FreshBooks

Switching to it from one of those other software packages was one of the most liberating experiences of my career.

Vorteile

It was so easy to add and remove third party apps if and when they were needed.Plus, there were lots of options for third party apps that I could plug in or switch out as needed.

Nachteile

It never once made me a cup of coffee. I know that sounds like a weird joke but that's pretty much the only thing that it couldn't do for me.

Able to run and invoice quickly. Add the strong integration that it has with Freshdesk for ticketing and my time tracking - it has allowed me to better streamline my operations.

Vorteile

Tracking and customer portal that is fully labeled as your own... this is a feature most competitors do not have. Know when your customers have viewed your invoices and even printed them! Slick mobile app

Nachteile

Pricing has gone up vis a vis other comparable competitors. Ticketing is very basic. One issue that could have been done better is that this is more of a quoting system and not proposal based. So making fancier proposals you are best off using another platform.

Very enjoyable, easy to use. Right down to billing and recording payments from my phone.

Vorteile

I have been working with FreshBooks for a couple of years now and recently tried one of their additional bookkeeping/reconciling services through Bench. I gave it 6 months and realized that I didn't have enough transactions to make the service feasible. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] was the person who assisted me in closing out that service and moving me back to the original Freshbooks plan. He did an excellent job of understanding my situation and ensuring that they had done everything possible to make things right. Along with the other live support I have used numerous times, the personal interactions with the team at Freshbooks has always been outstanding.

Nachteile

I'd like to to see some of the reporting functions have more flexibility to show things that are important to me. Things that would allow me to do more budgeting and planning.

The original version of FreshBooks, which we started using in 2014, was great for time tracking and invoicing. Unfortunately, they decided to build a completely new web application to add accounting features. We migrated to the new version about two years ago, and it did not go well. The new version didn't add many useful features, and the time tracking app got worse (see above). We decided to try the accounting feature this year (2019) because Xero started getting more expensive and lost its payroll feature. We have found the FreshBooks accounting features to be barely usable, and we're struggling to find an accountant that will support FreshBooks.

Vorteile

FreshBooks is good for freelancers or service-based small businesses that need to track time spend on client projects, and report the time on invoices. It's also good for tracking basic expenses, whether they are allocated to the business, or passed on to clients. The reporting features are also useful.

The payroll integration with Gusto is a simple and affordable way to run payroll for a small business.

Nachteile

The mobile app for time tracking became so buggy that I had to stop using it; it would frequently lose track of the time if I paused the timer. They also added a "feature" that creates a new line item on the invoice every time you pause the timer, which really clutters up the invoice. I now use a separate tracking app and manually enter my time.

The accounting features are barely adequate, and the accounting functionality is more like a public beta than production software. There's a chart of accounts, bank reconciliation, and a general ledger. We use cash-basis accounting, so it works for us, but if you carry inventory, I don't think FreshBooks will support accrual accounting. The bank reconciliation was officially "beta" until very recently.

Admins aren't allowed to edit the chart of accounts, so you need to have an accountant or bookkeeper set it up. Unfortunately, most accountants I've talked to won't work with FreshBooks directly. Strangely, FreshBooks will help you find a bookkeeper who works with FreshBooks, but not an accountant.

Great Canadian product, but the model doesn't work for everyone especially on tight finances or working on the side. Loved the look and feel of all the features. I would recommend it to anyone that could fit in the pricing model over quickbooks.

Vorteile

Super easy to track expenses and send invoices for freelance work. Good price for the value.

Nachteile

I believe I switched because of the lack of GST/HST reporting and due to one-off consulting work, its was annoying to try to stay within the "billable client" restrictions. Quickbooks had promo and I switched.