Built by Intuit, it has more powerful accounting features, more robust reporting, and much greater scalability than FreshBooks. FreshBooks was designed for freelancers and small businesses to provide an intuitive, easy-to-use solution, focused on helping businesses bill clients, track time and get paid. However, there are still many instances where FreshBooks might be the better choice.
- Its unlimited professional invoicing—complete with a collaborative client portal and automatic late payment reminders—make it perfect for service-based freelancers.
- First released in 1992, the product platform has grown and refined its features and scope in the 32 years since its release.
- Integration with Stripe and PayPal allows clients to pay instantly using different methods such as credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
- Creating invoices is straightforward even if you choose to customize bills with your corporate logo and branding.
It automatically imports all the transactions from your bank account, sorts them into dedicated categories, and provides the complete report on the dashboard. QuickBooks offers a time-tracking tool called “QuickBooks Time” for remotely monitoring team members’ attendance and work hours. It provides accurate insights into your team’s activities and duration of work. Business with an accountant and need to send invoices to up to 50 clients.
User Permissions and Access
- Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and grow their companies.
- We looked at each platform’s invoicing capabilities and half a dozen other key factors to adequately compare and contrast these two services.
- There are several free accounting software available for small businesses.
The two higher-tier plans, Plus and Advanced, include effective inventory management tools, something FreshBooks lacks. QuickBooks sends alerts when you’re out of something and updates the system when inventory arrives. The software will convert purchases into bills to pay, plus you also get excellent reporting to help you sell better.
FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online are two of the best accounting software platforms around that can help you take your business to the next level. We compared their features and pricing to help you choose the right accounting software for your business. The software is designed to be easy to use, featuring a streamlined interface that enables quick and simple creation of invoices, tracking of expenses, and management of your finances. FreshBooks offers numerous features that make it an attractive option for business owners, including its simplicity, flexibility, and seamless integrations. While both products boast solid invoicing and expense-tracking functions, QuickBooks has more features that add exponential value.
We’ve compared FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online — two high-quality accounting programs — to help you determine which platform offers the features you need at the best value. The FreshBooks mobile app also allows you to track time wherever you are, whether that’s with manual time entry, stopwatch timers or automatic time capture using your location. If your business is small, starting with QuickBooks now could help you avoid headaches down the road. When your business grows, you may eventually need access to some of the more robust features available through QuickBooks.
Although any accounting software can pose a learning curve for first-timers, QuickBooks is among the user-friendliest platforms we’ve reviewed. Plus, all QuickBooks customers get free guided setup, and QuickBooks Advanced customers receive 24/7 support and training. We like that FreshBooks’ base subscription rates are comparatively low, though the extra charge per user disappointed us. FreshBooks is nevertheless an affordable and attractive option for small teams.
What’s the difference between QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Pro?
It comes with an intuitive dashboard that makes navigation straightforward. You can easily manage invoices, expenses, and time tracking, even if you’re a beginner. It also offers automated expense tracking and recurring invoice processes to save time.
You have to go out of your way to find accounting software—including free software like Wave Accounting—that leaves those two features out. Even if you’re a freelancer with five or fewer monthly clients, you can benefit from the accuracy of double-entry bookkeeping and reconciliation. Bank reconciliation is the most fundamental part of small-business accounting. It’s how you ensure your books are balanced at the end of the day and that your cash flow is solid. Clients can make online payments directly from their online invoice, letting you get paid quicker.
And regardless of plan tier, the software doesn’t provide audit trails, which help your accountant verify information and catch errors. And thanks to the software’s popularity, most accountants should be familiar with it. Project tracking tools in higher-tier plans; lacks industry-specific reports and transaction tracking tags; users with multiple businesses must pay for separate subscriptions.
Ease of sharing with accountants
See your business money come in freshbooks vs quickbooks and out over time so you can make smart business decisions, reflect on historical data, and pivot as you grow. A platform’s available third-party integrations are crucial for connecting to essential business software and streamlining workflows. Monthly pricing is shown; you’ll receive a 10 percent discount if you pay annually.
While QuickBooks and FreshBooks are both popular accounting software options for small businesses, QuickBooks is a more comprehensive and scalable solution than FreshBooks. It provides a wider array of advanced features, industry-specific tools, and in-depth reporting, empowering businesses to gain greater control and insights into their financial performance. Still, QuickBooks Online may be more affordable for businesses that bill multiple clients and need more robust features.
It also integrates with a number of other software programs, making it an excellent choice for businesses that need to track their finances in multiple ways. Intuit QuickBooks is a popular accounting software program that has been around for years. It’s beloved by many small business owners for its comprehensive features and its ability to integrate with pretty much anything out there.
Pricing
It also allows manual editing and generates detailed reports on iOS and Android devices. Business News Daily provides resources, advice and product reviews to drive business growth. Our mission is to equip business owners with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions.
Both QuickBooks and FreshBooks allow you to send unlimited customized invoices, but FreshBooks does so for much cheaper—$19/month compared to QuickBooks’ $35/month. Simply put, FreshBooks is the way to go if invoicing clients for services is the main reason you need an accounting solution. QuickBooks one-ups FreshBooks in a lot of features that matter to large and growing businesses.
Both accounting software offers essential invoicing, expense tracking, and business reporting features. However, they have distinct strengths and weaknesses that make them better suited for different sizes of businesses and needs. Where many accounting platforms’ project features are limited to tracking costs per project, you can use FreshBooks to actually manage projects. Team chat is included with the platform, as is the ability to share files and images. These are features you’re more likely to encounter when you’re choosing project management software instead of choosing accounting software.
It’s suitable for a broader range of businesses, particularly those that require functions such as inventory tracking, detailed payroll, or custom reporting. We were amazed by the amount of integrations available with QuickBooks. With over 750 options in its app marketplace, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a business solution QuickBooks doesn’t work with. As our recommended accounting solution for product-oriented businesses, we were especially happy to see that QuickBooks integrates with the best POS systems. We liked the premium features on the higher tiers, such as progress invoicing, which lets you divide projects into multiple invoices according to stages or percentage of work completed.
Cost is a significant consideration for any business when purchasing accounting software. FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online can both help you manage your small business’s accounting and invoicing. However, depending on your specific needs, one solution may be a better fit than the other. Choosing the right accounting software is critical for managing your business’s finances.
