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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

    TaxJar

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ATaxJar offers automated sales tax reporting and filing. According to the vendor, capabilities include: Accurate, Detailed Sales Tax Reports: TaxJar’s local jurisdiction reports show sales and sales tax collected not only for each state, but for local jurisdiction (counties, cities, special jurisdictions, etc). Users can also sort data by any date range. Estimated Sales Tax Reports: Users can see a comparison of what they actually collected versus what…

    $19

    for up to 200 orders/month

    Pricing
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    Editions & Modules
    Lite
    $21
    per month
    Plus
    $38
    per month
    Premium
    $65
    per month
    Select
    Custom Pricing
    Starter
    $19
    for up to 200 orders/month
    Professional
    $99
    for up to 200 orders/month
    Premium
    Custom
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details10% discount for annual pricing.30 day free trial. No obligation, no activation fees. Upgrade, downgrade or cancel anytime. Pricing based on order volume. Transactions are equal to -Orders imported into TaxJar with one or more line items -SmartCalcs API pushed sales tax calculation If you go over your transaction limit during a single month, we will charge you the difference between the plan you’re on and the next highest plan. The next month you’ll start back on the original plan that you subscribed to, and the process will repeat itself again. This is all done automatically. Your plan will never be interrupted and you will not have to speak with a salesperson.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    Considered Both Products
    FreshBooks
    No answer on this topic
    Stripe
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    69%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    82%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    54%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    64%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    62%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    Features
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of FreshBooks and TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.1
    35 Ratings
    18% above category average
    TaxJar
    -
    Ratings
    API for custom integration9.330 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plug-ins9.026 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of FreshBooks and TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    10.0
    41 Ratings
    20% above category average
    TaxJar
    -
    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 TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    57 Ratings
    4% below category average
    TaxJar
    -
    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 TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    56 Ratings
    2% below category average
    TaxJar
    -
    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 TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.5
    49 Ratings
    25% above category average
    TaxJar
    -
    Ratings
    Pricing8.839 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry9.337 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing9.741 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Type of tax
    Comparison of Type of tax features of FreshBooks and TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    TaxJar
    9.3
    6 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Sales and Use Taxes00 Ratings9.76 Ratings
    Cross-border Taxes00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Tax Reporting & Compliance
    Comparison of Tax Reporting & Compliance features of FreshBooks and TaxJar
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    TaxJar
    9.6
    6 Ratings
    21% above category average
    Geolocation for Tax Assessment00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    3rd-Party Software Integrations00 Ratings8.76 Ratings
    Tax Data Reporting00 Ratings9.85 Ratings
    Compliance Administration Management00 Ratings9.54 Ratings
    Tax Exemption Processing00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Tax Document Management00 Ratings9.54 Ratings
    Complex Tax Scenario Management00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Intuit Lacerte
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Lappa
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Vertex
    Score8.8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.6
    (75 ratings)
    9.3
    (13 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.6
    (18 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.6
    (20 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.0
    (11 ratings)
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreshBooksTaxJar
    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
    Stripe
    If you aren't a tax professional, this is a must. Trying to manually calculate which county/city/state sales tax is owed will break your brain. Actually, even if you were a tax professional, why would you want to manually do it when you could just have a tool like this to calculate it for you. I wish it was also affordable to have it file for you and there are some crunchy bits, but its pros definitely outweigh the cons.
    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
    Stripe
    • The CSV upload for clients that do not have or want to connect directly is very good. It allows us to get a lot of the information done quickly.
    • The cost is very competitive.
    • According to our clients, the integration is relatively easy.
    • For the most part, the reports are accurate.
    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
    Stripe
    • Continually increase its native integration features with BigCommerce, which recently just opened up more Checkout APIs and Sales Tax APIs.
    • The Amazon integration is confusing only because Amazon (sometimes?) calculates and collects sales tax on your behalf. It's not clear what's best-- to let Amazon do it for you or for TaxJar to handle it.
    • Onboarding could be a bit easier and guided.
    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
    Stripe
    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
    Stripe
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Stripe
    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
    Stripe
    We had a few questions about integrations & onboarding, and support answered quickly and in-depth. They understood our questions - which were a bit technical in nature - and were able to provide an explanation in a timely and specific manner that allowed us to get the system up and running quickly.
    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
    Stripe
    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
    Stripe
    TaxJar is less expensive, simpler to integrate and their billing is straightforward so that you don't have to worry about huge surprises at the end of a month or quarter. They spend a lot less time on sales/marketing but their support is excellent and overall we have had a much better experience with TaxJar.
    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
    Stripe
    • With regards to ROI, it definitely saves time. And time, as they say, is money. It may be hard to put a particular dollar sign on this, but it definitely has provided a positive return.
    • It keeps me aware of where I have sales tax nexus that I might not know about otherwise. This is important. Even if I have to check it manually, at least I am made aware of where I need to file.
    • It allows me to track how much in sales tax we've paid year over year, which is a good indication of how our sales are doing.
    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

    TaxJar Screenshots

    Screenshot of TaxJar Reports dashboard showing you the states in which you have nexus, how much sales tax was collected, and your gross sales summary.Screenshot of TaxJar state report showing breakdown of sales tax by city, county, and local jurisdiction for easy sales tax filing.