5 FreshBooks Alternatives

Alternatives to FreshBooks accounting software

Here are some of our picks for the top alternatives to FreshBooks.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks has over 29 million subscribers and an 80 percent share of the small business accounting software market, and there’s a reason for that. If your main focus is to get your accounting software up and running as quickly as possible, QuickBooks Online is a great option. With its easy setup and opportunities to skip steps in the setup process, QuickBooks Online is perfect for saving time on accounting software.

QuickBooks Online’s features depend on the plan you select. All plans come with tools such as sales tax tracking, invoicing, payment acceptance, estimates and receipt capture. Advanced plans also include business analytics, time tracking and inventory management. If your business works with an accountant, there is also a My Accountant option that allows them to access financial information for your business. The Banking feature provides an overview of each connected bank account and allows users to quickly categorize expenses. 

There are four QuickBooks Online plans, beginning with Simple Start, a single-user plan that costs $30 per month. Next is Essentials, which supports up to three users for $60 per month. For five users, select the Plus plan, which costs $90 per month. Lastly, the Advanced plan costs $200 per month and supports up to 25 users. There is also a separate solution called QuickBooks Self-Employed, designed for freelancers and independent contractors, which starts at $20 per month.

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QuickBooks Online pros and cons

Wave Accounting

If your main focus is free or low-cost software, Wave Accounting is a great alternative to FreshBooks. It’s an especially good option for freelancers. Regardless of how many users you have, this software offers all of the same features as FreshBooks for free. 

Tracking expenses in Wave is a lot easier than with many other accounting applications because it allows you to upload receipts with your phone. Wave also lets you customize your invoices but provides a number of invoice templates if you’d rather skip customization. You also have the option to accept payments directly through your invoice to speed up the payment process. If you’re interested in a personal coach, monthly bookkeeping or tax services, sign up for Wave Plus. 

Wave Accounting charges fees only if you use it to process payments or disburse payroll to your employees. In that case, it costs 2.9 percent plus 60 cents per transaction, or 1 percent for ACH payments on the Starter plan or 2.9 percent on the Pro plan. Self-service payroll costs $20 per month plus $6 per employee per month, and full-service payroll processing starts at $40 per month plus $6 per employee per month. Note that full-service payroll is available only in select states. 

Wave Accounting pros and cons

AccountEdge

If you’re a small business owner who doesn’t want to search for a new app as your business expands, AccountEdge Pro may be a great choice for you. If your business is still very small, you can start with the basic version of the software. As your business grows, you can seamlessly upgrade to Priority ERP, which is designed for large businesses, rather than switch software because you’ve outgrown the application. 

With AccountEdge, you can use the application in the cloud, on your business’s premises or both. This works especially well if you own a small brick-and-mortar location. If you own an e-commerce business, you may enjoy the integrations with Shopify and UPS shipping as well as the customer portal.

AccountEdge offers four plans for on-site use: Pro for $20 per month, Network for $30 per month and Hosted for $40 per month. Priority ERP costs a custom monthly fee. If you want payroll, it’s an extra $20 per month. Support costs an additional $10 per month, and bank feeds are $5 more a month.

AccountEdge pros and cons

Kashoo

If the long-term plan for your business is to remain a sole proprietorship, Kashoo may be a good FreshBooks alternative for your business. With an all-inclusive plan and a flat rate, this software is a great fit for contractors, freelancers and anyone else who runs a solo business. You might also consider Kashoo if you have a very small business, but you may need to select a different option for accounting as your business grows. 

You can use Kashoo to create custom invoices and track your income and expenses without having to connect your bank account. You can also take credit card payments on each invoice. While Kashoo’s integration options are more limited than those of many other accounting applications, this may not be an issue for sole proprietors. 

Kashoo has two plans. The Trulysmall plan is $216 per year, and the more advanced Kashoo plan is $324 yearly, making this software more budget-friendly than its main competitors. 

Kashoo pros and cons

ZipBooks

If your main business focus is to provide consultations, you probably know what it’s like to purchase accounting software and leave most of the features untouched. If that’s your situation, try ZipBooks. While it’s not as popular as other applications, it’s developed with consultants in mind.

ZipBooks has a built-in timer on the dashboard, so it’s easy to keep track of the time you spend on clients’ projects. You can even assign specific timers to different projects and start and stop them as needed. ZipBooks also allows you to create custom quotes and estimates. Other features include unlimited invoices and the option to accept digital payments.

For beginner consultants on a budget, ZipBooks offers a free plan. As your business grows, you can upgrade to the Smarter plan for $15 per month or the Sophisticated plan for $35 per month. ZipBooks offers the Accountant plan for much larger businesses; prices for this plan vary. 

ZipBooks pros and cons

FreshBooks pros and cons

FreshBooks is a popular program, and there are plenty of reasons businesses choose it to handle their accounting. But it’s not for everyone. Here are some pros and cons so you can decide if FreshBooks is a good fit for your business.

Pros of FreshBooks

• Professional invoicing: Unlike some competitors, FreshBooks lets you create and send professional-looking invoices for no additional charge. You can even track the invoice after you send it to the client so you know when they receive and view it — a useful feature for follow-up.
• Ability to track billable time and expenses: In addition to allowing you to track billable time and expenses — a feature that not all competitors offer — FreshBooks lets you effortlessly use this data to create invoices. This feature is especially useful for freelancers, marketing agencies and other professional service companies.
• Easy-to-use platform: The intuitive interface makes it easy for small businesses without a dedicated bookkeeper or accountant to manage their money.
• Affordable plans: For the first six months, the Lite plan is only $7.60 per month, the Plus plan is $13.20 per month and the Premium plan is $24 per month. After that, the prices are $19, $33 and $60 per month, respectively.
• Excellent visibility into payments: FreshBooks syncs with PayPal and Stripe accounts, making it easy for customers to pay and instantly see that payment in the accounting software. It also connects directly to your business’s checking and credit card accounts.
• Ability to set up recurring payments: If you have a membership- or subscription-based business, you can benefit from recurring billing. You can set it up weekly, monthly, annually or at any other frequency. Automatic payment reminders improve collection times, and you can set up automatic interest and late fees on past-due invoices.

Cons of FreshBooks

• No automatic bank reconciliation: Unlike some other accounting software, such as Xero, FreshBooks does not use AI to handle bank statement reconciliation.
• No payroll capabilities: FreshBooks charges extra for payroll capabilities; for pricing, you must call to request a quote.
• Few features in the lowest and middle plans: The lowest plan, Lite, does not include financial and accounting reports — a key feature. Only the highest plans (Premium and Select) allow you to track project profitability.
• No ability to batch invoices: Invoices need to be done individually, which takes more time if you bill multiple clients for the same service at a fixed rate.
• No free plan: Several other alternatives offer free plans that are great for startups, but FreshBooks does not.

No matter the size of your business, you have plenty of accounting software options. The most popular software platforms are well known for a reason, but don’t let their reputations deter you from considering lesser-known applications. One might be the perfect match for your business. 

Jennifer Dublino contributed to this article.