Freshbooks Review In 2024: Features & Alternatives
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FreshBooks is a great accounting software for freelancers and independent contractors as a financial management and invoicing tool, in addition to other great features it offers.
Pros
- Simple to use for freelancers
- Great customer support
- Good invoicing
- Time and mileage tracking in all plans
Cons
- Limited number of users and clients
- No accountant access on lowest tier
- Doesn’t provide quarterly tax estimates
- Unlimited invoices and customization
- Unlimited expense tracking
- Credit card and ACH payments
- Automated bank import
- Unlimited time tracking
- Mobile mileage tracking
- Tax reports
- Business health reports
- Founded in 2003
- Based out of Toronto, ON
- Operated by 2ndSite Inc.,
FreshBooks is a great option for small business accounting software for freelancers and very small companies. Originally, FreshBooks started as a way to manage invoices, though it eventually grew to be a full accounting software product for small companies.
At this point in time, FreshBooks operates and has customers in over 160 countries. They have great customer service and invoice customization, though they aren’t the best option for businesses that are growing quickly given the user limits on a number of the plans they offer.
They offer four main plans that come with a range of different accounting support and other financial management tools. Plus, their platform is available both on mobile devices and on desktops.
Freshbooks Advantages
To begin our FreshBooks review, let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of their platform that small business owners can take advantage of.
Multi-Platform Support
One of the main benefits of using FreshBooks is that they are available on a number of different platforms, including both mobile apps and desktop computers. This makes the platform highly accessible, allowing businesses to check their account and current business positioning from anywhere.
FreshBooks Free Trial
Additionally, another great advantage of FreshBooks is that they offer a 60-day free trial for all users. This allows businesses to try out the capabilities of the platform to see if it’s a good match for what they need, without having to pay for this trial period.
So while FreshBooks doesn’t offer a free version of their platform, this free trial period is a great way to test out the platform for a period of time free.
Strong Security
Another advantage of using FreshBooks is that it has great security measures that keep customers’ data safe and secure. This doesn’t have to be a worry for any customers storing their sensitive personal information on the platform and can utilize the platform with confidence regarding their privacy and security.
Platform Integrations
Lastly, one of the great advantages of using FreshBooks is that it can be easily integrated with other platforms and add-ons. This allows users to have all relevant business data and information accessible from one location, without having to navigate between different platforms and services.
Freshbooks Packages
Lite | Plus | Premium | Select | |
Monthly Fee | $15 | $25 | $50 | Custom pricing |
Client self-service portal | ||||
Automated client emails with dynamic fields | ||||
Unlimited Estimates | ||||
Automated Late Payment Reminders | ||||
Project Profitability | ||||
Dedicated account manager | ||||
Team Members | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Lite Plan
The Lite package offers many great features even though it’s the lowest tier option provided. Some of the basic functionalities of this plan include automated recurring invoicing and late reminders, unlimited estimates, unlimited customized invoices for multiple clients, scheduled late fees, and more.
Plus Plan
The FreshBooks Plus plan is the next tier, supporting all the same features as the Lite package, plus access for accountants, automatic expense capture, and some additional billable client access.
Premium Plan
The premium plan is a step up from FreshBooks plus, though it includes all the same features with some additional capabilities for advanced usage.
With this plan, customers can enjoy access to unlimited billable clients, customized email templates and signatures, automated client emails with dynamic fields,
Select Plan
Lastly, the Select plan is the highest tier offered by FreshBooks and is the only package that supports two users. In this package, customers can remove FreshBooks branding from client emails and access advanced payment processing features. This means they can securely accept payments by credit card, access lower fees w, and store and charge clients’ cards securely for recurring billing.
Plus, they will have a dedicated account manager, customized onboarding services, data migration services, and more.
Freshbooks Quick Overview
Best Overall Value
- Great pricing tiers
- Best for freelancers and sole proprietors
- Unlimited invoicing capabilities
Freshbooks Customer Reviews
After covering the FreshBooks pricing and overall advantages of the platform, we can now take a look to see what their customers say about the platform. Trustpilot, they have a great rating and reputation with consumers, so take a look at some of the top reviews.
I love, love, LOVE Freshbooks. I have several small companies and Freshbooks is super-easy to use AND feature-rich. Not only did it replace a previous solution, but it has also saved me much time, improved the professionalism of my estimates and invoices and allowed me to capture more details so I have a much more complete picture of the health of my businesses. It’s actually kind of fun to use.
Meghan
FreshBooks has helped my business organize expenses, generate invoices and links very well with our business bank account. Generating Financial Reports helps us see the trial balance, profit & loss and balance sheets with ease. From the initial onboarding up to now, FreshBooks helped us solve a need easily and effectively. The pricing per month is affordable and is tax deductible.
Angelina
Accounting has never been my strong suit. However, Freshbooks has changed that with its easy-to-use software. Now I feel confident keeping tabs on my incoming and outgoing. I particularly love the integration of the time-tracking feature and the ability to generate invoices in different currencies no less. Connecting my accounts was easy too enabling me to track expenses. If you’re a solopreneur, I recommend making Freshbooks your friend.
Michael
Freshbooks has enabled to me start using a simple bookkeeping program which is easy, helpful, and well-supported. This program enables me to keep track of expenses, and income and generate business-related reports without difficulty. I love the follow-up the representatives do to make sure that there are no problems and that we are utilizing the program to its fullest.
Jill
Freshbooks Service Review
Review of Freshbooks
Overall Pricing and Value | 93.75%
| 93.75% |
Cost Value | 100%
| 100% |
Customer Support | 100%
| 100% |
Ease of Use | 90%
| 90% |
Included Features | 85%
| 85% |
Taking all this information about FreshBooks’s cost, reviews, and advantages into account, let’s make a final assessment of when FreshBooks is the right choice for you and your accounting needs.
Is This Brand Right For You?
FreshBooks is a great platform that provides straightforward accounting systems to sole proprietors, contractors, freelancers, and other small companies. Even still, FreshBooks may not be the top choice for every small business.
Their limited user and client functions may be a problem for some users, and other growing businesses may require more sophisticated features from their accounting platform. So in this case, given the great functionalities like bank reconciliation, phone support, and other accounting features, they can be a great choice for businesses of the right size.
Cost Value
Additionally, FreshBooks has great and affordable pricing for packages that provide great value to customers. At each level, the packages include an increasing number of excellent features and billable client support, which is a great benefit so businesses only have to pay for the capabilities and functionalities they need.
Customer Service
Another reason why many companies choose FreshBooks is because of its great customer support team. If you need to contact FreshBooks, it’s easy to do so either by phone or email, which many competitors do not support for their customer service.
Ease of Use
FreshBooks is simple accounting software that makes its interface intuitive and easy to use. This makes it accessible for business owners to send professional invoices at any stage and with any level of expertise in accounting subjects.
Included Features
Even though FreshBooks is a simpler platform for smaller entities, they still offer a range of excellent features that are of great value and benefit to customers. With all packages, time tracking and mobile tracking of mileage are included, in addition to an unlimited volume of creating invoices for the permitted number of clients. Users can set up recurring invoices, charge late fees, track overdue invoices, and more, making it the perfect solution for small business owners.
Overall
Having a FreshBooks account is a great choice for smaller companies or sole proprietors given the limited user and client functionalities. However, the excellent pricing and straightforward interface make it easy to use and preferred by customers.
2 Top Freshbooks Alternatives
Xero | Melio | Freshbooks | |
Overview | Xero is an accounting software platform that helps small businesses get an accurate snapshot of their business health and connect with accounting professionals. | Melio is a payment platform that helps small businesses streamline their AP and AR systems. | FreshBooks is one of the top accounting platforms for very small businesses needing invoicing and other business support tools. |
Award | Best Overall | Best for Online Payments | Best for Very Small Companies |
Star | 4.8/5 | 4.2/5 | 4.6/5 |
Link |
Xero
Xero is a great choice for small entities needing accounting software that integrates well with other platforms and add-ons. They help businesses reconcile business bank accounts, with project management, and other crucial business processes.
Melio
Melio is a free platform that helps businesses streamline their AP and AR processes and bill payments. Overall, they help business owners find flexibility in how they’re able to pay bills. Instead, Melio allows businesses to pay with ACH or credit card, making their accounts payable and accounts receivable processes simpler.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many instances where using FreshBooks is a great choice for business owners, especially those on the smaller side since all plans except select offer support for only one user. Even still, customers can’t say enough good things about their intuitive interface, great pricing, and time tracking features that are better than competitors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, FreshBooks offers four plans: Lite, Plus, Premium, and Select.
Yes, under each plan you can send an unlimited number of invoices to the specified number of clients that are permitted for every package.
All packages support double-entry accounting reports.
For companies that have the FreshBooks Lite plan, it will support up to five clients and one user.
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ABOUT THE REVIEWER
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