Emburse SpringAhead vs. FreshBooks

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Emburse SpringAhead
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
SpringAhead is an expense reporting, billing, and time tracking platform that was owned and supported by Certify Travel and Expense created from the 2017 merger of Certify, Nexonia, and other companies, and now from Emburse, the company formed from the merger of Certify and Chrome River Technologies in March 2019.N/A
FreshBooks
Score 8.8 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
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.
$21
per month
Pricing
Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Lite
$21
per month
Plus
$38
per month
Premium
$65
per month
Select
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details10% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
Features
Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Emburse SpringAhead
-
Ratings
FreshBooks
9.1
35 Ratings
16% above category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings9.330 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings8.926 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Emburse SpringAhead
-
Ratings
FreshBooks
10.0
41 Ratings
20% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings9.941 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Emburse SpringAhead
-
Ratings
FreshBooks
7.5
57 Ratings
4% below category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.957 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.755 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings4.82 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Emburse SpringAhead
-
Ratings
FreshBooks
7.5
56 Ratings
2% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.041 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings9.455 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings6.651 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings7.642 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings6.021 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings9.13 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Emburse SpringAhead
-
Ratings
FreshBooks
9.4
49 Ratings
21% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings8.839 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings9.337 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings9.641 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
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Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
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Dext
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Medium-sized Companies
Precoro
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Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Emburse Chrome River
Emburse Chrome River
Score 7.9 out of 10
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
Likelihood to Recommend
6.5
(3 ratings)
8.4
(75 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.6
(18 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(20 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(11 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Emburse SpringAheadFreshBooks
Likelihood to Recommend
Emburse
It's definitely well suited for all organizations with knowledge workers who use computers to do their work and are able to log in and enter their time on a regular basis. I've always had access to it as part of my job and love using SpringAhead. It may be less appropriate in a role where the worker does not have regular access to a computer to enter their hours digitally.
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FreshBooks
I recommend FreshBooks to anyone running a service-based business that needs invoicing, time reporting, and accounting tools. FB is adept in all three of these scenarios and isn't overly complicated like similar accounting packages I have used. I love how I can write estimates and proposals, manage the business development process from the software, and quickly convert prospects to invoiced clients.
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Pros
Emburse
  • Allows for tracking of time very easily. Users can add all their project's time in one place instead of drilling into each project.
  • Managers can approve their team's time all in one place. We do not need to drill down to find the info and approve. Users who don't report to the manager but are part of the project can still be approved by the project manager.
  • Reports are easy to read when looking at historical information. Reports can be run with multiple parameters that the user needs.
Read full review
FreshBooks
  • Invoicing - FreshBooks basically ensures our accountants spend less time on invoices via its automated invoicing system, which sends invoices to our customers and clients alike and also send them regular reminders for them to pay up their bills.
  • Collecting business insights - FreshBooks enable our company analysts measure our business performances via data reports provided by FreshBooks' intuitive dashboard. Allowing us do a comparative analysis of key business metrics of a current month against past months and determine if the business is growing.
  • Expense tracker - We have recently embraced FreshBooks as an expense tracker for teams at our company branch. Thusfar, FreshBooks has performed very well, making our expense management a perfect operation; ensuring teams do not exceed their planned budget and also eliminating the need for tracking expenses on excel spreadsheets.
Read full review
Cons
Emburse
  • Automated reminders to employees would be great
  • A more modern and up-to-date user interface
  • The approvals system for projects vs. users could use some work
Read full review
FreshBooks
  • 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.
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Likelihood to Renew
Emburse
No answers on this topic
FreshBooks
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.
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Usability
Emburse
No answers on this topic
FreshBooks
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.
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Reliability and Availability
Emburse
No answers on this topic
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
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Support Rating
Emburse
No answers on this topic
FreshBooks
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.
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Implementation Rating
Emburse
No answers on this topic
FreshBooks
I haven't changed my mind since my first evaluation. Freshbooks is still meeting my needs, easy to use, etc.
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Alternatives Considered
Emburse
We selected SpringAhead because of price and usability. This tool is easy to set up and configure. It is a cloud application allowing access from anywhere. There were no training requirements. When you have a small use case this tool is the way to go. We moved off SpringAhead to get more functionality and it has required a lot more training and effort to maintain and utilize
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FreshBooks
FreshBooks does very well in comparison, especially since it is free software for Barclays bank users. Sage software is much worse than FreshBooks. However, Xero and QuickBooks, the market leaders, are still ahead with usability, additional features, reporting, and connection with third-party software providers. We chose FreshBooks as it does everything we require from this type of software.
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Return on Investment
Emburse
  • Positive - tracking return on project investments
  • Positive - being able to plan on future projects
  • Positive - being able to manage costs and attendance
Read full review
FreshBooks
  • In reality, we do not implement all of its use at the moment in order to determine an adequate ROI.
  • In our approach to the use of the system, it seems to us a considerable time saving by achieving the integration of the Mexican subsidiary with its parent located in the US.
  • Financial reports meet the necessary USGAAP requirements.
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ScreenShots

FreshBooks Screenshots

Screenshot of the dashboardScreenshot of an invoice overviewScreenshot of an example of a customizable invoiceScreenshot of an invoice appearing across devicesScreenshot of expensesScreenshot of time tracking