FreshBooks Review: Best cloud-based accounting program

No matter what kind of a business you are doing, it is important to have an accounting system or software that keeps track of all your business transactions, your debits and credits. I was looking for a kind of software that enables me to work from anywhere and does not limit me to a particular operating system. Finally I came across FreshBooks. It helps me to track my time, create invoices for my clients, and even manage important expenses.

In my earlier post on FreshBooks I talked about how to get started with it – how to create your account and your first invoice.

Now there are some other cool features about FreshBooks that you will get to know from this post. So read on to know more.

What is FreshBooks?

For those who are new to FreshBooks – It is a cloud-based accounting program that focuses on creating invoices, project management and time tracking. At the same time it also helps you to organize your clients, manage your team members, collect payments, sync reports with your accountant, and review bookkeeping statistics.

Getting your payment on time is one of the most important parts of being a freelancer, and FreshBooks makes that happen.

How does FreshBooks work?

It’s very easy to sign up for FreshBooks. You just need to give your name and email address and you are done. For paid plans, you don’t have to provide your credit card number until the end of your 30-day trial period. Once you are enrolled, you will be billed on a month-to-month basis and if you want you can even cancel it at any time. But that won’t be the case because you will start loving FreshBooks once you start using it.

At the heart of your FreshBooks account is your dashboard that will help you create estimates, track time worked, send invoices, manage expenses, edit client lists, and generate financial reports. This dashboard has a custom URL, expressed as “yourname.FreshBooks.com.”

FreshBooks Pricing and Key Features

FreshBooks’ features vary according to each available plan. It offers a 30-day free trial and four paid plans:

Sprout

• $12.95/month or $11.66/month if paying annually
• Unlimited invoices, expenses, and time tracking
• Bill up to 5 clients

Seedling

• $24.95/month or $22.46/month if paying annually
• Unlimited invoices, expenses, and time tracking
• Bill up to 25 clients

Evergreen

• $39.95/month or $35.96/month if paying annually
• Unlimited invoices, expenses, and time tracking
• Bill up to 250 clients
• Add 1 staff member
• Team timesheets
• Track expenses and revenue by staff member

Mighty Oak       

• $79.95/month or $71.96/month if paying annually
• Unlimited invoices, expenses, and time tracking
• Bill unlimited clients
• Add up to 5 staff members
• Team timesheets
• Track expenses and revenue by staff member

Free Plan and its features

The free plan allows you to use only some of its useful features, and you can have only one client on it.

• Invoice Creation and Delivery. FreshBooks lets you create an unlimited number of invoices that include your name, contact information, and the logo. You can spell out an hourly rate or per-unit cost, or flat service fee. Once created, you can send your invoice by email, or print and send it through the postal mail. If you send your invoice online, you can see when it’s viewed for the first time.
• Estimates. When you start with a new project, you can use FreshBooks to make an estimate for your client. There is also a provision to edit it anytime during the project. When the project is completed, convert your estimate into a formal invoice with just a single click. Isn’t it easy!
• Payment Acceptance and Tracking. One of the best advantages of using FreshBooks is that it allows you to accept major credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as PayPal. To invoice and accept payments, you can use any currency. Offline payments such as cash and checks are also accepted but you are required to update it manually in such cases.
• Reminders and Notices. You can send late payment reminders for offending clients, or initiate FreshBooks to automatically send notices after each due date passes.
• Mailing Services. FreshBooks can package and send your invoices anywhere in the world via traditional post. To use this service, you have to buy “stamps,” which are mailing credits that include postage, packaging, and labour. Individual stamps cost $2.29 each, with the cost dropping to $1.79 for orders of 100 to 499, and $1.49 each for orders of 500 or more. It takes one stamp to send an invoice within the U.S. and Canada, and two to send it anywhere else.
• Manual Expense Tracking. You can track your expenses by taking photos of your receipts and then uploading them to your account. You can also allocate exact expenses to clients and automatically add line items within your invoices.
• Time Tracking. FreshBooks has a built-in time clock, which keeps track of your billable hours. You can keep a separate time clock with different rates for different clients. This will enable you to create invoices directly from your time sheets.
• Reports. FreshBooks can generate reports for your overall profits and losses, taxes, expenses, and collections history.

Seedling Plan and its features

Seedling Plan which is for $19.95 per month, allows you to add up to 25 clients. It also gives you the option to hide FreshBooks branding on your invoices. This plan includes all the features of the free plan, with the additional features of:

• Automatic Expense Tracking. The Seedling Plan lets you import your expenses directly from your bank or credit card accounts, eliminating the need for manual entry on the majority of items.
• App Integration. The platform integrates with many third-party apps

Evergreen Plan and its features

For $29.95 per month, you get all the features available with Seedling, plus the following:

• Unlimited Clients. Your Evergreen plan lets you add as many clients as you wish to your account.

Mighty Oak Plan and its features

At $39.95 per month this plan includes all the features available with the other lower plans, and the following:

• Project Management Tools. Basic project management tools, such as team time sheets that let you set different rates for different staff members.
• Historical Time Management Sheets for Teams. If you manage a team, you can see each member’s historical time logs.
• Additional Users. At no extra cost, you can add one additional user to your account.

Overview

Say Hello to FreshBooks:

Online Invoicing

• Customize your invoice
• Track Invoice Views
• Estimates
• Online Payments
• Late Payment Fees
• Recurring Invoices & Auto Payment
• Multi Currency & Multi Language
• Client Portal
• Late Payment Reminders
• Sales Taxes
• Client Credit
• Track Offline Payments
• Send Emails or Snail Mail

Expense Tracking

• Automatic expense import
• Attach receipts (PDF or Image)
• Expense Report Filters
• File import
• Recurring Expenses
• Assign & Rebill Expenses

Time Tracking

• Timer
• Team timesheets
• Project Managers
• Track Unbilled Time
• Different Rates for each Project
• Generate Invoices

Recurring Invoices & Auto PaymentAccounting Reports & Taxes

• Accounts Aging
• Profit & Loss
• Balance Sheet
• Expense Reports
• Item Sales
• Sales Tax
• Export to CSV or Excel

FreshBooks is definitely a useful cloud-based accounting and invoicing solution for freelancers and small business owners.

It is worth giving a try!