Cloud Accounting Software for Small Business Owners
4.5/5 (2887 reviews)FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional - Fortune 500 professional. We believe financial record keeping should be easy, fast, (and perhaps even fun), but still detailed enough to satisfy your accountant. FreshBooks is easy to use and you can try it for free.
Are you still using Microsoft Word or Excel to invoice your clients? Have you ever accidentally overwritten an invoice that you couldn’t get back? Or perhaps you walked into Staples and picked up the latest version of QuickBooks only to find it is way too complicated for your needs as a freelancer.
Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. The truth is, all you really need is a straightforward service that makes managing your clients, your valuable time and most importantly… Your income simple and hassle-free! That is why we built FreshBooks: The easiest way to send & manage invoices, track your billable time and collect online payments fast. Join more than five million small business owners just like you who have made the switch to FreshBooks and make your billing painless today!
Pros
Probably the main motivations we picked FreshBooks over other programming: *Incredibly smooth and simple to utilize interface *Ability to mark your own in hues just as include your logo *Each client can be doled out their own charging gateway login and you can have various customers under one organization however each have diverse username *Utilizes Braintree instalments (our essential vendor processor)
FreshBooks is quick and dependable suite for accounting.FreshBooks is an honour winning money and bookkeeping programming and a standout amongst the best cloud answers for entrepreneurs. It is the present holder of Finances Online's Best Accounting Software Award for 2016 just as the Supreme Software Award for 2016, and has the most noteworthy consumer loyalty rates of all comparative applications in this classification. As you will discover in this survey, there is a not insignificant rundown of reasons why our specialists considered FreshBooks for these esteemed affirmations.
Cons
*Reporting could be improved *Needs better compromise as far as parities. You can do day by day monetary records, yet I would prefer to have it ascertain how my business is getting along dependent on capital in our present record, at that point factor in what we earned and our costs. *Not useful for organizations that have stock, need stock administration (this I wouldn't really rate as a con nonetheless, on the grounds that Freshbooks was constructed and intended for SERVICE style organizations - for that it works incredible) *Reporting can't be opened in the portable application, you have to get to it through the program *To my insight, you can't maintain different organizations out of one record. We as of now have two organizations and are choosing on the off chance that we are going to open up a different Freshbooks account or if there is another choice that is more qualified for the second business.
I've been a FreshBooks customer for YEARS and I do like them. I've ridden it out through all the changes and just dealt with how interfaces change and prices change. In the past few years there have been a lot more freelancer payment management systems that have come along. I've looked around, but I find myself staying with what is comfortable even though something else may be better. Fear of the unknown I guess, and not wanting to learn a new system while I'm busy working. I just think there could be some improvements made since the last major interface update. It was like a whole OS upgrade and then no new updates for the past few years -- other than pricing tier changes. There is no sense that FreshBooks is looking to improve and listen to their customers about what features they need or would like to see. Just my opinion and view. I could be very wrong. Thanks.
Pros
Over the years, FreshBooks has made efforts to improve its service and update the levels of programs. The latest change they made to the interface has improved some things but other parts have been left behind and I've personally not seen any updates or changes in the past few years. What I like MOST is what they started with years ago -- the ability to remind clients at the 30, 60, 90 day marks to pay their bills. However, the interface to set that feature up changed a few years ago with their major update and it's not as intuitive now.
Cons
I do NOT like the timer starting off before you even choose what project you are working on. This is a SIMPLE FIX. I asked about it years ago and was told that -- yah, basically you launch the timer and then click the pause button while you work out what project you are on -- then start the timer again. Not a good design.
I do NOT like setting up a new project and having a ton of task all added to this new project that I have to deselect -- about 20 or so that I have to remove each time -- and then add in the correct task for that project.
I do NOT like having to deal with setting default payment settings and reminders for each client I set-up. Can't that just be a universal default setting to turn on?
I do NOT like having service tiers change and being told the level I was previously on is changing and this new level will cost more -- and that's what I have to accept now. I'm a independent contractor and I have few clients -- I don't need the next level. But ... whatever.
FreshBooks helps me do the essential tasks of invoices and expenses while also helping me get a big picture view of my business's financial health.
Pros
I started my freelance business nearly 3 years ago, and after initial struggles with Quickbooks (I even had a 2-hour training session with a Quickbooks instructor who just further confused me), I put off dealing with the financial side of my business for over a year (until my CPA was hounding me for tax stuff). Upon the recommendation of another freelancing friend, I decided to give FreshBooks a try. I finally got FreshBooks up and running, and I was amazed at how much it relieved my stress, rather than adding to it. The basic setup is simple and straight-forward, but as my business has grown, I've been impressed with little tricks built into FreshBooks that helps me save time and get a better overall view of my business.
Also, I don't think I've ever experienced such consistently helpful and friendly customer service. Any time I call with a question, the person on the phone is empowered to help me out.
Cons
There are even more integrations and advancements that I think FreshBooks could offer to be even better. Here are a few examples:
+ I'd love to be able to do some kind of forecasting of income based either on draft invoices for project currently in the works, or estimates that have been accepted.
+ I wish I could set up estimates so clients could accept/reject specific line items so that I could send one estimate with different options, rather than multiple different estimates.
+ I wish I could apply discounts to specific line items in the invoices rather than the subtotal of the entire invoice so I could discount my services without discounting passed-along expenses I incur.
I've shared such feedback and other minor requests with the FreshBooks team, and they've sounded receptive, so I hope updates/upgrades like these will one day be available.
Pros
This might make me sound superficial but the first thing I loved about Freshbooks was the interface. The icons, the buttons, the way everything looks is so so appealing to me. And it made me want to use the trial version (I did this a little more than 1 year ago). Using it made me feel like I was getting my financial act together. Which it later did, btw.
The time tracker is the best... time saver for me. It records time and then adds everything together in a way that nothing else really did. It seems so obvious but nothing I was using before helped track my hours this way. This is the thing that used to drive me round the bend when it came time to invoicing clients. I used to delay invoicing (aka "getting paid") because my own system was terrible..and I could not find a better way until finally deciding that maybe I needed to pay for something to help me.
I like the notes section for the time entries. I like how flexible it is to shift recorded time entries around or update the text to better describe what work I actually did.
I also love the support from Freshbooks. They're super responsive and extremely helpful. They do not waste my time with a lot of blather I've experienced in so many other customer service situations (like repeating back to me the question I just proferred). They include screenshots and precise language to answer my questions.
Also: Expenses in FB. I now go out of my way to add in expenses as they come w/o avoiding them.
Cons
I recommended Freshbooks to a friend of mine who started using it right away. Then he had trouble with a really difficult client he'd billed using Freshbooks. This client (I subcontracted with the friend so am aware of what all happened) contested all of my friend's work and refused payment after paying the Freshbooks invoice. And Freshbooks allowed the chargeback to happen. I think other software does not allow this --- for example, my friend now uses Quickbooks as a result.
I have also experienced some quirks when it came to adding new jobs to repeat clients. This is likely my own error but it's not something I've cared to reach out to the support team to question.
I also have not downloaded a year's incoming and outgoing details to give to an accountant. So I don't know how well that all works. Again, my own thing, and not necessarily on them.
Billing and invoicing were made much easier using this software.
Pros
FreshBooks gives small businesses a well-designed and intuitive user interface that can easily be used for a variety of different functions, most notably billing, and invoicing. Users are given a wide array of attractive template designs to choose from when creating invoices, allowing for catchy, yet professional looking documents.
FreshBooks also provides users with tools for team collaboration, estimates, and projects, all of which can be easily navigated and set up to increase your small businesses' ability to maximize communication, send automatic reminders, submit proposals, and secure jobs with relative ease.
As an accounting package, FreshBooks also provides users with the ability to perform some fundamental bookkeeping and accounting functions, has some bank reconciliation functions, enables you to accept online credit card payments, and provides many of these features via their full-featured mobile application.
Last but not least, FreshBooks provides excellent customer service from the start. A detailed and easily followed tutorial will help new users get started, while their well-trained staff is always ready to provide users with answers to any questions or issues they may encounter. FreshBooks is very proud of their customer service and their customer satisfaction rating, and it really shows when you speak with one of their representatives.
Cons
One limitation in FreshBooks as an accounting package is the fact that they utilize single-entry accounting. While this may not be an obvious flaw to a new small business owner, it will become apparent as more accounts are created, employees are hired, and payment options are implemented. Single-entry accounting is quick and simple, but it certainly leaves something to be desired.
Over the years some application updates have diminished or completely removed some useful features, like service and customer records, and inventory tracking, all of which were very convenient and helpful features.
Lite: $15/month, 5 clients
Plus: $25/month, 50 clients
Premium: $50/month, 500 clients
Kick the tires with a 30 day unlimited free trial (no credit card required).
- Wow your clients with professional looking invoices that take only seconds to create.
- Stop worrying about having to remember every last detail yourself. Snap a picture of a receipt, log it, and let FreshBooks keep things organized for you in the cloud.
- Never forget to bill for another hour. Automatically pull your tracked time onto your invoice so you’re always invoicing for exactly what you’re worth.
- Invite Employees or Contractors to collaborate, manage and easily share information, files and updates so no one gets left behind.
- Customize your estimates in seconds with FreshBooks. From adding a logo to changing the color, you’ll showcase your brand and impress clients.
- Late payment slowing you down? Avoid having that talk. Automatically nudge your clients with late payment reminders and add late payment fees, to make sure you get paid what you’re owed.
- Wondering if you’re turning a profit or need to switch gears? In FreshBooks, your dashboard shows you, at-a-glance, where you stand so you know where to focus and can run your business like the boss you are.
- Talk to a real live human anytime you have a question, 8am-8pm ET, Mon-Fri.
The FreshBooks mobile apps bring all the tools that business owners expect from their financial management and accounting platforms into the cloud, making it possible for executives, managers and freelancers to track time, create invoices, and check balances from any place at any time.
FreshBooks’ mobile apps offer many of the same tools as the company’s cloud-based platform, but with added features that make the system more applicable for people working outside the office.
The cloud accounting application on the iPhone and iPad has specific tools most likely to be used by business travelers, including expense tracking, time tracking, receipt scanning, and mobile invoice creation.
When developing its mobile apps, FreshBooks aimed to create a platform that supported clients throughout the accounting lifecycle. When a business traveler hits the road on the way to a client meeting, for example, he typically needs to save travel receipts to use in billings and reimbursements. From there, the user needs to track how long he spent working on specific projects, and then create and send invoices based on the number of billable hours. FreshBooks mobile apps provide solutions for all of these needs.
Users in service-related industries can send invoices to clients before they have even left the job site instantly find out if invoices have been viewed. The FreshBooks mobile app allows users to accept online payments, and it syncs automatically with the company’s web-based platform to ensure colleagues working inside the office are on the same page as any executives working on the road.
For example, the platform’s expense tracking feature allows users to photograph receipts using their iPhones or iPads. These receipts are then automatically entered into the FreshBooks system, and attached to expense sheets for reimbursement and tax purposes. Business travelers can even rebill expenses to their clients from within the mobile app.
Click the “Expenses” button on the FreshBooks home screen, and then open up the mobile app’s camera to begin scanning your business receipts. Once you’ve taken a picture, you can process the expense by manually typing in the value, the category, the client or vendor, and the date. If you want to rebill the expense, you can add the expense to an invoice, and send that invoice to the client in just a few quick clicks.
Use the app’s time tracking feature to keep an accurate record of how much time you’ve spent working on individual projects. Hit the timer’s “Start” button the moment your brainstorming meeting begins, and add notes as a reminder of what was discussed or completed during that particular meeting. FreshBooks makes it easy to convert your timer records into billable hours, which can be seamlessly included on your next client invoice.
Perhaps the most useful tool for small business owners is FreshBooks’ mobile invoicing feature. Create and send invoices from your iPhone or iPad, and check to see if your invoices are viewed. Invoicing errors can be amended immediately from within the FreshBooks mobile app, and clients can pay online using a payment gateway like Paypal.
Freshbooks offer a long list of integrations. Some of the many applications with which FreshBooks integrates include, Dropbox, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, MailChimp, Zoho CRM, Zendesk, SugarCRM, Salesforce, Campaign Monitor, Highrise, Insightly, Synchroteam, Xpenditure, GetResponse and Kayako. Some of these integrations were implemented by GetApp, and the full list of Freshbooks integrations can be seen on the GetApp site.
FreshBooks’ iOS app is completely free, and it can be synced with existing FreshBooks web-app accounts at no additional cost. Users with more than three active clients, or any additional staff members, will need to update to a paid FreshBooks package to continue using the mobile app.
Below are some frequently asked questions for FreshBooks.
FreshBooks offers the following pricing plans:
Starting from: US$15.00/month
Pricing model: Subscription
Free Trial: Available
Lite: $15/month, 5 clients
Plus: $25/month, 50 clients
Premium: $50/month, 500 clients
Kick the tires with a 30 day unlimited free trial (no credit card required).
FreshBooks offers the following features:
FreshBooks has the following typical customers:
Freelancers, Mid Size Business, Small Business
FreshBooks supports the following languages:
English
FreshBooks has the following pricing plans:
Subscription
FreshBooks supports the following devices:
Android, iPhone, iPad
FreshBooks integrates with the following applications:
Capsule, Comindwork, DeskAway, DirectIQ, Kayako, Payment Evolution, Podio, Receipt Bank, TriNet Expense, Zendesk
FreshBooks offers the following support options:
FAQs, Forum, Knowledge Base, Online Support, Phone Support, Video Tutorials
The most significant thing with this product is efficient. I adore everything about FreshBooks. It is a great application for specialists and little organizations. I have been utilizing it for as long as couple of years and rate it the best programming in the market. At whatever point I had issues, the help group helped me to determine them rapidly with successful arrangements.