FreshBooks

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What is FreshBooks?

FreshBooks is a cloud accounting and invoicing platform built for service-based small businesses, freelancers, and self-employed professionals. The product was founded in Toronto in 2003 and now serves customers in over 160 countries. It combines invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, project management, and double-entry accounting in a single owner-first interface that does not assume the user has a finance background.

Core capabilities include unlimited customizable invoicing with automated late fees and payment reminders, time tracking that flows directly into invoices for billable hours, expense capture with bank and card auto-import, online payments via FreshBooks Payments (powered by Stripe and accepting cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Affirm, and Afterpay), and a client portal that lets clients view, pay, and message inside one branded experience.

FreshBooks is most often used by consultants, agencies, lawyers, designers, contractors, IT and tech firms, and creative professionals who bill by the hour or by project. It is recommended primarily for freelancers and small service teams up to 10 people, with the Premium and Select tiers extending to medium businesses that need project profitability tracking, accounts payable, and accountant collaboration.

The platform supports multi-currency invoicing, mileage tracking, tax-time reports, financial reporting, bank reconciliation, and integration with Gusto for payroll, plus thousands of apps via Zapier.

Best for

StartUpsFreelancersSmall BusinessMedium Business

Pricing

Starting at $23/month · Subscription

FreshBooks Lite

FreshBooks Plus

FreshBooks Premium

Features

45 features that make FreshBooks stand out.

Accounts Receivable
Activity Dashboard
Core Accounting
Expense Tracking
International Utilization
Multi-Currency
Payroll Management
Smart and Automated Systems
Scheduling
Tax Management
Billing & Invoicing
Recurring/Subscription Billing

Pros & Cons

Pros

Best-in-class invoicing experienceFreshBooks’ invoicing is what made the brand. Templates look professional out of the box, recurring invoices fire automatically, late fees apply on schedule, and payment reminders go out without manual chasing. Customers consistently rate the invoicing module above competitors at the same price point.
Genuinely easy to use without trainingReviewers across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius use the same word: intuitive. FreshBooks was built for owners, not accountants, and the design choice shows. New users invoice their first client in under an hour. There is no double-entry vocabulary in the way for users on Lite, and Plus and Premium add accounting depth gradually so growing businesses do not need to switch software.
Time tracking flows into invoicesFor service businesses billing by the hour, FreshBooks captures billable time inside projects and pushes those hours straight into invoices. Mobile time tracking works offline. The integration is one of the cleanest in the category and a frequent reason consultants, designers, and lawyers stay on the platform even after they outgrow other features. Hourly billing is no longer a spreadsheet problem.
Strong customer support, real humansFreshBooks’ support has won multiple Stevie awards and reviewers regularly call it out by name. Phone, email, and chat all reach trained humans, not chatbots. Response times sit in the sub-hour range during business hours for paid plans. For an accounting platform where mistakes cost money, predictable support quality is a meaningful competitive moat against larger rivals like QuickBooks and Xero.
Mobile apps that actually work offlineThe iOS and Android apps handle the full owner workflow: send invoices, capture receipts, log mileage, track time, message clients. Offline mode keeps working in transit. Reviewers running mobile-first businesses (contractors, consultants on the road, field-service teams) consistently rank the mobile experience ahead of QuickBooks Online’s. The app is a real product, not a companion.
Online payments are smoothFreshBooks Payments is powered by Stripe and accepts credit and debit cards, ACH bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Affirm, and Afterpay. Setup is one click. Funds land in user bank accounts in two business days, and Plus and up unlock instant payouts. Customers pay the way they want to pay, and businesses get paid faster than they would on chase-the-bank-transfer workflows.
Client portal saves admin timeEach client gets a branded portal where they view invoices, pay them, store credit cards on file, see payment history, and message the business. Reviewers describe it as removing the email-thread tax of running a service business. The portal also unlocks subscription-style billing on Plus and up via client retainers, useful for retainer-based agencies and consultancies.
Multi-currency for cross-border workPlus and above invoice in multiple currencies and let clients pay in their local currency. The conversion happens cleanly inside FreshBooks, with exchange rates updated daily. Cross-border freelancers (especially Canadian, US, UK, Australian, and EU contractors working with overseas clients) avoid the spreadsheet juggling that single-currency tools force.

Cons

Lite plan client limit fills up fastLite caps billable clients at 5. Most reviewers describe hitting that ceiling within the first quarter and feeling pushed to upgrade. Active freelancers should plan to start on Plus (50 clients) rather than Lite, or accept the upgrade timeline. The math still works at $43 a month for the time saved, but the Lite cap is the most common complaint in third-party reviews.
Per-user team add-on adds upEach additional team member is $11 per month on top of the base plan. A 5-person team on Plus pays $43 plus $44 in seats: $87 a month total. Growing service businesses sometimes find the seat economics cross over QuickBooks Online or Xero pricing, both of which include more seats. Worth modelling before scaling headcount inside FreshBooks.
Inventory management is lightFreshBooks tracks expenses and bills well but does not run inventory like QuickBooks Online or Xero. Product-based businesses, ecommerce operators, and retailers will outgrow FreshBooks fast. The platform is built for service businesses and the inventory gap is intentional, but worth flagging for anyone weighing FreshBooks against a more general accounting product.
Multi-entity needs separate subscriptionsEach business entity needs its own FreshBooks subscription. Holding companies, agencies running multiple brands, and consultants billing through more than one LLC pay multiple times. QuickBooks Online supports multi-entity in a single subscription via Advanced. For most FreshBooks users this is a non-issue. For multi-business owners it is a real cost line.
Cancellation locks historical invoicesWhen users cancel a FreshBooks subscription, access to past invoices and customer data ends. Reviewers describe this as “cancelling the business, not the software.” FreshBooks supports CSV and PDF exports during the active subscription, so the workaround is straightforward, but only if users know to do it before cancelling. Worth flagging during onboarding to avoid the surprise.
Recent support reviews mention waitsCustomer support is still a FreshBooks strength, but recent G2 and Trustpilot reviews flag longer wait times and more scripted first-contact responses for complex tax, multi-currency, or migration questions. The phone option still reaches a human. Buyers running into edge cases should set the expectation that the second-tier escalation, not the first chat reply, is where the deep expertise lives.

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Frequently asked questions

Is FreshBooks free to use?

FreshBooks does not currently offer a free tier or free trial. Pricing starts at $23 and depends on the plan you choose.

How much does FreshBooks cost?

FreshBooks starts at $23/month. Higher tiers add seat capacity, automation, integrations and enterprise-grade controls.

What does FreshBooks integrate with?

FreshBooks integrates with popular tools such as Stripe, Gusto, Shopify, Squarespace, MailChimp, plus an open API for custom workflows.

Who is FreshBooks best suited for?

FreshBooks is built for teams who need to standardise the workflow it covers — typically growing companies who have outgrown spreadsheets but don't yet need enterprise-grade procurement suites. The exact fit depends on company size, deal volume and compliance requirements.

How long does it take to onboard FreshBooks?

Most teams are live on FreshBooks within 2–6 weeks. Simpler implementations (small teams, default workflows) can be done in days; large enterprise rollouts with custom approval chains and ERP integration take longer.

About the authors

Alina Maria StanWriter

Alina Maria Stan is the COO and Co-Founder of Tekpon, where she has utilized her expertise in SaaS, software promotion, and lead generation since July 2020. Her role involves media buying and extensive software branding, contributing significantly to Tekpon’s market presence. Prior to founding Tekpon, Alina served as CEO of King Casino Bonus and Head of Affiliation at Extremoo Media, where she was responsible for branding and affiliate strategies. Her earlier roles include Head of Branding & Affiliation at Fable Media in Denmark and Junior CRM Manager at K.H. ApS, where she developed affiliate

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Ana Maria ConstantinEditor

Ana Maria Constantin is the Chief Operating Officer at Tekpon. She started with a creative background in interior design, photography, and visual storytelling, and carried that eye for detail into everything she does in digital marketing and operations. At Tekpon, Ana Maria leads SEO strategy, content operations, and editorial production. She works across technical audits, keyword research, and tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Search Console to shape what gets published and how it performs. She has also built AI-assisted editorial workflows that turn content production from a manual grin

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