FreshBooks Seedling

Pros
FreshBook’s most salient, top features include its simple-to-use interface, extensive mobile tools and snail-mail invoicing. Additionally, it is compatible with numerous add-on products that can greatly expand what you can do with the software.

Cons
Freshbooks is not equipped to manage large volumes of inventory, nor can it manage complex vendor and purchase-order situations.

The Verdict:

 9.45/10

If you do not need to manage complex inventory situations, FreshBooks can easily help you invoice time, expenses and services. In addition, it supports several payment processors so you are not locked into just one processing service.

FreshBooks is liberating. Using this online accounting service, you can expect to free up hours of your work time per week – plus, you will be able to track time and create invoices away from your desk using your mobile device. FreshBooks has received several awards for its exceptional customer service and it supports numerous payment gateways, including PayPal, iTransact and Authorize.Net. We applaud its streamlined interface and innovative, free features, including client portals, and award this popular online accounting solution our Top Ten Reviews Gold Award.
Keeping books as a freelancer or creative consultant does not have to be difficult. With FreshBooks, you can create a branded invoice within minutes, convert an estimate into an invoice with two clicks and potentially get paid twice as fast by accepting payments online. You do not have to be tied to your office, either. FreshBooks provides free iOS and Android apps that can create invoices, track time and expenses, and manage timesheets anywhere.
The introductory paid account, called Seedling, is most suitable for those who do not need to manage a lot of clients, since it is limited to managing 25 clients and supports one user. The Evergreen account supports unlimited clients and five users. The Mighty Oak account supports unlimited clients, and additional users are $10 each per month. The Mighty Oak version is the one you need to subscribe to manage project managers, team timesheets and team expense reporting. FreshBooks does offer free online client portals where clients can view their invoices and balances. Mobile apps for the iPad and iPhone are also free to subscribers. A Blackberry app is available via a third-party provider.

 

5 Top Picks for Small Business Cloud-Based Accounting

A small business doesn't need expensive software to manage a general ledger and basic business accounting tasks. Here's a look at five reasonably priced cloud services.

 FreshBooks: Guided Help Boxes Make Small Business Accounting Easy

FreshBooks is a simple cloud accounting application designed to help small business owners to get organized and get paid. Since it's a hosted accounting service, you can access your business data everywhere—on a mobile device or desktop computer—and your data is secure and backed up for you.
FreshBooks features options for online payments, expense tracking, time-tracking and accounting reports and taxes. Highlights include customizing invoices, sending late payment reminders, automatic and recurring-expense tracking, managing different rates for multiple projects and profit/loss reports.
Small business owners will appreciate FreshBooks' guided step-by-step wizard and help boxes that appear each time you perform a new task, such as create a new invoice or add a new client to your records. As you familiarize yourself with FreshBooks, you can turn these helpful tips off.

QuickBooks Online Simple Start: A Good Value for Small Businesses

Today, QuickBooks is synonymous with small business accounting. While a number of standalone and hosted versions are available, QuickBooks Online Simple Start is a good value for small office accounting needs.
The online version is $12.95 per month and includes a 30-day free trial. This software makes it easy to create invoices, track sales and expenses, download banking transactions and access business data on any mobile device. Other handy features in Online Simple Start include check printing and exporting data to Microsoft Excel.

Kashoo: Professional Invoices, Simple Dashboards

Kashoo is another cloud accounting service worth a look. It's a simple accounting app for small businesses offering anytime access from an iPad or Web browser.
Features for the small business include connecting to online bank accounts and credit cards, professional invoices, simple dashboards and options to categorize income and expenses specifically for tax reporting. In addition, you can easily share your business data with your accountant online. Finally, Kashoo boasts secure, double-entry accounting for bank reconciliation and financial statements.
Kashoo is priced at $16 per month. A free version is available; however, users are limited to 20 transactions each month.

Outright: Online Accounting for Ecommerce Businesses

Outright is an easy-to-use cloud accounting system that lets small business ecommerce owners organize and keep track of sales and finances in one place. At a glance, you can see where money is going, view profit/loss statements and see who your customers are.
You can link existing accounts such as banks, credit cards, Paypal, eBay, your own Web store or FreshBooks to Outright, and you can import your existing transaction history. From then on, Outright downloads your new data each day. Another useful feature: Outright organizes all of your data into IRS-approved tax categories, potentially lowering the workload and headache level at tax time.

Xero: Share Your Business Numbers Online

With Xero online accounting, you can share access to the latest numbers and check cash flow in real-time. Once loaded, Xero offers a dashboard to quickly view your bank balances, invoices, bills and expense claims. There's also an interactive graph to show money going in and out; you can also monitor specific data accounts from the dashboard.
One standout feature in Xero is the capability to collaborate online so small business employees can work as a team on financials. You can share your data and collaborate with your accountant and bookkeeper to get the advice you need. Xero lets you invite an unlimited number of people for free; you control what each person can see.
The invoicing system lets you customize invoices and connect with your customers through online invoicing. There are also options to create repeating invoices and schedule bill payments, and all payments, returns and credits are tracked automatically.
Pricing for Xero starts at $19 per month. Mobile apps for Apple, Android and Blackberry are available. Third-party add-ons can expand Xero functionality by incorporating CRM, inventory management, invoicing, job systems and other specialized business tasks.