Is Freshbooks any good as an online accounting system? That’s the question you might be asking if you’re about to start a small business and you need an agile tool for accounting, invoicing, and everything in between. All I can say is that Freshbooks is frickin sweet… and in this blog, I’ll try to explain why.
I have used Freshbooks to launch three successful companies from ground zero. From having no employees and no revenue to approaching our first million. Each of those companies has had Freshbooks in the background running all of the accounting functions for our business. I have been able to do all of the businesses accounting… because I haven’t had to hire anyone. Talk about a huge saving. 🙂
You can automate Freshbooks so much… that it has enabled me to spend less than a couple hours a month on accounting tasks. That’s a blessing for me because I absolutely loathe accounting.
While there are dozens of online accounting platforms available to business owners, Freshbooks is one that gets me excited for being so functional, simple and user-friendly. Here’s a few things that would be good for you to know about them:
What Freshbooks Is All About
While computerized accounting isn’t anything new, Freshbooks has done a great job of driving the industry forward and making it much easier for business-owners to implement online accounting services. The recipient of Finance Online‘s 2016 “Best Accounting Software” Award, Freshbooks has gained attention primarily because it’s just so darn easy to use.
The accounting system behind more than 5 million companies and freelancers, Freshbooks offers a series of handy functions, including automatic invoicing, automatic payment reminders and late fees, unlimited access and the ability to track both business expenses and billable hours at the same time.
Whether you’re sick of chasing clients down for payment or struggling to use complex and involved accounting software that’s more archaic than it is intuitive, Freshbooks stands out as a streamlined, simple solution that promises to cut down on your daily stress and billing anxiety.
5 Key Reasons to Use Freshbooks
Freshbooks is sweet… and here are some reasons why:
1. Freshbooks Offers Time-Tracking
For freelancers and people who work on hourly contracts, time tracking can be one of the biggest obstacles to overcome. Using traditional methods, it’s difficult to get a precise breakdown of how long you’ve worked and how much your clients owe you for that work.
With Freshbooks, however, this concern is a thing of the past. Because the platform offers to-the-minute time tracking and the ability to sort it according to task, client, or project, it’s a fantastic option for keeping a tab on your hours and invoicing accordingly.
2. Freshbooks Follows up Automatically
Wondering if that client has paid their invoice? Don’t worry about it — Freshbooks will follow-up for you.
Designed to offer built-in payment reminders, Freshbooks allows you to set three automatic payment reminders at intervals of your choice. This saves you time spent chasing clients around and ensures you get paid on time, every time.
3. Automatic Late Fees
If the automatic payment reminders don’t prompt your clients into payment, the automatic late fees might. Like the automatic reminder feature, Freshbooks also offers the ability to charge automatic late fees.
When you create an invoice, simply check the “automatic late fees” box, choose whether you want to charge a flat fee or a percentage of the total invoice value, and decide when to start charging late fees (ten days after invoice due date, for example). It’s that simple!
4. Work in Various Currencies and Languages
Freshbooks allows you to send invoices in English or French and supports currencies including the Canadian dollar, Euro, pound sterling and Australian dollar, among others. This makes it easier to work with clients in various locations and to expand your business accordingly.
5. Freshbooks Supports Your Team
If you work with a team, rather than as a one-person army, Freshbooks is there to support you.
Designed to offer monitoring, team management software, direct 1099 invoicing, various pricing structures and configurations and the ability to export data, Freshbooks is one of the easiest and most functional team collaboration software platforms for small and mid-sized teams and fast-growing companies.
How Freshbooks is Different Than Other Accounting Platforms
The biggest difference between Freshbooks and other online accounting platforms is that Freshbooks is, in their words, “ridiculously easy to use.” I would concur with them wholeheartedly.
Log into the Freshbooks platform, and you’ll be greeted by a clean, streamlined dashboard that displays your overdue and outstanding invoices (using an attractive, color-coded chart), your total profit for the year, quarter or a specific date range (you can set this according to what you prefer), and your business spending.
You can also generate advanced reports, including profit and loss statements, sales tax summaries and invoice details. The platform’s mobile app is easy to use and allows you to create invoices in just minutes.
Freshbooks Culture Reflects Their Commitment To Being Great
Freshbooks is one of those companies that does good by being good. Their company culture has gained recognition from major outlets (it was named Canada’s top workplace in 2016) and features employee-pleasing perks including clubs, catered lunches and onsite learning. The company as a whole believes in stellar customer service (call their help line and you’ll be met with an actual human, shockingly fast), and strives to grow on the basis of nine core values: Passion, ownership, results, change, honesty, fun, empathy, strive and trust.
Every employee that enters the company, regardless of their eventual role, spends their first month working in customer service, which the company believes supports a connection with customers and the ability to make great decisions.
Regardless of what your business does or how quickly you’re growing, task management software is critical to help you grow, and Freshbooks is in my opinion, the single best online accounting platform out there.