FreshBooks

FreshBooks as a Photographer (solo small business)

I have been using FreshBooks for over 2-years and am currently using it. I used FreshBooks a long time ago when they were new and more minimal. It has been great to see them grow up. The cost is a bit steep so I may not continue to use them -- I'm 50/50 at the moment. If they provided more value for the cost I would consider it a good investment, but paying for a CRM on top of that is expensive. Overall I do love the software!

Expense report

FreshBooks has garnered positive reviews for its ease of use, client management tools, time tracking capabilities, and reporting functionalities. For small businesses and freelancers seeking a user-friendly accounting solution.

Really like FreshBooks but there's room for improvement

Here's the skinny on FreshBooks (the good, the bad, and the ugly):

The Good:
You can't beat the visual dashboard for tracking outstanding and past payments for clients. It's a great billing system for small businesses and especially consultants or freelancers. The recurring billing/invoicing system is FAB!

Like many platforms these days, Freshbooks showcases a library of "add-ons" to help enhance your experience. Some of the best ones (in my book, as a tech consultant and marketer) are Hubspot, Shopify, Mailchimp, Bidsketch, BaseCamp, and Podio.

There's a decent time tracking feature, along with the ability to track expenses. You can create/assign staff to project billing. Of course, you can issue "estimates" to prospects for future projects. As you send invoices through the Freshbooks system, it will log "sent" emails for you. And the system is designed to handle manual invoices for snail mail as well.

Each client/business that you bill receives their own "login" to your dashboard to view their invoice(s). This is a nice touch, as clients may often "misplace" that original email with your invoice in it...

It integrates very nicely with Stripe and PayPal (although I hear that may be changing - what? I know) plus Freshbooks has its own payment feature. I never have issues with payments, they always come through the system promptly (for online playing, 24-48 hours, the norm).

The Bad:
I'm not a fan of the reporting feature, while it's functional, it doesn't allow enough flexibility that a diverse consultant such as myself would like (need) to have. There are several reporting functions for each core feature (Accounting, Clients, Invoicing, and Time Tracking). But no option for custom reporting, which I often need as my diverse array of clientele has different process, set-ups, etc. At the very least, I would like to be able to customize the built-in reports on some level. I've not found an add-on that would assist me with this pain point.

The Ugly:
Finally, sadly, the worst thing I have to say about FreshBooks is that the Android app is greatly lacking. As the years (and technology) progress, that could eventually become a deal breaker. All the features in the world won't do a consultant much good if all of those same features can't be accessed via mobile device. We're ALL mobile these days, doncha know.

However, if you split your time between desktop/Mac and mobile, then Freshbooks is well worth a look!

Industry Standard in Customer Support....

I don't think I have ever had a negative experience with this company. Really! Every phone support experience I've ever had with them has been impressive. Every SaaS company should use Freshbooks as their standard to look up to and strive toward. Seriously, they're THAT GOOD!

A full featured bookkeeping solution that allows you to collect payments

I needed a solution that allows me to invoice my clients and send them reminders as I often forget to. It integrates nicely with my existing technology stack, so when a client books a session using my booking tool, via zapier, an invoice is automatically created and sent. Only downsides I have is that for the price I am paying, 50 active clients is not enough (I keep having to archive clients). I don't use any of the other features, and so while the pricing is competitive when you factor in everything else. For my use of just auto-invoicing and collecting payments via Stripe, it's a bit much. But there is no other option, or ateast one that I have found.