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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FreshBooks

    Score8.6 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    FreshBooks is an accounting service for small businesses. The solution enables users to send and manage invoices, track billable time and collect online payments. The vendor’s value proposition this that their solution provides a straightforward service that simplifies the billing process.

    $21

    per month

    QuickBooks Online

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AQuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.

    $38

    per month

    Pricing
    FreshBooksQuickBooks Online
    Editions & Modules
    Lite
    $21
    per month
    Plus
    $38
    per month
    Premium
    $65
    per month
    Select
    Custom Pricing
    Simple Start
    $38
    per month
    Essentials
    $75
    per month
    Plus
    $115
    per month
    Advanced
    $275
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FreshBooksQuickBooks Online
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details10% discount for annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FreshBooksQuickBooks Online
    Considered Both Products
    FreshBooks
    Chose FreshBooks
    I actually switched from a FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online combination to using Harvest and Xero at the request of my bookkeeper. It seems like FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online are both market leaders in their space. Harvest is more focused on time tracking than being an …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    QuickBooks Online and Xero are the most obvious comps to FreshBooks. FreshBooks pricing is based on the number of billable clients while QuickBooks Online will charge additional for additional features regardless of number of billable clients. Xero has additional functionality …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    With QuickBooks Online being a little more similar to their desktop software that is what I prefer. We use Quickbooks Desktop daily for our own business as well as our client's businesses.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    While not as robust as QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks does allow for a lengthy free trial period and is easier to use from a novice perspective.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    QuickBooks' interface is clunky, confusing, and slow. QuickBooks support is worse than if there were no support at all. FreshBooks' UI is clean, intuitive, and even when changes are rolled out, easy to quickly learn. Their support is second to none and never disappointed us.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    FreshBooks does very well in comparison, especially since it is free software for Barclays bank users. Sage software is much worse than FreshBooks. However, Xero and QuickBooks, the market leaders, are still ahead with usability, additional features, reporting, and connection …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    For its simplicity, if your business is just a basic process of billing repeat clients and recording expenses, anyone can use this software.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    There is no fluff and feature overload with FreshBooks. I can get to what I need quickly and easily. I don't have to deal with unnecessary features and fields the system considers essential. The payment features are streamlined and have lots of flexibility when receiving …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    FreshBooks interface is better than QuickBooks. Xero's interface is more basic than both, but seems to work fine.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    In my experience, quickbooks customer service was terrible, and program was very complicated to use. We switched to FreshBooks to simplify day to day use.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    It was not my choice to select FreshBooks, but my client finds it easier to do billing with FreshBooks over QuickBooks.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    I really liked Wave Apps for a bit. It had some limitations, but I really like how easy it was to use and intuitive. Great pricing too. So I would recommend that over Freshbooks at this point for someone who is just getting started. Quickbooks is great for accounting. Super …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is hands down the best software for collecting invoices, payments, tracking time and managing expenses we have ever used. I am an avid user and fan and have been and will continue to be. They are keen on the updates, on listening to customers feedback and making …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    Haven't looked at these others in quite a while, so I am uncertain of how they stack up today. It has been nearly 8 years since I chose FreshBooks and I am just really comfortable with it.
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    I liked the user interface of FreshBooks better than QuickBooks. It is built in a way that as soon as the user gets used to the various accounting features, invoicing and billing becomes so fast in FreshBooks. It is created with user friendliness in mind along with good …
    Incentivized
    Chose FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is a barebones solution for companies looking for better time tracking and time management software deployed in the Cloud. Its invoicing and expense tracking tools are useful up to a point, but supplementing with additional tools is likely necessary beyond a narrow …
    Chose FreshBooks
    I found Quickbooks to be too complex for our needs as a small business. It was time consuming and a challenge for us to understand. FreshBooks makes it simple.
    Intuit
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    FreshBooks is trying to do more bookkeeping and accounting, but QuickBooks Online greatly surpasses in terms of functionality and integrations. FreshBooks can easily manage invoices and very basic reporting.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Peers in our industry who are using FreshBooks seem to be exceptionally happy with it, putting me on the defensive to stand up for QuickBooks. I don't seem to win those arguments though, but perhaps I need to be more of a power user with Quickbooks to up my game in that …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    I have used FreshBooks (free version) and it is very basic and has had multiple issues with security. It is nowhere as robust as QBO. I have used other traditional accounting systems that are more extensive and costly and just do not fit the small business owners' business …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    No competitor quick stacks up. FreshBooks has a speedy UI, but lacks features for a more complex small business. Xero has a UI that I personally don't like as much and it never felt quite right to me. Not as many accountants are familiar either. Zoho Books came the closest …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    QuickBooks Online is more powerful than FreshBooks from an accounting perspective. FreshBooks specifically says it does not intend to be an accounting package - they do not keep track of the "Balance Sheet" side of things. This causes clients to have a lot of confusion on how …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    I haven't looked at too many competitors in the past few years. We have a few clients that also use FreshBooks for the invoicing, which seems to work well, but it is definitely not a full accounting package. I still prefer QuickBooks Online's invoicing over FreshBooks'.
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    I only selected QuickBooks online to control the cost of bookkeeping and accounting for my company. FreshBooks was a delight to use, with excellent support, intuitive UI, and easy integrations. The only reason I stay with QuickBooks is because I personally do not have the …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    We went with Quickbooks because it was recommended to us by our accountant, as they too use Quickbooks.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    QuickBooks has the best reporting of most accounting software. While not 100% of the reports can be customized, you can create your own reports as well.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    QuickBooks Online is a market leader relative to many of the solutions named above. However, there are a wide variety of capable solutions in the market. Many of them focus on industry specific solutions that strengthen their position. I selected QuickBooks Online as a fast …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Many of the other online account software we looked at was similar to QuickBooks Online with a lot of the same features. At the end of the day QuickBooks Online just seemed like a more dialed in piece of software that easily handled all our needs. Being familiar with other …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Quickbooks is more cost effective and has all the functionalities we need for the near and mid term growth of the business
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Quick and easy to set up. QuickBooks Online has a full suite of bookkeeping tools and pricing is affordable. QBO is best suited for Small Businesses and it's cloud-based, which is also well suited for the owners who work remotely. It is flexible and integrates well with …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    I chose QuickBooks Online primarily because I had the most experience with it. Although the desktop versions will generally have more robust reporting and some areas of versatility, QuickBooks Online has the best immediate access when it comes to support and it's online …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    QuickBooks is better than most software I have used. It gives more detailed reports for our company to make financial decisions.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Ultimately, QuickBooks/Intuit has the most market share when it comes to accounting software. The benefit of so many people using this software is that there's always an answer to a problem that you may be having when it comes to using the software. Intuit has provided a …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    QBO is much more robust than the other free programs. There is so much more you can do with it compared to the other programs. I had zero accounting experience and I'd say the other programs were a bit easier to learn, but overall QuickBooks has more features and capabilities …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    QuickBooks is the grand daddy of accounting. They cater to the end user. Xero caters to accounting and the cloud. Xero is constantly improving their products and services. QBO seems to be just doing enough to stay ahead.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Quickbooks was the software I was first introduced to, and have stayed with it for familiarity and ease for my boss.
    Specifically for invoicing, I have used Freshbooks Online, and while it does have some features that would be useful in Quickbooks, overall, it is not as …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    69%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    81%
    Would buy again
    89 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    82%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    84%
    Delivers good value for the price
    85 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    54%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    88 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    64%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    70 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    62%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    83 Answers
    Features
    FreshBooksQuickBooks Online
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.1
    35 Ratings
    17% above category average
    QuickBooks Online
    8.3
    71 Ratings
    8% above category average
    API for custom integration9.330 Ratings8.757 Ratings
    Plug-ins9.026 Ratings8.058 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    10.0
    41 Ratings
    18% above category average
    QuickBooks Online
    9.7
    112 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Single sign-on capability10.01 Ratings9.684 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions10.041 Ratings9.7106 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    57 Ratings
    5% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    8.1
    136 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Dashboards9.057 Ratings8.6128 Ratings
    Standard reports8.855 Ratings8.2132 Ratings
    Custom reports4.82 Ratings7.5120 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    7.5
    56 Ratings
    4% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    8.5
    147 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Accounts payable8.041 Ratings9.1125 Ratings
    Accounts receivable9.455 Ratings9.4135 Ratings
    Cash management7.03 Ratings8.7123 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation7.02 Ratings9.1141 Ratings
    Expense management6.651 Ratings8.7125 Ratings
    Time tracking7.642 Ratings6.957 Ratings
    Multi-currency support7.01 Ratings7.024 Ratings
    Regulations compliance6.021 Ratings9.241 Ratings
    Self-service portal9.13 Ratings8.869 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings8.155 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings9.245 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings9.368 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings8.118 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings8.737 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.731 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings8.123 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings9.376 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings8.127 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.740 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings8.426 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.552 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    9.5
    49 Ratings
    21% above category average
    QuickBooks Online
    8.4
    90 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Pricing8.839 Ratings8.056 Ratings
    Order entry9.337 Ratings8.054 Ratings
    Credit card processing9.741 Ratings8.666 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold10.01 Ratings9.370 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings8.022 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings9.021 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings8.019 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    8.5
    81 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings7.872 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings7.033 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.067 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.046 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.548 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    FreshBooks
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.5
    49 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings8.046 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings7.023 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings8.123 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings7.018 Ratings
    User Ratings
    FreshBooksQuickBooks Online
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (75 ratings)
    8.8
    (165 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.6
    (18 ratings)
    1.9
    (24 ratings)
    Usability
    9.6
    (20 ratings)
    8.8
    (80 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    2.0
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    1.0
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.0
    (11 ratings)
    1.1
    (68 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    3.0
    (6 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.4
    (18 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.3
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FreshBooksQuickBooks Online
    Likelihood to Recommend
    FreshBooks
    I recommend FreshBooks to anyone running a service-based business that needs invoicing, time reporting, and accounting tools. FB is adept in all three of these scenarios and isn't overly complicated like similar accounting packages I have used. I love how I can write estimates and proposals, manage the business development process from the software, and quickly convert prospects to invoiced clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    I appreciate the ability to auto-generate invoices for recurring transactions, which saves time, as well as the option to set up auto-generated transactions. The report option is super helpful when reviewing information, as you can click to view the details in the report without having to go back and forth.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    FreshBooks
    • Invoicing - FreshBooks basically ensures our accountants spend less time on invoices via its automated invoicing system, which sends invoices to our customers and clients alike and also send them regular reminders for them to pay up their bills.
    • Collecting business insights - FreshBooks enable our company analysts measure our business performances via data reports provided by FreshBooks' intuitive dashboard. Allowing us do a comparative analysis of key business metrics of a current month against past months and determine if the business is growing.
    • Expense tracker - We have recently embraced FreshBooks as an expense tracker for teams at our company branch. Thusfar, FreshBooks has performed very well, making our expense management a perfect operation; ensuring teams do not exceed their planned budget and also eliminating the need for tracking expenses on excel spreadsheets.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • Workflows for accounts payable invoice review are terrific.
    • Bill payment allows you to pay vendors online via ACH or check without having to write a physical check, which reduces admin time.
    • The cloud based login lends well to a remote or hybrid work environment for staff.
    • QuickBooks Online allows you to pre-configure vendors' general ledger expense accounts. This helps with general ledger coding accuracy and consistency.
    • QuickBooks Online integrates with Rippling HRIS, Coast, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, etc., which lends well to an efficient month-end closing and reduced administrative time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    FreshBooks
    • I can brand invoices with my business logo, but I might like to change colours of the invoices themselves to match the rest of my business documents. That isn't a major point at all, but it's something that I'd like to see.
    • Freshbooks doesn't remember the categories that similar expenses were previously assigned to. It would be nice if Freshbooks would suggest a category for an already saved vendor, to ensure the consistency of expense reporting.
    • The home page of a Freshbooks account has a great graph display of expenses and income, but it only shows the last 6 months. This is still very useful, but I'd like to be able to see this kind of graph for different periods of time.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    • The upsells have gotten worse over time and are on every screen in the most awkward positions. I don't need a constant reminder to upgrade, especially on a very old account that's paid thousands over the years.
    • The interface has never been especially intuitive, but I was an old Quicken user and it was somewhat familiar. Over time, it's gotten worse, and in the last 2 years, the program seems to move things more often than I would expect.
    • The software constantly adds features that I don't want and want to turn off, but the interface is so difficult to use that I find myself skipping it. Imagine seeing a message that the system recognized invoices that hadn't been paid so it prepared reminder notices for you that can be sent at the click of a button. Who thinks using canned reminders that you've never seen is a good thing?
    • A lot of functionality seems to derive from connecting your bank accounts to QBO. I don't want Intuit to have an always-on connection to any bank accounts, even checking.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    FreshBooks
    At the current needs of our business, FreshBooks suits us perfectly - it allows online access by our accountant to the system for GST purposes, easy input of expenses and tracking of Profit and Loss statements. FreshBooks customer service is great as well - very understanding and accommodating.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is very easy to use even for novices. If you're looking for an online accounting software that is full of features, has great aesthetics and is user-friendly, then this is definitely the software for you. I've been using it for several years now and despite being tempted to switch by other vendors, I like the feel of FreshBooks and it's mobile features.
    Incentivized
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    Intuit
    I had very little trouble setting up the program and migrating from our old accounting system. The daily usage is also very intuitive and easy. Anytime we run into minor trouble with the program, there are always tons of help available on YouTube, so we don't even look up the online manual anymore.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    FreshBooks
    FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Intuit
    We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    FreshBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    FreshBooks
    I think the support level for FreshBooks is on par with a 6 because the folks behind this application do a fairly good job at providing support for their customer base. I still don't think they are at an elite level when it comes to supporting but are getting there although too slow in my opinion.
    Incentivized
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    Intuit
    In my experience, most representatives keep me on the phone for hours, literally, for a single issue and then usually cannot resolve it satisfactorily. I have 10 open cases that need resolution and, in my experience, there has been NO follow-up communication on any of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    FreshBooks
    I haven't changed my mind since my first evaluation. Freshbooks is still meeting my needs, easy to use, etc.
    Read full review
    Intuit
    The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    FreshBooks
    FreshBooks does very well in comparison, especially since it is free software for Barclays bank users. Sage software is much worse than FreshBooks. However, Xero and QuickBooks, the market leaders, are still ahead with usability, additional features, reporting, and connection with third-party software providers. We chose FreshBooks as it does everything we require from this type of software.
    Incentivized
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    Intuit
    As a freelance bookkeeper, the Desktop version of QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for ease of access from any device. Having to be on a computer with the software downloaded creates additional work to gain access to all required filings etc. Also, I personally find the linking functionality on the Online version to be much more streamlined and user friendly.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    FreshBooks
    No answers on this topic
    Intuit
    As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    FreshBooks
    • In reality, we do not implement all of its use at the moment in order to determine an adequate ROI.
    • In our approach to the use of the system, it seems to us a considerable time saving by achieving the integration of the Mexican subsidiary with its parent located in the US.
    • Financial reports meet the necessary USGAAP requirements.
    Incentivized
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    Intuit
    • QuickBooks has given us a useful portal by which to get an overview of our financials.
    • QuickBooks has given us a relatively easy way to send out invoices quickly and efficiently.
    • Due to the customization limitations on QuickBooks, we've had to get creative in third-party implementations to better represent our brand and to track financials.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    FreshBooks Screenshots

    Screenshot of the dashboardScreenshot of an invoice overviewScreenshot of an example of a customizable invoiceScreenshot of an invoice appearing across devicesScreenshot of expensesScreenshot of time tracking

    QuickBooks Online Screenshots

    Screenshot of the accounting and bank transactions interfaceScreenshot of an overview of the accounting inventoryScreenshot of book marksScreenshot of the business tax overviewScreenshot of the customer hubScreenshot of the dashboard