FreshBooks Review

Rated #4 Best UK Accounting Software

Overall Rating:

9.2

Ease Of Use = 8.5

Value For Money = 9.4

Customer Support = 9.4

Features = 9.6

FreshBooks Review[Updated for 2024] – Promising to help small business owners run their business, FreshBooks is an accounting software that’s built to help freelancers, self-employed progressions and small businesses with employees and contractors tackle their accounts. 

But is it the right choice for your business? In this FreshBooks review, we’ll look at what the company has to offer and whether this solution will deliver the results you need.

At a Glance

FreshBooks was born when co-founder, Mike McDerment accidentally saved over an old invoice when running a small design agency.

Losing hours of work and being frustrated at the accounting solutions out there, he built his own, designed for small businesses like himself.

It’s a story we can get behind, and one that too many businesses will be all familiar with. Accounting is difficult, time-consuming and tedious. FreshBooks offers an alternative to this. 

In fact, they promote that FreshBooks can save small businesses 553 hours a year, which is equivalent to around 23 full days.

Or, if we’re really breaking down the details in this FreshBooks review, that’s just over 13 more business weeks to add to your calendar, which is a shocking amount. 

If that claim is true, the amount of time that FreshBooks can save is outstanding. And with over 30+ million people using FreshBooks worldwide, it certainly looks like it’s achieved that promise. But in this FreshBooks review, we’ll get to the nitty-gritty of their features and usability to see whether it’s the right option for your business. 

What Features Do FreshBooks Support?

FreshBooks offer a range of accounting and bookkeeping solutions, including: 

1. Invoicing and billing

This feature will allow you to create professional invoices in seconds and save your clients to save time in the future. It also gives your clients the option to pay via credit card, making accepting payment even easier so you’re less likely to be chasing them down for late payments. 

Their invoicing solution also comes with a lot of automatic actions, such as follow up prompts for payment, automatic late charges and email confirmations. 

2. Expense Tracking 

Know at a glance how much your business is spending and keep your receipts securely online for your end of year accounts. With FreshBooks, you can connect your business bank or credit card to automatically track and record your spending in a fully MTD compliant way. 

You’ll also be able to access extra features like marking purchases as expenses to rebill to a client if spending on materials or supplies. 

3. Time Tracking

Rather than have several apps to track your work and invoices, FreshBooks does it all in one platform. You can track your time on different projects or clients, then easily turn them into invoices to make sure that you’re sending accurate bills at the touch of a button. 

If you’re already using different productivity apps, such as Asana, Basecamp, Trello or Teamwork, FreshBooks integration will automatically capture this time without needing to change how you work. 

4. Easy accounts 

Both HMCR approved and MTD compliant, FreshBooks offer accurate and easy accounting to get your books sorted and end of year returns filled out without incident. Their accounting options include: 

• Balance sheets
• Ledgers
• VAT return reports
• Chart of accounts
• Accounts payable 
• And more 

You can also set up accountant access, allowing your accountant to log in and get the information they need to take care of your books on your behalf.

Fees

At the time of conducting our FreshBooks review, the company offers 3 paid packages, with a custom pricing solution for larger businesses that need a custom solution. 

These packages are: 

• FreshBooks Lite at £15 a month. This is perfect for startups and businesses that are just getting started and don’t need advanced features. With this plan, you’ll get unlimited invoices for up to 5 clients, unlimited expenses, estimates and VAT returns for HMCR. 
• FreshBooks Plus at £25 a month. This is for small business owners that have multiple clients, with extra features such as recurring billing, client retainers and more. 
• FreshBooks Premium at £35 a month. This package gives you unlimited clients, customisable emails, email signature features, business health reports and more. 

For most small businesses, we’d recommend the FreshBooks Lite or Plus packages, as the extra features in Premium might end up going to waste for the extra cost. If you have employees or work with a lot of contractors, then you might want to consider the extras on option. 

All packages come with a 30-day free trial, so you can test it out before you commit.

Value for Money

Our FreshBooks review has found the Lite and Plus packages are on par with some of the leading accounting software brands while offering a great selection of features alongside standard bookkeeping, VAT returns or MTD compliant returns. 

This makes it great value for money for small businesses, particularly freelancers or sole traders that deal with a lot of clients or time-based projects.

However, although the Premium tier does offer more features, it’s not something most small businesses will be able to take advantage of, so should be avoided unless you’re after a very specific feature from that list.

FreshBooks Reviews From Customers:

Don’t waste your money on any other accounting software. We struggled to find a solution that would allow us to easily track the time for multiple employees and make billing as simple as a couple of clicks.

Most everything we used or tried required multiple systems that either didn’t integrate at all or didn’t integrate well, and required a lot of time to prep invoices and collect payments. Frehsbooks eliminated all of those issues and paid for itself in the first month.

5-star review from Chris E. via GetApp

Simplified bookkeeping for your business. Freshbooks has enabled to me start using a simple bookkeeping program which is easy, helpful and well-supported.

This program enables me to keep track of expenses, income and generate business-related reports without difficulty. I love the follow up the representatives do to make sure that there are no problems and that we are utilizing the program to its fullest.

5-Star review from Jill Garcia via TrustPilot

I love Freshbooks. We used Quickbooks up until I made the decision in January to say I was done stuggling with their program.

We had tried the desk top and online versions and they both are so overwhelming with useless features that just get in the way of the simple bookkeeping and accounting needs that our particular business have.

I have been asked by other women in business, if I can help them with accounting as they start their business, and my first suggestion is that they immediately drop QB and move over to Freshbooks. From our reports to filing quarterlies, reconciling and estimating – every thing about Freshbooks is better.

I have told my husband I would literally become a volunteer spokesperson for Freshbooks due to how much more enjoyable they have made running the backside of our business. My ONLY regret is not doing this years ago. That’s it. This product is life changing!

5-star review from Ryan C. via GetApp

FreshBooks TV Advert

The Advantages

Let’s put together what we’ve learned so far during our FreshBooks review and talk about the biggest advantages they have to offer as your new accounting software. 

Range of features 

FreshBooks doesn’t just look after your books. With the time tracking, invoicing, projects and reporting features available, it makes a great all-in-one solution to manage different aspects of your business under one roof. 

Great value for money 

The starter packages for FreshBooks won’t break the bank, and with the time saved from the features on offer, you’re guaranteed to make your money back quickly. 

Built for small businesses 

FreshBooks was built by a small business owner who needed a solution for small businesses just like his. Every step of the way, FreshBooks has had small businesses on their mind and have created a relatively simple solution that’s easy to get started with, no matter what your accounting knowledge is like. 

Available on mobile 

FreshBooks also have a mobile app, letting you track your finances and send invoices on the go. The app is also great for taking pictures of your receipts while you’re out and about, allowing you to safely secure them within the app and removing any risk of you losing them on the way back to the office. 

The Disadvantages

Now we’ve had a look at the good, it’s time to review some of the downsides of FreshBooks. 

Complex UX

There are technically two versions of FreshBooks that exist, the FreshBooks of right now and the ‘Classic’ version that was launched at the start of the business.

This is because after a few years of getting the product and offering together, they changed the entire design of the app to make it easier and simpler to use. 

However, some people think that the Classic version of FreshBooks is easier to use, and some tutorials online will be referring the wrong version, meaning that some features or functionality of the app might be difficult to navigate or hard to find. 

Best for client-based businesses 

Most of the extra features and services for FreshBooks are built for businesses that have a lot of clients or projects. Although the time tracking and invoicing features are great if you’re not billing clients for time or certain projects these features might go unused. 

If you’re in it just for the accounting features, you might be best looking elsewhere. 

Lost the buzz for your business?

Starting a business is exciting. Succeeding is rewarding. The bit between is hard, repetitive, and full of self-doubt. 

The Lonely Middle Club (From Business4Beginners) helps you through it:

—

FreshBooks Review – Summary

FreshBooks is more than just a bookkeeping or accounting software. Built for small businesses, it offers a range of features such as invoices, time-tracking and reporting that will help save you time on your day-to-day running of the business. 

However, if you don’t have a client-based business or don’t often send invoices, then the extra features on offer with FreshBooks might be wasted on your company. 

Prices start from £11 a month, with a 30-day free trial to test the software for yourself first. 

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