Quite a few posts ago and after a “Long Day of Web Development” I mentioned that I was going to begin experimenting with a few online productivity tools. I have many reasons for doing so but simply put, the idea of having certain business applications easily accessible online and from any computer could prove to be advantageous to my profession. That said I would first like to review my experiences with Freshbooks up to this point.

What is Freshbooks:

FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional - Fortune 500 professional.

In a nutshell, Freshbooks allows you to create customer profiles, send them a project estimate, track time, list job specific expenses, invoice your client, accept payments online and generate reports. I am still working through the application, as I have not yet had time to really dive into it and get acquainted but I will say that I just recently sent my first invoice and it was a breeze. I easily created a new client much in the same way you would with Quickbooks, however in half the time. I then set up a new invoice that organized the charges accordingly, click the button and out it went to arrive in my clients email only a few seconds later. He easily and quickly payed using PayPal as the preferred method and we were all set, ready to move on with our next project. Couldn’t get much easier than that. Currently I am using the “Moped” plan to take it for a free test drive but I can see myself moving up to the “Shuttle Bus” or even the “Limousine” in the near future!

I am still working with the application, testing out it’s various functions and exploring integration with other applications I might use, but overall I am extremely pleased with this application and would highly recommend you check it out. As far as design, work flow, ease of use and the extremely short learning curve; I give it an A+. Thanks Freshbooks, you have a new fan!

Tags: accounting, freelance billiing, Freshbooks