Using Accounting Software For Business: FreshBooks Versus QuickBooks Review

This article would enlighten you about using accounting software for business: FreshBooks versus QuickBooks Review. Here we go!

Accounting software is a very necessary business application you need to buy if not the first when you start a business. I know using accounting software can be quite difficult but some are easy to use.

The goal of using accounting software is to keep track of money coming in and going out of your business, create invoices, record outgoing, and incoming payment, run reports, analyze your financial health and other aspects of your business.

Choosing the one that’s right for you is very important because you wouldn’t want accounting software that would make your work more difficult and time-consuming.

This is why this article is a necessary one. We would be talking about just two accounting software that is easy to use, time-saving, and cost-effective.

Below, we would be discussing FreshBooks and QuickBooks as accounting software you can use for your business and also other things that make them unique and different not denying the fact that they are similar in some ways.

This would help you know which one you should go for, according to what you want and expect.

FRESHBOOKS VS. QUICKBOOKS: Which Accounting Software is Best for Your Finances and Businesses?

• What they are

FreshBooks has three plan options and focuses on invoicing and time tracking. It is an accounting software best for freelancers, service-based businesses and solopreneurs

On the other hand, Quick books online is a small business accounting software for small business owners. It is best for companies that sell products.

Features and Pricing

Let’s get started in differentiating between FreshBooks and QuickBooks starting with their features, plans, and pricing.

• FreshBooks features

Like I said earlier, Fresh books have three options; it assists self-employed professionals, service-based businesses, and other small business owners looking for invoicing capabilities within their accounting solution.

Their software is priced monthly with each plan offering more features.

Freshbooks software includes:

• Connection to your business bank account, this is done with automated import.
• Invoicing software to create, send and customize invoices to clients
• Allows clients to accept estimates online and convert them into invoices by its ability to create and send customizable estimates.
• Tracking expenses with multi-currency capabilities and tax categories.
• Time tracking: This is based on the client or project
• Project management with due dates, file sharing, and budgets.
• Accepting credit cards and other payments using “FreshBooks payments”. It automatically records payments and expenses and also accepts ACH transfer.
• Mobile app for IOS and Android devices.
• Customer services via email and phone from FreshBooks
• The ability to use internal notes to add client information.
• Essential accounting reports like profit and loss statement, balance sheet, general ledger, chart of accounts, and also bank capabilities and reconciliation.
• SSL encryption to secure data storage
• Access for your business accountant

• FreshBooks pricing

Judging from its features you can see that fresh books offer quite impressive features by giving business owners the ability to complete their important accounting and bookkeeping tasks while managing time, projects, and clients.

Now continuing with its pricing of the three plans FreshBooks offers, you should know that FreshBooks differentiates their plans based on the number of clients you can accommodate within your account and also on the features.

Regardless of which of their three plans you choose, FreshBooks requires you to pay an additional fee per user account.

• Fresh Books Lite Plan

This is the first plan FreshBooks offer and it costs $15 per month if you purchase the software monthly and $13.50 per month if you purchase an annual plan on the software.

By purchasing the Lite plan you will receive capabilities such as:

Unlimited expense entries, unlimited customized invoices, accept credit card and ACH online payments, unlimited time tracking and estimates, automated bank import, tax time reports…and you can also manage five billable clients within your account.

You will need to pay an additional $10 per month and team member if you want to add team members to your FreshBooks account notwithstanding which of the three plans you choose.

• FreshBooks Plus Plan

This plan can accommodate 50 billable clients and will cost $25 per month for a month-to-month payment basis and $22.50 per month on an annual payment plan.

By purchasing the Plus Plan, you will have access to the following in addition to the lite features

These include;

Automated recurring invoices, unlimited proposals, scheduled late fees, double-entry accounting reports, client retainers, and automated late payment reminders.

You will still need to pay an additional $10 per month if you want to add team members. There is an option for you to use an “advanced version of FreshBooks” which would cost you extra $20.

• FreshBooks Premium Plan

The  FreshBooks Premium Plan offers the highest amount of functionality at a much higher cost. It costs $50 per month and $45 per month for a monthly plan and annual plan respectively. However, you can accumulate 500 billable clients and still have access to all features of the other two plans.

Like in the Plus Plan, you still have the option to use FreshBooks Advanced Payments for an additional $20 and you can also add more team members for $10 per team member monthly.

Although these are the three main FreshBooks plan options, you should know that FreshBooks still offers a ‘select plan’ which can accommodate over 500 clients on a quote-basis by working with the FreshBooks sales team directly.

• QuickBooks Online Features

While FreshBooks assists in a service-based business and self-employed professionals specifically; QuickBooks Online is designed for a variety of small business owners with product-based operations.

QuickBooks offers four main plan options compared to three options offered by FreshBooks.

By purchasing any of the plans, you will receive capabilities such as;

• income and expense tracking
• Tax categories used for organizing income and expenses
• Ability to capture and organize receipts
• Ability to accept online payments like bank transfers and credit cards by using QuickBooks payment
• Sales Tracking
• QuickBooks app access for iOS and Android devices
• Basic accounting reports like; profit and loss statement, expenses, and balance sheet
• Mileage Tracking
• Customizable estimates and invoicing
• Credit card and business bank account connection
• Automatic transaction import
• 1099 contractor management
• Data backup and security
• Two accountants account access
• Integration options for third party tools and other QuickBooks products
• Customer service via phone.

 

Cool Right?…

Now going over to their pricing;

• QuickBooks Online Pricing

Unarguably, FreshBooks, and QuickBooks have similar features. However, when it comes to pricing, FreshBooks as we stated earlier breaks down their plans based on the number of billable clients While, QuickBooks breaks down their plans based on users and functionality.

• QuickBooks Online Simple Start Plan

This plan is the most affordable and basic of all the four plans. It costs $25 per month. The simple plan includes features like;

• Maximize tax deductions
• Track miles
• Track income and expenses
• Capture and organize receipts
• Send estimates
• Accept payments and invoices
• Manage 1099 contractors
• Track sales and sales tax

You have the option to integrate with QuickBooks full service or self-service payroll with the simple start plan or any other QuickBooks online plan.

The full service will cost $80 per month plus $4 per month per employee While, for the self-service payroll add-on it will cost $35 per month and also $4 per employee.

• QuickBooks Online Essentials Plan

This plan costs $40 per month. QuickBooks includes multi-user access in their different plans.

The Essentials Plan gives you access for up to three users without requiring an additional fee. It includes the following in addition to the Simple Start Plan functionality:

• Time tracking by client or employee
• Bill management
• Permits up to three users with customizable access levels.
• Integration options with “TSheets by QuickBooks”

• QuickBooks Online Plus Plan

QuickBooks Online Plus Plan Is $70 per month

You will have access to all the features of the previous plans with  QuickBooks Online Plus as well as the following features;

• Up to five users
• Inventory tracking
• Project profitability tracking

This plan also offers an inventory management capability that none of the FreshBooks plans offers.

• QuickBooks Online Advanced Plan

This is the fourth and last plan options. This is the most expensive plan with the highest functionality. This plan costs $150 per month.

This Advanced Plan offers the following capabilities in addition to that of the lower level plans;

• Up to 25 users
• Bill pay
• Accelerated invoicing
• Smart reporting by Fathom
• Enhanced custom fields
• Custom user permissions
• Premium customer support
• Training with priority circle membership

Now the question:

Which Accounting Software Is Right for You?

This lies in what kind of small business owner you are and what kind of accounting needs you have.

Let’s explore the most ways in which these accounting software solutions differ from each other keeping this essential difference in mind;…

• FreshBooks Benefits

When reviewing and comparing FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks,

FreshBooks stands out in terms of invoicing tools, pricing, simplicity, and above all time tracking.

Ok! Let’s explain;

• Time Tracking and Invoicing

One of the greatest strengths of FreshBooks is their time tracking and invoicing capabilities since it’s a solution designed to be self-employed accounting software.

Notwithstanding which of the FreshBooks plans you opt for, you have an unlimited time tracking tool that allows you track time wherever you are, automatically bill for tracked hours, and record time based on clients.

You can also add detailed time entry notes, manage time tracking for your team, see tracked time on a weekly and monthly basis, and also track time-based on individual projects.

FreshBooks also offers a built-in-timer for both mobile and desktop so you can track your time easily while you are working.

Their invoicing software is easy to use making the process of working, receiving payments, and billing less difficult within the platform.

QuickBooks Online also offers time tracking and invoicing but these features are not rife within their accounting software as they are in FreshBooks because the “QuickBooks Online Simple Start Plan” does not have time tracking tools and to utilize time tracking capabilities in QuickBooks, you have to integrate with TSheets which will cost you an additional fee.

FreshBooks’ time tracking is client-project focused. Whereas, QuickBooks’ revolves around tracking employee time.

• Pricing

Pricing is another way FreshBooks differs and stands out compared to QuickBooks Online.

FreshBooks is less expensive with its most expensive plan; premium plan, set at $50 per month compared to the QuickBooks online Advanced Plan set at $150 per month.

Whereas FreshBooks offers a discount for those who opt for an annual payment, QuickBooks does not offer any deal of such.

FreshBooks caters more to freelancers and independent contractors compared to QuickBooks online with plans at a lower price point that differs based on the number of billable clients.

• Simplicity

FreshBooks system is easy to use and user friendly. They offer core bookkeeping and accounting features that self-employed small business owners need to manage without numerous amount of options and advanced functions that they might not need, with their three different plans.

Regardless of which plan you choose, FreshBooks provides both phone and email support.

With these benefits, you can see how FreshBooks offers a well-structured solution for its target audience; which are the self-employed professionals.

• QuickBooks Online Benefits

In comparison, QuickBooks stands out in terms of automation and bank feeds, advanced features, and plan options.

• Automation and Bank Feeds

QuickBooks is designed to accommodate a variety of small business owners and offers automation and bank feed capabilities and features that FreshBooks does not.

For instance, your transactions are automatically imported and sorted into categories that you can edit or approve when you connect your accounts to QuickBooks Online. But this is not the case for FreshBooks as you have to manually go into the system and add the right category as all transactions in FreshBooks are imported as uncategorized.

• Advanced Features

As FreshBooks is known for its simplicity, QuickBooks is known for its advanced feature. They offer advanced capabilities to business owners.

For instance, the Essentials Plan and up, allows you to manage and pay your business’s outstanding bills with simplified bill pay tools.

QuickBooks allows you to schedule invoices for the future which FreshBooks does not unless a customer is put on a payment schedule plan which is not quite the same thing. You can also access the benefits of both QuickBooks Online and Desktop by using QuickBooks Hosting Solutions from a Cloud Desktop provider at an affordable cost

With its advanced functionality, you now know that QuickBooks online is designed for a wider variety of small business and business owners.

• Plan Options and Structure

Lastly, QuickBooks stands out from FreshBooks with their four plan options and also the way they structure their plans.

FreshBooks undoubtedly charges a lower monthly price but they also charge an additional user fee and differentiates their plan based on the number of billable clients you can accommodate but on the other hand, QuickBooks plans are priced based on features and users and thus multi-user access feature is included in their monthly price.

For instance, if you want to add two additional members to your FreshBooks Plus account, you will pay a $25 monthly fee and an additional $20 for the two members; $10 each and you will be limited to only 50 billable clients. But with QuickBooks Essentials Plan, you will have access for up to three users, no client limit and you will only have to pay $40 per month, no additional fee.

Judging from this fact, QuickBooks offers a more appealing plan structure especially for multi-user access, unlike FreshBooks plans.

• The Bottom Line

Choosing or deciding which accounting software for business depends solely on your choice.

There is no doubt that this software can serve your business well considering all said about them individually and in comparison.

As we have stated earlier, the platform; FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks that’s better or right for your business depends largely on the type of business you run and the kind of accounting needs you might have.

For instance, if you are a freelancer looking to manage your personal finance, bill clients, or track your time, then FreshBooks should be better suited for you.

On the other hand, if you need full-service accounting software for a small business, then QuickBooks Online might be a better fit.

Nevertheless, the decision is up to you; And if you are still not sure which is right for you, you should consider signing up for a 30-day free trial; testing and comparing each system; FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Online for yourself.