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Freshbooks

Table of Contents
Freshbooks
Introduction

FreshBooks is cloud accounting software designed to be simple, aimed especially at freelancers and service-based businesses. It is strong on invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking and getting paid, without the complexity of heavier accounting packages.

Who it suits

FreshBooks fits a freelancer, consultant or small service business that bills clients and wants easy invoicing and expense tracking more than deep accounting features.

What you get

  • Professional invoicing with online payments and reminders.
  • Expense and time tracking tied to clients and projects.
  • Simple reports and cash-flow visibility.
  • An easy interface for non-accountants.

Pricing

FreshBooks is a monthly subscription in US dollars, priced by the number of billable clients and features. Check current plans and how it handles South African tax before committing.

Our take

FreshBooks shines for service businesses that live on invoices and time tracking. If you need fuller accounting or strong local tax support, compare it in our business tools. Whatever you choose, good accounting keeps you compliant and fundable.

Compare accounting tools

Related: Tax and accounting  ·  Cash flow  ·  More business tools

Main Features

Business Health Insights: FreshBooks offers insightful reports that monitor assets and liabilities with a customisable chart of accounts

Account Integration: Users can grant their accountant access to real-time data in one central location, ensuring they can provide timely financial advice whenever necessary

Simplified Workflows: FreshBooks has over 100 integrations  and automations like embedded payroll and bank reconciliation

Professional Invoicing: Create and customise invoices, set up recurring billing for subscriptions, and accept credit card payments directly on invoices

Expense Tracking: FreshBooks allows users to automatically track expenses, scan receipts, and link bank accounts for real-time financial tracking

Automation: Users can automate late payment reminders, recurring invoices, and tax calculations to reduce manual work

Double-Entry Accounting: FreshBooks features tools that help ensure accuracy, such as General Ledger, Trial Balance, and Chart of Accounts, making tax season easier

Project Management and Collaboration: FreshBooks enables users to collaborate with teams and clients within the software, sharing files and tracking project hours

Financial Reporting: Users can generate essential reports like profit and loss statements, expense summaries, and tax-time reports

Mobile App: Manage billing, expenses, and client communication on the go using FreshBooks’ iOS or Android devices

 

Pricing

FreshBooks has four priced plans, and has a 50% off for 3-months offer for three of its plans.

Lite Plan – R85 per month or R1597,32 on the yearly plan. The Lite plan has the following features:

  • Send invoices to 5 clients
  • Track expenses in real time
  • Create and send estimates
  • Get paid with credit cards
  • Generate tax-time reports
  • Add team members for R147 per month, per user

Plus Plan – R150 per month or R2828,80 on the yearly plan. The Plus plan features everything on the lite plan plus:

  • Send invoices to 50 clients
  • Track expenses in real time
  • Create estimates, proposals and client retainers
  • Get paid with credit and debit cards, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Buy Now, Pay Later
  • Generate tax-time reports
  • Run financial and accounting reports
  • Expense receipt scanning
  • Give access to your accountant
  • Add team members for R147 per month, per user

Premium Plan – R350 per month or R6577,20 on the yearly plan. The Premium plan features everything on the Plus plan, plus:

  • Send invoices to unlimited clients
  • Track expenses in real time
  • Create estimates, proposals and client retainers
  • Get paid with credit cards
  • Run financial and accounting reports
  • Bill receipt scanning with the ability to add line items
  • Give your account access
  • Check project profitability
  • Customise email templates
  • Add team members for R147 per month, per user

Select Plan – Pricing is tailored for your business. The Select plan features everything on the premium plan, plus:

  • Send invoices to unlimited clients
  • Track expenses in real time
  • Create estimates, proposals and client retainers
  • Access lower credit card transaction fees and capped bank transfer fees
  • Generate tax-time reports
  • Run financial and accounting reports
  • Bill receipt scanning with automatic capture of multi-line items
  • Give your accountant access
  • Check project profitability
  • Customise email templates and remove FreshBooks branding
  • Import your data via Easy Switch
  • Gain access to dedicated phone support
  • Add 2 team member accounts at no extra charge
  • Additional team members can be added for  R147 per month, per user

The Lite, Plus and Premium plans come with an option to try for free plus a limited time 50% discount for three months on the monthly option.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

Has free trials for three plans
Integrations with external apps and payment systems
Seamless expense tracking and invoicing

Cons

Can be costly when adding team members
Select plan has no clear pricing
FAQs

Yes, FreshBooks has accounting reports for small businesses, like the Profit and Loss Report and Sales Tax Summary, which have the key numbers you need to fill out and file your tax return.

Depending on the type of payment processor you use, there are different costs associated with processing payments in FreshBooks.

The client limit on each of FreshBooks plans refers to the number of both active and archived clients in your account. If you’re no longer billing or working with a client, you can delete them to free up spots for new clients.

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