Accounting · Invoicing-First Accounting
FreshBooks Review
Invoicing-first accounting for solo and small service businesses
Quick verdict
Who FreshBooks fits: Solo and small service contractors (handymen, cleaners, painters, small crews) who bill a limited number of clients and want simple quoting, invoicing and online payment. Trade-offs: Billable-client caps on Lite (5) and Plus (50); $11/mo per extra team member; no accountant access or double-entry reports on Lite; inventory not in the plan list; confirm your field-service tool syncs with FreshBooks.
Pricing
Lite $23/mo (up to 5 billable clients), Plus $43/mo (up to 50 billable clients), Premium $70/mo (unlimited billable clients), Select custom-priced (contact sales; includes 2 team member accounts and Advanced Payments). These are the regular monthly USD rates; FreshBooks advertises an extra 10% off for yearly billing. Additional team members are $11/mo per user on every plan. Promotions: on September 30, 2026 FreshBooks offered Lite at $1/mo for the first year or 80% off Plus or Premium for 3 months, with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a 30-day free trial with no credit card. Add-ons: Advanced Payments $20/mo; Payroll $40/mo plus $6 per employee.
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About FreshBooks
FreshBooks is cloud accounting built around invoicing and getting paid, aimed at solo operators and small service businesses. It was founded in 2003 by Mike McDerment and is headquartered in Toronto, and FreshBooks says more than 500,000 small businesses have used it. The software covers estimates and proposals, one-off and recurring invoices with automatic reminders and late fees, time and mileage tracking, expenses, client retainers and project profitability, with double-entry accounting reports and accountant access from the Plus plan up.
Pricing is set by how many clients you bill: Lite ($23/mo) covers up to 5 billable clients, Plus ($43/mo) up to 50, and Premium ($70/mo) unlimited, at regular monthly rates; Select is custom-priced. Yearly billing takes an extra 10% off, and FreshBooks runs frequent introductory promotions. Each additional team member is $11/mo.
Clients can pay invoices by card (2.9% + $0.30), ACH bank transfer (1%), Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Affirm buy-now-pay-later, and you can request deposits on estimates; FreshBooks Payments is powered by Stripe. FreshBooks Payroll, run with Gusto, costs $40/mo plus $6 per employee.
The trade-off: FreshBooks keeps quoting, billing and getting paid simple, but the client caps on Lite and Plus, the $11/mo per extra team member, and the lack of accountant access and double-entry reports on Lite add up for a growing shop. Its plan comparison does not list inventory tracking, so contractors who stock materials, or whose field-service tool syncs only with QuickBooks Online or Xero, should compare those first.
How it works
FreshBooks centers on the quote-to-paid workflow: you send estimates and proposals (with deposits if you want them), turn them into branded one-off or recurring invoices, track time, mileage and expenses against clients and projects, and collect card, ACH, digital-wallet, PayPal or Affirm payments against those invoices, with automatic reminders and late fees. Reports cover the bookkeeping side, with double-entry accounting reports and accountant access on Plus and up. You pick a plan by the number of clients you bill (Lite up to 5, Plus up to 50, Premium unlimited) and add team members at $11/mo each. A 30-day free trial needs no credit card.
Pros & cons
What works
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Built around invoicing
Estimates, proposals, one-off and recurring invoices, automatic reminders and online payment are the core of the product.
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Many ways for clients to pay
Cards (2.9% + $0.30), ACH bank transfer (1%), Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Affirm buy-now-pay-later, with FreshBooks Payments powered by Stripe and deposits available on estimates.
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Time, mileage and project tracking
Unlimited time tracking, mobile mileage tracking, client retainers and project profitability are built in, so a small crew can quote, track and bill in one tool.
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Low entry price and free trial
Lite lists at $23/mo (less with yearly billing or a promotion), and a 30-day free trial needs no credit card.
What doesn't
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Client limits on lower tiers
Lite caps you at 5 billable clients and Plus at 50, so a trades shop with many one-off customers can be pushed to Premium ($70/mo) quickly.
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Per-user fees for the team
Each additional team member costs $11/mo on every plan (Select includes 2), while Xero charges no per-user license fees.
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Lite lacks accountant access
Double-entry accounting reports and accountant access start at Plus ($43/mo), so the cheapest plan is not set up for handing your books to a bookkeeper.
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No inventory in the plan list
FreshBooks' plan comparison does not list inventory tracking; contractors who stock materials may need QuickBooks Online Plus or another tool.
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Check your field-service sync
Before committing, confirm that your field-service tool offers a FreshBooks sync; Jobber, for example, documents QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations.
Features & integrations
Key features
Integrations
Frequently asked
How much does FreshBooks cost?
Lite is $23/mo (up to 5 billable clients), Plus $43/mo (up to 50), Premium $70/mo (unlimited) and Select is custom-priced. Those are the regular monthly rates; yearly billing takes an extra 10% off, and on September 30, 2026 FreshBooks was also running introductory promotions. Additional team members cost $11/mo each, Advanced Payments is $20/mo and Payroll is $40/mo plus $6 per employee.
Is FreshBooks real accounting or just invoicing?
It is accounting built around invoicing. FreshBooks handles estimates, invoices, payments, time, mileage and expenses, and its Plus, Premium and Select plans add double-entry accounting reports and accountant access. Its plan comparison does not list inventory tracking, so shops that stock materials may prefer QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Who should use FreshBooks instead of QuickBooks?
Solo operators and small service businesses (handymen, cleaners, painters, small crews) who bill a limited number of clients and want simple quoting, invoicing and online payment. If you need inventory, job costing across many projects, many users, or your field-service tool syncs only with QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online is the more natural fit.
What are FreshBooks' client limits?
Lite supports up to 5 billable clients and Plus up to 50; Premium and Select are unlimited. If you bill more clients than your plan allows, you need to move up a plan, which matters for trades businesses with many one-off customers.
Does FreshBooks integrate with my field-service software?
It depends on the tool. FreshBooks connects to apps through its App Store and runs payments through Stripe and payroll with Gusto, but field-service syncs vary. Jobber, for example, documents QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations, so confirm your own software supports FreshBooks before committing.
Other accounting software
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud accounting, from a free plan to Advanced, with job costing and inventory from the Plus plan up
Xero
Cloud accounting with no per-user license fees and three simple US plans
Wave
Free accounting and invoicing for very small and new businesses
QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise
QuickBooks' Windows desktop accounting for larger contractors, with a Construction & Contractors edition
Sage 50
Sage 50: installed accounting software with job, phase and cost code tracking, inventory and purchase orders
Zoho Books
Low-cost online accounting with a free plan for small revenue and job profitability from the Professional plan