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Don't get fresh with clients - get Freshbooks!
Updated November 26, 2019

Don't get fresh with clients - get Freshbooks!

Mike Calabro | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with FreshBooks

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.
  • Invoicing - Creating invoices is easy. This helps me to get the invoices out faster. It automatically keeps items so that I can re-use them later. as an example, if I want to charge the client for a digital transfer fee, I can pick that item form a drop-down menu and it will even fill in the rate that I used in the past.
  • Templates- The template allows me to keep my branding cohesive and professional. You can add your logo and pick a theme color so that it matches your brand. There are two different template layouts to choose from.
  • Automatic Expense Importing - I use two separate credit cards for my business. One card for non-billable items and another for items that I bill my clients for. The auto importing makes adding those billable items to invoices easy.
  • Templates- One of my biggest gripes about Freshbooks is that if you change the Terms section on an invoice, it will change it for every future invoice across the board. I often need to change my terms depending on the client and job. This makes it's very hard to keep everything organized.
  • Price- If you do not use all of the Freshbook features, it is a bit expensive for what you get unless you only have a few clients.
  • Importing of expenses - When automatically importing expenses, Freshbooks often miscategorized items and often does not fill out the vendor section when I use my Chase accounts.
  • Freshbooks saves me time compared to when I managed to invoice without an app.
  • Freshbooks make keeping my invoices organized which saves me time.
  • Freshbooks helps me to know who is late on payments. When I was doing this by hand, some invoices would get lost in the clutter and I would not find out I haven't been paid until much later.
N/A
Adobe Photoshop, RoboForm, Google Authenticator, G Suite, IDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, AssureSign, Facebook for Business, Skype, Mailchimp, Google Search Console, Coinbase, Squarespace, TripIt, Todoist
There might be a few better options for someone like me who is running a photography business. I have been using Freshbooks for a long time and my fear of having to learn a new system has kept me from trying the other options out there. It excels in sending and organizing invoices but I am not sure if it is the best. My accountant often has issues using the exported data as compared to one of the well-known apps. Freshbooks adds new features a few times a year, but most of the features seem more like a bandaid than an actually useful feature. If you need to keep track of your invoices and make them easy to create than Freshbooks is what you want.

FreshBooks Feature Ratings

8.0
Accounts receivable
8
Expense management
8
Time tracking
Not Rated
Regulations compliance
Not Rated
Inventory Management ()
Not Rated
5.5
Pricing
Not Rated
Order entry
3
Credit card processing
8
Payroll Management ()
Not Rated
8.5
Dashboards
8
Standard reports
9
9.5
API for custom integration
9
Plug-ins
10
Not Rated
Role-based user permissions
Not Rated

Using FreshBooks

Evaluating FreshBooks and Competitors

Yes - Doing it by hand with MS Word
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
Wen I first started using it, it was free and highly recommended by a friend.
I would most likely find a solution that is more based on the needs of my photography business.

FreshBooks Support

Freshbooks has always been very fast with my support issues and I have never had to explain what I need twice. They answer all of the questions, unlike many other customer support people.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
Yes - I am still waiting for the problem with not filling in the vendor when I import with Chase bank.

Using FreshBooks

I wish the templates were a bit more flexible and can be created to be specific for each client.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Consistent
Quick to learn
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
Yes, but I don't use it