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FreshBooks

FreshBooks

Overview

What is FreshBooks?

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…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

FreshBooks is a user-friendly accounting software that has been highly praised by users for its ability to streamline invoice creation, …
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Know what you are buying first

2 out of 10
November 02, 2023
Our main use for FreshBooks is invoicing and estimates, linking with our credit union is very spotty so not reliable enough to do any …
Continue reading
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 20 features
  • Dashboards (52)
    4.6
    46%
  • Standard reports (50)
    4.1
    41%
  • Expense management (46)
    3.1
    31%
  • Accounts receivable (50)
    2.6
    26%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Lite

$15

Cloud
per month

Plus

$30

Cloud
per month

Premium

$55

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttp://www.freshbooks.com/?ref=11573&ut…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Working Better Together with FreshBooks

YouTube

InfoPoc: Freshbooks Connector for Salesforce - Demo

YouTube

Create Freshbooks Invoices for New WooCommerce Orders

YouTube

FreshBooks Demo

YouTube

Freshbooks Demo

YouTube

Become a Certified FreshBooks Accounting Partner

YouTube
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Features

Customization

This addresses a company’s ability to configure the software to fit its specific use case and workflow.

1.2
Avg 7.0

Security

This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.

6.4
Avg 7.9

Reporting & Analytics

Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.

4.5
Avg 7.6

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting

Financial management solution, including capabilities for general ledger and configurable accounting

4.7
Avg 7.4

Order Management

The ability to process orders, and track them from quote to cash.

3.9
Avg 7.4
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Product Details

What is FreshBooks?

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.

FreshBooks Features

General Ledger and Configurable Accounting Features

  • Supported: Accounts payable
  • Supported: Accounts receivable
  • Supported: Expense management
  • Supported: Time tracking
  • Supported: Regulations compliance

Order Management Features

  • Supported: Pricing
  • Supported: Order entry
  • Supported: Credit card processing

Reporting & Analytics Features

  • Supported: Dashboards
  • Supported: Standard reports

Customization Features

  • Supported: API for custom integration
  • Supported: Plug-ins

Security Features

  • Supported: Role-based user permissions

FreshBooks Screenshots

Screenshot of DashboardScreenshot of Invoice OverviewScreenshot of Beautiful, Customizable InvoicesScreenshot of Invoice seamlessly across devicesScreenshot of ExpensesScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of Time TrackingScreenshot of App IntegrationsScreenshot of Recurring BillingScreenshot of PaymentsScreenshot of ReportsScreenshot of Projects

FreshBooks Videos

Accounting, for the Non-Accountant.
Say Hello to FreshBooks Cloud Accounting

FreshBooks Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android
Supported LanguagesEnglish

Frequently Asked Questions

QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Zoho Invoice are common alternatives for FreshBooks.

Reviewers rate Self-service portal highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of FreshBooks are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).

FreshBooks Customer Size Distribution

Consumers0%
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)95%
Mid-Size Companies (51-500 employees)5%
Enterprises (more than 500 employees)0%
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(205)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

FreshBooks is a user-friendly accounting software that has been highly praised by users for its ability to streamline invoice creation, email tracking, and expense management. With FreshBooks, users can effortlessly create, email, and track invoices, as well as set up recurring invoices. The detailed reports provided by FreshBooks allow users to efficiently manage their financials and gain insights into their expenses and client details. Clients also appreciate the convenience of accessing their accounts, viewing/printing invoices, and even filing disputes through FreshBooks. Another notable aspect of FreshBooks is its responsive and helpful customer support team, which is always ready to address any issues or questions that users may have.

Freelancers in particular rely on FreshBooks to stay organized and generate reports for estimating, invoicing, expense tracking, and timekeeping. However, the versatility of FreshBooks extends beyond freelancers. It has been widely used across industries for invoicing clients and keeping the process organized and efficient. For example, Picobarn implemented FreshBooks as a mandatory tool for its employees, enabling them to streamline the invoicing process and provide real-time project tracking. Additionally, FreshBooks has been adopted by organizations to integrate accounting and bookkeeping activities, simplifying day-to-day tasks and ensuring security. By replacing manual bookkeeping processes with FreshBooks, users have saved time and resources while improving client understanding of financial documents.

FreshBooks handles all invoicing needs effectively by making invoice creation quick and easy while enabling online payments. The software has become a valuable tool for independent representatives in various business sectors such as graphic design, helping them track business expenses effortlessly. Similarly, freelance writers and editors find FreshBooks indispensable for tracking hours worked, invoicing clients accurately, and managing their one-person operations smoothly. Companies also utilize FreshBooks to track time and expenses for both staff and consultants working on client projects. In addition to customer invoicing and expense tracking capabilities, it provides direct access for tax advisors, facilitating bank account reconciliation and ensuring accurate financial reporting.

While FreshBooks has garnered positive feedback from users, some have experienced challenges with credit card integrations and payment processing, leading them to explore alternative options. Despite this, FreshBooks has remained a popular choice for businesses seeking to centralize invoicing and accounting processes, improving efficiency and organization. Consultants and support teams have also found value in FreshBooks as it helps them track time, invoice clients, and consolidate tasks within one program.

FreshBooks has successfully helped users streamline their invoicing process, resulting in faster invoice creation, professional-looking invoices, and improved payment tracking. By allowing users to set automatic reminders for overdue invoices, FreshBooks ensures timely follow-up for payment. However, some users prefer to send manual reminders.

FreshBooks has been praised for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for users to navigate and use for multiple purposes. It is particularly beneficial for small businesses and freelancers who need a simple accounting solution without the complexity of tools like QuickBooks. Users appreciate the ease of use and simplicity of FreshBooks for handling administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, expense tracking, and invoicing. The software eliminates the need for more complex tools and reduces the need to hire additional staff.

One of the key advantages of FreshBooks is its cloud-based nature, allowing users to access and send invoices from their smartphones and tablets. This flexibility enables users to manage their financials on the go, keeping them connected to their business at all times. The ability to track time spent on projects, calculate project estimates, invoice clients, and accept payments all within FreshBooks makes it a valuable tool for freelancers and small businesses alike. Additionally, FreshBooks offers a free trial without requiring credit card information, allowing users to test the software before committing.

FreshBooks caters to a wide range of industries and has been used by marketing and manufacturing customers to properly track invoices and increase productivity and cost savings. It is also utilized across entire organizations for account receivables, setting up and sending invoices, collecting payments, tracking hours on projects, and efficiently managing billing. Moreover, FreshBooks has found its place in small family businesses that depend on it for managing expenses, logging hours, invoicing companies, and tracking total sales. Users have even customized FreshBooks using its API to automate payment entry and tracking according to their specific needs.

Overall, FreshBooks has proven itself as a reliable accounting software that simplifies the invoicing process, tracks expenses effectively, provides comprehensive financial insights, and offers user-friendly features. Its extensive range of functionalities makes it a valuable tool for freelancers, small businesses, and organizations looking to streamline their financial management processes.

Based on user recommendations, FreshBooks receives the following common suggestions:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the interface: Users recommend purchasing the free version of FreshBooks to get acquainted with the interface. This allows users to understand how the software works before committing to a paid plan.

  2. Suitable for small businesses: FreshBooks is highly recommended for small businesses. It is seen as a valuable program that caters to their day-to-day transactions and accounting needs. The software's simplicity and user-friendly interface make it an ideal choice for small business owners.

  3. Try before committing: Users suggest trying the trial version or taking advantage of the 1-month free trial offered by FreshBooks. This allows potential users to test out the software and assess its suitability for their specific business needs before making any financial commitments.

Overall, users find FreshBooks to be a valuable and user-friendly tool for online accounting, billing, invoicing, and expense tracking. They recommend giving it a try, especially for small businesses looking for a simple and easy-to-use accounting or invoicing program.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 69)
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Christine Ball | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I tried FreshBooks over a year ago and had difficulty connecting to my bank account, which was more of a problem with my bank account, so I cancelled my subscription, which I paid a full year in advance. I decided to give them another try, as I did like the interface when I had tried them before. I had an offer to return to FreshBooks at a discounted rate, and took the offer. Instead of being charged the discounted rate, they ended up charging me the full rate and I've now been on hold with them for over an hour waiting to get my money back. I am a small business and having that much money tied up with a company that isn't trustworthy is not fun. I want to be able to use those funds to get work with a bookkeeping software that doesn't bait and switch rates.
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Our main use for FreshBooks is invoicing and estimates, linking with our credit union is very spotty so not reliable enough to do any actual accounting. We do still use for keeping track of total sales, and categorized sales. We do also utilize their online payment processing and payment logging features.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We tried using FreshBooks for our Short Term vacation rental business. However, it was too expensive for what we were using it for. We tried to cancel online but they want you to send an email. I have emailed three times and I cannot get a response to cancel my account. I just got charged for another month. Very frustrating that they make it impossible to cancel.
Antonio Piraino | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I use FreshBooks for my customer invoicing, expense and bank account reconciliation and enjoy sharing direct access to my account with my tax advisor. There were hiccups in setup as the connection to my credit cards and bank occasionally suffered from a broken link since the company used a third party to facilitate the integrations which made things worse for a while. I stuck around since customer service was trying to help me. The last couple of months have seen the credit card integrations finally working much better in pulling in expenses. Unfortunately, FreshBooks partnered up with WePay at some point and it became extremely difficult to receive payments for any of my larger invoices (above $5k) and I couldn't get clarity on why the payments were being canceled and sent back to my clients. WePay was exceptionally unhelpful, and FreshBooks customer support was not particularly helpful in this case. At this point I'm forced to look for an alternative to FreshBooks - essentially anyone not using WePay.
Armand Ruci | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use this for simple accounting tasks related to my publishing company and it is an awesome app. I use it to manage accounts receivable and payable, inventory, and payroll and it does all those without flaw. As a sole proprietor, I have found this app to be tremendously useful in the small business that I run after my day job as a teacher, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that needs to do simple accounting tasks.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Some of our clients use this platform as their base system in the US, the implementation was attempted with their subsidiaries in Mexico in order to manage a single program for their entire operation. Some integration tests were carried out, however, it was not completely compatible with all the needs of the Mexican authorities.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is used across the entire org for the following
  • project management of clients
  • Invoicing
  • Time management
  • Book keeping
It allow for a comprehensive picture on the health of a client, the revenue streams and the time we are billing to clients. This has made it easy for resource management as well.
Tim Vahsholtz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use FreshBooks for all my billing. Being a small business, it helps to have automated invoicing and reminders for some of our clients. FreshBooks also provides auto payments if our clients prefer.

One main reason I went with FreshBooks is the fact that it links up with Fundbox. Our clients are good about paying (usually), but not knowing exactly when checks arrive can be strenuous on small business. By linking up w/Fundbox, we can use that service to keep cash flow going in case of a tardy payment.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We implemented FreshBooks for a couple of marketing and manufacturing customers--most of our customers were using different accounting softwares for finance and invoice management across all their departments They reported issues like not able to track invoices properly, lack of cloud compatibility, etc. After FreshBooks implementation/migration, customers are able to better track invoices and they see 20-30% increased productivity and around 20% cost savings.
Mike Calabro | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Freshbooks for my invoicing, estimates and lite accounting work. I am a freelance photographer and have recommended Freshbooks to any of my colleagues. It is easy to use and for myself as well as my clients. It does a good job of showing when clients are late to pay, which is often in the freelance world.
Lou Gallo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is currently being used to manage and track expenses, log hours and invoice companies for our family small business. I have also written a few automations using their API to allow easy entry of payments and tracking what is owed. In addition to these business actions, Freshbooks is linked through their partner network into our payroll system so that the expenses of payroll and costs associated with running the business can be easily computed for tax time.
Gary Shouldis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Freshbooks has been our main invoicing software for the past 6 years. We use it for invoicing one-time projects as well as monthly recurring clients. We chose Freshbooks because it was offered an easy way to invoice clients and was one of the few invoicing platforms that offered recurring payments. The user interface is fantastic and makes it easy to use by multiple people on our team.
Dana Darla | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My company is performing all accounting functions for different companies. One of our clients uses FreshBooks as main accounting software to keep track of billing and expenses.
evans mutinda | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Our company is currently using Freshbooks to manage its finances in an easy and secure manner. This software is currently being used in the Finance department. Its adoption has made the process of sending professional invoices, organizing expenses and tracking billable time easier than before.
Laura Cain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks is used primarily by our CEO and by me to manage our day to day invoicing and expenses. With around 80-100 clients at any given time, it helps us both manage and streamline our invoicing, and helps us gauge month to month outgoing and incoming costs.
Ryan Freeman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Due to currency limitations within FreshBooks, we run two accounts. One bills our Canadian customers in CAD, and the other bills USA and International clients in USD.
FreshBooks is our primary invoicing system. As a SaaS and consulting company the majority of our billing is based on recurring contracts, so we looked to FreshBooks as a replacement for manual processing of credit cards. FreshBooks automatically generates invoices according to the client's billing profile, and securely stores the card on file. The late fee/interest system is rudimentary, but does a solid job for what we need.
Invoices, payment notifications, and invoice reminders are emailed automatically.
The Time Tracking feature allows us to log time to projects and have that automatically added to invoices when they recur.
For the first several years we were very happy with FreshBooks, especially as their customer service team was really efficient and friendly. Unfortunately, that's changed a lot over the past few years as FreshBooks has tried to evolve from an invoicing tool into a full accounting system. They have increased prices, limited options, and service has degraded. We're now one competitive feature away from canceling both accounts.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks allows us to put client billing and business finances on auto-pilot. Our clients pay us via different methods: card, check, PayPal, and FreshBooks supports it all. In addition to client billing, business expenses are easily managed, many of them being auto tracked. FreshBooks makes it super easy to generate tax related reports as well.
Soneeka Arora | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We have been using Freshbooks for invoicing our customers since last three years. It is pretty seamless with capabilities to send estimates to our customers. Creating a duplicate invoice from an invoice is a nice feature for recurring invoices. It also allows users to set automatic reminders for overdue invoices. Since there is no notification if and when the reminders are sent, we prefer sending manual reminders over automatic reminders. It allows the clients/customers to pay the invoices via the credit card and in return, it charges a fee for each transaction.
One limitation is that it does not allow multiple accounts for one client so in case we have to send multiple invoices to different cost units within the same client, we have to create separate clients.
But overall, it is simple and easy software to handle.
They do not have chat support rather a call-in support or email support which is great and very responsive.
Yemsi Pino | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks is being used for us as technical department of our organization, in order to get related with the administrative department of our organization, where the match of an hour of work and invoice relations are made. The whole process began with a really very comprehensive diagram of our business, geographical data and business support, where all the cost in the administrative and office area are involved in our hourly rate in every project we do. It is being used in the whole organization because we use the software in order to know our hourly rate, but also our business daily costs, so all the departments in our business are tied in with the software, because we have the same goal, going forward.
Amara Omoregie | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it to invoice our clients, collect payments, and get accounts receivable reports. Billing is super simple, and our clients really like how easy it is to pay us, which is why we won't switch our billing to QuickBooks Online. Our whole organization uses this software currently and has for a while now.
Asia Matos | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
FreshBooks is how I invoice all of my clients for DemandMaven. DemandMaven is a small consulting firm that caters to early-stage startups and SaaS companies. The main business problem it addresses is very simple: provide beautiful, user-friendly invoices to my clients and allow them to easily pay for the services I provide them! Typical invoicing software can be extremely clunky and archaic-looking. I wanted something beautiful that would represent my brand in a way I could be proud of.
Brandon Loyche | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our entire organization, although small (5 people) uses FreshBooks for our estimates, invoicing, time tracking and payment processing. FreshBooks has been an integral part of our company for the past 5 years - when QuickBooks didn't want to accept our new business to use it's platform we began looking into other options. Ever since that moment we have been a fan and used FreshBooks every day since.
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