FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

FreshBooks is the perfect tool for businesses who have hundreds of clients and customers whom they invoice regularly. It removes the need to manually send invoices to clients and customers, by streamlining inputted information to create an automated invoicing system which keeps clients and customers up to date with their bills. It is also a great tool for managing expenses, especially for companies with different teams working on varying projects, ensuring these teams do not exceed the budget ceiling.

Incentivized

It is extremely well suited for smaller companies who are trying to manage things on their own without outsourcing too much. The program is easy to learn and doesn't require too much training time before it can be implemented. The online/cloud feature makes it even more accessible to our employees, so it's great. It would be hard for a large company to use it since it is geared towards smaller companies and the interface may become overwhelming with too many inputs/bills to manage.

Incentivized

• FreshBooks is pretty intuitive to use. I did have some questions when I first started using the system, but it wasn't a long learning curve.
• FreshBooks provides more capability than other billing applications such as PaySimple or BlinkSale. FreshBooks does provide an easy invoicing function. It's easy to create invoices that can be sent via email or snail mail to one or more individuals (for example, the decision-maker and the accounting dept). Clients can pay online or send a check and then I note that the payment has been received. If paid by credit card, the system automatically marks the invoice paid. Your business accounts such as bank accounts can be linked to FreshBooks. Then, the system can automatically draw in expenses and will create simple P&L reports, overdue invoices, client history, etc. If you don't have inventory and complex payroll, etc. FreshBooks provides just the right level of capability to make financial tracking simple.
• FreshBooks integrates with a number of credit card companies. I use Stripe, which has fees similar to Paypal, but much more reliable processing. I can accept all credit cards, including American Express, for a reasonable fee.

• Reconciling my bank accounts is made easy by automated bank connections and rules for re-occurring transactions. I can also transfer between connected bank accounts making sure to not double up on transfers or payments.
• I love that I can access Quickbooks Desktop via a web browser, iOS, and the desktop app. I live in a mobile world so having the ability to crossover is vital.
• Payroll. One simple feature that allows me to track employee and employer taxes, make payments, and automate the entire process. All I have to do is hit approved and the rest is done for me. I love it!

Incentivized

• Pricing structure is very poor for us. $10/user per month when we have staff that comes and goes. And it's impossible to change a free contractor to a paid staff and vice-versa. This is my biggest complaint.
• They only allow one admin owner user. Emails must come from that account. This is annoying, as other staff cannot log in with the same power.
• The user interface is quite dated. I've made recommendations to improve it and all have been ignored. It's skinny and not fluid. Also, there is no way to link between invoices and clients.

• QB for Mac is not nearly as feature rich as the Windows Version
• QB for Mac has recently FORCED users to password protect all databases. They SHOULD allow a preference to disable rather than imposing their workflow on the end user. The PW is in my environment [and this step is] unnecessary and a cumbersome waste of time.
• Mac version can occasionally be a bit buggy

Incentivized

At the current needs of our business, FreshBooks suits us perfectly - it allows online access by our accountant to the system for GST purposes, easy input of expenses and tracking of Profit and Loss statements. FreshBooks customer service is great as well - very understanding and accommodating.

I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac

Incentivized

It is well-built software with no significant drawbacks. It offers all the necessary futures expected from online software. However, it is not yet up there with Xero and QuickBooks regarding connections with other software and advanced reporting features. The developers work closely with accountants, and therefore, I expect further development of the software.

Incentivized

The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!

Incentivized

FreshBooks is easy to use and always works!

Incentivized

I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.

I think the support level for FreshBooks is on par with a 6 because the folks behind this application do a fairly good job at providing support for their customer base. I still don't think they are at an elite level when it comes to supporting but are getting there although too slow in my opinion.

Incentivized

Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.

Incentivized

I haven't changed my mind since my first evaluation. Freshbooks is still meeting my needs, easy to use, etc.

There is no fluff and feature overload with FreshBooks. I can get to what I need quickly and easily. I don't have to deal with unnecessary features and fields the system considers essential. The payment features are streamlined and have lots of flexibility when receiving payments. I love FreshBooks support, and it is 100 more customer-friendly and easier to work with than its primary competitors from my experience.

Incentivized

I tried switching to QBO (QuickBooks Online) a couple of times. And in both cases it was disastrous. The software is buggy and the workflow is not at all like what I was used to in Desktop and so I felt like there was a brand new learning curve. You would think that they would make their online option as close to their Desktop option so that migrating customers would have an easy time. The worst part is that if you have inventory that you need to track, when you migrate from Desktop for Mac, it does NOT bring in your inventory accurately in any way. This was a dealbreaker for me. Be very careful about migrating if you track inventory. So for all the shortcomings of Desktop, I still prefer it over QBO.

Incentivized

• Since implementing FreshBrooks, 80% of invoices created are paid in less than 30 days from the time the invoice is sent via email to the client. Prior to FreshBooks, we were mailing or hand-delivering our invoices and payment on those invoices was in the 45-90 day range.
• Time tracking is done directly in FreshBooks (or through a plugin that's connected directly to FreshBooks) and is very easy to use. With this feature we're much better able to track all business activities. This has helped us to quantify the time we're spending on non-billable business-related work in addition to our billable client hours. We've been able to adjust our pricing accordingly, as well as being more efficient with our non-billable activities.
• When FreshBooks online payments is set-up in your account, payments made with this method are automatically sent to your bank account. We choose between FreshBooks payments and PayPal payments in order to manage how much money stays in the PayPal account for online expenses vs. how much is transferred directly to the bank account.

• My private consulting practice slowed down when I chose to only support QuickBooks for Mac clients because there are far fewer QuickBooks for Mac clients than their are clients using other QuickBooks. I chose instead to focus on online accounting options, apps that integrate with online accounting options, and sustainability accounting as a tool for business success.

Incentivized