Likelihood to Recommend FreshBooks is the perfect tool for businesses who have hundreds of clients and customers whom they invoice regularly. It removes the need to manually send invoices to clients and customers, by streamlining inputted information to create an automated invoicing system which keeps clients and customers up to date with their bills. It is also a great tool for managing expenses, especially for companies with different teams working on varying projects, ensuring these teams do not exceed the budget ceiling.
Read full review VAT returns are so simple to do. Just a click of a button and it produces a report for the period in concern. Submitting the return is then just a single click. The only thing I wish it would do is remind me when my VAT submissions are coming up so that I can avoid penalties.
Read full review Pros FreshBooks is pretty intuitive to use. I did have some questions when I first started using the system, but it wasn't a long learning curve. FreshBooks provides more capability than other billing applications such as PaySimple or BlinkSale. FreshBooks does provide an easy invoicing function. It's easy to create invoices that can be sent via email or snail mail to one or more individuals (for example, the decision-maker and the accounting dept). Clients can pay online or send a check and then I note that the payment has been received. If paid by credit card, the system automatically marks the invoice paid. Your business accounts such as bank accounts can be linked to FreshBooks. Then, the system can automatically draw in expenses and will create simple P&L reports, overdue invoices, client history, etc. If you don't have inventory and complex payroll, etc. FreshBooks provides just the right level of capability to make financial tracking simple. FreshBooks integrates with a number of credit card companies. I use Stripe, which has fees similar to Paypal, but much more reliable processing. I can accept all credit cards, including American Express, for a reasonable fee. Read full review Traceability - where you are spending. I started with a spreadsheet which had a column for 'electronics & computing' this captured everything from monthly software subscriptions to hardware and from light bulbs to dash cams. Sage has helped me streamline the spending. MTD - I am MTD compliant, although I do not need to be as my accountant is and they complete my HMRC submissions. It does mean that I have a contingency plan if I have to change this service. Debtor's - It is easy to be a busy fool and not realise that accounts are overdue. For a small business, the restriction in cash flow due to late paying clients is a killer. The dashboard feature helps with this. Read full review Cons I can brand invoices with my business logo, but I might like to change colours of the invoices themselves to match the rest of my business documents. That isn't a major point at all, but it's something that I'd like to see. Freshbooks doesn't remember the categories that similar expenses were previously assigned to. It would be nice if Freshbooks would suggest a category for an already saved vendor, to ensure the consistency of expense reporting. The home page of a Freshbooks account has a great graph display of expenses and income, but it only shows the last 6 months. This is still very useful, but I'd like to be able to see this kind of graph for different periods of time. Read full review I find it difficult to record journals in cloud accounting. Maybe I just don’t have the knowledge. It’s important to export all unrecorded sync bank transactions to Excel to send to clients to explain the payment receipts before being posted. This function is not available on the cloud and makes life harder, having to call out the transactions to clients over the phone. Read full review Likelihood to Renew At the current needs of our business, FreshBooks suits us perfectly - it allows online access by our accountant to the system for GST purposes, easy input of expenses and tracking of Profit and Loss statements. FreshBooks customer service is great as well - very understanding and accommodating.
Read full review I could not live without Sage Accounting, it has become an integral part of my everyday. The more I have used Sage Accounting the more I have fallen in love with it. I am excited to be part of this ever-evolving accounting system that has grown from strength to strength, making life easier is something Sage does so well.
Read full review Usability FreshBooks is very easy to use even for novices. If you're looking for an online accounting software that is full of features, has great aesthetics and is user-friendly, then this is definitely the software for you. I've been using it for several years now and despite being tempted to switch by other vendors, I like the feel of FreshBooks and it's mobile features.
Read full review Sage Accounting is built for the business owner/user and not the accountant, it therefore guides the user and thus detailed accounting knowledge and experience is not a necessarily a prerequisite . It offers a monthly price and therefore no significant up front spend and it tailorable to your business with useful dashboards that again you can tailor to instantly see what's important to you.
Read full review Reliability and Availability FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
Read full review Sage Accounting availability is generally very good. They post messages which appear on users screen time to time, highlighting where functionality in a particular area is undergoing maintenance. More often than not, maintenance is completed in a timescale quicker than initially estimated by Sage. Where significant maintenance is required, Sage usually perform it overnight.
Read full review Performance Sage Accounting work quickly and performs well, I have never had an issue with it running slow. It integrates with other software swiftly, so no waiting for the screen to load. Error messages are only something I have had when I have done something wrong.
Read full review Support Rating I think the support level for FreshBooks is on par with a 6 because the folks behind this application do a fairly good job at providing support for their customer base. I still don't think they are at an elite level when it comes to supporting but are getting there although too slow in my opinion.
Read full review The support is world class - never ever during 30 plus years in business I have received such helpful, knowledgeable and genuine support as I have from Sage. At Sage people matter and i can chat to someone safe in the knowledge that they will actually listen and assist. This also backed up by huge online portfolio of help and resources
Read full review In-Person Training Staff are always friendly, and patient, always work at a speed that suits you. You are never rushed, and In only a short time they seem to be able to help you make great strides. It has been a pleasure not a chore, learning how SAGE Accounting works and benefits me and the company.
Read full review Online Training I find the online training was very informative and they answered all my questions. I am also certified in Sage One and provided online training in the program which I have set up several people on and they love how it keeps them organized.
Debrah Burleigh CPB Platinum Certified Consultant and Certified Trainer in Sage 50 (Simply Accounting) and in Sage One
Read full review Implementation Rating I haven't changed my mind since my first evaluation. Freshbooks is still meeting my needs, easy to use, etc.
Read full review The clients' business owner worked with Sage on implementation before I began working for them. After consultation with them it is clear the process was quickly performed and without complication. The key takeaway was that Sage is seen as a partner to the business. That said, it was always necessary to engage with an accountant such as myself to extract the best out of the software.
Read full review Alternatives Considered We do not consider other options since our client wants the implementation of this platform in order to use it in the two countries where it has operations. At the moment, full integration was not possible and we still share the information with a Mexican system to complete everything necessary.
Read full review Sage Accounting is a simpler, more streamlined version of the more complex
Sage 50cloud Accounting . For a small, simpler company Sage Accounting is a much more cost-effective option. There are a few features that
Sage 50cloud Accounting has that Sage Accounting does not have (such as making e-payments and a few reports are unavailable) but it is still a very good product.
Read full review Contract Terms and Pricing Model The pricing structure is fair and offers good value for money. The billing is done through their online system and you can access your bills at any time. Most contacts only require 30 days' notice, so no need to feel tied in, although I can't imagine why you would want to leave Sage.
Read full review Scalability I do not consider Sage Accounting to be Sage's best product for scaling up business as its functionality for doing so is limited. Sage 50 Accounts or Sage Intaact are far more suited for this. I would evaluate very carefully the possible need in the future for scalability in the first instance before selecting software.
Read full review Professional Services Sage has always been extremely professional, and they continue to be professional in their dealings with me.
Read full review Return on Investment Freshbooks saves me time compared to when I managed to invoice without an app. Freshbooks make keeping my invoices organized which saves me time. Freshbooks helps me to know who is late on payments. When I was doing this by hand, some invoices would get lost in the clutter and I would not find out I haven't been paid until much later. Mike Calabro Photographer: Commercial, Advertising and Editorial
Read full review Sage One has allowed us to provided better customer service to all our clients. It has allowed us to provide a reasonable price accounting product to our customer who typically just have handwritten invoices, or Excel spreadsheets. Sage One has reduced the manual data entry that my team does on a monthly basis, which in turn allows us to have more time for our customers. Read full review ScreenShots Sage Accounting Screenshots