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
Get this app — pick a BluixApps plan
Same catalog. Scaling tenant isolation, white-label and support tier.
| Tier | Tenants | Catalog | Support | White-label | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stacks | 1 | 19 curated stacks | Standard | — | $19/mo | DetailDeploy |
| Starter | 10 | Full catalog | Standard | +$15–25/mo | $49/mo | DetailDeploy |
| Pro | 25 | Full catalog | Priority bugfix | +$15–25/mo | $149/mo | DetailDeploy |
| Growth | 100 | Full catalog | Priority bugfix | +$15–25/mo | $349/mo | DetailDeploy |
| Scale | 500 | Full catalog | 7-day window | +$15–25/mo | $799/mo | DetailDeploy |
| Enterprise | Unlimited | Full catalog | Priority 7-day | Bundled | $1,499/mo | DetailDeploy |