FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Desktop Pro

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
FreshBooks
Score 8.2 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
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is accounting software from Intuit, Inc. It includes core accounting features, plus analytics and exportable reports. It is offered in on-premise and SaaS forms.N/A
Pricing
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Editions & Modules
Lite
$21
per month
Plus
$38
per month
Premium
$65
per month
Select
Custom Pricing
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Free Trial
YesNo
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
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Considered Both Products
FreshBooks
Chose FreshBooks
FreshBooks was easier for me to use - and it's also less expensive.
Chose FreshBooks
FreshBooks is better than many other apps because it is so efficient and combines many different features that other programs don't integrate in one place.

I appreciate FreshBooks for its overall integration of invoicing, keeping track of hours, managing projects, and keeping …
Chose FreshBooks
We use QuickBooks for all of our reporting, payroll, taxes, and expenses. But Freshbooks makes invoicing way more user friendly for our clients since it is web based rather than a downloaded program.
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
FreshBooks I believe is a better service-industry and solo-business tool, however for businesses that are mainly retail-based and are smaller than 100 employees, I would use QuickBooks. However, I would not recommend Desktop Pro to anyone who trusts the cloud. For the skeptics, …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We selected Quickbooks pro based solely on the recommendation of our accountant. We have recently looked into other options like Mint & Freshbooks but decided to remain with Quickbooks as it offers everything we need and when Quickbooks makes updates to their programs they are …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We have used Sage and Peachtree as alternatives to QuickBooks Pro and have found for the money and ease of use for any employee QuickBooks is a better option for our firm. Sage and Peachtree require more training to use and some reporting is harder to locate in the program than …
Features
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
8.9
35 Ratings
14% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.0
43 Ratings
25% below category average
API for custom integration9.030 Ratings6.735 Ratings
Plug-ins8.726 Ratings5.339 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
9.8
41 Ratings
18% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.7
99 Ratings
6% below category average
Single sign-on capability10.01 Ratings7.680 Ratings
Role-based user permissions9.741 Ratings7.893 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
7.3
57 Ratings
7% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.4
116 Ratings
7% above category average
Dashboards8.757 Ratings8.299 Ratings
Standard reports8.555 Ratings8.7116 Ratings
Custom reports4.82 Ratings8.4113 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
7.4
56 Ratings
3% below category average
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.4
121 Ratings
3% below category average
Accounts payable7.841 Ratings8.9116 Ratings
Accounts receivable9.255 Ratings8.9118 Ratings
Cash management7.03 Ratings8.6104 Ratings
Bank reconciliation7.02 Ratings9.5116 Ratings
Expense management6.551 Ratings9.1106 Ratings
Time tracking7.442 Ratings7.551 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.01 Ratings7.531 Ratings
Regulations compliance5.821 Ratings7.041 Ratings
Self-service portal9.13 Ratings6.341 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings6.269 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings8.256 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.054 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings4.517 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings5.039 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.542 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings4.519 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.273 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings7.037 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.045 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.627 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings7.853 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
9.2
49 Ratings
19% above category average
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.0
75 Ratings
8% below category average
Pricing8.639 Ratings7.554 Ratings
Order entry9.037 Ratings8.454 Ratings
Credit card processing9.141 Ratings7.751 Ratings
Cost of goods sold10.01 Ratings8.262 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings5.520 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.523 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings5.518 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.7
68 Ratings
11% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings6.764 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings6.738 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings7.056 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings6.752 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings6.753 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
FreshBooks
-
Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.1
59 Ratings
21% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.356 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings6.335 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings6.332 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings5.518 Ratings
Best Alternatives
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
BlackLine
BlackLine
Score 8.6 out of 10
BlackLine
BlackLine
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
Likelihood to Recommend
7.6
(75 ratings)
8.2
(133 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.6
(18 ratings)
8.0
(19 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(20 ratings)
9.0
(40 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(2 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.7
(11 ratings)
1.2
(29 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
FreshBooksQuickBooks Desktop Pro
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.
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Intuit
For us, accounts payable is probably the most used component for us, followed closely by payment receipts. Most of our billing is a little too specific to be handled efficiently by QuickBooks Desktop Pro, so we bill out of a separate custom application - but we receive all of those payments through QuickBooks Desktop Pro - and that works great.
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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.
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Intuit
  • It is easy to manage and adjust inventory on hand.
  • It is easy to make reports and customize them to your needs.
  • We also use it to pay our employees directly.
  • It is easy to make year-to-year comparisons to see where we can make improvements and the current financial situation.
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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.
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Intuit
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro has been around for a few years and after an update[,] they force you to look at the changes/updates before you can use [them] after updating.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro does not have 2FA.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro should offer a way to store backups to a personal cloud without having to map a local network drive.
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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.
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Intuit
We've used the program for more than 20 years in our firm both with clients and as our software. For the cost and value of the program it works well for our firms needs and desires for an accounting software program. At this point to switch would not make sense.
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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.
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Intuit
It is a great software that does everything a small business needs it to do, but there are just a few bugs and quirks that make additional software necessary. The slowness of the software occasionally might eventually be overshadowed by the quickness of cloud-based software though.
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Reliability and Availability
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
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Intuit
I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
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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.
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Intuit
They are awful. Intuit doesn't spend real money on support. They appear to have typically said, first-level script readers who are sending messages to the senior people for anything even a little bit difficult. Many of them don't speak particularly good English. Considering that they recently doubled (or, if you are paying annually, tripled) their pricing, and touted as one of the benefits that it includes [..] support, it's a real ripoff. However, we have to use the product because it is ubiquitous. I look forward to the day a competitor comes up with something good enough, which has excellent support, that matches all the features QuickBooks Desktop Pro currently has [...] or at least gives us a way to have all the functionality we currently have without excessive sacrifice [...] so that we can switch. I was very satisfied with QuickBooks for many years. This latest [rise] in price, and their sheer gall at touting the benefit of the 100 to 200% increase as being [the] inclusion of support, is what turned me so far against them.
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In-Person Training
FreshBooks
No answers on this topic
Intuit
Best thing I ever did was to attend a two day training seminar on QuickBooks, I learned an immense amount in a short time with hands on training by experts. I strongly recommend such training for anyone using any part of the software. It will pay for itself in the first month.
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Implementation Rating
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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Intuit
We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.
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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.
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Intuit
Zoho had great end-user support and it was almost as simple to learn and was as easy to use. But its reports were not as [customizable] as QuickBooks Desktop Pro, and its job cost and department accounting [were] more cumbersome than QuickBooks Desktop Pro was. In addition, while I like an underdog (Zoho) the fact is that it is easier to find staff that [is] comfortable with QuickBooks Desktop Pro than anything else on the market.
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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.
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Intuit
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a no hassle accounting solution that ticks a lot of boxes. It almost never disappoints and organizations will usually keep using it for many years. If anything, the only time I've seen an organization migrate away from it is if they have specific accounting needs, or if the organization has grown to the point that they need a more robust accounting solution. Even then, QuickBooks can usually be maintained within another accounting software system for specific functions, like A/R & A/P for example.
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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