FreshBooks is ideal for small businesses that want a basic, easy-to-use accounting solution and don’t need complex accounting features or multiple users.
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Editor & Senior Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Expert Contributor
| Total Rating | 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Pricing3.9 | |
| Ease Of Use4.4 | |
| Features3.9 | |
| Customer Service4.9 | |
| User Reviews4.1 | |
Accounting Method
Accrual OnlyPricing Range
$21-$65/monthBusiness Size
Smaller to mid-sized businesses with a limited number of usersTable of Contents
FreshBooks is accounting software with an extremely intuitive interface, loads of integrations, and excellent customer support. It is highly scalable with multiple pricing tiers.
However, FreshBooks is probably best suited for smaller to mid-sized businesses as the cost of adding additional users can add up, and there are some key missing features such as inventory management.
Read on for our full FreshBooks review and see if this accounting software is right for you.
| Pricing3.9 |
|---|
| Software Plans 3.8 |
| Pricing Transparency 4.2 |
| Pricing Customization 3.8 |
FreshBooks offers three main pricing levels. Only the two largest plans come with double-entry accounting and the subsequent accounting features.
| FreshBooks Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| FreshBooks Lite | $21/month ($226.80/year billed annually) | You have 5 billable clients or fewer and need unlimited invoices and estimates |
| FreshBooks Plus | $38/month ($410.40/year billed annually) | You have up to 50 billable clients and need more advanced reporting |
| FreshBooks Premium | $65/month ($702/year billed annually) | You need unlimited billable clients and bill tracking |
You can make monthly payments or purchase a yearly subscription, which will get you a 10% discount. There is a free 30-day trial. No credit card or banking information is required, and you can cancel the service anytime. A custom plan option is also available.
If you have numerous clients, you will have to upgrade to one of the more expensive plans. Adding more users will also drive up pricing.
While smaller businesses with a single user and five or fewer clients can get FreshBooks for a pretty reasonable cost, add-ons, additional users, and advanced features drive up pricing for larger businesses with more complex accounting needs. For these reasons, we rate FreshBooks 3.9/5 in terms of pricing.
Here’s what you get with each FreshBooks pricing plan:
FreshBooks Lite costs $21/month ($226.80/year billed annually) and includes:
FreshBooks Plus costs $38/month ($410.40/year billed annually) and includes everything in the Lite plan, plus:
FreshBooks Premium costs $65/month ($702/year billed annually) and includes everything in the Plus plan, plus:
FreshBooks also offers a fourth service called FreshBooks Select.
FreshBooks Select has all of the features of FreshBooks Premium but also includes features such as lower credit card transaction rates, exclusive access to Select Support and Onboarding teams to train your team and migrate your books from other platforms, and the removal of FreshBooks branding from client emails.
Contact FreshBooks directly for a quote for FreshBooks Select.
| FreshBooks Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| FreshBooks Payroll | $40+/month + $6/month/user |
| Additional Users | $11/month per user |
| Freshbooks Payments | 2.9% + $0.30 for most transactions |
| Advanced Payments | $20/month |
Before purchasing FreshBooks, there are a few extra costs you may have to factor in, depending on your business’s needs:
| Ease Of Use4.4 |
|---|
| Initial Setup 3.7 |
| Software Reliability 4.0 |
| Everyday Use 5.0 |
| Integrations 4.3 |
FreshBooks has always been simple to use, and the company has been rolling out small navigational updates nearly every month to improve usability. The software is easy to set up and requires little previous bookkeeping experience. The company is listening to users and has addressed previous navigational issues.
There is still the occasional navigational difficulty, but if you have any trouble using the software, FreshBooks offers strong customer support and provides plenty of tools to help. FreshBooks also boasts strong mobile apps for accounting on the go.
When it comes to integrations, FreshBooks offers 100+ options to cover just about any need businesses might have. While FreshBooks offers many popular integration options, such as Gusto, Asana, and Basecamp, its payment processing options are limited. API is available for developers.
Despite a few navigational difficulties and a few missing integrations, FreshBooks is very easy to use and is a great choice for beginner and experienced users alike. This is why FreshBooks earns a strong score of 4.4/5 for ease of use.
In terms of features, FreshBooks covers all the basics and has a lot of built-in automations to help save time. There are a few missing features we’d like to see FreshBooks add, such as a customizable chart of accounts, advanced inventory, and additional reports. These missing features lowered our features score to a still-respectable 3.9/5.
| FreshBooks Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Budgeting | |
| Tax Support | |
| Invoicing | |
| Estimates | |
| Client Portal | |
| Contact Management | |
| Expense Tracking | |
| Bank Reconciliation | |
| Chart Of Accounts | |
| Accounts Payable | |
| Inventory | |
| Time Tracking | |
| Project Management | |
| Number Of Reports | 20+ |
| Number Of Integrations | 100+ |
Here are the most notable features you can find in FreshBooks’ accounting software.
FreshBooks doesn’t have the most advanced invoicing feature, but it’s pretty solid. Here’s what to expect when creating and sending invoices with FreshBooks:
FreshBooks offers plenty of features to help you balance the books, including:
FreshBooks has an easy-to-use contact management feature. Highlights include:
Unfortunately, there is no way to manage vendors.
FreshBooks doesn’t have a strong inventory management feature. Instead, it’s more of an inventory list. With this feature you can add:
With FreshBooks’ time tracking feature, you can:
FreshBooks has a nice project management tool that allows users to:
FreshBooks has improved its reports, now offering 20+ reports based on the plan you choose. Here’s what to expect:
One of the coolest features of FreshBooks is its proposals feature, which is available for Plus and Premium users. This well-developed feature:
| Customer Service4.9 |
|---|
| Personal Support 4.8 |
| Self-Service 5.0 |
The one thing that hasn’t changed over the years is FreshBooks’ great customer support. FreshBooks highly values its customer service, so much so that every FreshBooks employee spends their first month in customer support. The company has also won numerous customer service awards.
| FreshBooks Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Phone calls get answered right away, and in my experience, representatives are friendly, informative, and helpful. Emails are also responded to quickly, and there’s a well-developed help center and an expansive blog. For its great customer service options, we rated FreshBooks a well-deserved 4.9/5 in this category.
Here are all of the support options available to FreshBooks users:
| User Reviews4.1 |
|---|
| User Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.1 |
Overall, customers seem to like FreshBooks. FreshBooks receives 4.5/5 stars on GetApp (based on over 4,400 reviews), 4.5 stars on G2 (based on over 790 reviews), and 6.5/10 stars on TrustRadius (based on over 200 reviews). Based on user feedback, we’ve rated FreshBooks a 4.1/5 for user reviews.
In recent years, FreshBooks has addressed common issues, such as the lack of double-entry accounting and some navigational difficulties. FreshBooks rating from the BBB has dropped to a C since our last review, and eight complaints have been closed in the last three years.
Here are some of the most common issues users still have with the software.
Some of the aspects that customers say they love the most in their FreshBooks reviews are:
FreshBooks is secured by 256-bit SSL encryption as well as Cisco-powered firewalls. Data is backed up on two servers in two separate (undisclosed) locations and backed up nightly onto a physical tape. FreshBooks has intrusion detection and vulnerability test programs that run frequently.
FreshBooks’ servers are housed in Rackspace’s data centers in addition to cloud-based security measures. To learn more about FreshBooks’ security and its partnership with Rackspace, contact the FreshBooks team.
| FreshBooks | QuickBooks Online | Xero | Wave | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $21-$65/month | $35-$235/month | $20-$80/month | $0-$16/month |
| Business Size | Small To Medium | Small To Medium | Medium To Large | Freelancers & Small Businesses |
| Number Of Users | 1 | 1-25 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Accounting Method | Accrual | Accrual & Cash Basis | Accrual & Cash Basis | Accrual & Cash Basis |
| Quality Of Features | Fair | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Quality Of Support | Excellent | Fair | Fair | Fair |
FreshBooks excels in many areas of accounting software, but it can’t compete with QuickBooks in terms of features. When it comes to FreshBooks versus QuickBooks, FreshBooks is a bit cheaper, but you also don’t get the full array of services that QuickBooks offers.
FreshBooks is a great fit for smaller businesses that has a small number of users. It’s also very beneficial for contract workers. But QuickBooks shines when it comes to advanced reports and is an all-in-one accounting solution.
FreshBooks versus Wave is a close call. Wave has a free plan and is generally going to be a cheaper option. Both platforms shine with their highly intuitive and simple interfaces, and both have solid feature sets for small businesses.
FreshBooks has the edge when it comes to customer service, as Wave only offers some of its support avenues to paid customers. Wave is also lacking compared to FreshBooks when it comes to integrations.
Xero has the edge when it comes to a full array of features, plus you can have multiple users. To access all features, you’ll pay a little more than you will with FreshBooks. But Xero’s full accounting suite that integrates with other popular software covers all of your bases.
FreshBooks shines again when it comes to customer service. Finally, although Xero’s interface is easier to learn than QuickBooks, it still isn’t as innately intuitive as FreshBooks.
| FreshBooks Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Accounting Method | Accrual Only |
| Pricing Range | $21-$65/month |
| Pricing Range | $21-$65/month |
| Choose If You Need |
|
FreshBooks is easy accounting software with many great features suitable for small businesses. Double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, and reporting make this accounting software a viable competitor in the small business accounting space. Despite some shortcomings, we recommend FreshBooks, giving it an overall rating of 4.2/5.
However, keep in mind that the software is missing important features. That said, FreshBooks’ ease of use and amazing customer service put both Xero and QuickBooks Online to shame, which may make FreshBooks 100% worth it for your business. FreshBooks also has a unique proposal feature. Take the free trial for a spin to see if the pros outweigh the cons for your business, or explore other options by taking a look at pics for the best accounting software.
We spend hours researching and evaluating each accounting software system we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.
When rating accounting and invoicing software, we use a 47-point rubric that looks at pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like relative cost, number of subscription tiers, data import, invoicing tools, quotes and estimates, client portal availability, bookkeeping support options, and the usability of the software interface. We also ensure that the software offers most standard accounting features and reports, awarding higher rankings to those that provide advanced services, like tax filing.
Read more about how we rate accounting software.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
FreshBooks |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see FreshBooks for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
FreshBooks |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see FreshBooks for yourself.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. FreshBooks made the cut.
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