---
title: "Page 7 | FreshBooks Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra"
description: "Page 7 - Is FreshBooks the right Billing and Invoicing solution for you? Explore 4534 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice."
source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/142390/FreshBooks/reviews/?page=7"
page_type: "reviews"
language: "en"
publication_date: "2026-11-09"
---

FreshBooks

4.5 (4526)

[View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/142390/FreshBooks/alternatives/)

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/)

* * *

Last updated November 9th, 2026

# Page 7 - Reviews of FreshBooks

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 151-175 of 4526 available reviews

Sort by:

Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

Production Manager  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "FreshBooks is the best software I've used for my small business."

August 23, 2022

5.0

FreshBooks is truly a joy to use. It helps keep my estimation and billing running smoothly, and makes it easy to process payments, and gives a lot of options to allow my clients to pay me in the way that works best for them. I love that you can track invoices from the moment you send them, and you can see when the client has viewed them, and even message the client right in the invoicing portal. I had used Quickbooks for years at another job I had, and also used it from time to time with my own businesses, but I was never happy with it. It was always clunky, slow, and glitchy, and was kind of on the basic side with it's features, or you had to pay another fee to add more features. I found FreshBooks through an ad, and gave their free trial a shot, and I was hooked from the start. the software is so responsive and easy to use, I don't believe I've ever had any kind of glitches or crashes while using it. The mobile app integrates perfectly with it, and keeps all the things I need on a regular basis at my finger tips. Any issues I've ever had, they support team was quick and efficient in helping me an answering my questions. Overall, FreshBooks is a wonderful company, and they make wonderful software that I thoroughly enjoy using.

Pros

I love how intuitive and easy it is to use. The invoicing, payment processing, and overall accounts receivable functions are so simple, yet powerful and allow me to accomplish everything I need to in that area. The support staff is wonderful and extremely responsive, and it just helps my one man operation run smoothly when it comes to the accounting.

Cons

So far I haven't found anything about the software that I don't like.

Switched from

[QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/)

The experience was so much better, right form the start.

Alternatives considered

[QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/)

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

The user experience was just so much better, so much easier to use, and had all the features I was looking for, and they are constantly working deliberately to add new, relevant features as they go.

Review Source

Accountant  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Fresh book Accounting Best software"

August 19, 2022

5.0

Financial accounting problems and ineffective record system, this had been grossly solved by FreshBooks.

Pros

The most impactful feature of FreshBooks is the invoice management. It is very easy to use and have strongly impact my business positively and has helped my business in finances and accounting. It is a very good software I will recommend to anyone

Cons

The limit to numbers of users and client, due to the limitation of users, this has affected my business processes and recording

Switched from

[Microsoft Excel](https://www.capterra.com/p/176574/Excel/)

To experience a new and advanced record system.

Review Source

Owner  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Terrible interface, bad data security practices and dishonest customer support"

August 18, 2022

1.0

The last year has been horrible, absolutely horrible. This is a dishonest company in my opinion, but the biggest thing was last night after a week or more of begging to have access to my data after the subscription ended Zac, a support specialist decides at 7pm without me asking to access my data, download it to his computer and emailed all the documents to me over an insecure interface. I called and talked with customer service and was promised a call from management before the end of the day to discuss and that never happened. I told the woman I spoke with today that I didn't trust someone would call me back and she promised and of course, no one did. Then when I call back at EOD my phone number is blocked and all I get is an email saying essentially it was a mistake and we all make them and it's not their normal way of handling this, basically, an oops sorry. They clearly have no care for client data security and their security practices seem to be so cavalier from this experience they should never handle anyone's data. Their customer service didn't hesitate to flat out lie to me or management turned them into liars whichever it is. Please don't support this company.

Pros

The old interface and the previous CEO management. Customer for 10 years, leaving because it's horrible now and customer service is broken and data security issues.

Cons

Their old software was good, and then they forced everyone to a less-featured new version that lacked functionality and jacked the price significantly. They say they always listen and take feedback from customers but in practice, I never saw any action from the feedback, its like a black hole from my experience. Their new version lacks features and is very clunky compared to the old one. After a year of having issues with the new version, I chose not to renew. I called to tell them I wished to cancel and please delete my credit card data. They refused to delete my credit card data and suggested I may get charged again. In 2011 their policy was that you would always have access to your data through the website regardless of having a paid account. Now they don't do that and have lied about their past policies to me. In 2011 you could have a free account with only one client and would always have access to your data that was what the sales pitch was, they said you would always have access to it. They were the first game in cloud accounting, so this was important. In 2016 when I switched to a new account because of a change in structure I still had access to my old account despite not paying for it after it expired for 3+ years. Now they are so horrible and so anti-customer that the day your subscription runs out they turn it off and block you from it. They are so greedy for money they run customers away. There are much better software and customer service for accounting software

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

In 2010 from Intuit but I have since moved to another platform. For privacy from FreshBooks, I don't want to name it but the new company's software work so well and their customer service listens to feedback and will actually implement good ideas to the software. Look around and don't believe all the paid reviews by this company to make their software sound like the best.

Review Source

Jeffrey K.  
manager  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Get your finances in order with FreshBooks!"

August 17, 2022

5.0

I have had a great experience with FreshBooks. The software is very user-friendly and has a lot of great features. The customer service is also excellent. I would definitely recommend FreshBooks to anyone looking for an easy-to-use accounting software.

Pros

I found the interface to be very intuitive and user-friendly. I liked that I could easily track my expenses and invoices and generate reports with just a few clicks. The software also made it easy to share information with my accountant and manage my business finances. Overall, I was very pleased with the freshbooks software and would recommend it to others.

Cons

I found the interface to be confusing and difficult to navigate.

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

I chose FreshBooks because it was recommended to me by a friend, and it seemed like it would be a good fit for my business. I looked at a few other products, but they didn't seem to have all the features I was looking for, or they were more expensive. FreshBooks had everything I needed, and it was affordable, so I decided to go with it.

Review Source

Senior Agronomist  
Used the software for: Less than 1 year

### "FreshBooks - an accounting for Small Businesses, s, "

August 1, 2022

5.0

It's been a great deal working with Fresh Books accounting app.

Pros

As a small business, this app will effectively do the accounting magic for you. It is a simple and very user-friendly app with excellent customer support. It also has good invoicing services with a perfect tracking element included in all the plans.

Cons

As a small business, I have great satisfaction with the Fresh Books accounting app though I would love to see automation being employed in the setting up of sales tax jurisdictions.

Review Source

Elvis L.  
Accounting Manager  
Used the software for: Less than 1 year

### "Powerful Invoicing Services"

July 13, 2022

5.0

In migrating from manual to computerized accounting system, freshbooks helps me to save my time in making a manual entries of expenses by uploading directly to expenses ledger. No need to make a multiple daily expenses entries.

Pros

It has the best and powerful invoicing services. Freshbooks fits for small/medium size construction business with few staff. With it's mobile application features, vendor's sales invoice can easily be uploaded to the system where ever you are. In terms of customer service supports, they are responsive and well knowledgeable about the system.

Cons

Limited user and client in lower subscriptions. Freshbooks should consider increasing the number of user and client in lower tier in which it will be more competitive to the other softwares like Quickbooks Online and Xero.

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

Much cheaper and user friendly software

Review Source

Zeenat H R.  
CEO - MD  
Used the software for: Less than 1 year

### "Freshbooks - An impressive all in one business & accounting software "

July 7, 2022

5.0

Great over all experience.

Pros

I admire the fact that they have actually went that extra mile in a few sectors for their clients. Like making their own payment facilities; it takes accountability. I like the ease of use and that all can be done in one place at one time especially tracking expenses andbhavingbyour deposits catered for.

Cons

I had and have no issues. It is abit costly however it has alot to offer so it is well worth it. With this software you would not need another accounting software or point of sale or project management software. So yeah the price I guess has to be higher than most

Review Source

Sara B.  
Human Resources Generalist  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Great accounting and invoicing software"

June 29, 2022

4.0

Easy-to-use: Freshbooks A lot of functions are available and you can get started in a short period of time. Clients will love this for making payments. Freshbooks' user-friendliness and the fact that all of my clients are saved there are two things I really like. All of my client data has been held there for more than a decade.

Pros

FreshBooks has a really visually appealing interface, and that's something I really like. Even after a long day at work, logging in never leaves me feeling drained. When I log in, the most crucial information is right there on the dashboard. FreshBooks can help me operate my design business. Tracking my time, creating estimates and invoicing, creating projects, setting up regular retainers, etc. are just some of the things I do.

Cons

As a result, there can be a lot of confusion when it comes to automatic payments. The smartphone app itself also needs a lot of work. In addition, the FreshBooks customer service needs improvement. I'd like to see some of the more expensive plans' extras available to everyone.

Switched from

[QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/)[Wave](https://www.capterra.com/p/178021/Wave-Apps/)

For the sake of my business finance manager, I don't mess about with Excel spreadsheets. Self-employment taxes are calculated based on the information provided. It saves me a ton of time, and by the end of the year, I'm well-prepared for tax time.

Review Source

Owner  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "False Advertising and Lack of Support"

June 27, 2022

1.0

My overall experience with FreshBooks has been like watching a masterclass on how not to run a business and how not to treat customers. I regret that I didn't leave years ago when the company tanked to what it is now. I wish FreshBooks could/would solve the technical issues with their product but since they don't even try, I am evaluating other options for software.

Pros

When I started using FreshBooks in 2014 it was really great software - the price was amazing, the features worked as advertised, and the support was better than anything I had ever experienced before. But that changed many years ago and has been a steady and rapid decline in every way.

Cons

This software doesn't work as advertised. I have had an open ticket with support since March and though they acknowledge that this is a known issue attached to my support ticket, there has been ZERO progress made on the ticket, they don't communicate any updates, they don't offer apologies or refunds, they just expect me to pay for their software while they do absolutely nothing to solve a known problem to a highly advertised feature of the product that remains nonfunctioning for going on 5 months.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

June 30, 2022

Hey Jacob, thank you for taking the time to share your review of FreshBooks. I am sorry to hear you've been experiencing this issue in your FreshBooks account, and the impact this has had on your use of the software. Our Support Team is here to assist however we are able to. If you still have a ticket with one of my colleagues on the Support Team, you can follow up with them regarding any inquiry about your account or billing. Alternatively, you can give us a call - our numbers are listed here: https://www.freshbooks.com/contact. ^DM

President  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Freshbooks WAS amazing, but now not so much. Proceed with caution."

May 27, 2022

2.0

The software for me is essentially rendered useless, since I can't use it for accounting. What's the point of paying for an accounting software, when I can't do my books with it!?!

Pros

At first, Freshbooks offered everything I needed. Their features worked without a glitch. No complaints. But now not so much. It's not a long term viable solution for your accounting needs.

Cons

The core functionality (bank connection) for accounting does not work. It constantly disconnects and expenses do not import. I have been talking to customer service for now 5 months, and no resolution. And because my case is hard to solve, the customer service reps just did the bare minimum and deflected blame on their internal tech partners. I had to follow up, they were not proactive and still to this day can't give a real ETA on when the problem will fix. It's as if my problem is of no importance to them and low on their priority list. I've been patiently waiting 5 months - and still nothing. So in my opinion, Freshbooks is a bad company to deal with when your account has real issues - you won't get the support you need and your business will suffer for it.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

May 27, 2022

Hey there, thank you for taking the time to share your review of FreshBooks. I am sorry to hear of the frustration that you've experienced with this Bank Connection issue. Regardless of the root of the connection issue, our Support Team is absolutely here to assist in this matter. You can find the contact information, including phone numbers, for the Support Team here: https://www.freshbooks.com/contact. We look forward to hearing from you and helping however we can! ^DM

Molly B.  
Photographer  
Used the software for: 1-3 years

### "FreshBooks as a Photographer (solo small business)"

May 27, 2022

5.0

I have been using FreshBooks for over 2-years and am currently using it. I used FreshBooks a long time ago when they were new and more minimal. It has been great to see them grow up. The cost is a bit steep so I may not continue to use them -- I'm 50/50 at the moment. If they provided more value for the cost I would consider it a good investment, but paying for a CRM on top of that is expensive. Overall I do love the software!

Pros

I love the clean and friendly UX of FreshBooks! It is a pretty efficient piece of software that helps me get paid quickly and easily. I feel it has grown up so much over the years too. Invoicing is super easy and tracking expenses. Those are my primary base needs to run my business.

Cons

I do wish that entering client information was a bit more intuitive as I feel like I'm doing input for a client into my contacts, importing it to my CRM, and then hand inputting into FreshBooks again feels redundant. I would really really really love to see a Mac App to complete the mobility and desktop experience. I dislike having to open a web page to manage things on a daily basis.

Switched from

[17hats](https://www.capterra.com/p/144328/17hats/)[Moon Invoice](https://www.capterra.com/p/144576/Moon-Invoice/)

I switched over primarily because the invoicing in Moon Invoice was manual, they did not have a way for clients to make quick and easy payments. I would have to go into PayPal, and create a link with PayPal.me and copy/paste this with my emailed invoices, it was not efficient by any means. I had used FreshBooks previously and 17Hats a long time ago. I opted to try FreshBooks again and have been using it since. The cost of Moon Invoice is what really drew me in as it was $20/annually.

Alternatives considered

[Billings Pro](https://www.capterra.com/p/212836/Billings-Pro/)

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

FreshBooks just seemed more intuitive. QuickBooks has a long history of being bulky and complicated and expensive software. I keep looking at Billings Pro because I use DayLite now so we will see. :) I think FreshBooks is more advanced.

Review Source

Maddie T.  
System Administrator  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "FreshBooks made my day at work so much easier"

May 6, 2022

5.0

Integration with customers' books, as well as the option to include team members in the layout, are all included. On the subject of Application Programming Interfaces. It appeals to me since it brings everything together in one convenient location. The entire software is so simple to use that anyone can learn how to use it.

Pros

I appreciate how user-friendly it is, as well as the appearance of the program, and that it has the essentials when it comes to monitoring money and sending invoices and proposals. It's a really amazing piece of software that provides quick alerts. Excels in the area of financial reporting. When it comes to bank reconciliation, the general ledger is really helpful. Excellent in regard to project accounting.

Cons

The absence of features like as email automation and scheduling, which are provided by applications such as Dubsado and Honeybook, would be an example. One thing I'd want the developers to improve on is making sure that updates are made at the very least within one hour and not much longer.

Switched from

[Wave](https://www.capterra.com/p/178021/Wave-Apps/)[Zoho Expense](https://www.capterra.com/p/142384/Zoho-Expense/)

Freshbooks not only helps me with the core responsibilities of invoicing and costs, but it also assists me in getting a comprehensive picture of the financial health of my company.

Review Source

Randal W.  
Managing Partner  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### ""New" Freshbooks has completely make this formerly amazing service...unusable & frustrating"

October 29, 2021

1.0

Loved them for more than a decade, until the "New" version completely left us wondering what went wrong. Their support has been great, helping us to move to another platform, but again, the "New" version is making that transition even harder, although we haven't tried to export from "Classic", so I could be wrong.

Pros

The previous "Classic" edition was so easy to use, powerful in its simplicity and quick. The only thing I can say about the "New" version is that it is pretty.

Cons

The "New" version might be pretty, but it has become pretty awful to use. The platform is now so slow, we often wonder if we clicked on something...so we wait (e.g. create an invoice). Navigation used to be simple, but that is no longer the case. It takes many more clicks to find the information I need. I've been using now for about 2 months, so I know where to go, but it takes so much longer now. Invoicing & applying payment now prone to mistakes. The Credit card option will be ON/OFF for all subsequent invoices, so it's hard to make an exception (e.g. hardware) for one invoice. We have to constantly check a few options for every invoice, making the whole process much longer. Billing for time is somewhat better. It now shows ONLY the clients that have unmilled time, but once you create an invoice, the client will stay in the list for a good 15 minutes, making this feature cool, but useless. All in all, being moved to "New" has been an absolute nightmare and has caused us to completely lose faith in this company, which I have been using since its inception. We are sad to say, the problems by far outweighs the pretty interface, and we find ourselves forced to use something functional.

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

At the time, I liked the Cloud version.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

October 29, 2021

Hey Randal, thank you for taking the time to share your review and raise these concerns. I'm sorry to hear that you've experienced some issues when using FreshBooks - I have passed this feedback along to our team on your behalf. Feedback from customers like yourself is absolutely valuable for the changes and updates that are made to FreshBooks. You can keep up to date with all the changes and updates our team is making here: https://support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360054235012-Changes-Updates-in-2021. If there are any questions or concerns our Support Team can assist with, our contact information can be found here: https://www.freshbooks.com/contact. ^DM

Bookkeeper  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Great for keeping track of expenses & invoicing"

August 2, 2021

3.0

For sole proprietors that are just invoicing and tracking expenses this is a great, low cost program. If you are looking for more features like reconciliations there are better products that are easier to use and more flexible.

Pros

This program is inexpensive compared to QBO. It is very easy to set up invoicing and track expenses.

Cons

There are different tiers at different price points which can be good but also a detriment because you need to add on things like accounts payable that should be standard in any accounting software. If you are only invoicing and tracking expenses without reconciliations it works fine but you will find this product difficult to use different payment methods and reconcile.

Alternatives considered

[Wave](https://www.capterra.com/p/178021/Wave-Apps/)

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

We ended up choosing the other product because it was free.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

August 20, 2021

Hey Breanna, thank you for taking the time to share your review of FreshBooks! I appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback on the pricing structure and the features that are or are not included within them. I have raised that feedback to our team here on your behalf. You mentioned having issues or trouble with the Bank Reconciliation feature in FreshBooks. If this is something you want assistance with or have more specific feedback you wish to pass along, please feel free to get in contact with our Support Team at the numbers here: https://www.freshbooks.com/contact or help@freshbooks.com. ^DM

General Manager  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Hate the new format"

December 3, 2020

1.0

Before the drastic change to the new format, it was excellent. Made my job so much easier, and me so much more effective. It was really a great product. Now, since the new format has been forced on me, it has been nothing but frustrating to use. They didn't just change it a little, they completely revamped everything and made it far inferior to what it once was. For me anyways, it is no longer "user friendly". It is no longer an effective tool. The only reason we haven't switched to someone else is because of the 10 years of history we have saved in the program. We would lose all of that if we switched, so unfortunately we are stuck with having to use this horrible new format.

Pros

The fact that it keeps the history of past business transactions.

Cons

I was a huge fan of the Classic Freshbooks, and used to recommend it to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, they recently "forced" a new format on all existing customers. The new format is far inferior to the Classic Freshbooks that was in place before. Now, unless I create a separate account for each individual person I deal with, (instead of just a company account with my contacts noted within), all of my estimates and invoices are addressed to the wrong person, (the new format has only one contact person per company that shows up on an estimate/invoice). Their recommendation to this was to set up a separate account for each individual person I deal with, which literally means I need to set up thousands of more accounts, many of which are for the same company, just for a different person within that company. Completely illogical. The Classic Freshbooks had an awesome search engine allowing me to search for various fields at once, (company name, site address, job particulars, etc.). Now, instead of many search different fields, there is only one, and that one is largely ineffective giving me results in a completely random order, not chronological at all as it was with the Classic format. Cannot express enough how disappointed I am with the new format.

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

At the time we came on board with Freshbooks, we had not considered an alternative product. We were so happy with how well it worked for our needs that we felt we would never need to switch. Now with this new, completely different format that was forced upon us, we are very unhappy with the product, but unfortunately are "stuck" because of the 10 years of history that we have in the system. It is not nearly as easy as it once was to search past history for reference, but at least it's better than not having it at all, so I guess we are stuck with it for now.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

December 4, 2020

Hey Steve, thank you for taking the time to share your review of FreshBooks. Change can be difficult, and I want to thank you for your honesty regarding the new FreshBooks and how you use it for your business. I have ensured that this feedback has been flagged for our Product Team on your behalf (regarding client contacts on invoices and search). While I cannot guarantee any kind of timeline for new features to be added to FreshBooks, feedback from customers like yourself is important for our team. If you have any other questions or feedback regarding FreshBooks, our Support Team is more than happy to help. We can be reached at 1-866-303-6061 Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm EST or support@freshbooks.com. ^DM

Virtual Assistant  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Freshbooks is Worth the Money Spent, Could Use Some Improvements"

September 23, 2020

5.0

Overall, I am satisfied with Freshbooks. It is helpful to have contractors track their time in an efficient way, as well as invoice and bill clients. There are also 3rd party platforms that integrate with Freshbooks to make workflows easier (Basecamp, Mailform, Hubspot).

Pros

Invoicing and billing is easy with Freshbooks. I like the recurring billing feature, automatic payments for clients, and the ability to track time against projects.

Cons

I have been using this platform for a long time and like it better than others, like Harvest. However, I dislike the following: -That when a project is archived by an administrator, contractors assigned to the projects can still access it and track time on it. Since the project does not come up on the administrator's end, this can go on for months without the administrator realizing. This causes inaccurate time tracking and has led us to go over hours on several projects -There is not a more simple way to merge contacts. Sometimes duplicates happen when Freshbooks integrates with another platform, like Hubspot. Also, sometimes more than one contact is saved for the same company. There is not a simple way to merge them without entering and deleting manually. -For recurring invoices, you have to select how many invoices are "remaining," which gets confusing. If you want to send 5 monthly invoices, does the first invoice count as a "remaining" invoice or should you select that you are sending 4 "remaining" invoices? There should be a way to just choose an end date

Review Source

Managing Director  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### " No Two-Factor Authentication - Very bad overall security "

December 13, 2019

1.0

Freshbooks has been in business for years but does not have a basic Two-Factor Authentication feature to prevent hackers from gaining unauthorized access to customers' accounts. Not having this feature borders on negligence. This is a basic standard feature that other cloud accounting software XERO and Quickbooks have had for years. Not having two-factor authentication is alarmingly bad because tens of thousands of Freshbooks customers are trusting Freshbooks with a ton sensitive company data about their finances, customers, bank information, credit card processor information, and prospects etc into Freshbooks. If hackers get a password, they can easily access this valuable information because there is no two-factor authentication to stop them from getting in. Does Freshbooks take customer security seriously? Apparently not. I emailed them about this dangerous lack of basic security features and as of December 2019 Freshbooks says there is no plan to add two factor authentication in the future. Their answer as the same as it was when I wrote them in 2018 about this problem. Their answer was that they would pass this suggestion along to their programmers so they can give it future consideration.

Pros

Ease of use and straightforward, simple interface. Easy invoicing.

Cons

Freshbooks lacks all of these industry standard security features: No Two-Factor Authentication at login. No IP address blocking to prevent certain IP addresses from logging in my account. No log/audit showing when I last logged in and out of the account. No forced internet timeout/log out when the account has been left untouched for a while. This is standard on other online accounting software and is used by most banks as a security feature.

Reasons for choosing FreshBooks

ease of use, simpler user interface. Freshbooks' marketing is better than most cloud accounting software companies and that is what I ultimately led me to use this product.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

December 20, 2019

Hey there, thank you for taking the time to share your review of FreshBooks. I certainly understand where you're coming from regarding features like two-factor authentication. While my colleague that you spoke with recently is correct that this isn't a feature we currently offer, I have flagged your feedback for our Product Team to review directly. This is a team we have a FreshBooks who reviews and gathers customer feedback for issues and concerns like what you've raised. If there's any other feedback you wish to provide, please don't hesitate to reach our to our Support Team at 1-866-303-6061 Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm EST or support@freshbooks.com. ^DM

Craig F.  
Principal Consultant  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Good for time tracking and invoicing; barely functional for accounting"

October 1, 2019

3.0

The original version of FreshBooks, which we started using in 2014, was great for time tracking and invoicing. Unfortunately, they decided to build a completely new web application to add accounting features. We migrated to the new version about two years ago, and it did not go well. The new version didn't add many useful features, and the time tracking app got worse (see above). We decided to try the accounting feature this year (2019) because Xero started getting more expensive and lost its payroll feature. We have found the FreshBooks accounting features to be barely usable, and we're struggling to find an accountant that will support FreshBooks.

Pros

FreshBooks is good for freelancers or service-based small businesses that need to track time spend on client projects, and report the time on invoices. It's also good for tracking basic expenses, whether they are allocated to the business, or passed on to clients. The reporting features are also useful. The payroll integration with Gusto is a simple and affordable way to run payroll for a small business.

Cons

The mobile app for time tracking became so buggy that I had to stop using it; it would frequently lose track of the time if I paused the timer. They also added a "feature" that creates a new line item on the invoice every time you pause the timer, which really clutters up the invoice. I now use a separate tracking app and manually enter my time. The accounting features are barely adequate, and the accounting functionality is more like a public beta than production software. There's a chart of accounts, bank reconciliation, and a general ledger. We use cash-basis accounting, so it works for us, but if you carry inventory, I don't think FreshBooks will support accrual accounting. The bank reconciliation was officially "beta" until very recently. Admins aren't allowed to edit the chart of accounts, so you need to have an accountant or bookkeeper set it up. Unfortunately, most accountants I've talked to won't work with FreshBooks directly. Strangely, FreshBooks will help you find a bookkeeper who works with FreshBooks, but not an accountant.

Switched from

[Xero](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/)

We switched from Xero to FreshBooks for accounting because the value of Xero keeps going down. Xero used to offer payroll and expenses for about $30/month, but now that Xero no longer offers payroll, you have to pay a separate fee to a payroll provider. You also have to pay a much higher monthly fee to Xero if you want expense reporting.

Alternatives considered

[Xero](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/)

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

October 11, 2019

Hey Craig, thank you for taking the time to share this detailed review of FreshBooks. I'm sorry to hear that you've run into issues with our mobile app and the timer creating multiple timers (though that is by design). If you had specific suggestions or features that you'd like to see for the Accounting features or anything else in FreshBooks, our team would love to hear it! I have flagged your feedback to be heard by our Product Specialists directly, but if there's anything else our Support Team would be happy to capture that feedback. They can be reached at help@freshbooks.com or 1-866-303-6061 Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm EST. ^DM

Content Designer  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Stellar customer service. Simple interface."

December 19, 2018

5.0

FreshBooks helps me do the essential tasks of invoices and expenses while also helping me get a big picture view of my business's financial health.

Pros

I started my freelance business nearly 3 years ago, and after initial struggles with Quickbooks (I even had a 2-hour training session with a Quickbooks instructor who just further confused me), I put off dealing with the financial side of my business for over a year (until my CPA was hounding me for tax stuff). Upon the recommendation of another freelancing friend, I decided to give FreshBooks a try. I finally got FreshBooks up and running, and I was amazed at how much it relieved my stress, rather than adding to it. The basic setup is simple and straight-forward, but as my business has grown, I've been impressed with little tricks built into FreshBooks that helps me save time and get a better overall view of my business. Also, I don't think I've ever experienced such consistently helpful and friendly customer service. Any time I call with a question, the person on the phone is empowered to help me out.

Cons

There are even more integrations and advancements that I think FreshBooks could offer to be even better. Here are a few examples: + I'd love to be able to do some kind of forecasting of income based either on draft invoices for project currently in the works, or estimates that have been accepted. + I wish I could set up estimates so clients could accept/reject specific line items so that I could send one estimate with different options, rather than multiple different estimates. + I wish I could apply discounts to specific line items in the invoices rather than the subtotal of the entire invoice so I could discount my services without discounting passed-along expenses I incur. I've shared such feedback and other minor requests with the FreshBooks team, and they've sounded receptive, so I hope updates/upgrades like these will one day be available.

Review Source

Co-Producer, Writer, Media Manager  
Used the software for: 1-3 years

### "Free accounting apps never worked for me. Finally bit the bullet and am in major LOVE w Freshbooks."

July 31, 2018

5.0

Pros

This might make me sound superficial but the first thing I loved about Freshbooks was the interface. The icons, the buttons, the way everything looks is so so appealing to me. And it made me want to use the trial version (I did this a little more than 1 year ago). Using it made me feel like I was getting my financial act together. Which it later did, btw. The time tracker is the best... time saver for me. It records time and then adds everything together in a way that nothing else really did. It seems so obvious but nothing I was using before helped track my hours this way. This is the thing that used to drive me round the bend when it came time to invoicing clients. I used to delay invoicing (aka "getting paid") because my own system was terrible..and I could not find a better way until finally deciding that maybe I needed to pay for something to help me. I like the notes section for the time entries. I like how flexible it is to shift recorded time entries around or update the text to better describe what work I actually did. I also love the support from Freshbooks. They're super responsive and extremely helpful. They do not waste my time with a lot of blather I've experienced in so many other customer service situations (like repeating back to me the question I just proferred). They include screenshots and precise language to answer my questions. Also: Expenses in FB. I now go out of my way to add in expenses as they come w/o avoiding them.

Cons

I recommended Freshbooks to a friend of mine who started using it right away. Then he had trouble with a really difficult client he'd billed using Freshbooks. This client (I subcontracted with the friend so am aware of what all happened) contested all of my friend's work and refused payment after paying the Freshbooks invoice. And Freshbooks allowed the chargeback to happen. I think other software does not allow this --- for example, my friend now uses Quickbooks as a result. I have also experienced some quirks when it came to adding new jobs to repeat clients. This is likely my own error but it's not something I've cared to reach out to the support team to question. I also have not downloaded a year's incoming and outgoing details to give to an accountant. So I don't know how well that all works. Again, my own thing, and not necessarily on them.

Review Source

IT Support Specialist  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "FreshBooks provides small businesses with some of the best invoicing and billing features available."

July 18, 2018

5.0

Billing and invoicing were made much easier using this software.

Pros

FreshBooks gives small businesses a well-designed and intuitive user interface that can easily be used for a variety of different functions, most notably billing, and invoicing. Users are given a wide array of attractive template designs to choose from when creating invoices, allowing for catchy, yet professional looking documents. FreshBooks also provides users with tools for team collaboration, estimates, and projects, all of which can be easily navigated and set up to increase your small businesses' ability to maximize communication, send automatic reminders, submit proposals, and secure jobs with relative ease. As an accounting package, FreshBooks also provides users with the ability to perform some fundamental bookkeeping and accounting functions, has some bank reconciliation functions, enables you to accept online credit card payments, and provides many of these features via their full-featured mobile application. Last but not least, FreshBooks provides excellent customer service from the start. A detailed and easily followed tutorial will help new users get started, while their well-trained staff is always ready to provide users with answers to any questions or issues they may encounter. FreshBooks is very proud of their customer service and their customer satisfaction rating, and it really shows when you speak with one of their representatives.

Cons

One limitation in FreshBooks as an accounting package is the fact that they utilize single-entry accounting. While this may not be an obvious flaw to a new small business owner, it will become apparent as more accounts are created, employees are hired, and payment options are implemented. Single-entry accounting is quick and simple, but it certainly leaves something to be desired. Over the years some application updates have diminished or completely removed some useful features, like service and customer records, and inventory tracking, all of which were very convenient and helpful features.

Review Source

Senior Business Analyst  
Used the software for: Less than 1 year

### "FreshBooks is a reliable and fast accounting suite for complex financial management"

January 15, 2018

4.0

A complete makeover FreshBooks developers understand the struggle of small teams to handle complex accounting projects and deliver efficient results. Just as easy as you know it to be Back in the days, a team of developers decided to design an easy, intuitive, and non-accountant friendly finance management app, and promised their users that this approach will never change. Mobile-friendly and accessible FreshBooks is considerably good at following trends, and the best proof of it are the mobile platform add-ons for iOS and Android devices, allowing you to access data and do accounting regardless of your location. Saves billing time like no other app FreshBooks redesigned its time tracking for billing purposes by allowing companies to accept payment online, and to do so via various payment gateways. Excellent invoice to payment features FreshBooks offers top rate invoice to payment features that can be used by all small businesses. For instance, you can track exactly when your customer opened your invoice email. Tracking expenses with handy snaps This feature comes handy if you need to liquidate expenses after a client meeting: you simply click a picture of the receipt and attach the snap to an item in FreshBooks to log the expense. racking working times even better than before The new version of the app allows you to becertain of the accuracy of your charges, and lets you have proof if a client decides to dispute them. You can even use the iOS and Android apps to track your working time in the field. Plus, it is easy to convert your work timesheet into an invoice and send it to clients for payments. A bright future As good as the new FreshBooks version may look now, it has only begun to develop. The company promises many advanced features in the near future, including bank accounts reconciliation, non-invoice income recording, and billing adjusted to enterprise-grade users. The innovative spirit is planned to spread on to reporting as well, and transform the scope of available integrations to help companies get paid for their efforts, time, and expertise. At the same time, FreshBooks Classic (as the old version is currently known) will remain active, but will constantly be absorbed within the new one's comprehensive productive suite.

Pros

businesses get to manage invoices and recurring subscriptions in less than no time, and collect online payments within the same system. In fact, FreshBooks enables Google Checkout, PayPal, and credit card payments, and integrates with a long list of business systems and applications that can streamline this process. With it, odds are good that you will unite financial control in a single system, and stop paying for the maintenance of complex software infrastructure. A considerable advantage of FreshBooks compared to other accounting apps is the availability of fully-functional mobile apps and add-ons you can get for Android and iOS devices. The apps allow you to bring the power and convenience of the software on location, and do accounting and access records whenever you wish to do so. As you can see, FreshBooks literally takes finances out of the office, but does so in a safe and seamless fashion.

Cons

Despite a wide range of excellent features users have pointed out a few minor things that can be improved in FreshBooks: its metrics, goal setting, and reporting features can be better. One user also found bugs in FreshBooks email click-throughs and automated expenses which did not function to his liking. Apart from these insignificant glitches, hoever, there is no doubt that FreshBooks is a top notch accounting product that can bring a lot to your accounting deparatament.

Review Source

Kent K.  
Consultant  
Used the software for: 3-5 years

### "Like it But Lacking Decent Timer"

April 12, 2017

3.0

This is a review of Freshbooks Classic. They have just come out with a new version that I am not using due to a lack of addins at this early stage. I use Freshbooks to invoice my customers for the time and materials I spend on their products. I have recurring invoices that automatically bill my customers on the first of the month for their monthly recurring services and any labor I may have spent on their project for for support. Freshbooks definitely makes the invoicing process simple and easy. I don't have to worry about manually creating invoices each month. A big time saver. It also provides several different ways for the customer to pay their invoice including credit card and PayPal (PayPal is not an option in the new version of Freshbooks). But Freshbooks doesn't make the time tracking simple. Since most of my charges are based off time spent working on customer products, I need a powerful Timer tool. Freshbooks does not supply that tool. They have a very rudimentary tool that is browser based. You click start, select your Project and Task, then press stop when completed. Life isn't that simple. I may be working for one client when another calls on the phone. I would have to stop the existing timer, select a new project/task, start the timer again, then after stopping it, go through the whole process again to go back my original task. Awful. Instead I had to purchase a desktop based tool called Chronomate that is so much more powerful. It even knows when I've stepped away from desk and forgot to stop the timer. It also uploads to Freshbooks so I don't have to manage anything. Bliss. Of course the developer isn't maintaining it anymore so it doesn't work with the new version of Freshbooks. Crud. Because of the lack of a decent time tracking tool I won't be updating to the new version of Freshbooks anytime soon.

Pros

Very easy to invoice.

Cons

Time tracking methods/tool are totally lacking.

Review Source

Response from FreshBooks

May 3, 2017

Hi Kent! Tim from FreshBooks here, thanks for taking the time to leave us a detailed review. I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying using the auto-bill, recurring invoicing aspect of the software! I definitely hear you when it comes to the lacking experience for time tracking. I'm not too sure if you've tried the new FreshBooks yet, but we did improve upon time tracking section so that you'll only need to enter in your client to track time (no more entering all sorts of information!), we also display the last five timer you've used on the page so that you can switch between them quickly. That said, the new FreshBooks' time tracker isn't as smart as Chronomate, but we hope we'll continue to build on it to make it work for you, as well as including more add-ons that will work with it. Thanks again, Kent! If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to reach out to our support team at 1-866-303-6061 between 8am - 8pm eastern time. Best, - Tim

Alexandra R.  
Chief Executive Officer  
Used the software for: 1-3 years

### "Freshbooks is the perfect solutions for service based businesses"

November 26, 2015

5.0

We've used Freshbooks for quite sometime now in our business. When searching for billing software, I needed something smoothe, mobile and also that allowed for customer portals that could be branded to our company. This was a big deal for us, so we absolutely wanted to make sure it was a feature in whatever software it was and Freshbooks did just that. Freshbooks is super easy to use and handles everything from the customer accounts, to the invoicing to recurring charges and credits. At the end of the year, all the clients get a statement of their services they have paid for, and they never have to contact us about anything. They can review their bills at any time, and also accept estimates that are put together. It also is fabulous for integrations, and we currently use Google Apps, Gusto HQ and a few others to make it that much more effective.

Pros

Some of the biggest reasons we chose Freshbooks over other software: \*Incredibly smooth and easy to use interface \*Ability to brand your own in colors as well as add your logo \*Each customer can be assigned their own billing portal login and you can have multiple clients under one company but each have different username \*Utilizes Braintree payments (our primary merchant processor) \*Integrates with Google Apps and Gusto HQ \*Flat rate for up to 5 users, we currently use the Might Oak Plan \*Team tracking and hour logging for projects (huge deal since we work with contractors and they also have a free contractor add on option) \*Mobile App is killer - I pop off invoices like it's nobody's business :)

Cons

\*Reporting could be improved \*Needs better reconciliation in terms of balances. You can do daily balance sheets, but I would rather have it calculate how my business is doing based on capital in our current account, then factor in what we earned and our expenses. \*Not good for businesses that have inventory, need inventory management (this I wouldn't necessarily rate as a con however, because Freshbooks was built and designed for SERVICE style businesses - for that it works great) \*Reporting can't be opened in the mobile app, you need to access it via the browser \*To my knowledge, you can't run multiple businesses out of one account. We currently have two businesses and are deciding if we are going to open up a separate Freshbooks account or if there is another option that's better suited for the second business.

Review Source

Steve S.  
Owner

### "Not for everyone, or even most..."

February 24, 2015

3.0

I've been using Freshbooks for the last couple of years, and at first it was a breath of fresh air after getting away from Quickbooks (both online and desktop version prior to that). If you don't have a proficiency for accounting, systems like Freshbooks are great, so I enjoyed the simplicity of it. The problem is - it's just way too simple and there are some major gaps in functionality. Additionally, it's a stagnant system. Very little improvements or features were tweaked or added in the system during the entire time I used it which is pretty unusual for a web based service. Freshbooks shouldn't even call themselves accounting, because their forte really is in time tracking and invoicing. I now use Freeagent and wish I'd switched sooner. If you don't care about tracking profit margins on projects or really tracking expenses accurately at all, then Freshbooks might work for you.

Pros

Freshbooks gets plenty right. Tracking billable time against customers or customer projects is a breeze, and their invoicing and methods for collecting payments is really hard to beat. Plus, they integrate with so many other services, it makes it really easy to get addicted to. The things I love most - and the main reasons I'm glad that I left Quickbooks for Freshbooks is: Automated invoice reminders, which are totally flexible. This alone saved me a lot of time chasing down late payers. Your customers get a really nice interface for viewing all their invoices online - although I will say I think I only have one or two clients who ever even used the client portal for doing that. Most of them just go to their email to retrieve the links for invoices or statements, but it is still a really nice feature.

Cons

No connections to your banking / credit card accounts. You can do this with expenses to some extent, but it's just awful to work with, when compared to Quickbooks, Xero, FreeAgent - pretty much anyone else. In order to use Freshbooks, you have to have some other software or service for managing the accounting aspects of your business. This ended up being a bad thing for me. I like having it all connected, and there are plenty of great alternatives for that, and some even charge less than Freshbooks. My reasons for leaving Freshbooks? Freshbooks is downright awful at expenses... You can't record non-billable expenses against a customer or project. If you want to record the expense without billing the customer for it, you cannot assign it to the customer or project. No easy way around that without messing up your accounting records. And with expenses that you DO want to rebill the customer for, there's no easy, intuitive way to handle marking up those expenses for goods or services to make a profit on. In order to do that, you must first add the expenses to the customer invoice, and then modify each line item expense amount up to the amount you want the customer to pay. You cannot record bills as you receive them your vendors. Say for example, you get an invoice from a programmer who did work for you on 4 different projects in a given time period. Most vendors will just send you an itemized invoice with all the billable time across the various projects. Well, you can't record it that way in Freshbooks. Each line item on your bill must be entered into freshbooks one line item at a time, and you cannot correlate them easily to know that they are all part of one bill/invoice. Freshbooks also can't help you with managing when your bills are due. That's accounting, which Freshbooks doesn't do. Freshbooks solutions to their shortcomings with expenses is all handled with hacks and workarounds for how their system is currently built. They are not easy or intuitive and they also throw things off with your accounting reports.

Review Source

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