Complaints with the main app seem to be focused on two things in particular. First, that FreshBooks isn’t an all-in-one accounting suite as many believe it is advertised, but is instead a thorough piece of invoicing software. I was even passed on to the marketing team to see if there was anything extra they could sort out!

  • Given its more advanced features, however,  it can be a bit tedious to set up.
  • Xero is ideal for businesses that keep a team of bookkeepers or accountants in-house.
  • You’ll need the Plus plan to access a general ledger, trial balance or chart of accounts and the Premium plan to create any accounts payable reports.
  • There are a number of alternative accounting software programs that can offer powerful features and a user-friendly interface.
  • In addition to being a Content Editor for Clever Real Estate, she has contributed to numerous leading financial and tech websites, including Bankrate, The Simple Dollar, NextAdvisor, and more.
  • When first starting out, market yourself as a professional who is well-versed in managing accounts, reconciling transactions, providing financial overviews and balancing budgets.

In contrast, all Xero plans offer unlimited users and its highest-tier Established plan is a more affordable $70 per month. Both accounting software products let users invite their accountants by email. If you’re located in the United States, though, there’s a better chance your accountant is familiar with QuickBooks Online than Xero. QuickBooks Online is an industry standard with more than 5 million users worldwide. If you count QuickBooks Desktop users, that number rises to 8 million.

As a client, receiving a FreshBooks invoice with line items for subscription-based products or services, it’s easy to pay. All you have to do is save your credit card, banking, or other payment details online in the FreshBooks application so you’re automatically billed each time an invoice comes due. Imagine doing this without invoicing software—dealing with paper invoices and receipts and having to keep track of phone and address records separately. All you have to do is save your credit card, banking or other payment details online in the FreshBooks application so you’re automatically billed each time an invoice comes due. This means it can be accessed from any internet-connected device. This makes it a versatile tool for small businesses that need to streamline their operations.

FreshBooks vs Xero: How They Compare

The first four QuickBooks Online plans are designed for businesses with employees. The interface is a bit more cluttered than FreshBooks, but it’s still easy to find what you’re looking for. The software is also reasonably easy to set up, although it may take longer than FreshBooks. But for me a key area is the value from good quality support as after all the accounts are critical to the business. Their support – the official line from zero is they are not supporting via a telephone number clients and its email only and this is really not helpful when you need help as instead of saving time you lose time. Plus, all three platforms integrate with a vast number of different apps to take advantage of business process automation.

While these might sound like small changes, they make all the difference in turning QuickBooks into a fully-fledged accounting suite rather than an invoicing app with a few extra features. First up, FreshBooks provides a handy dashboard with overview reports of your outstanding revenue, overall profit, and expenses. This lets you quickly see the big picture of your business’ finances in medical expenses without having to dig into individual reports or invoices. FinancesOnline is available for free for all business professionals interested in an efficient way to find top-notch SaaS solutions. We are able to keep our service free of charge thanks to cooperation with some of the vendors, who are willing to pay us for traffic and sales opportunities provided by our website.

FreshBooks, on the other hand, provides just the right combination of simplicity and professionalism that is perfect for maintaining your freelancer freedom. In addition, both the set-ups for QuickBooks and Xero take a bit of time. And there is a little learning curve to either one because they are both very customizable. Though they have set-up wizards to help beginners, it may still be a little too much to get up and running as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Xero has its App Marketplace, wherein users can connect different third-party apps.

Company’s Address

And it’s easy to adjust settings to make it work best for your individual needs. Yes, FreshBooks offers a robust mobile app for both iOS and Android users. It lets you enter bills, accept payments, issue invoices, and capture expense receipts.

You’ll want to create a contract that outlines details, such as deadlines, rates and expectations so that everyone is on the same page. The chatbot also doesn’t function properly 100% of the time, which adds to the frustration. When calling the hotline…It takes a long time, and when a human finally answers, they don’t have the decision-making autonomy to help. Your growing business needs your attention, that’s why FreshBooks was built to save you time and effort with an interface that lets you easily manage your books and navigate tax time.

User Satisfaction

A basic dashboard gives you an overview of your sales and payments. There are plenty of customization options available to ensure that your invoice looks professional. This software has a wide range of Excel import templates, making it easy to import data. Whether you want to import invoices, receipts, or something else, you should be able to find a template that meets your needs.

Best invoicing: FreshBooks

If it’s okay with you, I’d like to link back to the QuickBooks bank feed rules checklist to help explain the feature a little better? Once again, reviews of Xero are mostly positive all around, albeit this time with a few more caveats when it comes to the mobile apps. However, to their credit, many of the negative reviews have replies from the FreshBooks team, all trying to solve any issues or at the very least apologizing for the inconvenience. It might not change the review score, but it’s nice to see them take an active approach with user feedback.

All-In-One Business Software

But both of them are geared towards small businesses with employees. And if you are self-employed, you may find these extra perks unnecessary. As you may imagine, you can link QuickBooks with Intuit’s tax software Turbo Tax. It is relatively straightforward, but it doesn’t have as many options as QuickBooks. Another difference is the ease of set-up, or the lack thereof. FreshBooks set-up is simple and the interface is very beginner user-friendly.

Access all Xero features for 30 days, then decide which plan best suits your business. Individuals who are successful bookkeeping professionals are highly organized, can balance ledgers accurately, have an eye for detail and are excellent communicators. Unlike QuickBooks, you don’t need an accounting degree to use FreshBooks. Plus you can effortlessly manage your books and run your business using FreshBooks’ intuitive platform. Fresbooks offers simple, easy reporting for freelancers, independent contractors, and small businesses that are just looking for the basics in financial reporting.

Xero lets users create two active tracking categories, while QuickBooks Online allows users to create 40 in the Simple Start, Essentials and Plus plans. QuickBooks Online’s Advanced plan allows for unlimited tag groups. The more categories you create, the more reports you can run to get a better idea of how your business functions and where there’s room to grow. Xero’s Early plan, recommended for self-employed people or brand-new businesses, allows 20 invoices per year.