It has a simple interface and easy-to-use features that make it perfect for freelancers and small businesses. It also integrates with a number of other software programs, making it an excellent choice for businesses that need to track their finances in multiple ways. FreshBooks is very easy to set up, and you can be up and running within minutes. You also don’t need to be an accounting expert to use it, and it integrates seamlessly with most banks in order to import your transactions. Plus, it comes with some great features for freelancers or project-based businesses that charge by the hour. For example, its time-tracking feature can easily track your time and send an invoice to your client for the time you spend on their work.

• Quickbooks is not the most complex accounting software option available right now, but it definitely isn’t the most simple either.
• Otherwise, you can try FreshBooks for free for 30 days and choose a plan at regular prices.
• Keep reading to find out the hits and misses with some of the most popular accounting software for freelancers.
• The biggest advantage to using FreshBooks is the flexibility you have to design and manage invoices.
• However, its inability to reconcile transactions without bank feeds and its lack of live phone and chat support are its biggest drawbacks.

Using an integration such as Rewind Backups, users can automatically back up and restore QuickBooks data. Other popular integrations include BILL, Fundbox, Dext and Synder. Some integrations, such as Float, help users make critical decisions about cash flow and prepare for various business scenarios. But they also need a linked bank account for paying these expenses.

Popular FreshBooks Alternatives

There are a couple of obvious differences, though, that may make this decision easier. Inviting clients into your virtual workroom keeps them in the loop, and makes communication more efficient. Proper financial administration and bookkeeping can make or break your business. While the payroll feature is handy, there’s no employee portal where they can view or print their payslips, request leave, or change their banking details.

While your team can freely track the time that they work for, there’s no direct way of dealing with the payroll of your employees, other than logging them as you would any other expense. Not only does FreshBooks allow small businesses to add their accountant to their account, but FreshBooks also has an Accountant Partner Program that pairs small business owners with accountants. This ensures that businesses are matched with accountants that suit their specific needs, and gives them access to the financial and accounting reports they need. Being able to create and send invoices on the go means no delays and no accounting headaches waiting for you.

• Kristy Snyder is a professional writer and editor living in Pittsburgh with over 10 years of content creation experience.
• To be completely honest, we didn’t select QuickBooks Online because it was a far superior product, we chose it because of what it allows us to do.
• Can support freelancers, contractors and small businesses with a handful of employees; highest-tier plan includes two users (additional users can be added for a fee).
• However, once you get the navigational flow, it’s a matter of remembering where to find specific accounting information based on the menu categories.
• Simplify your plumbing project estimates with our free and customizable Plumbing Estimate Template.
• Once again, reviews of Xero are mostly positive all around, albeit this time with a few more caveats when it comes to the mobile apps.

In general, the smaller your operation and the fewer employees you have, the cheaper the plan you’ll want to get. All in all, for the features you’re getting I’d say that QuickBooks does the best it can. QuickBooks – the best accounting software for small businesses, QuickBooks has everything you could need to easily deal with all of your finances. While mid-sized business can use it perfectly well, it quickly becomes expensive due to the extra cost of payroll services.

Small Business Plan Options

For new and small businesses that don’t need to assign many users, the Free platform is quite robust. It allows one user and one accountant to be assigned to the account. Users can customize invoices, manage 1099 contractors and schedule reports to be automatically produced on regular cycles. When it comes to accounting software, QuickBooks is the clear winner. It offers a wide range of features that can help small businesses keep track of their finances. From tracking income and expenses to creating invoices and paying bills, QuickBooks has everything you need to manage your books.

Xero vs Quickbooks vs Freshbooks: Which Accounting & Bookkeeping Software Is Best?

FreshBooks provides a software environment that blends accounting and project management, making it ideal for self-managed businesses and freelancers. On the contrary, Xero has more accounting features, making it an excellent choice for growing businesses, especially product-based companies. However, FreshBooks is a better option if you’re only looking for invoicing software.

User reviews

QuickBooks offers its price plans based on the number of users who may need access to the software. On the other hand, FreshBooks uses your client base number to determine the best plan for you. Xero offers a full-service payroll upgrade and add-on to take care of it. It starts at $39 per month with an added $6 per person per month. If you’re growing your business, however, you may want to invest in the Growing plan instead.

You are unable to access g2.com

FreshBooks bases its plans on the number of clients you intend to invoice, not the number of employees you may or may not have. So, FreshBooks is very price-friendly to freelancers and the self-employed who don’t plan on growing their business to include numerous employees. Why would you choose FreshBooks over any other accounting software?

Xero is cheaper when comparing the two base plans, but it quickly becomes more expensive in higher tiers. However, both Xero and FreshBooks are cheaper than the more popular QuickBooks software. Katherine Haan, MBA is a former financial advisor-turned-writer and business coach. For over a decade, she’s helped small business owners make money online. When she’s not trying out the latest tech or travel blogging with her family, you can find her curling up with a good novel.

In addition, FreshBooks’ credit card processing works well and is easy to manage. This is ideal for when you have billable clients and need to create invoices on the fly. Some bookkeeping software programs also offer project management capabilities, which can be helpful if you need to track time and expenses for a specific project. With simplified tools and features, this program doesn’t overcomplicate things, providing high-quality bookkeeping basics. Extremely easy to set-up with minimal customization options, this software provides straightforward features without the additional frills of Xero and Quickbooks.

One of the offers of Quickbooks Online is Live Bookkeeping which includes live bookkeeper customer support who will rummage through all your financial data for cleanup, storage, and categorization. So, if you ever sign-up for a plan for them in what is nature of provision for depreciation account the middle of the year, you do not have to worry about the data from the first half of the year. I will say, however, that apparently the phone lines for customer support don’t perform well, either with long wait times or just being unhelpful.

But for me a key area is the value from good quality support as after all the accounts are critical to the business. However, much like FreshBooks, QuickBooks can be seen to have replied to the vast majority of negative reviews and a couple of glowing positive ones too. While the user is typically asked for more information or referred to an email address to continue the conversation, it’s once again good to see that QuickBooks are paying attention in this way. Other than that, the most common complaint is that FreshBooks doesn’t support dual-entry accounting.