Crater

App in the BluixApps catalog

What it is

Crater is an open-source invoicing platform — create invoices, estimates, recurring billing, expense tracking. Multi-currency, multi-language, tax handling, payment gateway integration. Built on Laravel + Vue.js with a focus on simplicity for freelancers and small businesses.

For freelancers and small consultancies who don't need full accounting (Akaunting) but need professional invoicing, Crater is the lighter alternative.

What it's for

  • Freelance invoicing — professional invoices for clients
  • Recurring billing — auto-generate subscription invoices
  • Expense tracking — log expenses per project / client
  • Multi-currency — invoice internationally
  • Payment collection — Stripe / PayPal payment links

Who it's for

  • Freelancers invoicing clients professionally
  • Small consultancies managing 10-50 active clients
  • Indie SaaS founders invoicing custom-deal customers
  • Agencies running simple billing without full ERP
  • Cost-conscious users moving off FreshBooks / Wave / similar

Why teams pick Crater over alternatives

  • AGPLv3 — fully open
  • Simple UX — focused on invoicing, not full accounting
  • Multi-tenant — host invoicing for multiple businesses
  • Mobile app — iOS + Android for invoice creation
  • Active development — frequent releases
  • Multi-language — i18n for global users

Integrations

  • Payment — Stripe, PayPal payment links
  • Email — SMTP for invoice sending
  • Auth — local + OAuth (Google, custom OIDC)
  • API — REST API for programmatic invoice creation
  • PDF — auto-generated invoice PDFs
  • Tax — configurable per-region tax rules
  • Mobile apps — iOS + Android companion

Notable users & community

  • 6k+ GitHub stars
  • Used by freelancers and small businesses worldwide
  • Active community on GitHub
  • Backed by single team with sustainable maintenance
  • Featured in invoicing tool roundups

Tips & operations

  • Set company branding upfront — invoices reference company logo + details
  • Configure SMTP — email-sending depends on SMTP
  • Tax rules per region — configure before generating invoices
  • Customer / item presets — speeds invoice creation
  • Backup MySQL — your invoice history; daily at minimum
  • PDF storage — auto-generated PDFs accumulate; cleanup policy useful

What we ship in BluixApps

  • Docker compose: Crater + MariaDB + Redis
  • Pinned craterapp/crater:7.0 (release-tagged)
  • HTTPS via Let's Encrypt
  • Admin user via env config
  • Persistent volumes for MariaDB + storage
  • SMTP placeholder for invoice email
  • Backup hook covers MariaDB + uploads
Read this app's deep dive on bluix.app ↗

Get this app — pick a BluixApps plan

Same catalog. Scaling tenant isolation, white-label and support tier.

TierTenantsCatalogSupportWhite-labelMonthly
Stacks119 curated stacksStandard$19/moDetailDeploy
Starter10Full catalogStandard+$15–25/mo$49/moDetailDeploy
Pro25Full catalogPriority bugfix+$15–25/mo$149/moDetailDeploy
Growth100Full catalogPriority bugfix+$15–25/mo$349/moDetailDeploy
Scale500Full catalog7-day window+$15–25/mo$799/moDetailDeploy
EnterpriseUnlimitedFull catalogPriority 7-dayBundled$1,499/moDetailDeploy

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