices and bills in a two-pane screen.
Banking and reconciliation → - 05 · Week 4
Chase late payers
Aging buckets show who owes what. A dunning run proposes a level per customer; letters stay drafts until you send them.
Receivables and dunning → - 06 · Month end
Hand over to the accountant
Export DATEV EXTF files and SAF-T 2.0 XML. Neither is certified, so have your accountant check the files.
DATEV and SAF-T export →
Facts are checked against the source code. Not legal or tax advice.
02
Main features for this business
Each feature is described in detail on the Features page.
CRM
Pipeline board, activities, forecast and win/loss analysis next to your contacts.
Recurring invoices
Weekly to yearly schedules from contract templates.
Sales and invoicing
Quotes to invoices in one list; documents can be issued in the customer’s language.
Multiple currencies
Per-document currency and rate, exchange differences on payment, period-end revaluation.
44 interface languages
You work in your language; the client receives documents in theirs.
Role presets and audit log
Give an accountant or a freelancer a preset, and see every change in the log.
03
Related guides
Mandatory invoice details
Every item § 14 (4) UStG requires on an invoice, the small-amount rule up to €250 and the small-business note, and how OpenBusinessERP fills each field.
E-invoicing in Germany from 2025
Receiving since 1 Jan 2025, issuing from 2027/2028: the German B2B e-invoice timeline, XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD, and what OpenBusinessERP supports.
DATEV export and SAF-T
What the DATEV EXTF export and SAF-T file from OpenBusinessERP contain, what your accountant receives, and the limits stated plainly.
Small-business VAT exemption
The €25,000 and €100,000 thresholds, what an invoice must say, and how OpenBusinessERP sets up a VAT-exempt small business.
04
Questions
Can it bill hours worked?
Time tracking is not part of the features described here. Hours go onto an invoice as the quantity of a service line, and fixed retainers use recurring invoices.
Can I invoice clients abroad?
Yes. Sales documents carry their own currency and rate. A payment stores the rate on the payment date and the difference posts to an FX account; at period end, open items can be revalued.
Which payment providers are supported?
Stripe Checkout and Mollie. Both need your own account and keys, set in the payment settings.
Does it fit a one-person consultancy?
Yes. There is no fee per user, and the setup wizard covers company details, tax and small-business status, bank, logo, mail and the first invoice.
Demo and installation
The demo runs with an invented company and needs no sign-up. On your own server, one Docker command installs it.