WebCami’s Toolbox: Freshbooks
During the first few years of my business, I would buy the newest version of Quickbooks Pro whenever I had to. This was long before Quickbooks online came to be. I always found it a pain in the ass to work with and hated how clunky it was. Then, someone I met through networking here in Seattle started hosting a monthly lunch called “My Power Lunch.” It was an eclectic group of small business owners that would meet downtown, enjoy a great lunch together, and give each other tips. That’s how I learned about Freshbooks.
Freshbooks is a cloud-based accounting service. That means you have it on any device you want. Here are the features I love the most:
- Adding new clients is super easy
- You can create recurring invoices for subscription services
- You can convert an estimate to an invoice with ease
- Time tracking makes invoicing easier
- Reports are varied and easy to run
- Clients can pay via credit card through Freshbooks, Stripe, or PayPal
- You have the option to set up payment reminders
- They’ve added a proposal feature, although I don’t use this
The one thing I’m not a fan of is expense tracking in Freshbooks. They don’t allow you to manage categories well, and transfers appear as expenses. I’m always making transfers between business savings and other checking accounts, so my profit snapshot is always off. I have opted not to use the expenses portion of this and use Quickbooks for my expenses reporting.
Sure, I’d love to have this all in one place, but finding the one-size-fits-all answer with some services can be challenging. So if you are starting, make sure you immediately get your business expenses out of your personal banking and into an account only for your business. It will make your life much easier (and your accountant will be happier, too).
2022 update: Since I originally posted this blog, Freshbooks raised my prices (almost doubled) and moved me out of the classic version. At first, I thought this would make me switch over to Quickbooks completely, but I quickly learned that the transition would be more trouble than it was worth. I still love Freshbooks and it’s worth the extra money!
What do you currently use for accounting? Please share!
RESOURCES: FORBES: FreshBooks Review: Excellent Accounting Software For Small Businesses
