FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a cloud accounting platform that handles invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking and payments for small businesses. It brings projects, clients and bills together so a small team can get paid and hand tidy books to an accountant.
#31 in Business & Finance ToolsAccounting SoftwareNo free plan
Who it's for
Best for
Freelancers and solo owners who invoice clients and track billable hours
Small agencies billing clients for tracked time, projects and expenses
Not for
Firms needing detailed balance sheets and custom sales tax reports
Owners who need phone support and same-day card payouts
Free planNo
Lite$23/mo
Plus$43/mo
Premium$70/mo
Features
Invoicing
Professional invoices are created in minutes, with tracked time and expenses added automatically, taxes calculated and payment options customized.
Billing and payments
Automated invoices, secure online payments and built-in reminders speed up getting paid and keep cash flow predictable.
Expenses
Mobile receipt scanning, bank account imports and automated expense categorization keep day-to-day spending tracked.
Payroll
Payroll for the team sits in the same platform, with expense tracking and tax calculation handled without juggling separate tools.
Estimates, projects and reports
Estimates, proposals, mileage tracking, client management and financial reports sit alongside the core invoicing tools.
What users say
Pros
- Creating a branded invoice or estimate takes minutes, and clients can sign and pay online from it.
- Entering time, projects and expenses is simple, and the reports analyze the data for billing.
- Matches QuickBooks on essential small-business accounting tasks in one complete setup.
- Income, expenses and receipts stay organized in one place instead of a pile of paper.
Cons
- Yearly price increases arrive with no meaningful new features and no loyalty discount.
- Payouts from card and ACH payments take days to arrive, and processing fees eat into large invoices.
- Ghost invoices keep going out to clients, edits do not stick, and automatic payments will not stop.
- Bank connections stop syncing for weeks, so transactions and expenses have to be entered by hand.
- There is no phone or chat line, and cancelling an account loops back to the reactivation page.
- Reports, invoice templates and the balance sheet are limited, and advanced accounting work needs another tool.
A selection of the review sources we used:
FreshBooks holds its own against QuickBooks for most uses- Payroll miscounts and missing card payments force manual workarounds
Invoicing and payment management that stay quick and convenient
Slow screens, login codes and no phone or chat support
Ghost invoices keep resending to clients and auto payments will not stop
Summarized from public user reviews and community discussions. View details
Global Traffic Rank
Top 500k
Alternatives
Rank#31 in category#6 in category#10 in category#11 in category
Free planNoYesNoYes
ProFast invoices, time tracking, tidy expenses, solid accountingLow cost, free plan, smooth migration, helpful phone helpGuided onboarding, quick bank setup, help videos, automationQuick HMRC filing, free with partner banks, fast phone support
Better forGuided one-to-one onboarding calls, detailed balance sheets, and connecting with external business apps.Filing UK taxes directly to HMRC with responsive phone support and free access through partner banks.
Weaker atOperating outside the UK or running custom ledger scripts and calculations.