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Finally, ease of use and collaboration for business owners, employees, and accountants was considered because it’s important for all users to be able to access and review the financials at the same time. For this reason, many businesses hire bookkeepers or accountants to maintain or review their books. Cloud-based online accounting software makes it convenient for businesses to access their books simultaneously as their bookkeeper or accountant. The Advanced subscription adds many features including expense management, exclusive premium apps, a dedicated account team, and on-demand training. All plans allow integration with third-party apps such as Stripe or PayPal.
Using the time-tracking option, you can easily log your time for any job, or start a timer to record the time automatically. You can also mark it as billable if you want to add it to a client bill later, or you can add it to Cost of Goods Sold (although it’s unlikely you need lunch in order to provide services to your client). If you’re creating custom invitations, though, you can add the expense of the paper purchased to Cost of Goods Sold. Bookkeep automatically posts daily sales summary financials to accounting platforms such as QuickBooks Online & Xero and reconciles the payment deposits. FreshBooks tracks sales tax and helps you reconcile 1099-K forms with your earnings.
Limits on users and clients
You can also use the app to capture receipts, chat with customers and check the status of an invoice. The FreshBooks Accounting app is rated 4.7 out of 5 on the Apple App Store, indicating a high degree of customer satisfaction. I’ve been trying out FreshBooks for a few weeks and while it’s still lacking in some areas, it is pretty good for a free app. I use the app along with the online version and set up was fairly straightforward. Both versions are easy to use and I like that the functionality I’m using is free. I like the “duplicate” feature for expenses in the online version and hope they add it to the app soon as it makes logging expenses on the go quicker.
There’s a generous 30-day free trial period; impressively, no credit card is required to open a trial account. You simply enter your email address, create a password and click a link in a confirmation email. After the free trial ends, you must select a paid plan to continue using the software. Your data from the free trial will be stored until you decide to upgrade.
Best for Part-Time Freelancers
FreshBooks is cloud accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers. Some of the most useful FreshBooks features include tracking invoice views, deposits, online payments, and late payment reminders. The FreshBooks Lite plan, regularly $15/month, is available for $4.50/month for the first three months. The Lite plan offers plenty of features for the sole proprietor or freelancer.
For example, contractors can add billable time to an invoice on the spot, enabling you to bill a customer on-site. Additionally, you can easily add billable expenses to invoices instead of using clunky manual methods, such as tracking time on a separate sheet of paper or a spreadsheet. To us, this tool solidifies the software’s superior invoicing capabilities. When you add a user to your account, you assign them a role that determines which features they can access. Business partners can do everything except add or remove apps and integrations. Employees can access projects, as well as track their time and additional expenses.
Plus Plan
You can create and send invoices, track expenses, manage projects and clients, and view reports. It’s equally easy to send invoices and collect payments; you can distribute your invoices with one click. For ongoing services, you can make the invoice recurring and automate the send so you don’t waste time manually recreating it month after month.
Zoho Books charges just $3 per month per extra user, and QuickBooks Online offers access for up to 25 users (depending on which plan you choose). Customer payment processing and payroll are considered premium services that cost extra, but all of the bookkeeping, invoicing, and reporting features are entirely free. Many third-party app integrations are available, such as Gusto, G Suite, and more. A unique feature of FreshBooks is that invoices can be highly stylized and customized for a professional look and feel. FreshBooks is a great tool for budgeting out projects, sending estimates or proposals, and collecting customer payments. There are four different plans, and businesses can get a 10% discount if they choose to pay yearly rather than monthly.
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FreshBooks is on the higher end of the price spectrum compared with other accounting software we reviewed. FreshBooks currently offers four plans based on a business’s number of clients. During our demo, we noted FreshBooks’ ability freshbooks to schedule recurring invoices to go out weekly, monthly, annually or as frequently as you choose. You can send automatic payment reminders before or after the due date to encourage customers to pay their bills promptly.
This is helpful for freelancers who don’t have a separate bank account for their business activity. With the Premium Plan, users can track their expenses, manage projects, and generate professional-looking invoices effortlessly. The plan also includes time tracking capabilities that allow users to accurately bill clients based on hourly rates. The platform also allows for automated payment reminders to help ensure timely payments.