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Accounting software review

FreshBooks

Invoicing-first accounting from FreshBooks. Supplier bills (accounts payable) start on Premium, $70 a month month to month for the owner alone; each extra team member is $11 a month, and no POS connection is documented.

By FreshBooksParent company: 2NDSITE Inc.

RTC SCORE

6.8

#7 of 9 with enough data

Our verdict

Built for invoicing service businesses: the books a restaurant needs start on Premium at $70 plus $11 for a second person, with no POS connection and no results by location.

What we like

  • Premium has bank import, reconciliation, accounts payable and unlimited client invoices, with a free login for your accountant.
  • Month to month with no early termination fee, a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Its own payroll is available in the same account, at $40 a month plus $6 per person.

What to watch

  • Supplier bills need Premium ($70), and Premium covers only the owner: a second person is $11 a month more.
  • No POS connection documented, so POS sales reach the books only as bank deposits.
  • No results by class or location, only by project.
  • Support hours are not published, and there is no live chat with a person.
  • After the account closes, your records disappear from the service; export them first.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score6.8out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness96%

We could verify 96% of the scoring data

Strongest points
12-month cost (reference restaurant), Bank feeds, Initial term
Weakest point
POS data that reaches the books

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost (reference restaurant)Weight 20%Strongest6.8 out of 10

    $972 over 12 months

  • POS data that reaches the booksWeight 8%Weakest0.0 out of 10
  • Bank feedsWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • POS systems that connectWeight 7%0.0 out of 10
  • Initial termWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Bank reconciliationWeight 6%10.0 out of 10
  • Supplier billsWeight 6%10.0 out of 10
  • Live support channelsWeight 6%7.5 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Access for your accountantWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Payroll into the booksWeight 5%5.0 out of 10
  • Early termination feeWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Results by location or classWeight 4%0.0 out of 10
  • Live support hours a weekWeight 4%No data
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Customer invoicesWeight 2%10.0 out of 10

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data pointValue
Monthly price$70/moSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Premium, month to month, for the owner alone; a second person adds $11 a month ($81 in total). New customers can get 80% off for the first 4 months.
Monthly price if paid yearly$63/moSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Yearly billing takes 10% off the $840 list price: $756 a year, about $63 a month, paid up front.
Users included1 userSource: FreshBooks Support (opens in a new tab)Premium covers only the owner's login; each team member (Admin, Manager, Employee) costs extra. Select includes 2 team members.
Each extra user$11/moSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)
Published pricingPublishedSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Lite, Plus and Premium are published; Select is sold through a consultant.
Free planNoSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)No free plan, only a 30-day free trial. The cheapest plan is Lite at $23 a month.
Other feesEach team member beyond the owner is $11 a month. Advanced Payments is $20 a month. FreshBooks Payroll is $40 a month plus $6 per person. Card and ACH payments from clients carry transaction fees.Source: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)
Books and reconciliation
Data pointValue
Bank feedsAutomatic feeds from your bankSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Checked on every plan in the comparison table.
Bank reconciliationYesSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Checked on Plus, Premium and Select; not on Lite.
Supplier bills (accounts payable)IncludedSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Checked only on Premium and Select, which is why Premium is the reference plan.
Customer invoices (accounts receivable)IncludedSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Premium bills unlimited clients; Lite is capped at 5 clients and Plus at 50.
Results by location or classNot offeredSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)FreshBooks documents project profitability, not classes or locations; we looked in the plan comparison on its pricing page.
Access for your accountantOwn login at no extra costSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Accountant access is listed from Plus up.
Bookkeeping service from the vendorNot offeredSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)FreshBooks sells no bookkeeping service on its US pricing page; you give access to your own accountant.
POS and payroll connections
Data pointValue
Connects with these POS systemsSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)No POS connection is documented by FreshBooks or by Toast, Square, Clover, Shift4 POS, Lightspeed, SpotOn or Heartland; Square's old help article on FreshBooks now leads to an empty App Marketplace page. FreshBooks' App Store did not load its listings for us.
POS data that reaches the booksNo POS connection documentedSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)POS deposits reach the books only through the bank import.
How payroll reaches the booksOnly its own payrollSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)FreshBooks Payroll runs on Gusto inside FreshBooks. We could not confirm outside payroll apps because FreshBooks' App Store did not load for us.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial termMonth to monthSource: FreshBooks (2NDSITE Inc.) (opens in a new tab)Month to month on the monthly plan; the yearly plan is paid a year up front.
Automatic renewalMonth to monthSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)The monthly plan renews each month; a yearly plan renews for another year.
Notice to avoid renewal0 daysSource: FreshBooks (2NDSITE Inc.) (opens in a new tab)No advance notice; the current billing period is still owed.
Early termination feeNoneSource: FreshBooks (2NDSITE Inc.) (opens in a new tab)
Early termination clauseNo early termination fee. Month to month; when you leave you pay the rest of the current billing period, and fees are non-refundable.Source: FreshBooks (2NDSITE Inc.) (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise pricesFreshBooks may change subscription fees with at least 30 days' notice; a change never applies to the billing period in which it happens, and continuing to use the service means you accept it (Terms of Service).Source: FreshBooks (2NDSITE Inc.) (opens in a new tab)
Your records when you leaveLimited or lost access after you leaveSource: FreshBooks (2NDSITE Inc.) (opens in a new tab)Export your records before you close the account. A deactivated account can be deleted after 30 days, and FreshBooks may charge to store a deactivated account's data.
Support
Data pointValue
Live supportPhoneSource: FreshBooks Support (opens in a new tab)Phone or an email ticket, offered by the FreshBot chatbot depending on time, region and plan; no live chat with a person. Select adds dedicated phone support.
Live support hours a weekUnconfirmedSource: FreshBooks Support (opens in a new tab)FreshBooks does not publish its support hours; we looked on its contact-support article and pricing page. Only the FreshBot chatbot and help center are 24/7.
Language
Data pointValue
Software in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)FreshBooks documents Spanish for the documents your clients receive, not for its own screens; we looked on its languages page and help center.
Invoices in SpanishYesSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Spanish and Spanish (Latin America) are on the language list (page updated February 2022, still live).
Support in SpanishSays it serves you in SpanishSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)Said on a February 2022 page; the current contact-support article does not mention languages.
Website in Spanish for the USNoSource: FreshBooks (opens in a new tab)The site's country menu offers the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in English; there is no Spanish site.

More about FreshBooks

How we score