When it comes to accounting software, QuickBooks is the clear winner. It offers a wide range of features that can help small businesses keep track of their finances. From tracking income and expenses to creating invoices and paying bills, QuickBooks has everything you need to manage your books. Intuit QuickBooks is arguably the most well-known and widely used online accounting software. It has helped small businesses for nearly four decades to keep track of their line items and accounts payable. If your business is very project-based and sends a bunch of invoices, or you’re a freelancer, then FreshBooks is a great option.
From centralized dashboards to reports like profit and loss, paid taxes and more, FreshBooks offers several reporting tools. Find out how two of the top accounting software options, FreshBooks and Xero, compare in features, pricing and ease-of-use. We’ll break down the details to help you decide which is the best fit for you. You can do a lot with QuickBooks Online, but all the options may feel like information overload starting out.
And unlike FreshBooks, it includes double-entry accounting reports (like a general ledger and chart of accounts) in all plans. While FreshBooks has a live chat option for sales inquiries, you have to send an email or request a phone call for customer support. ET, so if you’re having a late-night issue trying to sort out an invoice, you’ll have to wait until morning for in-person help.
- Plus you can effortlessly manage your books and run your business using FreshBooks’ intuitive platform.
- It also includes a hub to view all projects, making the correct labor costs, payroll, and expenses for each easy to manage.
- The software’s bill management tools are detailed, giving you the ability to access all of your bills online in one place, make batch payments and schedule them in advance.
Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks are popular accounting software programs because they meet the needs of a wide range of clients. Let’s dive into the specifics of the two to see where each software shines. Both QuickBooks and Xero excel at helping small businesses keep track of financial details.
Should your organization use Quickbooks or Xero?
For example, integrating with NiceJob can automate FreshBooks to solicit and capture reviews and referrals from your existing client base. Everything starts from the dashboards of FreshBooks and QuickBooks. FreshBooks keeps the dashboard clean with limited https://lamdatrade.pro/ summaries so that you aren’t overwhelmed with the data, whereas QuickBooks gives you the option of seeing everything from the onset. Finally, when it comes to tax time, Xero may make it a little easier to file because it already has Avalara integrated.
- Xero can’t yet bill for hours worked, but since it just rolled out projects, it’s likely it’ll be adding the feature soon.
- QuickBooks has easily earned our highest rating for accounting software.
- Xero offers a full-service payroll upgrade and add-on to take care of it.
- We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the best accounting software of 2023.
- It has all the functionality you need to manage transactions, calculate payments and track projects at an affordable entry point.
Companies with efficient customer support provide technical support, product training, an extensive knowledge base and help users troubleshoot and resolve issues in the shortest possible time. Both QuickBooks and Xero support inventory management (Figure A). Quickbooks also offers a simple way to send invoices and receive payment, however this accounting software allows for much more customization compared to Freshbooks. the holiday season A small company may find that FreshBooks offers more than they will ever need and is straightforward, accessible and provides a wide range of automations and reports. Xero offers BI, reports and visualizations via different hubs, dashboards and features. They can also track projects, manage contacts, use the Xero Hubdoc and file storage hub, or through reporting, inventory, sales and other features.
You can set the follow-up times and customize them by customer, too. If someone says they don’t want to be bothered until they’re 30 days past due, you can change their settings without affecting other customers. When it comes to making online payments easy for you and your clients and comparing QuickBooks vs FreshBooks it’s easy to see why people choose FreshBooks. Unlike QuickBooks, you don’t need an accounting degree to use FreshBooks.
Additionally, clients can acquire add-ons, such as Advanced Payments for $20 per month or Gusto Payroll. Both Xero and QuickBooks Online have their own versions of transaction tracking tags, but QuickBooks Online is the winner in this arena. Xero lets users create two active tracking categories, while QuickBooks Online allows users to create 40 in the Simple Start, Essentials and Plus plans. QuickBooks Online’s Advanced plan allows for unlimited tag groups.
Payroll Processing
Alternatively, QuickBooks includes accountant access in all plans. And thanks to the software’s popularity, most accountants should be familiar with it. Wave Accounting is a free accounting solution for very small service-based businesses, contractors, freelancers and consultants.
Her work has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Salon, The Washington Post and several other publications even more illustrious, though she feels right at home at Cloudwards.net. If there are a lot of fixed assets on your balance sheet, you might want to look closer at Xero. Its built-in fixed assets module calculates depreciation and books the journal entries for disposals. When you’re starting out, you can upload your fixed assets from a spreadsheet. Xero has a help section, and step-by-step instructions with videos and tutorials, but there isn’t much help in the software, forcing you to exit and go to a different screen for help. FreshBooks integrates its payment processing, but you’ll have to pay transaction fees of 2.9 percent of the total amount plus 30 cents per transaction.
Of all the accounting software we’ve tested, FreshBooks and Xero have two of the cleanest and easiest to follow interfaces. Nothing has an odd or confusing name and the menu options are clearly labeled and intuitive. Growing, Xero’s mid-tier plan, removes restrictions on the number of transactions you can process, but doesn’t add new features. Because it more than doubles in price, to $30, we prefer FreshBooks. Bills in Xero can be paid by check or bill.com, neither of which is as convenient as paying from a bank account or credit card in the software.
Integrations: FreshBooks vs. Xero
With Xero inventory management (Figure B), users can track up to 4,000 finished items, inventory levels, set reorder points and monitor stock on hand. Although Xero’s inventory management isn’t as robust as that of QuickBooks, it’s still a powerful tool for managing business inventory. Xero also includes a plethora of payment options including online payments, credit cards, and direct debit payments.
Features and Capabilities
Since FreshBooks is mainly software for freelancers who often don’t follow traditional working schedules, this could be a drawback, especially if you’re working in a remote time zone. Both FreshBooks and Xero allow you to track business performance https://capitalprof.team/ using your dashboard, and generate and download financial reports. But Xero’s reporting is more robust thanks to its detailed accounting features. All FreshBooks plans, except for the highest-tier custom plan, come with one user.
The monthly fee of $50 a month covers that, plus all the features available at cheaper price points. FreshBooks gives you a snapshot of bills due in its “expense report” under “reports” and on the main “expenses” screen. That said, bills due aren’t as clearly presented on its main dashboard as they are in Xero. Neither blows us away, though, so we recommend that you check out our Sage Business Accounting review if expensing is a priority.
In need of professional bookkeeping services?
You can have invoices automatically generated and sent, expenses automatically tracked, and even have your payments automatically recorded, all without you lifting a finger. Picking the best accounting software for your small business can help improve your accounting workflow, ensure accuracy in your financial reports and reduce costly bookkeeping errors. By working with a cloud-based platform that can handle your invoicing, accounts receivable and reports, financial departments can focus on long-term goals. Do you make more than 150K a year or have more than 500 clients?