FreshBooks Review: How Good Is It Really?

FreshBooks is one of the biggest names in the small business bookkeeping software market. Its relatively low monthly subscription rate, user-friendly interface, and generous free transaction allowances make it a popular recommendation for small teams with limited budgets. Though its lower-tier plans provide the best value for money, the company offers bookkeeping plans for most business sizes, including freelancers, businesses with contractors, and businesses with employees.

FreshBooks Interface Overview

The FreshBooks interface is extremely intuitive. All key financial management features are accessible from the sidebar. These include:

• Dashboard: An at-a-glance overview of your account activity — outstanding invoices, bank connections, revenue and expenses, total profit, revenue streams, and unbilled time. You choose which visuals to display and arrange them to fit the way you work.
• Clients: A centralized hub for client contact details, communications, and invoice/estimate histories per client.
• Estimates: Create and send client estimates that outline work, pricing, and scope. Once approved, you can convert an estimate into an invoice with a click.
• Invoices: Build, send, and track customizable invoice templates, automate recurring invoices, and (on Plus and above) manage retainer-based payment structures.
• Payments: View income from invoices and checkout links, accept online payments (credit cards, ACH transfers), and create checkout-link payment gateways.
• Expenses: Upload receipts, categorize expenses for tax purposes, and monitor spending by category. Premium and above add Bills (accounts payable) and Vendors pages.
• Projects: Set up projects, assign team members, attach files, track deadlines, and monitor progress and associated costs.
• Time-Tracking: Log billable hours per client or project, start/stop timers, then attach hours to invoices.
• Accounting: Available on Plus and above — bank reconciliation, general ledgers, trial balances, financial statements, plus chart of accounts and journal entries.
• Reports: Pre-built reports including profit & loss, accounts aging, sales tax summaries, expense reports, and more.

The sidebar also links to account configurations — Apps (third-party integrations), Team Members, Items and Services, Bank Connections, and Settings. The header provides Search, Notifications, Help, and Profile.

Does FreshBooks Have a Mobile App?

FreshBooks comes in iOS and Android mobile app form. Both versions provide access to the software’s core features — invoicing, expense tracking, mileage tracking, time-tracking, online payments, client management, and report generation. The app received overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning a 4.5-star rating on Google Play and a 4.7-star rating on the App Store.

Key Features

FreshBooks covers most bookkeeping needs, including invoicing, payment acceptance, and reporting. However, more advanced features like accounts payable, bank reconciliation, and receipt capture are limited to higher-tier plans.

Estimate & Invoice Generation

All FreshBooks plans provide unlimited free estimates and invoices generated from customizable templates with itemized lists, taxes, discounts, and notes. When clients approve estimates, FreshBooks automatically converts them to invoices. You can generate recurring invoices by setting their frequency and duration, and support retainers that let clients prepay for work.

Payment Acceptance

The Payments feature makes it easy to receive client payments via credit cards, bank transfers, and ACH payments. Clients receive a secure link to pay in a few clicks, and you can set automatic reminders for unpaid invoices. You can also monitor payment status — paid, partially paid, and overdue invoices — for full visibility over your cash flow.

Projects, Time-Tracking & Expenses

The Projects feature centralizes messages, files, and invoices, and lets you track time and expenses by project. Time-tracking lets you log hours manually or with a timer and link entries to invoices so you never miss billable time. Expense categorization lets you record expenses, attach receipts, tag them as billable, and link them to a client or project so FreshBooks adds those costs to invoices automatically.

Accounting, Bank Reconciliation & Accounts Payable

Advanced accounting (Plus and above) supports double-entry bookkeeping, a chart of accounts, and journal entries. Bank reconciliation (Plus and above) compares bank statement transactions with invoices and expenses. Accounts payable (Premium and above) lets you track money owed to vendors, enter bills, and manage vendor information.

Receipt Capture, Integrations & Multi-User

Receipt capture imports receipt data automatically from photos — available for expenses on Plus and for bills on Premium and above. You can connect third-party integrations like Square, HubSpot, Zendesk, and Gusto. You can add team members for $13 per user (FreshBooks Select includes two free seats), with roles and permissions to keep financial information safe.

FreshBooks Plans

Plan	Price	Highlights
Lite	$22/mo	5 billable clients, unlimited estimates & custom invoices, unlimited time-tracking, mileage tracking, tax-time & business health reports, performance dashboards
Plus	$35/mo	All Lite features, 50 billable clients, unlimited proposals, double-entry accounting reports, advanced accounting, accountant access, expense receipt capture
Premium	$60/mo	All Plus features, unlimited billable clients, bill receipt capture, project profitability reports, accounts payable
Select	Custom	All Premium features, up to 2 team member accounts, Select support, custom onboarding, data migration services

FreshBooks Lite offers the best value for freelancers, contractors, solopreneurs, and self-employed individuals, though it limits users to five billable clients and leaves out bank reconciliation and accounts payable. Plus adds 50 billable clients, double-entry reports, and receipt capture — more cost-effective than comparable Xero or QuickBooks tiers. Premium adds accounts payable and unlimited billable clients but sees diminishing returns. Select offers custom pricing with VIP support, data migration, dedicated phone support, two free seats, and lower transaction rates.

FreshBooks also offers add-ons: Advanced Payments ($25/mo, includes a virtual terminal), PaymentEvolution Payroll (integrated Canadian payroll, contact a rep for pricing), and additional users ($13/user).

How Helpful is FreshBooks Customer Support?

One of FreshBooks’ biggest selling points is its wide range of support services. During business hours, the support team is reachable via phone or email. Outside of that, the website provides an in-app AI chatbot that can answer simple questions or connect users to support teams. Many users on Trustpilot and G2 report that FreshBooks agents are knowledgeable and friendly. FreshBooks also provides a detailed online help center with guides, tutorials, webinars, and product demos.

What Size Business is FreshBooks Best For?

FreshBooks provides great value for small businesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and self-employed individuals. Its lower-tier plans charge budget-friendly fees and cover most basic bookkeeping needs, including invoicing, estimates, and unlimited time-tracking. Higher-tier plans, however, offer less value compared to competitors like QuickBooks and Xero — QuickBooks benefits from widespread use among bookkeepers, while Xero provides a more comprehensive report library and unlimited users.

When to Choose an Alternative

• You work with a large team. All plans charge $13 per user regardless of role. Xero provides unlimited free user seats with customizable permissions.
• You want flexibility in choosing accountants and bookkeepers. QuickBooks remains the industry leader, so finding specialists is easier — better if you outsource bookkeeping.
• You need advanced inventory tracking, job costing, or project management. FreshBooks lacks deep industry-specific tools, so you may need third-party apps or specialized platforms.

FreshBooks vs. Competitors

	FreshBooks	Xero	QuickBooks	Zoho Books
Starting Price	$22/mo	$25/mo	$28/mo	Free
G2 Rating	4.5/5 (900+)	4.4/5 (1,000+)	4/5 (3,000+)	4.4/5 (200+)
Additional Users	$13/user	Unlimited	1 billable, 2 non-billable	1 user + 1 accountant

What Users Are Saying

Feedback for FreshBooks is mostly positive — 4.5 stars on both Capterra and G2, and 3.8 on Trustpilot. Most positive reviews praise the platform for being beginner-friendly, with users singling out the invoicing and time-tracking features. However, a few users found the software too expensive for the features it offered at higher tiers, and many reviewers noted limited reporting features that failed to provide in-depth analytics growing companies need.

Bottom Line

The basic FreshBooks plans (Lite and Plus) are strong bookkeeping solutions for freelancers, self-employed individuals, contractors, or solopreneurs — they provide unlimited free invoices, estimates, and time-tracking. However, returns diminish as you scale: the higher-tier plans (Premium and Select) are less cost-effective than competitors like Xero and QuickBooks. Choose FreshBooks if you need software for service-oriented businesses with a low to moderate number of clients; once you expand, start looking elsewhere.

Start Your Bookkeeping Journey with EpicBooks

Learning a new bookkeeping platform does not have to be difficult. At EpicBooks, we help you simplify and modernize your bookkeeping processes. With extensive experience and a strong understanding of Canadian business needs, our experts can empower you to navigate today’s digital environment. Our packages cover all your bookkeeping needs, including account reconciliation, asset management, journal entries, and financial reporting.

FAQs

Can I learn FreshBooks by myself?

Yes, you can learn FreshBooks on your own very easily. The software’s interface is intuitive, with a search bar to quickly locate features. The FreshBooks website also provides an AI chatbot to answer questions and a comprehensive help center with tutorials, guides, and answers to common user questions.

Can I use FreshBooks without an accountant or bookkeeper?

You do not need an accountant or bookkeeper to run FreshBooks. The software is intuitive enough for any type of user to understand. However, because the software lacks in-depth reporting capabilities, an accountant can help you uncover the deeper insights needed to drive your business forward.

How safe is my data with FreshBooks?

FreshBooks uses 256-bit SSL encryption and runs on Google Cloud servers with firewalls, monitored infrastructure, and physical protections. It backs up your data nightly and replicates it across multiple locations. FreshBooks has also achieved SOC 2 Type 1 certification. However, users in highly regulated industries should confirm whether the platform meets their specific compliance needs.