The two most popular and best accounting software options on the market for businesses are FreshBooks and QuickBooks. Technically, either option might be able to get the job done for your company. Yet depending on the needs of your business, there is a good chance that one of these accounting tools will be a better fit than the other.

Below you will find highlights of some of the most popular accounting tools for small businesses that QuickBooks and FreshBooks have to offer. You will also get a peek at how these business accounting software features stack up against each other.

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks – A Brief Introduction

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks - Which Is Best For Your Business?

FreshBooks: It comes up with three plan options and a focus and targets on-time tracking and invoicing, FreshBooks is an accounting solution best suited for self-employed professionals like independent contractors and freelancers.

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QuickBooks Online: One of the most popular small business accounting platforms, QuickBooks Online for small businesses is well-suited for a variety of business owners, especially those who need more advanced accounting tools for reconciliation, taxes, reporting and inventory management.’

Before we dive into the details comparing FreshBooks vs QuickBooks, let us begin with a basic overview of these two accounting solutions. Certainly, both FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online are web-based accounting solutions, meaning you can use either platform anywhere you have access to the internet.

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And furthermore, FreshBooks and QuickBooks each offer multiple plan options, priced on a monthly subscription basis, with the included features increasing as the plan levels increase.

Moreover, both FreshBooks and QuickBooks have a mobile accounting app available for iOS and Android devices so that you can manage your finances by using these devices as well.

And more importantly, it offers you the opportunity to integrate with a number of third-party solutions to expand the functionality of your platform.

As we have mentioned earlier, FreshBooks and QuickBooks look relatively similar. However, when you start exploring these two accounting software systems more thoroughly, you will see that they do, in fact, have a number of significant differences.

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks – Accounting Tools

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer a host of cloud-based accounting features designed with small business owners in mind. In most instances, QuickBooks is the clear winner in the accounting software tools category. While FreshBooks does a better job at time tracking for hourly employees, QuickBooks wins the race in just about every other category.

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Here is a head to head comparison between QuickBooks and FreshBooks. You can read below to compare some of the key differences in the functionality of the two accounting software products for small businesses.

Freshbooks vs QuickBooks – Differences you find in the features and functionalities

1. Accounting Feature

Invoices

FreshBooks: Yes

QuickBooks: Yes

Estimates

FreshBooks: Yes

QuickBooks: Yes

Expense Tracking

FreshBooks: Yes

QuickBooks: Yes

Time Tracking

FreshBooks: Yes

QuickBooks: Yes

Double-Entry Bookkeeping

FreshBooks: Yes

QuickBooks: Yes

Inventory Management

FreshBooks: No

QuickBooks: Yes

Purchase Orders

FreshBooks: No

QuickBooks: Yes

Payroll (Additional Fee)

FreshBooks: Add-On Software Required

QuickBooks: Yes

Vendor Bills and Credits

FreshBooks: No

QuickBooks: Yes

Budgeting/Forecasting

FreshBooks: No

QuickBooks: Yes

1099 Reporting

FreshBooks: No

QuickBooks: Yes

2. Invoicing and Payment Acceptance – Freshbooks Vs Quickbooks

FreshBooks and QuickBooks both include invoicing and payment acceptance capabilities for their customers. Some of these features are included with certain membership plans. And others may require and demand additional charges.

The two accounting software platforms are roughly tied to this category. FreshBooks gains extra points for ease of use. However, QuickBooks has to be recognized for including more features and more robust options within the features it offers.

3. Freshbooks Vs Quickbooks – Invoicing Capabilities

FreshBooks offers you a user-friendly platform to create professional invoices with awesome functionality. You have the option to customize those invoices as well.

With FreshBooks, you can opt and select from two templates and customize them with your company logo, chosen color scheme, and fields of choice. In fact, for an additional $20 per month (plus transaction fees) you can even use FreshBooks to create recurring invoices automatically if you have customers you bill for repeat goods or services.

It is worth noting that FreshBooks puts a limit on how many clients you can bill with each of its plans. So, if you need to use your FreshBooks account to invoice more than 5 different clients, you will likely have to pay for a higher level of membership.

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QuickBooks also has invoicing capabilities, including recurring invoicing. The customizable invoice design selection available through QuickBooks is more robust and allows for more personalization.

That being said, some users do report that the QuickBooks interface is much user-friendly as it should be and is harder to navigate, especially in the starting.

4. Freshbooks Vs Quickbooks – Payment Acceptance

Does your business need the ability to accept payments online? Could you benefit from a “Pay Now” button on your invoices? If so, FreshBooks and QuickBooks both have the functionality of payment acceptance solutions that could help you in various activities. for example:- how to accept credit card payments for small businesses

Whether your business needs to accept credit card payments or ACH payments, both companies charge additional fees for payment processing services.

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See below for a brief overview of the costs.

(a) QuickBooks Payment Processing Fees

Payment Type

ACH Bank Transfers: Fee is 1% ($10 maximum)

Credit Card (Swiped): Fee is 2.4% plus $0.25 per transaction

Card (Invoiced): Fee is 2.9% plus $0.25 per transaction

(Manually Entered): Fee is 3.4% plus $0.25 per transaction for credit card

(b) FreshBooks Payment Processing Fees

Payment Type

ACH Bank Transfers: Fee is 1%

Credit Card (Invoiced): Fee is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction

Recurring Payments: Fee is $20/month plus 3.5% plus $0.30 per transaction

Credit Card (Manually Entered): Fee is $20/month plus 3.5% plus $0.30 per transaction

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer iOS and Android apps designed to complement their online accounting platforms. The two mobile apps rank pretty evenly, but QuickBooks once again has a slight advantage in this category because its mobile app allows users access to reporting tools. As of the writing of this article, the FreshBooks app does not.

5. Time Tracking

QuickBooks online plus has also a time tracking tool that you can use for time tracking of your employees, you can track how many hours your employees have worked.

FreshBooks also has a similar time tracking features which are based on projects and tasks. FreshBooks also uses a calendar that provides overview information about the project worked on.

6. Freshbooks Vs Quickbooks – Manage Account Payable

QuickBooks online plus allows you to manage all of your bills. This means you can enter your bills into QuickBooks and pay them with your credit or debit card, you can also check your payment status.

On the second hand, FreshBooks does not offer account payable capabilities in any of their pricing plans. That’s why you cannot keep track or record of your unpaid bills in FreshBooks. However, you can download paid bills by connecting your credit card or bank accounts to FreshBooks.

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7. Freshbooks Vs Quickbooks – Mobile Apps

Following tasks, you can effectively perform with the apps

  • Create and send invoices
  • Snap pictures of your receipts and save them for your records
  • Use time tracking tools
  • Log and categorize expenses on the go (iOS devices only)

On the other hand, QuickBooks mobile app lets you experience the following things

  • Access customer information
  • Send invoices
  • Record expenses
  • Access accounting reports
  • Receive payments
  • Reconcile bank transactions

8. Freshbooks Vs Quickbooks – Inventory Tracking

With QuickBooks Online Plus you can keep track of your cost, quantities, and value for all products that you purchase or sell. This is helpful because you will always up-to-date about the inventory and cost of goods, which helps you to figure out your profit or loss details.

Unfortunately, In any of its plans, FreshBooks does not offer features that can track inventory.

9. Payroll Processing

QuickBooks has its own best payroll service for small business owners. With Quickbooks payroll’s assistance, you can effectively process payroll for a large number of employees.

In FreshBooks, if you want to pay your employees using payroll then you have to purchase gusto payroll because FreshBooks does not offer its own payroll service.

10. Online Payment

QuickBooks Payments provides its own online credit card processing service. On the other hand, FreshBooks use Stripe or PayPal for credit card processing.

11. Payment Reminders

FreshBooks will automatically send reminders to notify its users for upcoming dues or past dues. Payment reminders send before due, after due or both. Unfortunately, this offer is not available in QuickBooks Online Plus.

12. Establish multiple Business

FreshBooks allows you to establish multiple businesses. This means you can access all of your business by using the same account. It gives a 30 day trial for each new business and then it charges the current pricing after the trial ends. But in QuickBooks, you can only register only one business per QuickBooks account.

13. iOS  and Android Platforms

Many companies create apps for iOS and Android mobile platforms, but they do not provide all the features compared to their desktop applications.

However, FreshBooks has the best mobile app which includes all the features compared to their desktop applications, too. That is why FreshBooks mobile applications are popular among mobile users as well.

QuickBooks Online also offers many features, which are included in their mobile app, but a lot of users complain about glitches or crashing of the app. That is why FreshBooks mobile app is considered a much better than QuickBooks mobile app.

14. Security

Both QuickBooks and FreshBooks have the same security precautions and companies use SSL encryption, regular testing and data backups for their security concern. Plus these companies use robust and strong features to secure their users’ data.

15. Other User Permission

In every QuickBooks Online plan, it allows at least two users, whereas in FreshBooks only one user is allowed to access in every plan. You will need to pay $10 for every additional user per month.

16. Customer Support

According to QuickBooks users, customer service is not good at all due to the lack of informative details and long waiting times. QuickBooks customers feel that the customer service team is inefficient and unreliable at times, They do not respond quickly.

According to FreshBooks users, the company offers incredible customer support, the representative is always informed and kind and provides sufficient information and they are really good at solving problems.

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks – Pricing Comparison

Now that you have taken a clear look at how the features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks stack up against each other, here is a comparison between the pricing of these business accounting software solutions.

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Pricing

FreshBooks Pricing:-

  • Lite: $15/month
  • Plus: $25/month
  • Premium: $50/month
  • Select: Custom Pricing

QuickBooks Pricing:-

  • Self-Employed: $10/month
  • Simple Start: $25/month
  • Essentials: $40/month
  • Premium: $70/month
  • Advanced: $150/month

QuickBooks is currently extending an offer which gives new customers the following:

  • Free 30-day trial
  • 50% off the monthly price for the first 30 days of membership

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FreshBooks also lets you avail of a 30-day free trial, but no discount off the membership price is currently available.

In reality, there is not much difference between the cost of either product. The QuickBooks Online Essentials plan, just take a look at an example, costs $15 more per month ($180 more per year) when compared with FreshBooks’ similar option in the Plus plan.

Of course, everyone likes to save money and it is always smart to cut costs when you can. Yet if you believe the features of a QuickBooks Online software subscription could make your company run more efficiently, then it is well worth the small $180 extra annual investment.

The price difference in this scenario is small enough that it should not be a primary, driving factor in your decision. Instead, focus on finding the accounting tool that will work best for your business.

QuickBooks Online vs Desktop Software

If you are not a fan online monthly subscription software, QuickBooks does have another solution available — QuickBooks Desktop Pro (or QuickBooks for Mac). Currently, you can purchase the desktop software for a one-time payment of $299.95.

QuickBooks Desktop can save you money over the course of time. The trade-off for that savings, however, is that it lacks many of the features available to QuickBooks Online users. As a desktop user, you will not have access to any of the following (at least not without paying additional fees):

  • Automatic Invoice Scheduling
  • Instant File Access for Accountants
  • Unlimited Phone Support
  • Automatic Bank Transaction Downloads
  • Access to Product and Features Updates

FreshBooks or QuickBooks — Which Accounting Software is Best for your Business?

Overall, QuickBooks wins the race for the best small business accounting solution. The program has more responsive which has compatibility with all devices, the features it offers are more robust, and its pricing options are affordable (even if they are slightly more expensive than FreshBooks plans).

Also, consider the following. If your business is small, starting with QuickBooks now could help you avoid headaches down the road. When your business grows, you may eventually need access to some of the more robust features available through QuickBooks.

Learning QuickBooks on the front end can help your business avoid the growing pains of learning a new accounting system down the road.

However, there are still a number of instances where FreshBooks might be the better choice. If you are a freelancer, solopreneur, or you need to track hours worked by your employees or contractors, then FreshBooks may do a better job of meeting your needs at a slightly more affordable price.

Thus, as a small business owner, it is important to find tools that can save you time and make your job easier. That is why choosing the right accounting software for your company is an important decision — one which deserves some thoughtful comparison before you click the purchase button.

The Bottom line

Often, many people think that FreshBooks and QuickBooks are built for the same purpose, but that is not true and has some sort of dissimilarities. Therefore we are discussing here all about Freshbooks vs Quickbooks. Furthermore, FreshBooks work best for the freelancer and service-based business, whereas Quickbooks is actual accounting software which is used by business of all sizes.

Quickbooks is a better accounting software than FreshBooks because it offers more features than FreshBooks at a competitive price. If you are a self-employed freelancer who needs a billing software, then FreshBooks is the best pick for your needs.

FreshBooks and QuickBooks are the most used cloud-based accounting software products in the U.S. Both accounting programs offer superb tools that could help your company save time and operate more successfully.

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