Freshbooks Review

Monday, July 7th

2025 Bookkeeping Service Reviews

Freshbooks

• Plans range from $6.30/month (5 clients) to $19.50/month (unlimited clients), with 70% off first 4 months and additional 10% savings for annual billing
• User-friendly interface designed for non-accountants and small businesses
• Core features include time tracking, expense management, and invoicing
• Supports credit card and bank transfer (ACH) payments
• Project profitability tracking available on higher tiers
• Mobile app with receipt capture capabilities
• Ability to share access with external accountants
• 30-day free trial with no credit card required
• Customizable email templates and reporting options
• Integration options with various payment gateways and business tools

When it comes to bookkeeping software, FreshBooks takes a decidedly minimalist approach. You'll find fewer features here than in competing options, but that's reflected in the lower price point. The platform excels at the basics: time tracking, expense management, and straightforward invoicing. If you're a freelancer or small business owner who just needs the essentials without the complexity, FreshBooks might be worth considering - though you should know upfront that you'll be handling most tasks yourself.

Getting hands-on with your books

FreshBooks is fundamentally a self-service platform, which means you or your team will be doing the bookkeeping work. You'll handle everything from expense entry to bank reconciliation to generating basic financial reports. While the interface is designed to be approachable for non-accountants, you're largely on your own - though you can invite an external accountant to help if needed. For those wanting full-service bookkeeping, FreshBooks does partner with Bench to offer this as a premium add-on, but it's not part of the core platform.

Your flexible billing options make getting started a breeze

You'll get a risk-free start with FreshBooks through their 30-day free trial that doesn't require a credit card. They often run deals, like 70% off your first 4 months or 60% off your first 6, and you can always save an additional 10% by opting for annual billing.

Choose the perfect plan for your business size

FreshBooks offers four self-service plans. The pricing shown below reflects the 70% discount we mentioned:

• Lite ($6.30/mo): Perfect for freelancers who need the basics - send invoices to 5 clients, track expenses, and handle estimates
• Plus ($11.40/mo): Ideal for self-employed professionals - manage up to 50 clients, with added perks like receipt capture and accountant access
• Premium ($19.50/mo): Built for businesses with contractors - unlimited clients, project profitability tracking, and custom email templates
• Select (Custom pricing): Designed for businesses with employees - includes everything in Premium plus lower transaction fees, dedicated phone support, and 2 free team member accounts

Power up your accounting with flexible add-ons

Need more functionality? You can enhance your plan with advanced payments ($20/month), additional team members ($11/person/month), or integrated payroll ($40/month plus $6/user). But when it comes to tax and CFO services, you'll find FreshBooks limited compared to competitors. While you can track basic expenses with tax categories and generate standard reports like P&Ls and balance sheets, you won't get most of the comprehensive features you could want. There's no tax filing service, no automated 1099 handling, and forget about multi-state tax support - and if you're hoping for CFO-level tools, you won't find strategic financial planning, forecasting, or even basic pitch deck financials. Your best workaround? Either integrate with Bench as an add-on service for full tax support, or simply give your own CPA access to your books.

Your experience with FreshBooks might be a mixed bag

While users frequently praise FreshBooks for being easier to use than QuickBooks, it isn't without its own frustrations. There were several complaints that the software's frequent UI changes and feature removals can make it feel like you're constantly adapting to a moving target. The platform handles basic tasks like invoicing and estimates well, but banking connections and transaction imports have been particularly problematic for some users.

Customer support is a tale of two experiences

You might get lucky with friendly, responsive support, but some reviews suggest the quality has declined significantly over time. One user's nightmare scenario involved weeks of runaround for a refund, unanswered support tickets, and arduous "solutions” like "try editing your bank connections 1-2 times per day for 5 days". Another customer faced similar struggles with payment processing migration and found it "impossible to get a straight answer on anything".

The platform might still work for your needs

Despite the complaints, FreshBooks maintains a 3.9-star average on independent customer review platforms, with long-term users praising its reliability for basic bookkeeping, estimates, and invoices. If you're prepared for some potential hurdles, you could still find value here, especially at those low price points. However, it's crucial to remember that this is primarily a self-service platform, so success depends heavily on your comfort level with managing your own books. Those seeking more hands-on support or advanced features might want to explore other options or budget for FreshBooks' premium add-ons via Bench.