Freshbooks vs QuickBooks

March 19, 2025 | Author: Michael Stromann
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Freshbooks
FreshBooks is an online invoicing software as a service for freelancers, small businesses, agencies, and professionals. The product includes a myriad of other related features, such as time tracking, expense tracking, recurring billing, online payment collection, the ability to mail invoices through the U.S. Post, and support tickets.
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QuickBooks
QuickBooks puts you in control of your finances, your time, your business—and where you work. From setup to support, QuickBooks makes your accounting easy. With simple tools to get you started, free support, and a money-back guarantee, QuickBooks is the effortless choice.

FreshBooks and QuickBooks are both, in essence, attempts by humans to make sense of their financial chaos through the magic of software. They exist in the cloud, which is not actually a cloud, but rather a collection of servers pretending to be a benevolent deity that organizes invoices, tracks expenses and tries to stop businesses from imploding. They both integrate with a variety of payment systems, because money likes to move in mysterious ways and they come with mobile apps, because accountants, too, sometimes like to leave their desks.

FreshBooks, a plucky Canadian creation from 2003, was designed with freelancers and small service-based businesses in mind, meaning it is friendly, intuitive and makes you feel slightly less like you’re drowning in numbers. It excels at time-tracking and project billing, though it took its time catching up with the whole "double-entry accounting" thing. It also has a curious lack of built-in payroll functionality, as if it assumes that freelancers don’t like to pay other people, only themselves.

QuickBooks, on the other hand, was born in 1983 in the United States, which means it has had a lot of time to evolve into something vast, complex and slightly terrifying. It is the sort of software that can run payroll, track inventory and handle multiple business entities, which makes it ideal for those whose financial affairs resemble a hydra. Unlike FreshBooks, it comes in multiple versions, just in case you were wondering whether tax compliance could be made even more labyrinthine. It is powerful, scalable and just a little bit smug about it.

See also: Top 10 Online Accounting software
Author: Michael Stromann
Michael is an expert in IT Service Management, IT Security and software development. With his extensive experience as a software developer and active involvement in multiple ERP implementation projects, Michael brings a wealth of practical knowledge to his writings. Having previously worked at SAP, he has honed his expertise and gained a deep understanding of software development and implementation processes. Currently, as a freelance developer, Michael continues to contribute to the IT community by sharing his insights through guest articles published on several IT portals. You can contact Michael by email [email protected]