Event planning

Event Planner Invoicing and Deposit Software (2026)

Short answer

For a solo event planner, ShowTheReceipts ($15/mo) handles the money side of a booking — a deposit that holds the date, milestone payments scheduled against the event timeline, and a final balance that lands before event week, with card, cash, and transfers in one ledger.

How we picked

Entry-plan prices as published in 2026, checked against each vendor's own pricing page. Tools were judged on the solo planner's real workflow — deposits, milestone billing against an event date, and a final balance before event week — not on venue floor-plan or seating-chart management.

Prices as published by each vendor, 2026. Entry-level plans shown.
Software Starting price Best for
ShowTheReceipts That's us $15/mo Solo planners: deposits, milestone payments against the event date, final balance before event week
Agiled Free / $8/mo Free-tier invoicing with client portals
HoneyBook $29/mo Wedding-industry CRM with proposals and signatures
Aisle Planner $69.99/mo Wedding planners wanting design and timeline tools together
Planning Pod $74/mo Venues and planners needing floor plans and seating charts

The solo planner’s real workflow

Planning fees are big, staged, and booked a year out. The money problem is never the invoice — it’s the second and third installments landing on time while you’re heads-down on someone else’s event.

Venue-scale platforms solve a different problem. Floor plans and seating charts are worth $74/mo to a venue, not to a planner billing six clients a year.

1. ShowTheReceipts — $15/mo

Deposit, milestone installments dated against the event, and a final balance before event week. See retainer vs deposit.

2. Agiled — Free / $8/mo

Free-tier invoicing; you’ll build the milestone discipline yourself.

3. HoneyBook — $29/mo

Proposals, signatures, and pipeline for wedding-market planners.

4. Aisle Planner — $69.99/mo

Design boards and timelines alongside billing.

5. Planning Pod — $74/mo

Floor plans and seating for venues and full-service teams.

Contracts and terms

Pair it with how to write an event contract.

Frequently asked questions

What does a solo event planner need from invoicing software?

A deposit that holds the date, payments scheduled against the event timeline rather than a generic net-30, and a final balance that clears before event week. Floor plans and seating charts are a different job than getting paid.

What do I get with ShowTheReceipts for $15/month?

Quoting, invoicing, deposits, card payment, and one tax-ready ledger across card, cash, and transfers. Automated payment reminders and recurring invoicing are Pro-plan features at $39/month.

Can I split a fee into milestone payments?

Yes — split the total across dated installments tied to the event timeline, and each one goes out and reminds on its own schedule so you're never asking for the whole balance at once.