Our story | InvoicePrepper

Our story

How the product grew

InvoicePrepper started in February 2026 with one goal: make invoicing fast enough that freelancers, contractors, and small businesses actually do it. Not another bloated dashboard pretending to be accounting software. Just the thing you need to send a bill and get paid.

Every release since has been about removing friction between work delivered and money in the bank. Voice and text AI parsing came because nobody wants to type the same client name into the same form for the hundredth time. Mobile rewrites came because a contractor finishing a job on a roof needs to invoice from their phone, not wait until they are home at a laptop.

On the build side: the early wireframes, component scaffolds, baseline CSS, and edge function boilerplate were all generated with AI tools first, then rewritten and tightened by hand where it mattered. AI is how a one-person team ships a real product in months instead of years. The product decisions, the voice, the tradeoffs you feel as a user: those are mine. The releases below are every step taken in public.

The journey

May 19, 2026

Row view alignment and tier cards refreshed

Compact row view in the dashboard now keeps the status badge and total amount aligned cleanly between rows. Status words like Draft or Voided no longer push the total column around.
Tier comparison table and the in-app upgrade modal have been cleaned up. AI features now show in the Voice AI accent color so it is obvious at a glance what each tier gives you.
Pricing comparison now shows what competitor invoicing apps actually charge, so it is clear how Pro and Voice AI compare on value.

May 18, 2026

Mobile dashboard polish

Stats, filter pills, and the New Invoice button now sit where they should on a phone. The sidebar no longer overlaps or pins the wrong element to the bottom.
Compact row view fits properly on a phone screen. The status badge no longer clips on the right edge.
Swipe-to-delete on a row is smooth: the card glides, the red Delete button reveals cleanly, and vertical scrolling never gets confused with a horizontal swipe.

May 16, 2026

Compact row view, sidebar redesign, and quick close

Added a compact row view for the invoice list. Tap the toggle in the toolbar to switch between roomy cards and a tight rows view. Your choice saves between sessions.
Moved the New Invoice button to the top of the sidebar so it is the first thing you reach.
Cleaned up the sidebar footer. Billing, Terms, Trash, and Help are now proper labelled buttons instead of tiny corner icons.
Every invoice now shows its date right on the card or row.
Tap an invoice to preview it. Click anywhere outside the preview, or press Escape, to close it.
Improved dark mode contrast so borders, dividers, and buttons stay easy to see.
Fixed invoice dates that could slip back a day depending on your timezone.
Fixed PDF preview opening a blank tab on desktop.

May 13, 2026

Billing units, periods, and vendor details on PDFs

Each invoice can be set to Qty, Hrs, or Days. The column header, input mode, and totals adapt automatically.
Added an optional Billing Period field. Appears in the form, the detail preview, and on the generated PDF when filled in.
Due date now appears in the invoice detail preview, not just on the PDF.
Vendor contact details (address, phone, email, website) now appear on PDFs beneath your business name.
Closing the invoice form without saving auto-saves your work as a draft when a client name or line item is entered.
Double-click an invoice card to open it directly in edit mode.

May 3, 2026

Invoice preview, icon status badges, and referral promo

See an example: click the button on the landing page preview to open a real watermarked PDF so you know exactly what your clients receive.
Status badges now use icons instead of coloured dots. Paper airplane for sent, checkmark for paid, document for draft, and ban for voided.
Referral gift icon in the nav and on the Pro plan card. Opens a modal explaining how the promotion works, even before you sign up.
Notification dot clears the moment you open the bell.
Due date prints on the PDF when set on the invoice.
Help guide step numbers are now properly centered in their circles.

May 2, 2026

Notifications, referrals, due dates, and reminders

New notifications bell in the topbar with recent activity, follow-up reminders, and upcoming due dates in one place.
Refer a friend: send your code, your friend gets 1 month of Pro free, you get 1 month of Pro free when they create their first invoice.
Optional due date on invoices with a quick "Set" checkbox that defaults to 14 days after the issue date.
Self-reminders on any invoice: pick a follow-up date and the bell flags it.
Pro plan card refreshed: clearer benefits, AI text parsing surfaced as a real value prop.
Outreach Promo modal for referred visitors with a clear share flow that uses your phone's native share sheet.

Apr 15, 2026

Faster sign-in and accessibility improvements

Sign-in modal opens faster: removed a GPU-heavy blur effect.
Text contrast improved across the app.
Press Escape to close the sign-in modal.
Focus moves automatically into the email field when the modal opens.

Apr 13, 2026

Sign-in and account setup

Google sign-in now shows a consent step on first login.
Signup trimmed down: email, password, and confirm only.
Forgot password flow added. Enter your email, get a reset link, set a new password.
Password strength shows inline as you type.
Fixed accounts not being correctly identified after signing in via redirect.

Apr 7, 2026

Text AI invoice parsing (Pro)

Describe a job in plain text, AI fills in line items, quantities, and amounts.
Desktop gets a text field, mobile gets voice input.
Available on Pro and Voice AI plans.

Mar 31, 2026

Voice AI invoice parsing (Voice AI plan)

Tap the mic, describe the job, invoice fills in automatically.
Works on mobile and desktop.
Audio deleted immediately after parsing. Nothing stored.
Unlimited on the Voice AI plan.

Mar 24, 2026

Trash, themes, and CSV export

Deleted invoices go to trash with 30 days to restore.
Six dashboard colour themes, light and dark, saved between sessions.
CSV export. One click downloads all invoices in a spreadsheet-ready file.

Mar 17, 2026

Logo, mobile share, and billing portal

Upload your business logo. Appears on every PDF.
Share invoice PDFs from mobile using the native share sheet.
Manage your subscription from inside the app.
Cancelled subscriptions show the exact date access ends.

Mar 10, 2026

Pro plan, email to client, and payment reminders

Pro plan available at CAD $9 per month.
Email invoices directly to your client. Your business name shows as the sender.
Send a payment reminder on any sent invoice in one tap.

Mar 3, 2026

Profile, tax settings, and mobile fixes

Business profile includes address, phone, email, and bio. All appear on PDFs.
Tax rate and label configurable per account.
Currency preference: CAD or USD.
Fixed notes field hidden behind the voice bar on mobile.

Feb 24, 2026

v1.0: invoice creation, PDF, and status tracking

Create invoices with line items, quantities, prices, tax, due dates, and notes.
Download as a clean PDF.
Track status across Draft, Sent, Paid, and Voided.
Filter invoice list by status.
Invoice numbers auto-increment per account from INV-000100.