FreshBooks Review 2024: Features and Pricing (2024)

Full Review

FreshBooks is a small-business accounting software that stands out with its solid phone support, customizable invoicing features and for offering time tracking in all plans. The software started out primarily as a solution for managing invoices and grew to become an accounting product.

How does FreshBooks work?

After testing out a free 30-day trial, you can choose from one of four FreshBooks plans; the best option depends on the size and complexity of your business. A support page can help with account setup, and video webinars explain how to use the software and its bookkeeping features.

On the main dashboard, you can see charts that summarize invoices, profit and loss, revenue streams and spending. FreshBooks also has a mobile app for iOS and Android.

Pricing and features

Where FreshBooks stands out

Phone support availability

As opposed to limiting phone support to normal working hours, FreshBooks offers phone support from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays. This is convenient for people who work on their books toward the end of the day or own a business, like a restaurant, that operates on a later schedule.

Robust invoicing services

FreshBooks' suite of invoicing features is one of the product’s strong suits. You can choose from various customizable designs, set up recurring digital invoices, easily include discounts, and get instant updates when invoices have been viewed or paid online. Invoicing features are available on the mobile app, too.

Time and mileage tracking included in all plans

All FreshBooks plans include mileage tracking and time tracking features, which are also built into the mobile app. That way, small businesses with multiple employees don’t have to pay for a third-party time tracking app. In comparison, QuickBooks Online subscribers must pay separately for automatic time tracking. Xero users track mileage and time through project tracking and expense claiming tools that are only found in the highest-tier Established plan.

Where FreshBooks falls short

Limits on users and clients

FreshBooks’ biggest drawbacks are its limits on users and billable clients. It includes one user in all plans but the Select tier (which allows two users); each additional user costs $11 per month. The lower-tier Lite and Plus plans allow up to five and 50 clients, respectively. These limitations may not matter for very small businesses, but they can make it more expensive to scale up.

Other accounting platforms offer more flexibility. QuickBooks Online has a limit of five users in its most popular Plus plan and 25 users in its Advanced plan. Wave doesn't place limits on the number of users with its paid Pro plan. Xero doesn't cap the number of users or clients you can have, but it limits the number of invoices you can send in its lowest-tier Early plan.

Lite plan lacks double-entry accounting basics

The lowest-tier Lite plan doesn’t include basics like bank reconciliation tools or double-entry accounting fundamentals (i.e., a general ledger, chart of accounts and trial balance). It also doesn't allow accountant or bookkeeper access. Most accounting software companies provide these basic services even in their cheapest plans.

In the same vein, FreshBooks might be limiting for growing businesses that have multiple people working in the software. Regardless of which plan you choose, your accountant will not have access to a full audit trail.

FreshBooks alternatives

How FreshBooks stacks up

Read more about how FreshBooks compares with the competition.