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FreshBooks

FreshBooks

Overview

What is FreshBooks?

FreshBooks is an accounting service for small businesses. The solution enables users to send and manage invoices, track billable time and collect online payments. The vendor’s value proposition this that their solution provides a straightforward service that simplifies the billing…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

FreshBooks is a user-friendly accounting software that has been highly praised by users for its ability to streamline invoice creation, …
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Know what you are buying first

2 out of 10
November 02, 2023
Our main use for FreshBooks is invoicing and estimates, linking with our credit union is very spotty so not reliable enough to do any …
Continue reading
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 20 features
  • Dashboards (52)
    4.6
    46%
  • Standard reports (50)
    4.1
    41%
  • Expense management (46)
    3.2
    32%
  • Accounts receivable (50)
    2.7
    27%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Lite

$15

Cloud
per month

Plus

$30

Cloud
per month

Premium

$55

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttp://www.freshbooks.com/?ref=11573&ut…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Working Better Together with FreshBooks

YouTube

InfoPoc: Freshbooks Connector for Salesforce - Demo

YouTube

Create Freshbooks Invoices for New WooCommerce Orders

YouTube

FreshBooks Demo

YouTube

Freshbooks Demo

YouTube

Become a Certified FreshBooks Accounting Partner

YouTube
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Features

Customization

This addresses a company’s ability to configure the software to fit its specific use case and workflow.

1.2
Avg 7.0

Security

This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.

6.5
Avg 7.9

Reporting & Analytics

Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.

4.5
Avg 7.6

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

Financial management solution, including capabilities for general ledger and configurable accounting

4.7
Avg 7.4

Order Management

The ability to process orders, and track them from quote to cash.

4
Avg 7.4
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Product Details

What is FreshBooks?

FreshBooks is an accounting service for small businesses. The solution enables users to send and manage invoices, track billable time and collect online payments. The vendor’s value proposition this that their solution provides a straightforward service that simplifies the billing process.

FreshBooks Features

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting Features

  • Supported: Accounts payable
  • Supported: Accounts receivable
  • Supported: Expense management
  • Supported: Time tracking
  • Supported: Regulations compliance

Order Management Features

  • Supported: Pricing
  • Supported: Order entry
  • Supported: Credit card processing

Reporting & Analytics Features

  • Supported: Dashboards
  • Supported: Standard reports

Customization Features

  • Supported: API for custom integration
  • Supported: Plug-ins

Security Features

  • Supported: Role-based user permissions

FreshBooks Screenshots

Screenshot of DashboardScreenshot of Invoice OverviewScreenshot of Beautiful, Customizable InvoicesScreenshot of Invoice seamlessly across devicesScreenshot of ExpensesScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of App IntegrationsScreenshot of Recurring BillingScreenshot of PaymentsScreenshot of ReportsScreenshot of Projects

FreshBooks Videos

Accounting, for the Non-Accountant.
Say Hello to FreshBooks Cloud Accounting

FreshBooks Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android
Supported LanguagesEnglish

Frequently Asked Questions

QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Zoho Invoice are common alternatives for FreshBooks.

Reviewers rate Self-service portal highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of FreshBooks are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).

FreshBooks Customer Size Distribution

Consumers0%
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)95%
Mid-Size Companies (51-500 employees)5%
Enterprises (more than 500 employees)0%
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(205)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

FreshBooks is a user-friendly accounting software that has been highly praised by users for its ability to streamline invoice creation, email tracking, and expense management. With FreshBooks, users can effortlessly create, email, and track invoices, as well as set up recurring invoices. The detailed reports provided by FreshBooks allow users to efficiently manage their financials and gain insights into their expenses and client details. Clients also appreciate the convenience of accessing their accounts, viewing/printing invoices, and even filing disputes through FreshBooks. Another notable aspect of FreshBooks is its responsive and helpful customer support team, which is always ready to address any issues or questions that users may have.

Freelancers in particular rely on FreshBooks to stay organized and generate reports for estimating, invoicing, expense tracking, and timekeeping. However, the versatility of FreshBooks extends beyond freelancers. It has been widely used across industries for invoicing clients and keeping the process organized and efficient. For example, Picobarn implemented FreshBooks as a mandatory tool for its employees, enabling them to streamline the invoicing process and provide real-time project tracking. Additionally, FreshBooks has been adopted by organizations to integrate accounting and bookkeeping activities, simplifying day-to-day tasks and ensuring security. By replacing manual bookkeeping processes with FreshBooks, users have saved time and resources while improving client understanding of financial documents.

FreshBooks handles all invoicing needs effectively by making invoice creation quick and easy while enabling online payments. The software has become a valuable tool for independent representatives in various business sectors such as graphic design, helping them track business expenses effortlessly. Similarly, freelance writers and editors find FreshBooks indispensable for tracking hours worked, invoicing clients accurately, and managing their one-person operations smoothly. Companies also utilize FreshBooks to track time and expenses for both staff and consultants working on client projects. In addition to customer invoicing and expense tracking capabilities, it provides direct access for tax advisors, facilitating bank account reconciliation and ensuring accurate financial reporting.

While FreshBooks has garnered positive feedback from users, some have experienced challenges with credit card integrations and payment processing, leading them to explore alternative options. Despite this, FreshBooks has remained a popular choice for businesses seeking to centralize invoicing and accounting processes, improving efficiency and organization. Consultants and support teams have also found value in FreshBooks as it helps them track time, invoice clients, and consolidate tasks within one program.

FreshBooks has successfully helped users streamline their invoicing process, resulting in faster invoice creation, professional-looking invoices, and improved payment tracking. By allowing users to set automatic reminders for overdue invoices, FreshBooks ensures timely follow-up for payment. However, some users prefer to send manual reminders.

FreshBooks has been praised for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for users to navigate and use for multiple purposes. It is particularly beneficial for small businesses and freelancers who need a simple accounting solution without the complexity of tools like QuickBooks. Users appreciate the ease of use and simplicity of FreshBooks for handling administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, expense tracking, and invoicing. The software eliminates the need for more complex tools and reduces the need to hire additional staff.

One of the key advantages of FreshBooks is its cloud-based nature, allowing users to access and send invoices from their smartphones and tablets. This flexibility enables users to manage their financials on the go, keeping them connected to their business at all times. The ability to track time spent on projects, calculate project estimates, invoice clients, and accept payments all within FreshBooks makes it a valuable tool for freelancers and small businesses alike. Additionally, FreshBooks offers a free trial without requiring credit card information, allowing users to test the software before committing.

FreshBooks caters to a wide range of industries and has been used by marketing and manufacturing customers to properly track invoices and increase productivity and cost savings. It is also utilized across entire organizations for account receivables, setting up and sending invoices, collecting payments, tracking hours on projects, and efficiently managing billing. Moreover, FreshBooks has found its place in small family businesses that depend on it for managing expenses, logging hours, invoicing companies, and tracking total sales. Users have even customized FreshBooks using its API to automate payment entry and tracking according to their specific needs.

Overall, FreshBooks has proven itself as a reliable accounting software that simplifies the invoicing process, tracks expenses effectively, provides comprehensive financial insights, and offers user-friendly features. Its extensive range of functionalities makes it a valuable tool for freelancers, small businesses, and organizations looking to streamline their financial management processes.

Based on user recommendations, FreshBooks receives the following common suggestions:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the interface: Users recommend purchasing the free version of FreshBooks to get acquainted with the interface. This allows users to understand how the software works before committing to a paid plan.

  2. Suitable for small businesses: FreshBooks is highly recommended for small businesses. It is seen as a valuable program that caters to their day-to-day transactions and accounting needs. The software's simplicity and user-friendly interface make it an ideal choice for small business owners.

  3. Try before committing: Users suggest trying the trial version or taking advantage of the 1-month free trial offered by FreshBooks. This allows potential users to test out the software and assess its suitability for their specific business needs before making any financial commitments.

Overall, users find FreshBooks to be a valuable and user-friendly tool for online accounting, billing, invoicing, and expense tracking. They recommend giving it a try, especially for small businesses looking for a simple and easy-to-use accounting or invoicing program.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 70)
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Christine Ball | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I tried FreshBooks over a year ago and had difficulty connecting to my bank account, which was more of a problem with my bank account, so I cancelled my subscription, which I paid a full year in advance. I decided to give them another try, as I did like the interface when I had tried them before. I had an offer to return to FreshBooks at a discounted rate, and took the offer. Instead of being charged the discounted rate, they ended up charging me the full rate and I've now been on hold with them for over an hour waiting to get my money back. I am a small business and having that much money tied up with a company that isn't trustworthy is not fun. I want to be able to use those funds to get work with a bookkeeping software that doesn't bait and switch rates.
  • Interface is nice
  • Subscription sing ups bait and switch
  • A little confusing to navigate
I don't see any benefit from FreshBooks. They've taken my money and I can't reach anyone to get a refund.
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Our main use for FreshBooks is invoicing and estimates, linking with our credit union is very spotty so not reliable enough to do any actual accounting. We do still use for keeping track of total sales, and categorized sales. We do also utilize their online payment processing and payment logging features.
  • User friendly interface
  • quick reports
  • dashboard
  • Mobile app
  • partial invoicing
  • payments
  • included services
Part of our move to FreshBooks was the lower monthly cost over quickbooks, but quickly learned to get the same amenities as quickbooks, In my experience, FreshBooks will just nickel and dime you for each little feature and end up costing more.

In my opinion, the mobile app is garbage, basically only good for looking up customer information on the go.

FreshBooks recently changed their bank transfer payment policy to hold onto your money for what they say is 5 business days. They did this with no notice to my knowledge, which was a switch from next day payments. currently it is taking 8 days from the customer paying to us actually getting paid.

Sending invoices through email always causes us issues with customers since, in my experience, FreshBooks makes it always appear that your are invoicing the total amount to the customers, the customer needs to open the invoice to see how much they are actually being invoiced.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We tried using FreshBooks for our Short Term vacation rental business. However, it was too expensive for what we were using it for. We tried to cancel online but they want you to send an email. I have emailed three times and I cannot get a response to cancel my account. I just got charged for another month. Very frustrating that they make it impossible to cancel.
  • Tracking expenses
  • Cancelling accounts
  • Different pay structure for smaller businesses
I was disappointed with FreshBooks software because it was overpriced and expensive to use. The features were not worth the cost, and the customer service was not helpful as they would not respond to my emails to cancel the account. I would not recommend FreshBooks to anyone. FreshBooks is not well suited for smaller companies. Particularly short term rental properties.
Antonio Piraino | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I use FreshBooks for my customer invoicing, expense and bank account reconciliation and enjoy sharing direct access to my account with my tax advisor. There were hiccups in setup as the connection to my credit cards and bank occasionally suffered from a broken link since the company used a third party to facilitate the integrations which made things worse for a while. I stuck around since customer service was trying to help me. The last couple of months have seen the credit card integrations finally working much better in pulling in expenses. Unfortunately, FreshBooks partnered up with WePay at some point and it became extremely difficult to receive payments for any of my larger invoices (above $5k) and I couldn't get clarity on why the payments were being canceled and sent back to my clients. WePay was exceptionally unhelpful, and FreshBooks customer support was not particularly helpful in this case. At this point I'm forced to look for an alternative to FreshBooks - essentially anyone not using WePay.
  • Invoice creation.
  • Time Capture for work done.
  • Access for tax advisor.
  • WePay integration is a giant mistake - I can't receive payments directly from clients.
  • If work is only assigned to a client, without the project tag, it will be missed off invoice creation without the user realizing that those hours haven't been accounted for.
Armand Ruci | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use this for simple accounting tasks related to my publishing company and it is an awesome app. I use it to manage accounts receivable and payable, inventory, and payroll and it does all those without flaw. As a sole proprietor, I have found this app to be tremendously useful in the small business that I run after my day job as a teacher, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that needs to do simple accounting tasks.
  • Invoicing.
  • Account Payable.
  • Payroll.
  • Inventory.
  • Invoicing.
  • Accounts Payable.
  • Inventory.
This application is very useful and it is something that has helped me tremendously in my part-time company as a book publisher. I wish that they could improve their invoicing because they have gotten away from this part but there is room for improvement. I also want the app to be more user-friendly as well.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Some of our clients use this platform as their base system in the US, the implementation was attempted with their subsidiaries in Mexico in order to manage a single program for their entire operation. Some integration tests were carried out, however, it was not completely compatible with all the needs of the Mexican authorities.
  • Within the use we gave it, it was quite intuitive and user-friendly.
  • The platform operates safely and robustly with large amounts of information.
  • The price for its use and its ease of increasing users is competitive compared to other options.
  • I understand that they are already working to improve compliance with Mexican legislation.
  • Support in Spanish is quite useful for your operation in Mexico.
  • The User Manual documents are only found in English.
For medium-sized companies it is a pleasant option to use in US Operations. The elaboration of Mexican invoices is not yet perfected, also the "Contabilidad Electronica" is not carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Mexican tax authority. The integration to reconcile banks automatically including CFDI is not natively included yet.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is used across the entire org for the following
  • project management of clients
  • Invoicing
  • Time management
  • Book keeping
It allow for a comprehensive picture on the health of a client, the revenue streams and the time we are billing to clients. This has made it easy for resource management as well.
  • Accounting
  • Invoicing
  • Time tracking
  • Project Management
  • Time tracking within projects
  • Management of monthly recurring project budgets
It is the ideal package for a small businesses to get started and to manage the accounting, Billing’s and client revenue.

It automatically generates the books and allows for an accountant to be invited which in turn ensures triple bookkeeping which has allowed me to focus more on growing the business and less on the books.
Tim Vahsholtz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use FreshBooks for all my billing. Being a small business, it helps to have automated invoicing and reminders for some of our clients. FreshBooks also provides auto payments if our clients prefer.

One main reason I went with FreshBooks is the fact that it links up with Fundbox. Our clients are good about paying (usually), but not knowing exactly when checks arrive can be strenuous on small business. By linking up w/Fundbox, we can use that service to keep cash flow going in case of a tardy payment.
  • FreshBooks is great for creating, sending and/or auto charging for invoices you set up in advance. Several of my clients are on monthly service packages, and it's great to save time by having the invoices ready to go. Most of our clients pay via check, so we only have FreshBooks create the invoices. Plus, we can double check that there are no additional charges that need to be added before the invoice goes out.
  • FreshBooks has a pretty robust auto email section. New invoice emails, payment reminders, and notifications of late fees are all part of this feature. Plus, if you learn the shortcodes, you can customize these emails.
  • FreshBooks interfaces with Fundbox, an important tool for a small business of our size.
  • One big area for improvement is being able to automatically carry over a past due balance to a new invoice. If a client is late with their payment, you have to either add the previous balance to the new invoice or have two invoices sitting out there, which can be confusing for the client. If the new invoice has the previous balance included with it, you must zero out the previous month invoice, or your FreshBooks will indicate you have more money owed than you actually do. (This is an accounting issue).
  • It would be nice if FreshBooks would interface with Quicken and or QuickBooks. (I'm not certain that it doesn't, but don't believe it does.
For small businesses, this is a really great invoicing program. We used PayPal to manually send invoices before, and FreshBooks helped to automate a significant portion of the process. Plus, the interface with Fundbox is quite helpful. Once you send an invoice, it shows up in Fundbox, and you can borrow against that invoice. This helps with positive cash flow.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We implemented FreshBooks for a couple of marketing and manufacturing customers--most of our customers were using different accounting softwares for finance and invoice management across all their departments They reported issues like not able to track invoices properly, lack of cloud compatibility, etc. After FreshBooks implementation/migration, customers are able to better track invoices and they see 20-30% increased productivity and around 20% cost savings.
  • Reporting
  • Real time invoice tracking
  • Easy implementation
  • Cloud support
  • Onboarding process
  • API SDK support for latest programming languages like Node.js, Go
  • Direct integration with other CRMs
As we implemented FreshBooks for few customers. I strongly recommend for all small to medium customers--it is easy to implement, has cloud support, onboard process is easy, and has great API support. I had a good experience with the support team. They are available 24/7 via email and are quick at responding.

January 15, 2020

Good accounting software

Peter Ellison | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use FreshBooks as our accounting system for invoice creation, tracking, and payment. FreshBooks centralizes all invoicing aspects into one platform.
  • Ease of invoice creation.
  • Ease of invoice status tracking.
  • Frequent crashes.
  • With large volumes of information it can be slow to load.
Freshbooks is well suited for a small company that has consistent customers and a low volume of invoice creation. They are not well suited for large companies with high volumes of invoices and clients to bill.
Mike Calabro | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Freshbooks for my invoicing, estimates and lite accounting work. I am a freelance photographer and have recommended Freshbooks to any of my colleagues. It is easy to use and for myself as well as my clients. It does a good job of showing when clients are late to pay, which is often in the freelance world.
  • Invoicing - Creating invoices is easy. This helps me to get the invoices out faster. It automatically keeps items so that I can re-use them later. as an example, if I want to charge the client for a digital transfer fee, I can pick that item form a drop-down menu and it will even fill in the rate that I used in the past.
  • Templates- The template allows me to keep my branding cohesive and professional. You can add your logo and pick a theme color so that it matches your brand. There are two different template layouts to choose from.
  • Automatic Expense Importing - I use two separate credit cards for my business. One card for non-billable items and another for items that I bill my clients for. The auto importing makes adding those billable items to invoices easy.
  • Templates- One of my biggest gripes about Freshbooks is that if you change the Terms section on an invoice, it will change it for every future invoice across the board. I often need to change my terms depending on the client and job. This makes it's very hard to keep everything organized.
  • Price- If you do not use all of the Freshbook features, it is a bit expensive for what you get unless you only have a few clients.
  • Importing of expenses - When automatically importing expenses, Freshbooks often miscategorized items and often does not fill out the vendor section when I use my Chase accounts.
There might be a few better options for someone like me who is running a photography business. I have been using Freshbooks for a long time and my fear of having to learn a new system has kept me from trying the other options out there. It excels in sending and organizing invoices but I am not sure if it is the best. My accountant often has issues using the exported data as compared to one of the well-known apps. Freshbooks adds new features a few times a year, but most of the features seem more like a bandaid than an actually useful feature. If you need to keep track of your invoices and make them easy to create than Freshbooks is what you want.
Lou Gallo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is currently being used to manage and track expenses, log hours and invoice companies for our family small business. I have also written a few automations using their API to allow easy entry of payments and tracking what is owed. In addition to these business actions, Freshbooks is linked through their partner network into our payroll system so that the expenses of payroll and costs associated with running the business can be easily computed for tax time.
  • Super intuitive interface and ease of actions.
  • Integrations with other web services like Gusto help the handoff of tracking of payroll.
  • Being a hosted platform, it is simple to share links for reference to my tax service people for access to any numbers.
  • Reporting is great as it can break down the P&L and compiling deductions during tax time.
  • They recently updated their interface which was one area that needed an update. But overall the areas that were lacking a few years ago (Old XML API, Older interface, poor mobile apps) Have all been address so I really don't have many complaints. If you are someone like me who does not want to become a accounting wizard and simply want to run your business, this was a great solution.
For a small business where you want to add to link your business bank account, track expenses, log hours on projects and invoice customers without any hassle, this is the platform to use. Easy to set up, customize and you can send invoices via email and get paid electronically. If they send you checks you can send them into your bank, log the checks and close out invoices. I also love sharing a link with my accountant so they can log in and get whatever reports are needed. Mobile apps are great for tracking time and checking on payments. You cannot beat the simplicity. If you use other tools like Gusto, the integration is great and I get reports of those costs to run the business right inside Freshbooks.
Gary Shouldis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Freshbooks has been our main invoicing software for the past 6 years. We use it for invoicing one-time projects as well as monthly recurring clients. We chose Freshbooks because it was offered an easy way to invoice clients and was one of the few invoicing platforms that offered recurring payments. The user interface is fantastic and makes it easy to use by multiple people on our team.
  • The user interface is beautiful and very easy to navigate and use.
  • Super reliable. Have sent out thousands of invoices and have never had an issue or misplaced email.
  • The accounts aging feature is great, gives you a quick snapshot of what invoices are getting old and allows you to manually or automatically send followup notices.
  • The accounting side of the software is not as developed as the invoicing and time tracking side.
  • If you have a lot of clients or want some of their add-on options, it gets expensive fast.
  • The mobile app is good but does not work well for some features
If you are a freelancer, small agency or business owner and need a no-fuss invoicing option then FreshBooks is the perfect tool for you. It's really easy to get started even without tutorials and the interface is just intuitive. If you are a bigger team or need something with accounting features, you may want to look elsewhere. FreshBooks does integrate with 3rd party software, including accounting software, so you could still make it work.
Dana Darla | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My company is performing all accounting functions for different companies. One of our clients uses FreshBooks as main accounting software to keep track of billing and expenses.
  • N/a
  • N/a
  • N/a
  • Ease of navigating throughout the menu
  • Chart of accounts (report format and ability to edit accounts)
  • Lists (invoices, expenses, etc) sorting and exporting
  • Still down into accounts/amounts from a report
  • Reader-friendly reporting
My client started with FreshBooks on a previous version and since the upgrade it’s been more difficult to navigate and get reporting out of FreshBooks even over previous version. If I had my choice FreshBooks would be one of the last accounting systems to use. Right now we are using a different software for accounts payable, payroll and bank reconciliations.
evans mutinda | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Our company is currently using Freshbooks to manage its finances in an easy and secure manner. This software is currently being used in the Finance department. Its adoption has made the process of sending professional invoices, organizing expenses and tracking billable time easier than before.
  • Offers several features such as online payment gateway and cloud-based invoicing.
  • It has robust reporting functionalities that enable users to make informed decisions.
  • Allows users to transfer their timesheet data to invoice and receive payments quickly.
  • The reporting feature of this software is highly demanding because none of its data lines in the report is hyperlinked.
  • The software should be more flexible and have more options for the application of late fees.
  • It would be better if the process of adding projects was made more smooth to clients.
Freshbooks makes it easier to track invoices in an organization and makes it easier for clients in an organization to pay bills promptly.
Laura Cain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks is used primarily by our CEO and by me to manage our day to day invoicing and expenses. With around 80-100 clients at any given time, it helps us both manage and streamline our invoicing, and helps us gauge month to month outgoing and incoming costs.
  • By far the number one strength of FreshBooks is customer service - they always immediately pick up (no wait time) and can answer any question within minutes. They are easy to understand, friendly, and always willing to go the extra mile to help out. This is one of those rare situations where it is actually easier to pick up the phone then trying to search through FAQs for the answer.
  • In general, the interface is easy to use. Everything is fairly easy to find and straightforward.
  • The Recent Activity feed on the left side of your browser window is great- at any given time you can see a snapshot of any activity within your account, whether that may be changes you made yourself, another team member made, or even if a client logged in to view their invoice.
  • While I love the Recent Activity feed on the left, you can only view a certain number of activities. It would be great if there were a view more button to see all recent activity, especially if it's a busy day and a lot is going on.
  • While the interface is very easy to use, sometimes you have to click multiple times in order to get to a view you want. It would be great if you could more easily toggle between options within a client (if buttons for recurring, all invoices, the client's profile, etc. were all available for a specific client instead of across the board.)
If customer service is your number one factor, FreshBooks is definitely the choice to go with. However, if you're trying to do complex things within one client's account, the interface isn't necessarily set up to make this as easy as possible. If you have recurring invoices (i.e. a client is always billed at the same time either weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.) this is extremely easy to set up.
Ryan Freeman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Due to currency limitations within FreshBooks, we run two accounts. One bills our Canadian customers in CAD, and the other bills USA and International clients in USD.
FreshBooks is our primary invoicing system. As a SaaS and consulting company the majority of our billing is based on recurring contracts, so we looked to FreshBooks as a replacement for manual processing of credit cards. FreshBooks automatically generates invoices according to the client's billing profile, and securely stores the card on file. The late fee/interest system is rudimentary, but does a solid job for what we need.
Invoices, payment notifications, and invoice reminders are emailed automatically.
The Time Tracking feature allows us to log time to projects and have that automatically added to invoices when they recur.
For the first several years we were very happy with FreshBooks, especially as their customer service team was really efficient and friendly. Unfortunately, that's changed a lot over the past few years as FreshBooks has tried to evolve from an invoicing tool into a full accounting system. They have increased prices, limited options, and service has degraded. We're now one competitive feature away from canceling both accounts.
  • Recurring invoicing, with a credit card on file.
  • Time tracking added to invoices automatically.
  • Access to a record of emails sent to the customer.
  • The new version does not allow 3rd party payment processors -- only FreshBooks billing via Stripe.
  • The new version has higher costs, with some features removed, and no new features that we need.
  • FreshBooks seems to have lost their identity and their sense of who their customer is.
  • No ability to customize interest/late fees per client or per invoice. Only one structure and a yes/no toggle per client.
Billing/invoicing is a pretty critical function for any business. When your provider aims to pull the rug out from under you and force you into a more expensive credit card processing system (that doesn't integrate with the rest of your business!), that's a significantly problematic issue. I can't recommend a company that has a track record of doing this to their clients.
FreshBooks might be ok for a new/small company that has minimal billing activity and doesn't want to bother with getting their own merchant services account. For anyone with even moderate volume, though, the processing fees are too high.
Coby Pfaff | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks handles all of our invoicing needs. It makes invoice creation quick and easy and allows clients to pay online.
  • Creates Invoices. Invoice creation is easy and fast.
  • Manages Client Info. It's like a mini CRM that stores client contact data and invoice history.
  • Accepts payments online. Integrates seamlessly with our payment provider to accept credit cards online.
  • There are two version of FreshBooks. The newer ones do some things well that the classic version doesn't, for example, allow individual payment terms rather than global payment terms. But the newer version does not do everything that the classic version does.
FreshBooks is great for business of most sizes to invoice clients online. It may not be powerful enough for large enterprise companies, but it's definitely well suited for small to mid-sized businesses.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks allows us to put client billing and business finances on auto-pilot. Our clients pay us via different methods: card, check, PayPal, and FreshBooks supports it all. In addition to client billing, business expenses are easily managed, many of them being auto tracked. FreshBooks makes it super easy to generate tax related reports as well.
  • Handles manual and auto-charged payments as well as dunning (expired cards, declined charges, etc.)
  • Expense tracking is a breeze, especially with recurring expenses.
  • Financial reports can be generated at the click of a button.
  • Customer support is best in the industry (or any industry in my opinion). Phone support is included and they pick up on the first ring every time.
  • New version lacks functionality from the old version that our company uses.
  • Mobile app lacks some desired functionality.
  • Customer portal could use some improvements.
If you're tired of manually keeping up with which clients have paid and not paid, FreshBooks is for you.

FreshBooks is a no brainer for those who want to combine client billing, client management, expense tracking, and reporting into one service/app.

If you're tired of paid services that don't respond to your phone calls or emails, FreshBooks will be a breath of fresh air.
Soneeka Arora | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We have been using Freshbooks for invoicing our customers since last three years. It is pretty seamless with capabilities to send estimates to our customers. Creating a duplicate invoice from an invoice is a nice feature for recurring invoices. It also allows users to set automatic reminders for overdue invoices. Since there is no notification if and when the reminders are sent, we prefer sending manual reminders over automatic reminders. It allows the clients/customers to pay the invoices via the credit card and in return, it charges a fee for each transaction.
One limitation is that it does not allow multiple accounts for one client so in case we have to send multiple invoices to different cost units within the same client, we have to create separate clients.
But overall, it is simple and easy software to handle.
They do not have chat support rather a call-in support or email support which is great and very responsive.
  • It is easy to create the clients and invoices.
  • It is easy to see the status of each invoice, along with the aging on each invoice.
  • It creates easy to use reports that can be shared if required.
  • They must establish One client many departments concept.
  • They do not allow fixed amount discounts. The only allow percentage discounts.
  • There should be notifications when the reminders are sent.
We used Freshbooks as an alternate source of invoicing (we use Stripe for recurring billing) and it works well in this setup. It is not meant for invoicing for Software-as-a-Service products.
Yemsi Pino | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks is being used for us as technical department of our organization, in order to get related with the administrative department of our organization, where the match of an hour of work and invoice relations are made. The whole process began with a really very comprehensive diagram of our business, geographical data and business support, where all the cost in the administrative and office area are involved in our hourly rate in every project we do. It is being used in the whole organization because we use the software in order to know our hourly rate, but also our business daily costs, so all the departments in our business are tied in with the software, because we have the same goal, going forward.
  • Have a hourly rate for our business.
  • Have focus on our customers and our projects, not the administrative department.
  • Get our business cost on control, because we already work on a budget.
  • Take our invoices out as fast as our products are done.
  • Maybe, manual entry should be easier
  • Editing different rates for services on continuous invoices is very complicated.
  • The system doesn't keep an automatic numeration for the invoices, so it is necessary to keep it manually.
FreshBooks is suitable for all business in a global scale, I can make geographical data work for customers in other countries, and this system allows me to have only one database to give support and send work and invoices with the same language. The software is well suited in every scenario I've been working with. If we have some changes to the hourly rate to daily rate in consecutive invoices it's very difficult to present an invoice, so it's less appropriate, but not impossible.
Amara Omoregie | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it to invoice our clients, collect payments, and get accounts receivable reports. Billing is super simple, and our clients really like how easy it is to pay us, which is why we won't switch our billing to QuickBooks Online. Our whole organization uses this software currently and has for a while now.
  • Invoicing
  • Collecting Payments
  • Reporting
  • Accounting
  • Expenses
  • Cashflow reports
  • Accounting Automation
I really like it, but now that the new FreshBooks doesn't accept PayPal payments, I'm not a huge fan and will look for other solutions. The majority of my clients pay me via PayPal so this is a problem. Not a huge fan of PayPal not being an option. Also, accounting with FreshBooks isn't the best. QuickBooks is much better.
Asia Matos | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks is how I invoice all of my clients for DemandMaven. DemandMaven is a small consulting firm that caters to early-stage startups and SaaS companies. The main business problem it addresses is very simple: provide beautiful, user-friendly invoices to my clients and allow them to easily pay for the services I provide them! Typical invoicing software can be extremely clunky and archaic-looking. I wanted something beautiful that would represent my brand in a way I could be proud of.
  • Provides user-friendly, beautiful invoices
  • Built-in features like invoice reminders, recurring invoices, deposits, and automatic late fees applied
  • Multiple payment options — including Stripe (which is a must-have for my industry)
  • You can't schedule invoices to be sent out at specific times which is something I really wish it did. Not quite the same as a recurring invoice.
  • I wish I could attach the agreement that dictates the payment terms. An integration with DocuSign, for example, would be awesome.
FreshBooks is perfect for the solopreneur, freelancer, consultant, and small agency. I recommend it for pretty much everyone who fits this category since it makes it so easy to invoice and keep track of payments from clients.

If you track time, it's also incredibly useful. I don't track time myself, but if you do, there's an entire suite of features dedicated to time tracking that proves to be quite useful!
Brandon Loyche | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our entire organization, although small (5 people) uses FreshBooks for our estimates, invoicing, time tracking and payment processing. FreshBooks has been an integral part of our company for the past 5 years - when QuickBooks didn't want to accept our new business to use it's platform we began looking into other options. Ever since that moment we have been a fan and used FreshBooks every day since.
  • Invoicing - easy to create, customize, and manage. A great feature is the auto-pay for recurring payments with clients.
  • Estimates - these professional looking estimates with prompts has helped us take our estimates and timelines with clients to a new level and also being able to keep track of them and have the client sign them.
  • Time Tracking - this feature has helped keep track of countless hours working on projects and then easily adding that time to current or new invoices with Freshbooks recognizing what client it may be for and to add the time to the invoice easily.
  • The only area I have noticed that FB needs improvement is how it links up with bank accounts and keeps track of spending. It seems to be flawed in a few ways where it will double outgoing transactions sometimes and also when we move money from one account to another it shows it as spending and not just moving money and that is something we have to account for with Taxes each year.
Great for any size business. Started out using it as a freelancer and it has grown to to function within our small company of 5 people now and 30+ clients
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use FreshBooks across the whole organization. It quickly solves both invoicing and expense tracking very well.
  • FreshBooks is ideal for those in some type of a service business where invoicing is critical to quickly being paid.
  • FreshBooks easily allows us to track our expenses against ongoing projects.
  • FreshBooks allows us to easily use documents in our business.
  • Sometimes FreshBooks tries to do "too much." Stick with your core mission.
  • Well Suited - those in a service industry, like ours in management consulting. This is its sweet spot and it accomplishes its tasks VERY WELL.
  • Less Suited - companies with inventory and shipping and receiving.
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