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    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

    Salesforce Starter

    Score9 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    Salesforce Starter (formerly Salesforce Essentials) is a small business CRM that replaces the former SalesforceIQ product. It is priced at $35 per user, on a monthly basis, or at $25 per month for if billed annually ($300) and can be tried free for 14 days on a trial.

    $35

    per month per user

    Pricing
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    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
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details10% discount for annual pricing.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    Considered Both Products
    FreshBooks
    No answer on this topic
    Salesforce
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    69%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    80%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    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
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    64%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    62%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    80%
    Implementation went as expected
    4 Answers
    Features
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.1
    35 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Salesforce Starter
    6.7
    6 Ratings
    13% below category average
    API for custom integration9.330 Ratings7.35 Ratings
    Plug-ins9.026 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom fields00 Ratings7.06 Ratings
    Custom objects00 Ratings7.05 Ratings
    Scripting environment00 Ratings5.75 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    10.0
    41 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Salesforce Starter
    8.6
    6 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Single sign-on capability10.01 Ratings8.66 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions10.041 Ratings8.66 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    57 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Salesforce Starter
    -
    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 Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    56 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Salesforce Starter
    -
    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 Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.5
    49 Ratings
    25% above category average
    Salesforce Starter
    -
    Ratings
    Pricing8.839 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry9.337 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing9.741 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Sales Force Automation
    Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    8.7
    7 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings7.27 Ratings
    Territory management00 Ratings7.57 Ratings
    Opportunity management00 Ratings9.07 Ratings
    Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings9.46 Ratings
    Quote & order management00 Ratings9.55 Ratings
    Interaction tracking00 Ratings8.56 Ratings
    Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings9.75 Ratings
    Marketing Automation
    Comparison of Marketing Automation features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    7.2
    6 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Lead management00 Ratings7.26 Ratings
    CRM Project Management
    Comparison of CRM Project Management features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    8.2
    5 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Task management00 Ratings9.65 Ratings
    Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings6.35 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings8.65 Ratings
    CRM Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    9.0
    5 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Forecasting00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Pipeline visualization00 Ratings8.85 Ratings
    Customizable reports00 Ratings9.25 Ratings
    Social CRM
    Comparison of Social CRM features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    8.6
    5 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Social engagement00 Ratings8.65 Ratings
    Integrations with 3rd-party Software
    Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    8.2
    5 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Marketing automation00 Ratings8.35 Ratings
    Compensation management00 Ratings8.15 Ratings
    Platform
    Comparison of Platform features of FreshBooks and Salesforce Starter
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce Starter
    8.3
    6 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Mobile access00 Ratings8.36 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Salesflare
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Kintone
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Oracle Sales
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.6
    (75 ratings)
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.6
    (18 ratings)
    4.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.6
    (20 ratings)
    8.4
    (4 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.0
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreshBooksSalesforce Starter
    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
    Salesforce
    If you own a business that has complex selling processes or requires integrations with 3rd party tools/systems, you should look at Professional, Enterprise, or Unlimited editions. Salesforce operates very well across pretty much every industry, but not all sales, marketing, and operational processes are created equal. If your marketing process requires a long list of sendable contacts then I would recommend adding on Pardot or Hubspot. Always start small and scale up, to avoid boxing yourself in down the road.
    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
    Salesforce
    • Tracking phone calls is extremely easy when using the app on the iphone. After a phone call is complete it prompts the user to enter in call details.
    • SalesforceIQ also automatically logs emails for us. This has saved us time from entering in information manually.
    • SalesforceIQ was easy to set up and allowed us customization for fields that were relevant to our business.
    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
    Salesforce
    • Table views can be sorted by column. Filters can be applied, but only to one column. Multi-column filtering like Excel allows would be extremely useful and a big improvement.
    • The ability to quick copy data in a table view would also be helpful, like (ctrl ') in excel.
    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
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Salesforce
    The system is very user-friendly on a desktop but lacks mobile friendliness. The Customer relationship manager disappears after the deal is signed. We struggled to get the system in a usable format, which was not cost-effective. The CRM system on desktop was great but way more complicated than it should be.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    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
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Salesforce
    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
    Salesforce
    more expensive but as an industry leader and go, the learning curve pays for itself in ROI in lost time in onboarding
    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
    Salesforce
    • It made the job more efficient for staff so they can spend time doing other tasks rather than configuring and maintaining Salesforce Starter.
    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

    Salesforce Starter Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot