AND CO Review

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Date Established

2015

Location

New York

Pros

• Suited for freelancers
• Free plan available
• Easy to use
• Excellent customer service
• Excellent mobile apps

Cons

• No tax support
• Limited integrations
• Unsuited for product-based businesses
• Not accounting software

Overview

The life of a freelancer is mostly just drinking coffee and working in your pajamas, right? Well, not always. While freelancing has its perks, freelancers are lone wolves who must survive in the business world all by themselves. That is, until AND CO.

AND CO is a freelancer management software created by Leif Abraham and Martin Strutz in 2015. Over the years, the software has grown to support over 200,000 users and has made significant improvements, catching the eyes of big players like FastCompany and Entrepreneur. AND CO was recently acquired by Fiverr, one of the leading freelance marketplaces, and is now know as AND CO by Fiverr. One of Fiverr’s first moves was to make AND CO completely free.

With strong freelancing features, great customer service, and a free plan, AND CO is hard to beat. While AND CO isn’t full accounting software, you’ll find typical accounting features like invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, and project management. You’ll also find unique freelancing features like contracts and proposals.

However, AND CO is missing a few significant features. Unlike its competitor QuickBooks Self-Employed, AND CO offers no tax support and no mileage deductions. Self-Employment taxes are one of the biggest hurdles that freelancers have to face, and with no built-in tax support, AND CO is missing a huge part of what it means to be a freelancer.

That said, don’t rule AND CO out completely. For freelancers looking for basic bookkeeping tools and expert business support, AND CO could still be a great choice. Continue reading to discover if AND CO is a good fit for you.

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Pricing

When Fiverr first acquired AND CO, they made the software completely free. Now, there is still a free plan available but there is a paid plan as well. Payments are made monthly, and you can cancel your account at any time. There is a discount for purchasing an annual subscription instead.

While many of the features are the same for both plans, the main difference is that the free plan includes AND CO branding on your invoices, doesn’t offer fully editable contracts, and only supports one client. Here’s what to expect with each plan in more detail:

Free

• $0/month
• 1 client
• Invoicing (includes AND CO branding)
• Expense tracking
• Project management
• Time tracking
• Reports
• Proposals and basic contracts

Pro

• $18/month
• Unlimited clients
• Invoicing (removes AND CO branding)
• Contact management
• Expense tracking
• Project management
• Time tracking
• Reports
• Proposals and fully editable contracts

As AND CO is designed for freelancers, your subscription only supports a single user.

Cloud-Based Or Locally-Installed

Cloud-based. No downloads or installation required.

Hardware & Software Requirements

As cloud-based software, AND CO is available on nearly all devices so long as you are using an up-to-date browser with a solid internet connection. AND CO also offers full-featured mobile apps for iOS (9.0+) and Androids (5.0+).

Specific Size Of Business

AND CO was created particularly with the freelancer in mind. It serves as a resource for freelancers that allows them to spend more time working and securing contracts and less time filing paperwork or creating tedious invoices. Although the app is ideal for freelancers, it could still work for some micro businesses and independent contractors looking for a simple invoicing and expense tracking solution that is quick, easy to use, and can be accessed on the go. The software is best for service-based businesses.

Ease Of Use

AND CO is incredibly easy to use across the board, and they have some of the best mobile apps on the market. The software takes very little time to set up and is well-organized. AND CO also has plenty of support resources to make to learning the software even simpler.

Features

AND CO is focused on giving freelancers a way to easily manage their finances and projects. Features include:

• Dashboard: AND CO has a dashboard called “My Desk” where you can quickly overview your finances and create and manage tasks. To the left of the screen, there’s a menu with tabs for Clients, Proposals & Contracts, Projects, Invoices, Subscriptions, Time Tracking, Income & Expenses, Shoebox, and Support Chat.

• Invoicing: AND CO’s invoice feature is incredibly easy to use. There is only a single invoice template. You can create invoices directly from projects or proposals. You can also invoice for items but you have to manually enter the items and their rates every time you want to charge a customer. You can also set payment terms and email messages; however, customizations are almost non-existent. AND CO does support recurring invoices and you can see whether your invoices have been sent, viewed, or paid in real-time. There isn’t an estimate feature, but there is a proposal feature. AND CO branding will be included on all inovices unless you ahve the paid Pro plan.

• Client Portal: There is a client portal where customers can view and pay their invoices directly online.
• Contact Management: You can save client information on AND CO to make project creation and invoicing easier, You can record very basic details (like a name, address, business name, and email). Once you click on a contact you’ve created, AND CO will show you all of the tasks, contact information, projects, invoices, and expenses associated with that contact.
• Expense Tracking: You can either manually enter your income and expenses into AND CO or you can connect live bank feeds to automatically track your income and expenses. You can then categorize your expenses accordingly; expense categories aren’t customizable, but they are pulled straight from the IRS’s expense categories to make filing easier. You can attach receipt images to your expenses as well, or you can email your receipt files directly to AND CO and they’ll take care of them for you. Through the AND CO app, you have the option to submit new expenses by either taking a picture of a receipt or uploading an existing photo. AND CO uses Plaid (a Yodlee alternative) for their live feeds.

• Time Tracking: AND CO has a convenient built-in timer that tracks both billable and unbillable hours in real time. You can easily add hours to time sheets, invoices, or running projects/activities. The AND CO desktop timer and app time sync automatically so your records are always up to date.

• Projects: AND CO allows you to create projects. You can bill projects using a flat fee or you can set a rate (you can charge per hour, week, month, word, or item). Easily attach documents, expenses, and time to projects. You can convert projects to invoices with the click of a button.
• Reports: AND CO offers very limited reporting. There are four reports available, but you have to send them to your email and download them manually, rather than being able to view them within the software as with most programs.
• Proposals: One of AND CO’s newest features is the proposal feature. You can create a project proposal and sent it directly to the customer to be signed via email. You can also require a deposit.

• Contracts: One of the most unique features in AND CO is the ability to create contracts. You can create legal contracts for your projects that are compliant with the Freelancers Union and ensure that you receive the money you are due. Under the contract feature, you can choose who retains rights to your work, specify the payment terms, and send the contract directly to customers for a signature of approval. Note: Contract customizability varies by pricing plan.

• Subscriptions: Another new addition to AND CO is the ability to set up subscriptions. You can create a recurring subscription expense, email it to your customer and have them authorize the payment. The client will then input their payment information so you can recurringly bill that client without the invoice.

• Sales Tax: AND CO only allows you to add a single default sales tax rate, though you can manually adjust this rate on invoices.
• Multiple Currencies: AND CO offers multi-currency support for over 120 different currencies.
• Importing & Exporting: You can import and export income and expenses, but that’s about it.

Customer Service & Support

AND CO has always had incredible customer support. Representatives are kind and quick to respond. I experienced an issue that left my account completely unresponsive, and my AND CO chat support rep and the engineering team were able to get everything back up and running in just half an hour.

In addition to a great support team, AND CO also offers lots of great resources for freelancers. Support options include:

• Email: You can contact AND CO by email.
• Support Chat: This is the main form of customer service given to AND CO users. Chat reps are incredibly well-informed and helpful. they respond to questions quickly and are there to help with whatever you need.
• FAQ: AND CO’s FAQ section is set up like a full-fledged Knowledge Base with helpful how-to articles pertaining to common questions.
• Blog: AND CO offers a blog with articles that provide helpful tips for freelancers. The style of writing is funny and worth a read, even if the topics aren’t always pertinent to the actual app. Now that AND CO is owned by Fiverr, freelancers should take a look at the Fiverr blog as well for helpful freelancing tips and tricks.
• Business Tools: AND CO offers an incredible number of business tools. These tools include things like a quarterly tax calculator, a free invoice template, a how-to freelance guide, a self-employment calculator, a business name generator, and more. Scroll to the bottom of the AND CO website for a full list of business tools.
• Report A Bug: If you run into a bug in AND CO, you can report it to the company.
• Social Media: AND CO regularly maintains Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. These accounts feature new blog posts, company updates, and a very small number of customer reviews, as well as incredibly funny gifs and articles. This can be a good source of information or laughter, whichever you are in the mood for.

Negative Reviews & Complaints

It used to be that there were very few reviews of AND CO, but with the company’s recent growth, there is a lot of customer feedback out there. The vast majority of this feedback is positive, but there are a few complaints:

• Bugs & Crashes: The most common complaint is of small bugs and crashes, particularly with the Android app.
• Needs More Customizations: A few users wish there were ways to customize the contracts and more invoice customization options.
• Lack Of Integrations: A couple users want to see more integration offerings.

Note: It is worth mentioning that AND CO is very good at responding to customer complaints and making things right with disappointed users, which I see as another sign of good customer support.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

AND CO is well-received by nearly all of its users and most of its ratings have gone up even higher in the last year. The company receives 4.89/5 stars Capterra (based on 18 reviews), 4.7/5 stars on iTunes (based on 253 reviews), and 4.4/5 stars on Google Play Store (based on 121 reviews).

• Easy To Use: One of the most common praises of AND CO is that it is easy to use. Many freelancers report saving tons of time on managing their finances and projects, which frees them up to spend time on what they love.
• Strong Mobility: Users (almost unanimously) love the full-featured mobile apps AND CO offers.
• Makes Freelancing Easy: It’s not an easy task to simplify freelancing, but AND CO does it and users appreciate it. Quite a few users say they appreciate the business advice and support they get from AND CO, but they also appreciate the emotional support — freelancers usually don’t have anywhere to turn to with their questions. They also like the fact that the software makes them appear more professional.
• Great Customer Service: Again and again, users comment on the customer support AND CO provides. They like the quick responses and friendly staff.
• Great Design & Features: Several users comment positively on the software’s UI, which has been recently redesigned. Many also appreciate how well-organized the software is and all of the features they get with AND CO, especially the contract feature.

Don’t believe us? Here is what a few users are saying:

Being a freelancer for almost 6 years, I always found the administrative part to be really tedious, painful and kind of a waste of my (billable) time. And Co provides a set of tools suited for the independent worker that allows me to focus on my work and spend less time dealing with contracts, invoices, payments, etc. Their software is neat and almost fun to use.

This is an amazing app and a must-have tool for every freelancer! Now I have more time and energy for my creative work instead of spending hours dealing with paperwork. I also love the interface, very clean and easy to use.

Amazing product, very easy to use and the customer support team is super friendly. If you prefer to spend your time doing real work instead of extra stuff, give them a try.

Just started using this and love the invoicing feature. Within minutes of signing up, I was able to send my first invoice. Everything was customized to look like my company and looked very professional.

Integrations & Add-Ons

AND CO has nearly 10 integrations, with four of those being payment gateways. This number is pretty small in comparison to other software, but they cover the basics like Stripe and PayPal.

Interested in accepting online payments from your customers? Read our comprehensive merchant account reviews to learn the pros and cons of popular providers and see which payment processing option is best for your business.

Security

AND CO says that they have secure servers and data encryption, but that’s as far as the details go. I recommend contacting AND CO with any specific security questions.

Final Verdict

For freelancers who are looking to simplify their finances and gain more business support, AND CO is an incredibly good option. The updated web design eliminated some navigational issues from the past and has made the software even more of a joy to use. AND CO’s mobile apps are some of the best on the market and the software makes it easy to manage expenses, send invoices, create projects, and track time. The proposals and contract features are crucial to many freelancers, and you won’t find these with any competitors (like QuickBooks Self-Employed).

The software is still wanting in some areas. With no item management, the software is not fit for product-based freelancers. There are also limited tax support, limited invoice customizations, and a lack of integrations.

Despite these drawbacks, AND CO can still be a strong resource for service-based freelancers. The company offers wonderful customer support, provides freelancing resources, and has positive reviews across the board. And it is still young. AND CO has been making significant updates for the past three years, and with the new Fiverr acquisition, we’ll hopefully see some great new features rolling out in the future. Create an account and give the software a try to see if AND CO is right for you.

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Chelsea Krause

Managing Editor - Accounting

Chelsea Krause is a writer who has specialized in accounting for two years and is a QuickBooks Certified User. She has a BA in English & Creative Writing from George Fox University and studied at the University of Oxford as well. She has been quoted in Forbes and her work appears in Startup Nation, Small Business Bonfire, and Women on Business.

@AccountingMage

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