Quickbooks Vs. Freshbooks

Many people are looking for the right accounting tool for their needs. While there are many options from which to choose, two of the most popular options are QuickBooks and Freshbooks.  This article will compare Quickbooks Vs. Freshbooks.

The two options do contain many of the same features, so many think they are the same.  Take, for example, FreshBooks.  Freshbooks is a tool designed to track invoices for small businesses and those who work as freelancers. 

On the other hand, QuickBooks provides actual accounting software that can be used by businesses of all sizes. At the same time, these two systems are not mutually exclusive. 

For example, the two options do offer features that overlap in significant areas, making it even harder for people to find the right tool. 

Therefore, it is a good idea to take the time to compare the two platforms. It is also helpful to reach out to other people who have used the two platforms to see what they thought about their experience.

 Now, it is time to dive deeper into comparing QuickBooks and Freshbooks against each other.  There are a few areas that are particularly important for anyone looking at these two software platforms.

The Area of Timekeeping

First, it is a good idea to pause and look at these two platforms’ ability to keep time. 

Freshbooks offers people the ability to track time as part of the base software package. 

This time tracking tool is helpful for businesses that need to track billable hours for their employees next to their business expenses. 

Freshbooks displays all of this information right on the dashboard.

The dashboard allows leaders to project all of these hours on the screen, comparing the hours of employees and tracking their time correctly. 

If there is an outlier, Freshbooks makes this readily apparent, and they can take action to figure out what is going on. Furthermore, depending on the team’s size, people might want to take this information and export it to their accounting system.  This strategy allows Freshbooks to work in concert with other software platforms.

When it comes to QuickBooks, this platform offers an additional add-on feature that helps businesses track their payroll for both full and part-time employees.  Without this feature, payroll must be added as an expense, then billed by categorizing the service time that employees provide as a sort of product.

While this is not the most efficient way to track employees’ time, it is how QuickBooks does it. Therefore, QuickBooks users might need to find a payroll or time clock software to make this process more efficient.  This manual entry is one of the downsides of QuickBooks.

While both platforms offer the opportunity to track the amount of time that employees spend, they do so in different ways. 

It is essential to consider this factor when looking for the right software option.

The Process of Invoicing

Another vital area when it comes to these software platforms involves invoicing. 

QuickBooks is one option for those who are looking to track outside time. There is an invoice builder within QuickBooks itself, and it contains a lot of customizable features.

For example, users will have the ability to completely control their invoices’ design and layout before they get sent to clients. 

Users can even add a ‘click to pay’ button on the invoice to make it easier for clients to make a payment.  It is even possible to use QuickBooks to set reminders and recurring payments right from the platform itself.  In this manner, QuickBooks makes the process of sending invoices much easier. 

Freshbooks also has a customizable design for its invoices.  It also adds a click-to-pay button, making the process much more comfortable.  The invoices pull data right from the tool on Freshbooks that is used to track time.  The only thing people have to do is mark the hours they spend as billable.

These are helpful automation that can make the process easier. It is even possible to build recurring invoices, helping to make the process of building invoices much more efficient.

Here we have another way that Freshbooks makes the process easier. When it comes to invoices, the two platforms are similar. Both have the option to build a click-to-pay button right into the documents.  Both platforms have customizable options when it comes to invoices. Both platforms can use reminders. Therefore, when it comes to invoices, the two platforms are similar.

The Ability to Track Inventory and Expenses

Next, it is important to take a closer look at these platforms’ ability to track inventory and expenses.  QuickBooks has the option to track inventory as part of its accounting software. 

What this means is that users can track the payments they make to suppliers. Then, they can compare this to the amount of inventory they have on hand. 

This payment tracker makes it easier for users to build future orders for more supplies based on their current inventory on hand. 

This feature makes it easier for small and medium businesses to handle accounting procedures that would otherwise be a bit complicated. On the other hand, Freshbooks does not include any features for inventory tracking.  Therefore, this is one of the areas in which QuickBooks has the upper hand. 

Those who need to track inventory are better off going with QuickBooks. On the flip side of inventory is expense tracking. Everyone needs to find software that will help track expenses.  QuickBooks is one option for doing this, as QuickBooks supports both credits and debits. 

This option helps people look for ways to track their profit every step of the way. The user must complete this process manually. 

The accountant will have to enter this information into the software, as QuickBooks shows line items.

It does not show individual breakdowns and nuances that people might be looking for; however, QuickBooks does provide the option for people to track their expenses and calculate their profits. Freshbooks handles invoices and payments. Users looking for ways to track their expenses might have to purchase or connect another set of accounting software. 

With this in mind, Freshbooks does offer some features when it comes to tracking expenses. Some of these examples include the tracking of receipts, projecting future time, and even tracking sales tax. 

Freshbooks does provide some helpful ways for people to track their expenses; however, it is not complete.  Therefore, Freshbooks does not compare to the ability of QuickBooks when it comes to inventory and expenses. 

The two platforms do different things. People should keep in mind when it comes to deciding between the two options for accounting software.

Accounting

Of course, both platforms handle accounting to some extent; however, they do different things again. 

Let’s take a closer look at the two platforms. 

Freshbooks doesn’t provide accounting in the form of fully automated balance sheets; however, it is possible to use Freshbooks to create new balance sheets. 

People can put in some work, customize their balance sheets, and go from there; however, this can be time-consuming depending on exactly how many people and clients the company has. 

If many projects are going at any given time, this can make it harder to come up with a balance sheet for each project.

On the other hand, QuickBooks makes accounting easy. 

QuickBooks even has some advanced features, such as double-entry accounting, that keep the sheet both organized and balanced.

This feature helps companies organize their cash flow. 

Now, it is true that these features can be hard for people to understand unless they are very familiar with technology and accounting; however, this is one of the advantages.

Some people might find that the numerous features associated with QuickBooks can make the software hard for the average person to learn; however, any business with a designated accountant can handle these features with ease. 

Therefore, assigning a professional to use QuickBooks will maximize the features of this program.

Integrations Available

It is also a good idea to take a closer look at these programs’ ability to handle integrations. 

QuickBooks can integrate with more than 400 other programs. These include payment software, CRMs, eCommerce functionalities, the bank, and numerous different software categories. 

Therefore, it should be relatively easy to take QuickBooks and link this to other tools, helping people become more efficient. 

For example, a couple of the tools that QuickBooks can link to include PayPal, and Receipt Bank.  These integrations help people keep their transactions updated daily. Freshbooks also includes a large number of integrations; however, the combinations are different than the ones Quickbooks uses.

Freshbooks focuses its integrations on those that will help small businesses and freelancers.  For example, Freshbooks can connect to Zapier and Moodle, helping small business owners handle HR issues and tax filing tools.  In this manner, Freshbooks is an excellent tool for integrations for anyone who might be a 1099 employee.

In the end, both platforms are great when it comes to integrations. They simply integrate with different ways, so this is something that people need to keep in mind.

Use the Right Platform

Both Freshbooks and QuickBooks are powerful accounting tools that can be incredibly useful to business owners, managers, and accountants.  People simply need to take the time to explore both options and find the right solution for them. Freshbooks is a tool mainly meant for people who run a small business or freelancers. 

QuickBooks is a general accounting tool with a tremendous number of features that can help large businesses as well. 

Therefore, while the two tools are great, they also do two different things. This comparison is essential for anyone looking for an accounting tool that can make their day-to-day operations just a bit easier.