For small business people or freelancers, paying bills and doing the accounts can be a tedious and challenging task. The idea at FreshBooks is to make it easier for business owners to operate by having a cloud-based software solution that they can use for accounting operations without having to have any prior background in accounting. Currently, FreshBooks has well over 20 million users, and while it is a good option, it might not be the best one for you. Below is a brief look at some of the main benefits and drawbacks which you should keep in mind while trying to determine if FreshBooks will meet your needs.
Pros and Cons of FreshBooks
Pros of FreshBooks
User-Friendly Interface
The first benefit which could be considered is that FreshBooks is rather easy to use and the interface is quite clear. The application has an interface in the form of a dashboard, with all the information presented in a clear manner, which will not confuse even a person without accounting experience, while using the application, it is easy to perform all the necessary actions related to bookkeeping. Using Zoho Invoice, you can create invoices that look professional, track your expenses, track time, generate reports, and many other things. This saves time for manual entry tasks in inefficient spreadsheets or other cumbersome data entry methods.
Robust Mobile App
The opportunities that are offered by FreshBooks mobile allow you to perform most of your accounting tasks while you are on the road, which is very handy for business owners and freelancers who spend most of their time in front of the computer. Some of the core tasks which can be easily performed by businesses with the help of this application include mileage tracking for business trips, receipts scanning or capturing, invoice generation, and account data viewing from your Smartphone or tablet anywhere you are.
Multiple Integrations
This software is compatible with more than 500+ third-party tools and services like payment gateways, banks, POS systems, or e-commerce solutions and services. These are PayPal, Stripe, Shopify, Gusto, MailChimp, Slack, and several other CRM options that can integrate with it. This makes it easier to have a smooth payment collection process, other activities such as the workflow, and even data integration between platforms.
Customizable Invoices
One of the features that make the invoice creator quite useful is that you can set the overall design of the invoices to be in line with the company branding. It allows you to change the format to your preferred style, adding your company logo to it, including the payment options, arranging the listed items, etc. This helps one project an image of professionalism, which is important in persuading your clients.
Robust Reporting
You can easily prepare over 20 business reports within FreshBooks to obtain more about the monetary efficiency of your business. Examples of the reports are accounting reports, detailed reports showing the sales made within a specific period, tax reports, an expenditure report and account ageing among others. It is possible to export the balance of any report to PDF or CSV for sharing with relevant decision-makers or accountants.
Responsive Customer Support
A large number of consumers appreciate the value that FreshBooks offers in terms of customer support and services that include live chat support, email support, an online help centre, the FreshBooks creator community, and phone support. Working with customer service agents can be fast and efficient since they are friendly, intelligent, and eager to help in case of any complications that a client may experience while engaging in the platform.
Cons
Missing Some Advanced Features
While FreshBooks has a lot of excellent tools for managing cash flow and invoicing, it is not as comprehensive as some of the other platforms, particularly for larger and more sophisticated businesses, it lacks some of the more sophisticated accounting tools that you might find in QuickBooks or Sage. Some of the key areas where there is a limited choice are customization of chart of accounts, inventory management, payroll processing, reporting requirements that go beyond the simple general ledger, multi-currency support, etc.
Steep Learning Curve
Others complain that although the FreshBooks team works to make the software user-friendly, it is still possible to find a significantly steep learning curve in case you are a new user, and nobody can explain to you how they would use FreshBooks effectively. It is useful to note that getting familiar with all of the available options and settings and being able to fine-tune them requires a certain amount of time.
As expected, there is an indication of the fact that the prices are higher for the facilities that offer more features.
For additional and advanced features and to gain higher limits on the transactions, invoices and file uploading, the cost is $15/month for the Lite plan; for Plus and Premium plans it is $25/month and $50/month respectively. This is especially true for larger businesses which handle a more significant amount of items because the costs are likely to pile up.
Lacks Industry-Specific Features
Where integration support is facilitated, FreshBooks also lacks certain industry specialities, which can fit various fields such as creative agencies, law offices, architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, or IT companies. This has the effect of reducing its utility for being optimal in specific applications.
No Long-Term Data Archival
However, as is the case with some competing products, FreshBooks does not grant unbounded access to historical account data after the customer deactivates the account. This makes it less than ideal as a data storage solution for businesses that must retain data for several years, because of compliance or other requirements.
The Bottom Line
With an appealing frontend, solid mobile performance, automatization, and integration options, and a dedicated customer support team, FreshBooks lives up to its promise of offering contemporary and easy-to-use accounting software for starters, freelancers, and SMEs at a reasonable price. However, the platform is less comparable to the more robust and feature-rich competitors in terms of additional options, fine-tuning, and the long-term storage of documents for large companies with more complex financial statements.
Balancing your specific needs and priorities will always define whether FreshBooks meet your requirements to be the perfect small business accounting software. The key is how well it can be scaled up and can evolve in the long term as your company’s financial liabilities and transactional volume change over time. Since there is a 30-day free trial included within the package, it is easy to decide in its favour.
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