Keep invoicing software if…
- You rarely quote: work arrives pre-agreed and you only bill it.
- Every job is one invoice, no advance, no act, no options.
- Your accountant’s tool is the invoicing tool, and it can stay that way.
Helmar.AI vs invoicing software.
Invoicing tools are good at the document. They start after the customer said yes, so the quote, the versions, the silence and the acceptance live somewhere else. Here is what changes when the invoice is issued from the accepted estimate.
Product preview. Helmar.AI is in development. The features shown are planned; accounts and integrations are not open yet.
- Documents from the accepted plannever retyped from the quote
- Rivilė every nightyour accountant keeps their tool
- Follow-ups before the invoiceon the estimate, not only on the debt
Verdict
Keep it for the accountant. Switch the part before the invoice.
Switch if…
- The invoice is retyped from a quote that lives in a file, and sometimes differs.
- An advance is issued as a VAT invoice because the tool has one document type.
- Reminders start only when an invoice is overdue, never when a quote goes quiet.
- Nobody can say which version the customer accepted before the invoice went out.
The same job
One facade, stage by stage.
Lukas asks for a price on a 240 m² facade. Here is what happens in each tool, from the site visit to the money on the account.
- 01Quote
invoicing software: A quote made elsewhere, or a “proforma” in the invoicing tool without quantities or margin.
Helmar.AI: Measured quantities, confirmed prices, options and a margin check before it can go out.
- 02Send
invoicing software: A PDF by email from the quoting file.
Helmar.AI: A page and a PDF of the exact version; the customer needs no account.
- 03Silence
invoicing software: Nothing, until an invoice is overdue.
Helmar.AI: Day 3, 7 and 14 on the estimate, from your own address; any reply stops the rest.
- 04Yes
invoicing software: A reply email. The invoice is typed from it.
Helmar.AI: One exact version accepted with a code; the payment plan is frozen with it.
- 05Invoice
invoicing software: Good at this part: numbered documents, VAT, the accountant’s export.
Helmar.AI: Advance request, completion act and VAT invoice from the accepted plan; Rivilė every night, i.SAF, Peppol.
- 06Paid
invoicing software: Overdue reminders; payments marked by hand or from a bank import.
Helmar.AI: Bank feed matches payments to documents within minutes; the job starts when the advance lands.
Feature by feature
What each one does, honestly.
“Partly” means it can be done with effort or an add-on. Hover or tap a row for the detail.
invoicing software covers 3 of 26 fully and 9 partly. Helmar.AI covers all 26, some on Team or Business.
| What the job needs | invoicing software | Helmar.AI |
|---|---|---|
| Quoting | ||
| Price book with rows you confirmedinvoicing software: a product list without cost, margin or units per trade | ||
| Quantities measured on site, linked to each line | ||
| Assemblies: one measurement becomes every line | ||
| Options the customer ticks, priced and locked | ||
| Margin, VAT and validity checked before sending | ||
| Sending and acceptance | ||
| Customer page and PDF, no account, no app | ||
| One exact version accepted, changes become v2 | ||
| Evidence: name, time, version and document hash | ||
| Smart-ID and Mobile-ID when it mattersinvoicing software: on some tools, for the invoice only | Business | |
| Change orders accepted before the extra work | ||
| Follow-ups and replies | ||
| Follow-ups on real silence, day 3, 7 and 14invoicing software: reminders on overdue invoices only | ||
| Any reply stops the sequence within 60 seconds | ||
| Replies queue with an owner and a due time | ||
| Safe mode: preview the next seven days | ||
| Money and documents | ||
| Advance request, act and VAT invoice in the Lithuanian order | ||
| Payment plan frozen with the accepted versioninvoicing software: typed into each document by hand | ||
| Bank feed matches payments to documentsinvoicing software: a bank statement import on some tools | Team and Business | |
| Bank link and card payments from the customer's phoneinvoicing software: a payment link on the invoice, on some tools | ||
| Rivilė sync, i.SAF export, Peppol e-invoices | Team and Business; Peppol on Business | |
| Crew and jobs | ||
| Crew app without prices, also offline | ||
| Checklists, photos and the signed handover | ||
| Job margin against the estimate as costs arrive | ||
| Purchase orders from the accepted linesinvoicing software: purchase invoices, entered after the fact | ||
| Control | ||
| Audit trail nobody can editinvoicing software: for issued documents | ||
| Roles: the office works without seeing marginsinvoicing software: roles for the documents, no margins to hide | ||
| Export everything, any time | ||
- Yes
- Partly
- No
- “Partly” means it can be done with effort, a workaround or an add-on.
Your numbers
What silence costs you, in your own numbers.
Most estimates are not lost to a competitor. They go quiet. Put in your own figures; the defaults are only examples.
Example values. Change them to your own numbers; nothing here is a benchmark or a promise.
At stake every month
€5,760
€69,120 a year
Work that goes silent and is never followed up. Helmar.AI follows up on day 3, 7 and 14 from your own address, and any reply stops the rest within 60 seconds.
How follow-ups workSwitching
An afternoon, then a real customer.
Bring what you have. Nothing goes out to a customer until you approve it.
01
Import your prices
Upload your Excel or CSV, map the columns and confirm each row. Or send it to us and we import it for you.
02
Add the quotes you already sent
Add them in 30 seconds each, forward the email or import a list. Follow-ups start from the real sent dates.
03
Approve the follow-up templates
Read the day 3, 7 and 14 notes, edit the wording, and check safe mode: the next seven days before anything goes out.
04
Invite the office and the crews
The office answers replies without seeing margins; crew app users are free and never see a price.
When invoicing software is enough
Honestly: sometimes it is.
You bill agreed work, you do not quote
Maintenance contracts and repeat customers who order by phone need a good invoice, not a proposal with options.
Your accountant lives in it
That can stay. Helmar.AI sends the issued documents to Rivilė every night and exports for B1, Centas and Finvalda.
One invoice per job, always
No advance, no completion act, no stages: the Lithuanian document order adds nothing for you.
Questions
Straight answers.
- Does Helmar.AI replace my accountant’s software?
- No. Issued documents go to Rivilė every night; on Business, payments the accountant records come back. B1, Centas and Finvalda exports and the i.SAF XML are on Business.
- Why is an advance request not a VAT invoice?
- Under the Lithuanian rules the advance is requested with its own document; the VAT invoice follows the completion act. Helmar.AI issues them in that order from the accepted plan.
- Can I issue documents from day one?
- Drafts work from day one. Issuing switches on once an adviser approves the Lithuanian document rules for your workspace.
- What about Peppol?
- Public-sector customers marked with their Peppol identifier get validated e-invoices (Peppol BIS Billing 3.0). Business plan.
See the preview
Issue the invoice from the yes, not from memory.
Explore the product preview in a 20-minute demo. Accounts are not open yet. No card, no obligation.