How to Install Invoice Ninja v5 on Ubuntu 24.04

Invoice Ninja v5 on Ubuntu 24.04

(PHP 8.4 + MariaDB/MySQL + Nginx/Apache + SSL)

Invoice Ninja v5 is a modern, open-source invoicing, billing, and payment management platform designed for freelancers, agencies, and small to medium-sized businesses. It enables you to create professional invoices, manage clients and products, track payments and expenses, and automate recurring billing — all from a clean, web-based interface.

Unlike SaaS invoicing tools, Invoice Ninja can be fully self-hosted, giving you complete control over your financial data, clients, and workflows. This is especially important for businesses that value data ownership, privacy, and predictable long-term costs.

Running Invoice Ninja v5 on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) provides a secure, modern, and long-term supported environment. Ubuntu 24.04 pairs perfectly with PHP 8.4, modern databases, and current web servers, making it an excellent foundation for a stable, production-ready invoicing system.

Architecture Overview

Layer	Component	Role
OS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Secure, long-term supported Linux base
Web Server	Nginx or Apache	Serves the Invoice Ninja web application
Runtime	PHP 8.4 (FPM)	Executes Invoice Ninja backend logic
Database	MariaDB / MySQL	Stores invoices, clients, payments, settings
Application	Invoice Ninja v5 (Laravel)	Invoicing, billing, reporting
TLS	Let’s Encrypt / PKI	Encrypted HTTPS access
Payments	Stripe, PayPal, etc.	Online payment processing

Invoice Ninja v5 is built on Laravel, ensuring clean architecture, extensibility, and long-term maintainability.

Why Use Invoice Ninja?

Open-source & self-hosted – no vendor lock-in
Professional invoices & quotes – customizable templates
Recurring billing & subscriptions – automate repeat invoices
Online payments – Stripe, PayPal, and more
Client portal – clients can view and pay invoices online
Expense tracking – monitor business costs
Multi-currency & tax support – ideal for international clients
Multi-company support – manage several businesses from one instance
REST API – integrate with other systems

Invoice Ninja is ideal for users who want full control over invoicing without monthly SaaS fees.

Invoice Ninja vs Other Invoicing Platforms

Feature / Capability	Invoice Ninja	FreshBooks	QuickBooks	Zoho Invoice
Hosting	Self-hosted	Cloud only	Cloud only	Cloud only
Open-source	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No
Data ownership	Full control	Vendor-controlled	Vendor-controlled	Vendor-controlled
Recurring invoices	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Online payments	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Cost	Free (self-hosted)	Paid	Paid	Free / Paid

Invoice Ninja stands out for flexibility, transparency, and cost control.

Security & Best Practices on Ubuntu 24.04

Serve Invoice Ninja only over HTTPS.
Use PHP-FPM with a dedicated pool for better isolation.
Keep database access restricted to localhost or internal networks.
Store secrets (APP_KEY, DB credentials, mail passwords) in .env only.
Set proper file permissions for storage/ and bootstrap/cache/.
Enable UFW and allow only ports 80 and 443.
Schedule cron jobs for recurring invoices and background tasks.
Regularly update:
- Ubuntu packages
- PHP extensions
- Invoice Ninja core
Back up:
- Database
- .env file
- Uploaded assets and PDFs
Restrict admin access and use strong passwords + 2FA where possible.

Typical Use Cases

Freelancers issuing invoices and tracking payments
Agencies managing multiple clients and recurring services
Small businesses replacing SaaS invoicing tools
Consultants billing hourly or per project
International businesses using multiple currencies and tax rules
Self-hosted business stacks combined with CRM or ERP tools

Deploying Invoice Ninja v5 on Ubuntu 24.04 gives you a powerful, professional, and fully self-hosted invoicing platform — combining modern Laravel architecture with full financial data ownership, strong security, and long-term OS stability.

Step 1: Create a Server Instance on Shape.Host

Before installing Invoice Ninja, you need a VPS.

Click Create → Instance.

Choose a data center location close to your users.

Select a VPS plan with at least:

2 CPU cores

4 GB RAM

40 GB SSD storage

Choose Ubuntu 24.04 (64-bit) as the operating system.

Create the instance and wait for provisioning.

Copy the public IP address of the server.

Step 2: Connect to the Server

Linux / macOS

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Windows

Use PowerShell, Windows Terminal, or PuTTY:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

You should now be logged in as root.

Step 3: Install Apache Web Server

apt update

apt upgrade -y

apt install apache2

systemctl enable apache2

systemctl start apache2

Apache is now installed and running.

Step 4: Install and Configure MariaDB

apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client

systemctl enable mariadb

systemctl start mariadb

Secure the MariaDB installation:

mysql_secure_installation

mysql -u root -p

Create the database and user:

CREATE DATABASE invoiceninja;

CREATE USER 'invoiceninja'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'STRONG_PASSWORD_HERE';

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON invoiceninja.* TO 'invoiceninja'@'localhost';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Install PHP 8.4 and Required Extensions

apt install software-properties-common

add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

apt update

apt install php8.4 php8.4-cli php8.4-common php8.4-fpm php8.4-mysql php8.4-xml php8.4-curl php8.4-zip php8.4-mbstring php8.4-bcmath php8.4-gd php8.4-intl php8.4-opcache

Enable PHP-FPM and required Apache modules:

a2enconf php8.4-fpm

a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif rewrite

systemctl restart apache2

Verify PHP:

php -v

Step 6: Download and Prepare Invoice Ninja

mkdir -p /var/www/html/invoiceninja

cd /var/www/html/invoiceninja

wget https://github.com/invoiceninja/invoiceninja/releases/latest/download/invoiceninja.tar

tar -xvzf invoiceninja.tar

rm invoiceninja.tar

Set permissions:

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/invoiceninja

chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/invoiceninja

chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache

Step 7: Configure Apache Virtual Host

nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/invoiceninja.conf

Paste:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName invoices.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/invoiceninja/public

    <Directory /var/www/html/invoiceninja/public>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and reload Apache:

a2ensite invoiceninja.conf

a2dissite 000-default.conf

apachectl configtest

systemctl reload apache2

Step 8: Configure Invoice Ninja Environment

cd /var/www/html/invoiceninja

cp .env.example .env

nano .env

Edit:

APP_NAME=InvoiceNinja
APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=http://invoices.example.com

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=invoiceninja
DB_USERNAME=invoiceninja
DB_PASSWORD=STRONG_PASSWORD_HERE

Set permissions:

chown www-data:www-data .env

Step 9: Finalize Invoice Ninja Setup

php artisan key:generate

php artisan optimize:clear

php artisan migrate

Step 10: Configure Cron Job

crontab -e

Add:

* * * * * cd /var/www/html/invoiceninja && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Step 11: Enable SSL with Let’s Encrypt

apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

certbot --apache -d ubuntu-tutorials.shape.host

Replace with your real domain:

yourdomain.com

Step 12:Permissions Fix

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/invoiceninja

chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/invoiceninja/storage

chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/invoiceninja/bootstrap/cache

Step 13: Access Invoice Ninja

Open your browser:

https://invoices.example.com

Complete the web installer:

Application Settings and Database Configuration

On the Invoice Ninja Setup page, configure the application settings and database connection.
Make sure the URL matches your domain and that HTTPS is enabled (highly recommended for production environments).
In the database section, enter your MySQL credentials, including host, port, database name, username, and password, then click Test connection to verify connectivity.

Create the First Administrator Account

In this step, create the first administrator user account for Invoice Ninja.
Fill in the first name, last name, email address, and password.
Accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then click Submit to finalize the installation and user creation.

Invoice Ninja Login Page

After completing the setup, you are redirected to the Invoice Ninja login page.
Enter the administrator email address and password created during installation.
If enabled, you can also use 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) for additional security.
Click Login to access the Invoice Ninja dashboard.

Welcome to Invoice Ninja – Initial Company Setup

After the first login, Invoice Ninja displays a welcome dialog where you configure the basic company information.
Here, enter your Company Name, select the preferred Language, and choose the default Currency.
Click Save to complete the initial setup and access the main dashboard.

Invoice Ninja Dashboard Overview

Once the setup is complete, you are redirected to the Invoice Ninja dashboard.
This interface provides a complete overview of your business activity, including recent transactions, payments, outstanding invoices, and financial charts.
From the left sidebar, you can manage clients, products, invoices, recurring billing, reports, and application settings.

You installed Invoice Ninja v5 on Ubuntu 24.04 using Apache, MariaDB, PHP 8.4, and secured it with Let’s Encrypt SSL. This setup is robust, secure, and suitable for production billing and invoicing workloads.

For hosting business-critical applications like Invoice Ninja with full control, scalability, and high performance, Shape.Host Linux SSD VPS is a reliable choice for modern self-hosted environments.

Cloud Instances

Storage & Networking