FreshBooks review — a solid option that shines for smaller businesses

Running a business requires tracking invoices, monitoring expenses and generating reports for tax filing. Having a reliable accounting software service can help simplify these tasks, and FreshBooks stands out for its ease of customization and affordability, earning it a spot on our list of best accounting software services. While it doesn't have quite as many features as QuickBooks Online, Freshbooks could be a good choice for a smaller business with simpler needs.

FreshBooks is a web-based accounting platform designed to help manage small or medium-sized businesses. The platform has four pricing plans to choose from and will recommend one to you based on your business type – whether you're a freelancer, self-employed, or have a business with contractors or employees. You can also tack on optional add-on features to each plan, such as inviting team members onto the account or the ability to accept payments for your business online, at an additional cost.

FreshBooks currently offers four pricing tiers: Lite, Plus, Premium and Select. Here's a breakdown of what each package offers. 

Lite  

Cost: $19 per month or $228 per year 

• Send unlimited invoices to up to 5 clients 
• Track and send unlimited expenses 
• Send payments via credit cards and bank transfers (ACH)  
• Run financial and accounting reports 

Plus 

Cost: $33 per month or $396 per year 

• Send unlimited invoices to up to 50 clients 
• Set up recurring invoices and client retainers 
• Send unlimited estimates and proposals 
• Accept payments via credit cards and bank transfers (ACH) 
• Automatically capture receipt data 
• Invite your accountant to access your account 
• Run financial and accounting reports 

Premium  

Cost: $60 per month or $720 per year 

• Send unlimited invoices to an unlimited number of clients 
• Set up recurring invoices and client retainers 
• Send unlimited estimates and proposals 
• Accept payments via credit cards and bank transfers (ACH) 
• Automatically capture bills and receipt data 
• Invite your accountant 
• Track project profitability 
• Customize email templates with dynamic fields 

Select 

Cost: Pricing isn't disclosed, so you'll need to contact FreshBooks for a quote. 

• This tier includes everything in the Premium plan as well as other features such as removing FreshBooks branding from client emails and adding two members to your account  

Each tier also offers add-ons that cost the same across each tier.  

• Additional team members: $11 per user per month 
• Advanced payments: $20 per month - including features such as setting up recurring billing profiles and scheduling subscription payments for specific clients 
• FreshBooks Payroll: A payroll management system that costs $40 per month, plus $6 per employee each month (the first month is free to qualified, existing FreshBooks customers)

Make sure to consider these pros and cons before signing up for FreshBooks.

Freshbooks is available in the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android). It's also accessible from a web browser. 

Rating in App Store at time of writing: 4.7 out of 5 (over 10,000 ratings) 

Rating on Google Play at time of writing: 4.5 out of 5 (over 5,000 ratings)

If FreshBooks isn't quite the right fit, there are plenty of other accounting software services to check out. This is how three of the best stack up against FreshBooks.

FreshBooks vs. Wave

FreshBooks strikes a good balance between affordability and features that make it a great choice for smaller businesses. But if you're a freelancer or can count the number of employees with one hand, Wave is even better. The platform's Starter plan costs $0 a month for basic invoicing and bookkeeping records, which may be all you need if you're a freelance writer or consultant. Wave also has a Pro plan ($16 a month) with additional features such as adding team members, automatically logging bank transactions and more. You also can pay for add-on services for both a Starter and Pro plan, including payroll (base price of $20 a month) and even hire a bookkeeper ($149 a month).

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks

FreshBooks offers a slew of features, but QuickBooks Workforce has some tricks up its sleeve that give it an edge if you have a bigger business with more complicated needs. QuickBooks' higher-tier plans include additional users at no extra cost (vs. FreshBooks charging $11 per additional user), and abilities such as profit and loss reporting, expense tracking and automatic sales tax calculation. While QuickBooks has the more expensive pricing plans, you likely will ultimately save money if you have to add dozens of users to your account.

FreshBooks vs. Xero

If pricing is a concern, Xero offers more affordable options, with its basic plan (Early) starting at just $20 per month. Its most expensive offering, the Established plan, costs $80 per month without discounts. While FreshBooks offers a robust set of features, Xero also provides plenty of functionality such as a sales tax calculator, 1099 and W-9 payment management, short-term cash flow snapshots, bill and receipt capturing and the ability to enter a limited number of bills and invoices.

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