Business Invoicing Software

For billing clients and tracking expenses

This is my review of top business invoicing software FreshBooks.

what is freshBooks?

FreshBooks is secure, online software with powerful but simple billing features that can be used world-wide. 

It was developed about 20 years ago by a businessman looking for a smarter way to invoice customers after he accidentally wrote-over a customer invoice in his spread sheeting software.

More than 30 million people in over 160 countries have used FreshBooks.

The FreshBooks invoice and accounting software is fresh, simple and fast.

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Advantages of Using FreshBooks Business Invoicing Software

• This invoice estimate software enables you to generate income and keep easy bookkeeping records
  
• It avoids you getting bogged down trying to learn complicated accounting stuff
  
• You can focus on serving and charging your customers
  
• You can keep easy track of all your expenses and customer payments
  
• All your data is online so you can access it from anywhere
  
• Use FreshBooks on the go with their mobile app.

the best feature of this business invoicing software

FreshBooks is perfect for helping you with customer billing and sales invoice tracking, after all this is where your income and survival is at!

It makes it so easy for you to prepare sales invoices and stay on top of customer payments, which frees up your time so you can stay on top of your work and keep your clients happy.

Plus, there are a variety of customer payment options, helping you to get paid faster.

who is freshBooks for?

FreshBooks business invoicing software is best for:- 

1. freelancers who want to stay organized and connected to clients
2. self-employed professionals to help you know and grow your business
   
3. in service based industries
   
4. who want to control their invoicing procedures, and
   
5. who want quick access to expense reports.

What can you do in freshbooks

Here is a list of most things you can do in this business invoicing software:

1. Estimates

Email to your clients estimates or proposals of work, listing the services you will provide and their cost.

2. Connect your bank

Connect your bank accounts to FreshBooks business invoicing software to automatically import all expenses.

Note: this does not give FreshBooks access to your bank account to make payments or transfer money – all it can do is import expense transactions from the bank statement.

3. track Expenses

• Assign your expenses into categories which are already in the system
  
• The system lets you create new expense categories
  
• At the time of assigning each expense you can tick them as billable if they need to be invoiced to a customer
  
• Edit expenses when required.
  

Screenshot of Expenses Feature

4. Add images of receipts

There is an option within each expense transaction to add an image of the receipt.

Snap a photo of it with your phone or scan it in to your computer, and then drag or find the image file to add.

If it is a PDF it will display the PDF logo or if it is a shop receipt it will display that.

It is easy to delete if you find you have attached the wrong image. 

This feature is great for three reasons:- 

1. You will have proof of purchase for tax purposes
   
2. You’ve got a document backup if there is a dispute with a customer
   
3. If you use an accountant, they will easily be able to check the document (this is handy when, for example, your accountant needs to decide if a purchase should be an asset instead of an expense)
   

FreshBooks Business Invoicing Software : Edit Expenses Screenshot

5. client database

Maintain a database of client details which includes contact information and the current balance owed to you by them.

6. track time working

1. Start a timer
   
2. Assign the client (project, service) to the timer
   
3. Work, work, work and whistle while you work…
   
4. End the timer
   
5. This recorded time will be available to select when you go to bill your client
   

Track Time Working Screenshot

7. Invoice | Bill Your Clients

• Customize your invoice template
  
• Create your invoices and include the time from above, any extra time that wasn’t timed, any expenses you had to pay for on their behalf, and any items that you provided, add sales tax if applicable
  
• Email the invoices to the client
  
• Give them payment options including credit card
  
• Automatically send reminders to the clients to pay their invoices
  
• Automatically add late fees onto overdue invoices
  

8. track invoices

Easily track how much your clients owe you so you can start chasing in the over-due payments.

9. easy payments collection

The reports make it easy for you to see at a glance who still owes you money.

The App integration (more on this below) means you can use something like CollBox to automatically identify overdue payments and pair that debt with the best collection agency – all you must do is approve them – and then get on with your customer service while they collect your money.

10. Invite Employees and contractors

• Give your employees access to your FreshBooks business invoicing software so they can track their time
  
• Give access to an admin person that helps you with the billing
  
• Give access to your contractors to collaborate on projects and send you invoices.
  

11. Access Advanced Reports

• Check how much your clients owe you
  
• View a sales tax summary
  
• Check what invoices are outstanding in payment
  
• Get a full list of all invoices ever sent
  
• View an expense report on all expenses not just customer ones
  
• Track all the time entries that have been made
  
• Get a quick idea of all customer payments that have been collected.
  

Advanced Reports Menu Screenshot

12. connect apps

You can integrate outside Apps into FreshBooks business invoicing software to provide you a more rounded experience like:

• Bench (professional bookkeepers) 
• Gusto Payroll
• Zapier apps
• Stripe (if you haven’t heard of Stripe, it is similar to Paypal) 
• Form Builder 
• CollBox (easy debt collection) 
• Shopify 
• and a whole lot of others.

Check out all the Apps available here. 

13. connect multiple businesses

If you run more than one business, you can connect them to the one Login for easy access, but you will pay a separate fee to FreshBooks business invoicing software for each business.

14. wages information

Wages information can be automatically imported and assigned to an expense categorization using an App integration (like Gusto) so that you have all your expenses in the right place on the Profit and Loss report.

15. Mobile app

There is a mobile App so you can access FreshBooks business invoicing software wherever you are:

• Create your invoices on the go
  
• Immediately capture photos of your client lunch receipts 
  
• Reply to client’s questions from the app when you are out and about 
  
• Know straight away when a client has viewed their invoice (they cannot say “I never got your invoice”!)
  
• Your data syncs with all your devices
  

16. customer support

You can email or phone FreshBooks business invoicing software with your questions, and from my experience they are very fast to reply.

There is a handy little blue circle on every page within FreshBooks providing a fast link to enter a keyword relating to your question to search their database, or you can go to the ‘Need Help’ link on the menu options for other help options like email or phone support.

Menu Options Screenshot

What i love about freshBooks Business Invoicing Software

• I love the display layout and simple navigation through the system 
  
• I love how easy it is to prepare new invoices and quickly see how much is overdue or outstanding (either by invoice number or by client name)
  
• I love that a small business owner can zone in on everything related to clients and not be worried about full accounting practices
  
• I love how easy it is to attach images of receipts to all the expenses in the little photo frame icon within each transaction
  
• I love the quick view expense report which groups them into their assigned categories and gives you a total of each.
  

bank reconciliations and freshbooks

why is a bank reconciliation important?

Wouldn’t it be awful if several months down the track you discover a missing billable expense transaction and now it’s too late to charge the customer and you’ve lost out on income?

Or what about income that has not been included on the P&L and is not declared on your tax return thus meaning you pay less tax; you will pay penalties by the government for not declaring income and paying tax on it. 

Use the reconciliation feature at least once a month.

conclusion on using freshBooks business invoicing software

FreshBooks' main goal is providing easy accounting software for billing clients and tracking expenses.

This is good news if you are a non-accountant, small business owner because you can skip the complicated accounting, but it is there if you want it.

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