FreshBooks Reviews

Pros

Generating invoices is simple. After saving the customer details once and creating the first invoice, duplicating it for future orders is quick. The invoices also have a really professional look. I especially like the option to see whether a client has actually viewed the invoice.

Cons

Would be better if the customer phone number automatically carried over to the printed invoice the same way the address does. Since our field team relies on that contact info, this matters. We've worked around it by putting the phone number into the client name field but that turns into an extra step when exporting and organizing the data.

Pros

Definitely saves me time with proposals and invoicing since I can duplicate and tweak previous contracts and invoices instead of starting from scratch. The automated reminders for due invoices are a big help and I also appreciate being able to track whether a client has viewed the documents I send. When tax season rolls around, exporting expenses is simple too, credit card fees and income details are easy to pull for my accountant.

Cons

Honestly nothing comes to mind right now.

Pros

It feels simple to use and turns invoicing into a pretty simple routine.

Cons

A few glitches showed up in the latest version though support responds quickly once you report the issue.

Pros

The platform is super simple to use and the support team has been genuinely helpful. It's made my bookkeeping feel a lot more manageable and organized.

Cons

Honestly I can't think of any real downsides right now. I'm sure there are one or two ideas I had earlier but they're escaping me. The only thing that comes to mind is the receipt attaching feature from the phone app having the app read the receipt and automatically try to categorize it into the right expenses would be a nice upgrade (I realize that's kind of an AI request).

Pros

Found it quite simple to use and the pricing feels pretty fair. It keeps all my invoices and expenses organized in one place and I can see when an invoice hasn't been opened yet. If someone misses it, I can resend it right away. The monthly automated invoicing feature is a big win and I like that clients can set up a credit card for auto-pay when a bill is due. It also saves me from those awkward back-and-forth messages like "your invoice is due."

Cons

I do think it is stronger at automated syncing with larger corporate banks than with smaller credit unions at least that's what happened with the one I use. I stopped trying to link my credit union account because the connection keeps dropping and I end up spending a full morning going back and forth with both my bank and their support. With that amount of time sunk into troubleshooting, it doesn't feel worth it. Since I run most of my spending through a credit card that connects reliably, the issue hasn't bothered me too much but the bank linkage has been frustrating.

Pros

Human support team has been a big win for me, there's always someone available to help and walk through issues when they come up.

Cons

A few key features still don't fit my business needs. The biggest gap is invoice customization which I've asked about multiple times. A lot of my clients require specific invoice layouts and it doesn't let me match what they want for example, a flat fee invoice without showing rate or quantity. I've also had trouble with handling down payment or initiation fees as credits. That credit should appear on the invoice as a clearly deducted line item but right now there isn't a clean, proper accounting workflow inside it to do that. Because of these limitations, I end up using workarounds that take up a noticeable amount of extra time.

Pros

Since I'm a contractor paid by the hour, it has been really convenient for tracking time across multiple clients, bundling the total work into invoices and sending those invoices directly to each client.

Cons

Before switching, I used Toggl and loved how it integrated with the Chrome browser. My first look at the FreshBooks equivalent wasn't as good so I ended up skipping the browser integration maybe it's worth checking it out again.

Pros

Tracking time and generating invoices for clients has been really simple and it's been easy to keep everything organized.

Cons

There are a couple of small hiccups, you can't view every unpaid invoice together unless you archive things and I've run into a few trouble spots when saving invoice templates.

Pros

Back in 2017, I moved my bookkeeping over to this one and it genuinely changed how I run my business. I can manage all my invoices in one place, track which ones are still outstanding and set up recurring invoices fast. The dashboard is also really clear so I'm able to check the overall health of my business at a glance.

Cons

Right now, no downsides come to mind

Pros

Using it has felt pretty simple and the client experience is genuinely strong. The app offers a lot of versatility with a well-structured UI that makes navigation simple. Receipt formats look polished and there are multiple integrations available which has been handy for connecting everything together.

Cons

It doesn't support double entry accounting so that's a limitation if you're used to more advanced bookkeeping. The feature set is still a bit on the limited side for deeper needs. Also, the monthly pricing feels expensive compared to what you get.

Pros

Having used it for a bit, everything I need is right on the dashboard so it's all visible at a glance. Navigation feels smooth and quick and the left-side panel is especially handy. I also like how spending is organized with categories, plus the other sections and the graphs in the reports look really good. The web version runs fast and moving around the app is super responsive. Also, the ads shown on Google Play were something I didn't mind. One extra improvement I'd love, include the dashboard view on the additional section too so it's fully covered everywhere.

Cons

Launching the demo app took a little troubleshooting on my end. Also, the website prompts for details like name and address upfront, I'd suggest making that part as simple as possible. It'd be better if I could enter their information later instead of doing it immediately.

Pros

This software makes accounting tasks pretty simple especially when you're running a small business and want to avoid extra stress. The paybills and payroll features stand out the most, they cut down the hassle of manually computing and paying so the whole process feels much smoother.

Cons

The program is currently working well and I'd recommend it.

Pros

I've used QuickBooks for years but it usually felt too complicated for how simple our business runs. It hits a better balance for me, enough functionality to manage invoicing and basic needs without feeling bloated or overcomplicated.

Cons

Occasionally I wish there were more reporting options and that a few screens had a more adaptive interface.

Pros

It's been really simple to track time for clients and I can include notes about what I actually did. The app also lets me switch billing to 15-minute increments which matches how I work. Invoices are customizable and there are plenty of options for what details to show and which billing periods to use. Customer support has been excellent too and it seems like new features or improvements are coming out regularly. Overall, it's a solid tool for managing client billing.

Cons

I ran into a problem with an invoice I had to write off about a year ago but their support team stepped in and helped. The available options for handling that kind of adjustment have been sorted out now so it's not been an ongoing issue.

Pros

A few years back, professional colleagues brought it to my attention and I've been using it for about four years now. Over that time, I've cycled through four different part-time assistants (they eventually move on to full-time roles) and every one of them learned how to use it in just a few days, not weeks like happened with another product I tried previously. The platform feels really thorough and it's also customizable for the way I manage tasks, clients, projects and expense categories. It also connects cleanly with a payment system which helps clients who want to pay by credit card do it without any headaches. I especially appreciate the APIs that let me pull expense data from my bank transactions and business credit card charges.

Cons

Since I'm located in the US, there are a couple features that would make tax time workflows smoother, (1) an option to record the actual miles driven on the expense side right now I track it in a note which is kind of dated. (2) a way to tag expenses that relate to a project but aren't billable to that same project. I currently work around it by creating two separate project titles but linking them has to be done manually and it's not connected in real time (it's basically offline). I'd like a better way to capture assistant time that I can't bill to the client so I can estimate future project costs more accurately especially since it fits under cost of goods sold for our service work.

Pros

When it was still the classic version, it had all the features we actually needed and I was pretty happy with that setup.

Cons

Once they switched us to the new FreshBooks, a bunch of features disappeared and then they started trying to charge us for functionality that we were using before. Support was friendly but they couldn't explain why so many changes were made or why it turned into a paid add on situation.

Pros

Feels simple to use, without stuffing the product with a bunch of unnecessary extras. I also like being able to pull reports quickly and keep tabs on how much time I'm spending on each project.

Cons

The proposal feature relatively new still feels a bit bare bones. It would be great if it could make proposals more efficient and fully featured.

Pros

I really like the timer-to-invoice feature. It helps me track my time and lets my client see the exact amount spent on each project which makes day-to-day time management a lot simpler... especially for a one-woman business. Billing and the reporting side feel easy and the tax-time support is a nice bonus.

Cons

Most recent upgrade didn't feel as adaptive as the original setup and it includes some features I'm not using. Everything seems to have gone "app crazy" lately and I'd love to see an Occam's Razor style option, a organized version aimed at smaller clients. Also, my main client can't accept the emails sent through it, their network flags them as spam... so I have to save the invoice as a draft and then resend a PDF. When I generate a report afterward, it ends up looking like I never billed them.

Pros

Not only does the app look nice, it also fits nicely into basically any workflow I already use. Integration has been simple and the automation tools are hands down my favorite part. I can connect it with my email list so that when new clients get added there, they automatically appear in the system. Reports are also simple to work with which makes tracking everything less of a hassle. Recurring invoices are a standout too, setting those up feels great. Even better some clients have saved their credit cards so their invoices get paid automatically. That means I'm spending far less time entering payments or juggling expenses and I can put more time into the work I actually want to do.

Cons

A couple areas could use refinement especially task management. The way tasks are handled still feels a bit dated to me. I've also noticed it's not super convenient to search through deleted clients and projects when I'm trying to find something later. That said, this is mostly me being picky, I genuinely can't think of anything else I'd want this to do differently.

Pros

As a graphic designer, staying on top of my time is crucial for my business. This tool lets me track how long I work and then bill my clients based on that time which really adds value for both sides. Being able to turn estimates into invoices is also a big help, It saves a lot of manual steps and keeps everything moving faster.

Cons

At the moment, estimates can't be converted directly into existing working projects which is a limitation I'm running into.