FreshBooks and QuickBooks are some of the best accounting software on the market today. Bookkeeping and accounting can be tricky and difficult for small to medium-sized business owners. This is where FreshBooks and QuickBooks enter the game to help businesses keep track of all income and expenses. QuickBooks offers more add-on features and is best for growing businesses. Whereas, FreshBooks is better for freelancers. In this article, we will understand which accounting software (FreshBooks vs QuickBooks) is better for you according to your business needs and requirements.
What are FreshBooks and QuickBooks?
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is an accounting software that caters to small and medium-sized businesses and offers on-premises accounting applications as well as cloud-based versions that accept business payments, pay bills, manage, and perform payroll functions.
| Pros | Cons |
| Scalable price tiers with many features as your business and business needs grow. | Restricted native timekeeping features for billable time. For more time you have to add the QuickBooks Time feature. |
| Makes it easy for an accountant or bookkeeper to monitor a business’s finances. | Highly technical, and difficult to grasp for those new to accounting. |
| To facilitate data flow and eliminate double entry there are hundreds of integrations with human resources, time tracking, and payroll software. | Limitations on the number of users in each price tier. |
What is FreshBooks?
FreshBooks is accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a web-based software that can be accessed through a desktop or mobile device. FreshBooks lacks some advanced features as it is primarily for new business owners, freelancers, or solopreneurs which makes it much more accessible and easy to use for new business owners.
| Pros | Cons |
| All plans offer time-tracking functionality to accurately invoice clients for service work. | In the Lite package of the accounting product, essential features such as accounts payable and bank reconciliation are not included. |
| Client portals facilitate convenient invoice payments and provide access to payment history. | Additional charges apply for integrating with third-party options for payroll or bookkeeping services. |
| An economical choice tailored to freelancers or independent contractors seeking invoicing solutions exclusively. | Each plan has a user limit and a cap on the number of clients, until the Premium plan. |
FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: A Detailed Comparison
1. Invoicing
QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks both excel in invoicing capabilities. However, QuickBooks Online calculates the sales tax rates automatically and applies them to invoices based on the customer’s address.
If you’re looking for a simple interface and easy-to-use, user-friendly features FreshBooks should be your preferred choice. It is perfect for freelancers and small businesses. It also integrates seamlessly with many other software programs, making it an ideal choice for businesses requiring multiple ways for financial tracking solutions.
2. Inventory Management
With QuickBooks Online’s inventory management system, you can track available inventory, calculate quantities, costs, and prices automatically, and figure out which of your items are most profitable.
FreshBooks allows you to add inventory items to bills—but there’s no way to know how much inventory you have available or the cost of your inventory sold.
3. Customization
QuickBooks is the king when it comes to customizing the system as per users’ preferences. QuickBooks enables users to customize invoices to their preferences along with the ability to customize users’ roles and workflows. QuickBooks also provides specialized tutorials to help users make the changes that work for them.
On the other hand, FreshBooks allows customization of invoices. FreshBooks doesn’t allow users a lot of customizations.
4. Banking and Cash Management
If your business relies heavily on paying vendors and employees by check so it can record and print checks QuickBooks is your solution. With QuickBooks, it is not necessary to link your bank account with your accounting software. Whereas, FreshBooks is designed with businesses in mind that don’t issue checks directly but instead rely on the checks to clear through their bank.
Another notable difference with FreshBooks is its limitation in assigning outstanding transactions to a specific bank account until they are processed by the bank. This means that the balance on the balance sheet may be consistently inaccurate when there are outstanding checks.
5. Ease of Use
QuickBooks is a favored choice among accountants, while FreshBooks is preferred by small business owners who may not have extensive accounting skills. FreshBooks stands out for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. The dashboard is designed for easy navigation, whether you’re accessing the general ledger or handling invoicing tasks. Within the dashboard, you receive a quick overview of your business’s financial status, along with expense planning.
QuickBooks, on the other hand, offers a more comprehensive dashboard compared to FreshBooks, which can be overwhelming for newcomers. The difference in layout is what makes FreshBooks more accessible than QuickBooks. Additionally, QuickBooks includes more features, such as inventory management, which might be confusing for users new to the platform. However, if a small business requires all the advanced features QuickBooks provides, it will need to invest time in learning the program and mastering its capabilities.
6. Pricing and Value
QuickBooks provides good value for your bucks while FreshBooks offers a more cost-effective solution. You get a 30-day free trial with both the software to evaluate their suitability according to your business.
For the initial 3 months, both products offer promotional pricing; FreshBooks starts at $8.50 per month during the promotional period and then increases to $17 per month when billed annually for the Lite option.
QuickBooks’ Simple Start option is priced at $15 per month during the promotional period and rises to $30 per month when billed annually after that.
7. Integrations
It’s crucial to integrate with a third-party app to ensure your software works smoothly. FreshBooks integrates with more than 100 third-party business applications, including several well-known brands such as Indeed, BigCommerce, Zoom, WooCommerce, Zendesk, Expensify, Google Workspace, WordPress, Constant Contact, Slack, Dropbox, Microsoft Outlook, Gusto, Zapier, etc.
QuickBooks integrates with more than 750 third-party business applications, including well-known apps and e-commerce platforms: Amazon, PayPal, Square, Etsy, Shopify, eBay, SOS Inventory, Gusto, Expensify, BILL, Microsoft Excel, WooCommerce, Zenefits, Zapier, etc.
FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: Detailed Comparison Table
| Features | FreshBooks | QuickBooks |
| Is Best For? | People who are new to accounting, small businesses, and freelancers. | Small to medium-sized businesses have comprehensive accounting needs. |
| Users Included | 1 or 2 | 1 to 25 |
| Clients Included | 5 to unlimited | Unlimited |
| Accessibility | Cloud | Cloud |
| Time Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes |
| Banking and Cash Management | Yes | Yes |
| Project Accounting | Yes | Yes |
| Bill Pay and Management | Yes | Yes |
| Sales Tax Management | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory Management | No | Yes |
| Mobile App Accessibility | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Customer Support | Yes | Yes |
| Assisted Bookkeeping | Integrates with Bench | Yes |
| Payroll | Integrates with Gusto | $45 per month plus $4 per employee |
| Credit Card Processing | Stripe and PayPal | QuickBooks Payments |
| Monthly Pricing | $17 to $55 or custom pricing | $30 to $200 |
Conclusion – FreshBooks vs QuickBooks
If you have a service-based business or you’re an independent contractor FreshBooks is well-suited for you. It frequently performs onsite work and can send out invoices regularly.
QuickBooks is often considered the top choice for a wide range of small businesses and brick-and-mortar establishments due to its strong reputation, brand recognition, and extensive use among accountants and professionals in the financial industry.
If you are looking for professional help, then please get in touch with our QuickBooks Customer Support Number (Toll-Free) +1-855-875-1223 & speak to the Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors Team.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
FreshBooks and QuickBooks are Accounting software that offer affordable accounting solutions tailored to solopreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses respectively. However, the cost of using either of these platforms varies depending on the size of your business and the specific features your business requires.
QuickBooks Online is a preferred choice for small and medium-sized businesses that require advanced accounting and reporting capabilities for products and services. On the other hand, FreshBooks is well-suited for solopreneurs or freelancers who primarily sell services and need native functionality for tracking and billing for billable time. The choice between the two depends on the specific needs and scale of your business.
FreshBooks is a small-business accounting software product that caters well to the needs of freelancers and independent contractors. It distinguishes itself with strong phone support and the ability to customize invoices to your specific requirements. However, it may not be the best choice for rapidly expanding businesses due to limitations on user and client capacity in some of its pricing plans.
FreshBooks provides a straightforward yet effective solution for managing expenses, invoices, reports, and time tracking. The product design is to simplify the often complex task of number crunching, aiming to automate and streamline various aspects of the accounting process, ultimately saving you time and effort.
FreshBooks is indeed a comprehensive cloud accounting solution with a broad array of features. However, it’s important to note a few potential drawbacks. One of these is its limited inventory management capabilities. FreshBooks does not provide a built-in inventory management system, which could be a limitation for businesses that primarily deal with physical product sales.
QuickBooks Desktop and its hosted version are highly popular in the accounting market. According to reports from the Accountancy Age, approximately 78% of accounting professionals, including those from small and mid-sized businesses, embrace the cloud technology of QuickBooks.
