# InvoiceShelf

> InvoiceShelf (1.9k stars, 2.4.6 Sep 2026) grew out of the Crater codebase (Crater itself has had no commits since Aug 2024). It creates invoices and estimates as PDFs, records payments, tracks expenses and taxes, schedules recurring invoices, and gives customers a portal; multiple companies and scoped team roles are supported. AGPL-3.0. Runs as a Docker Compose stack with SQLite, MariaDB or PostgreSQL. The default 3.x branch is an alpha preview; use 2.x for production. No time tracking, bank feeds or online card payments are documented in the core.

- Repository: https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf
- Official docs: https://docs.invoiceshelf.com/
- Checked: 2026-10-16

## What it replaces
- FreshBooks: Invoices, Expense and receipt tracking (partial). Invoices, estimates, payments recorded by hand and expenses; no time tracking or bank feeds.
- QuickBooks Online: Invoices, Expense and receipt tracking (partial). Invoicing and expenses only; not a double-entry ledger.

## Facts, with sources

| Question | Status | Answer | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on my machine? | Confirmed | Self-hosted with Docker or a PHP web server | https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf#run-your-invoicing-from-one-place | 2026-10-16 |
| Code licence | Partial | AGPL-3.0 (copyleft) | https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf#license | 2026-10-16 |
| Model weights licence | Confirmed | No separate model weights | https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf#readme | 2026-10-16 |
| Commercial use | Partial | Yes under AGPL-3.0 copyleft terms | https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf#license | 2026-10-16 |
| Paid services needed? | Confirmed | None required; optional official modules mentioned | https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf#run-your-invoicing-from-one-place | 2026-10-16 |
| Hardware | Unknown | Not documented | none found | - |
| Operating systems | Partial | Any Docker host, or PHP 8.4 with MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL or SQLite; host OS not listed | https://github.com/InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf#install-invoiceshelf | 2026-10-16 |
| Setup effort | Confirmed | Medium; clone the Docker repo, pick a Compose file and finish the setup wizard | https://docs.invoiceshelf.com/install/docker.html | 2026-10-16 |

GitHub: 1858 stars, 386 forks, last push 2026-10-13, archived: no.
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/projects/invoiceshelf). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.