Have the reports that you need at your fingertips all the time with FreshBooks. In the Reports tab, you can access popular business accounting reports such as profit and loss, sales tax summary, aging accounts, invoice details and expense reports. Looking at these reports helps a business owner better understand their company’s financial health and is critical in the daily management of the organization. Get a snapshot of your overall revenues so that you can properly report your business income.

QuickBooks also allows you to automate the creation of invoices in managing your accounts receivable. Regularly occurring invoices can be established on a predictable schedule where the customer has their credit card information saved to be regularly processed. Automated processes assign a stakeholder to the workflow so that someone is overseeing the process to ensure accuracy and accountability. FreshBooks doesn’t offer bank reconciliation with its least expensive option, FreshBooks Lite. And while the software automatically suggests some transaction matches for you during the reconciliation process, you cannot create your own custom bank rules. When comparing QuickBooks vs. FreshBooks, the former is the only choice when it comes to quarterly tax payments for freelancers.

QuickBooks Online automatically syncs with connected bank and credit card accounts and auto-categorizes expenses to help small business owners save time. Small business owners that previously used spreadsheets save an average of 25 hours per month on manual entry with QuickBooks2. FreshBooks is a small-business accounting software product that’s well-suited for freelancers and independent contractors.

Who is FreshBooks for?

In both cases, you get this option starting with the $50 per month plan — QuickBooks Essentials and FreshBooks Premium. There are far too many features in FreshBooks and QuickBooks to completely cover this article. The major differences are covered above, but depending on the needs of your business, you might want to consider a few more things. If you envision having more than a few employees or needing to invoice hundreds of customers, QuickBooks may be the winner. One cool feature of the FreshBooks app is responding to your client’s questions and feedback from within the app.

The Essentials plan includes three users, Plus lets you have five, and Advanced allows 25. You can save some money if you choose annual billing rather than monthly. QuickBooks is the most well-known accounting software on the market, but it has a lot of competitors.

• NetSuite’s accounting software is one aspect of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) program.
• Every FreshBooks plan offers unlimited time tracking for the whole team.
• Additionally, its invoicing for time and projects is relatively easy.
• While QuickBooks has many different accounting products, QuickBooks Online is most comparable to FreshBooks.

FreshBooks’ features automate most of your accounting so you can spend more time focusing on your work and your clients. Your invoices can be automatically generated and sent, expenses automatically tracked, and you can even have your payments automatically recorded, all without you lifting a finger. Essential features are available in all FreshBooks plans, like invoicing, time tracking, expense tracking, online payments, and reporting.

Web And Mobile Access

Wave, a free accounting software product, offers unlimited invoicing, unlimited income and expense tracking, unlimited users and basic reporting. While it can’t necessarily support a quickly growing small business, it’s a great solution for very small service-based businesses with a tight budget. The company also offers its own Wave Payroll solution — just keep in mind that it only handles payroll taxes in some states and isn’t free. If you run a business that could benefit from extra features like basic inventory management, project tracking and time tracking, FreshBooks delivers better than Wave. While Wave has competitive invoicing capabilities, it’s lacking when it comes to much else beyond basic reporting, bank reconciliation and income and expense tracking.

QuickBooks vs FreshBooks

This is technically separate from QBO, although it’s also a cloud-based product. Even if you bill 50 clients, FreshBooks Plus is as cheap as QuickBooks Simple Start, and FreshBooks Plus will give you the ability to track your time. Today, QuickBooks products, including online and desktop versions, have a 76% market share in the US. QuickBooks was developed by Intuit, a software giant that owns financial products like TurboTax and Mint. While QuickBooks is the stronger all-round accounting tool for businesses of all sizes, FreshBooks tends to be the better choice for small and one-person businesses. QuickBooks is one of the most well-known accounting platforms on the market and part of the Intuit product family founded in 1983.

Best Accounting and Bookkeeping Apps for Small Businesses

You can add expenses to both QuickBooks and FreshBooks by taking a picture of a receipt. Both platforms can categorize your expenses into tax-friendly categories. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, what is withholding and what does it mean approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. With their 50-plus reports available, QuickBooks Online wins the reporting contest hands-down.

However, FreshBooks is a better option if you’re only looking for invoicing software. It has a simple interface and easy-to-use features that make it perfect for freelancers and small businesses. 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. Wave Accounting is free, but it doesn’t skimp on invoicing capabilities, making it a good solution for very small service-based businesses and consultants. However, due to its limited feature set and lack of audit trails and third-party integrations, it’s not ideal for small businesses that have the potential to grow. Zoho Books stands out for its 24/5 customer support, strong feature set and affordability.

When we mention QuickBooks in this comparison, we’re referring specifically to QuickBooks Online. Deciding between FreshBooks and QuickBooks depends on how big your business is now and how big it will get. Freelancers and independent contractors may find all of the basic accounting functions they need with FreshBooks, and for a lower price point than QuickBooks, to boot.

This article compares QuickBooks to another popular choice, FreshBooks. Unfortunately, freelancers and agency owners can’t escape these tedious accounting tasks. We weigh up the pros and cons to help you make the right choice for your business. Today’s online applications are streamlined, offering solid accounting functionality, while integrating with numerous apps designed to provide you with the tools you need. Older accounting software applications were frequently loaded with every feature and function you could think of, resulting in a bloated, overpriced application.