TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FreshBooks

    Score9.2 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

    HotSchedules

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AHotSchedules is a cloud-based scheduling, labor and communication management software solution serving the restaurant and hospitality industry. According to the vendor, key benefits include: Build & Communicate Schedules The scheduling and labor management software reduces the time it takes managers to create and communicate schedules. All scheduling and employee information is stored in one central location, so managers have access to time-off requests,…

    $2

    per month per employee

    Pricing
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Editions & Modules
    Lite
    $21
    per month
    Plus
    $38
    per month
    Premium
    $65
    per month
    Select
    Custom Pricing
    Essentials
    $2
    per month per employee
    Plus
    $4
    per month per employee
    Quote-Based
    Quote-based pricing
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details10% discount for annual pricing.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Considered Both Products
    FreshBooks
    No answer on this topic
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    69%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    82%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    54%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    64%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    62%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of FreshBooks and HotSchedules
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.1
    35 Ratings
    18% above category average
    HotSchedules
    -
    Ratings
    API for custom integration9.330 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plug-ins9.026 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of FreshBooks and HotSchedules
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    10.0
    41 Ratings
    20% above category average
    HotSchedules
    -
    Ratings
    Single sign-on capability10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions10.041 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of FreshBooks and HotSchedules
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    57 Ratings
    4% below category average
    HotSchedules
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards9.057 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports8.855 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports4.82 Ratings00 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of FreshBooks and HotSchedules
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    56 Ratings
    2% below category average
    HotSchedules
    -
    Ratings
    Accounts payable8.041 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts receivable9.455 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cash management7.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation7.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expense management6.651 Ratings00 Ratings
    Time tracking7.642 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance6.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal9.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of FreshBooks and HotSchedules
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.5
    49 Ratings
    25% above category average
    HotSchedules
    -
    Ratings
    Pricing8.839 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry9.337 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing9.741 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Jolt
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Jolt
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.6
    (75 ratings)
    1.0
    (167 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.6
    (18 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    9.6
    (20 ratings)
    8.9
    (12 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.0
    (11 ratings)
    8.9
    (4 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreshBooksHotSchedules
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    For small to medium-sized companies HotSchedules works great when business is very static. If you are simply using HotSchedules for a schedule writing tool, it is phenomenal. However, it does miss the mark as a labor control software. Needs more controls to keep managers aware of spending versus historical sales data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    • Communication is so simple on HotSchedules. Whether it is communicating a new schedule release, or a quick note about tonight's shift we as managers are able to easily communicate and know that it will reach our team through text notifications, or email notifications.
    • The Meal Break planning tool is very useful in being able to help our floor leaders clearly understand and plan for what breaks are needed throughout the shift. This allows them to come up with a strategic game plan quickly and spend more time with our guests.
    • Shift Swaps and Releases are so seamless. This is our favorite tool as it makes helping our team cover shifts extremely easy and painless. On the flip side it also makes staff who want more hours be able to find what is available in real time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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.
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    • Clocking In and out can be a little slow. It takes longer to clock in then our previous method. Before we just had a card you swiped and it would clock you in. Took 2 seconds. Now with the Hotschdules method we use it take 30 seconds or so. Not a huge issue but it can add up if you have one computer and a line of employees waiting to clock in.
    • Time Cards. It does not allow you to view someones current time until the "punch" has ended. If the manager would like to check what time the employee clocked in/out from lunch they have to wait until the employee has clocked out for the day before the record is generated. As a shift lead you may send and employee to lunch but forget to note what time you sent them. Awhile passes and you feel like they should be back by now, so you want to go in and see what time they left for lunch but it does not show you that punch record because the employee is still "clocked in" they are just on their "Meal Break"
    • The ability to customize the restrictions for Clocking in and out. You can set it up so that employees can only clock in from a specific location, however if you have a manager who is allowed to work from home they would not be able to clock in without being at the same location as set in the software. It would be nice to see it able to be customized per user.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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.
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    Ease of use, efficiently creating and posting staff schedules.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    6 Years of Experience provides me the insight on the upgrades and changes that HotSchedules has done to improve the experience of its users. There are so many features that we still have not started or used to the fullest, but we believe that we are currently getting a strong value out of the money that is paid for this product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    On rare occasions a phone call has been required to find the solution to a problem, the HotSchedules response staff have been helpful, courteous, and genuinely seem to care for their clients and take pride in what they do. The consistent development and fine tuning of the platform, interface, and mobile environment shows that this is not a program full of people who rest on their laurels.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    FreshBooks
    I haven't changed my mind since my first evaluation. Freshbooks is still meeting my needs, easy to use, etc.
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    I have not used any other Scheduling software for employees. As a campground manager in the summer season, we are using campground master for reservations. it is very similar in process to employee scheduling. the ability to the user of that program to set up their own parameters for time and reservations is something that would benefit the employee scheduling software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HotSchedules and Fourth
    • Saving time on scheduling means our managers can focus more on guest experience, managing the floor and other areas that contribute to the success of our business.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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

    HotSchedules Screenshots

    Screenshot of Time-Off, Availability, Employee Hours, Sales Volume are all available in the scheduler.Screenshot of Employees are able to swap and pick-up shifts from the HotSchedules Mobile App. All shift changes or requests require a manager's approval.Screenshot of Managers and employees can communicate with each other from the mobile and web apps - from anywhere and at anytime.Screenshot of Employees can submit a time-off, request - paid, or unpaid - and can request to work or request off right from the mobile app.Screenshot of Managers can view sales and labor data from their phone.