Is accounting giving you headaches?
Are you tired of wading through endless spreadsheets and mountains of receipts?
Choosing between accounting software like Expensify and FreshBooks can feel overwhelming.
We’re here to help you figure out if Expensify vs FreshBooks is the right choice for your business.
Overview
We’ve put both Expensify and FreshBooks through their paces.
Testing features like expense tracking, invoicing, reporting, and ease of use.
This hands-on comparison will help you see how each product stacks up.
Join over 15 million users who trust Expensify to simplify their finances. Save up to 83% on time spent on expense reports.
Pricing: It has a free trial. The premium plan starts at $5/month.
Key Features:
- SmartScan Receipt Capture
- Corporate Card Reconciliation
- Advanced Approval Workflows.
Ready to simplify your invoicing and get paid faster? Over 30 million people have used FreshBooks. Explore it for more!
Pricing: It has a free trial. Paid plan starts at $2.10/month.
Key Features:
- Time Tracking
- Invoicing
- Bookkeeping
What is Expensify?
Expensify is like having a super-smart assistant for your expenses.
You know how annoying it is to keep track of every little receipt?
Think of it as a central hub for all things money-related for your team.
Also, explore our favorite Expensify alternatives…
Key Benefits
- SmartScan technology scans receipt details and extracts them with over 95% accuracy.
- Employees get reimbursed quickly, often in as little as one business day via ACH.
- The Expensify Card can save you up to 50% on your subscription with its cash back program.
- No warranty is offered; their terms state that liabilities are limited.
Pricing
- Collect: $5/month.
- Control: Custom Pricing.
Pros
Cons
What is FreshBooks?
FreshBooks is all about making invoicing and getting paid super easy.
It’s built for small business owners, freelancers, and self-employed folks.
Imagine spending less time on paperwork and more time on your actual work.
Also, explore our favorite Freshbooks alternatives…
Our Take
Tired of complex accounting? 30 million+ businesses trust FreshBooks to create professional invoices. Simplify your accounting software today!
Key Benefits
- Professional invoice creation
- Automated payment reminders
- Time tracking
- Project management tools
- Expense tracking
Pricing
- Lite: $2.10/month.
- Plus: $3.80/month.
- Premium: $6.50/month.
- Select: Custom Pricing.
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Choosing the best accounting software is a challenge for small business owners.
This comparison utilizes Expensify reviews and FreshBooks reviews to highlight the different strengths of a specialized expense tracking system versus a comprehensive invoicing and accounting software solutions platform.
1. Core Focus and User Base
- Expensify is a dynamic expense management solution designed to streamline the expense management process. It allows employers to simplify spending organization and quickly reimburse employees and contractors. Its core value is in automating the money out workflow.
- FreshBooks is designed for self employed professionals and service-based small business owners. Its focus is primarily on invoicing, time tracking, and project management. It aims to provide the full picture of business finances in a user-friendly way.
2. Expense Capture and Automation
- Expensify makes expense capture its key feature. The Expensify mobile app allows the user to take a photo of a receipt, and the data is automatically extracted in a few seconds. This capture feature eliminates manual data entry and reduces costs.
- FreshBooks also has good expense tracking via its freshbooks mobile app for ios & android devices. The user can capture receipts and log expenses, which are then stored in the cloud, but the focus is less on real time approval workflows and more on year-end tax time organization.
3. Invoicing and Payments
- FreshBooks excels at invoicing features. Users can create professional invoices, manage recurring invoices and recurring billing, and accept payments instantly via FreshBooks Payments, bank transfers, ach payments, and a virtual terminal for advanced payments.
- Expensify offers basic invoicing features, but sending invoices is not its strength. Its focus is on the “money out” side, using the Expensify Card to manage costs and immediately track corporate transactions.
4. Expense Report and Approval Workflow
- Expensify is built for high-volume expense reports. It facilitates a clear approval process where the manager can review requests and approve them, with details recorded instantly. It provides real time visibility for employers to monitor team spending.
- FreshBooks can generate expense reports for the user, but its main workflow centers on converting expenses and billable time (time tracking) into invoices for customers. The approval process is simpler and less structured than Expensify’s.
5. Time and Project Management
- FreshBooks integrates robust time tracking and project management into its core. The system allows users to log billable time directly against customers and only the projects, and includes project profitability tracking in its premium plan.
- Expensify is built for the expense management process of a trip or event and is less focused on long-term projects. While it can log mileage and track distance, it is not an end-to-end project management tool.
6. Pricing and Plans
- FreshBooks pricing plans (Lite plan, Plus plan, Premium plan, Select plan for custom pricing) are subscription-based per month and limit the number of billable clients in the lower tiers. The cost increases to add an additional user or team members.
- Expensify pricing plans are highly flexible, often free for individuals, with corporate plans starting at a low flat fee per month per user using the Expensify Card. The cost is usage-based and scalable for companies of any size.
7. Integrations and Ecosystem
- FreshBooks offers seamless integration with other accounting software solutions like QuickBooks Online, and its own freshbooks platform has built-in features that reduce the need for other accounting software.
- Expensify’s primary connection ability is to export high-quality data to accounting systems. This makes it a great complimentary tool for QuickBooks users who need automated, granular expense organization with tags and categories.
8. Security and Support
- FreshBooks has strong security and customer support, offering phone and email support for its users. The freshbooks faqs section provides excellent self-service support for common inquiries, which recommend freshbooks.
- Expensify provides powerful security controls, including custom expense rules. The user is sometimes blocked if an unusual action is performed on the page to protect the system, but support is available 24/7 in real time chat to resolve these issues.
9. Accounting Depth
- FreshBooks features double entry accounting (in the Plus plan and up), bank reconciliation, and detailed accounting reports to give business owners a clear view of their finance. It also manages unreconciled transactions and accounts payable.
- Expensify’s ability is to quickly code transactions to the correct categories and prepare them for tax filing. It is focused on expense reports and does not offer the full double entry accounting or general ledger found in FreshBooks.
What to Look for in an Accounting Software?
- Your Business Size: Are you a freelancer, small business, or growing team? Different software suits different scales.
- Core Needs: Do you need strong invoicing, expense tracking, or both? Prioritize your main requirements.
- Ease of Use: How quickly can you and your team learn and use the system?
- Mobile Access: Can you manage tasks on the go with a good mobile app?
- Integration with Existing Tools: Will it connect with your bank, payment processors, or other software?
- Scalability: Can the software grow with your business?
- Reporting Capabilities: Does it provide the financial insights you need?
- Security: How does the software protect your financial data?
Final Verdict
So, Expensify vs FreshBooks, which one wins? It truly depends on your main needs.
If you’re a freelancer or small business sending many invoices, FreshBooks is likely your champion.
It’s incredibly easy for billing and client payments.
But if managing expenses for a team with corporate cards is your biggest pain point.
Expensify is the clear winner.
Its SmartScan and automated reports are top-notch.
We’ve thoroughly tested these tools so that you can trust our advice.
Pick the one that solves your biggest money challenge!
More of Expensify
- Expensify vs Puzzle: This software focuses on AI-powered financial planning for startups. Its counterpart is for personal finance.
- Expensify vs Dext: This is a business tool for capturing receipts and invoices. The other tool tracks personal expenses.
- Expensify vs Xero: This is popular online accounting software for small businesses. Its competitor is for personal use.
- Expensify vs Synder: This tool syncs e-commerce data with accounting software. Its alternative focuses on personal finance.
- Expensify vs Easy Month End: This is a business tool to streamline month-end tasks. Its competitor is for managing personal finances.
- Expensify vs Docyt: This uses AI for business bookkeeping and automation. The other uses AI as a personal finance assistant.
- Expensify vs Sage: This is a comprehensive business accounting suite. Its competitor is an easier-to-use tool for personal finance.
- Expensify vs Zoho Books: This is an online accounting tool for small businesses. Its competitor is for personal use.
- Expensify vs Wave: This provides free accounting software for small businesses. Its counterpart is designed for individuals.
- Expensify vs Hubdoc: This specializes in document capture for bookkeeping. Its competitor is a personal finance tool.
- Expensify vs QuickBooks: This is well-known accounting software for businesses. Its alternative is built for personal finance.
- Expensify vs AutoEntry: This is designed to automate data entry for business accounting. Its alternative is a personal finance tool.
- Expensify vs FreshBooks: This is accounting software for freelancers and small businesses. Its alternative is for personal finance.
- Expensify vs NetSuite: This is a powerful business management suite for large companies. Its competitor is a simple personal finance app.
More of FreshBooks
- FreshBooks vs Puzzle IO: This software focuses on AI-powered financial planning for startups. Its counterpart is for personal finance.
- FreshBooks vs Dext: This is a business tool for capturing receipts and invoices. The other tool tracks personal expenses.
- FreshBooks vs Xero: This is popular online accounting software for small businesses. Its competitor is for personal use.
- FreshBooks vs Synder: This tool syncs e-commerce data with accounting software. Its alternative focuses on personal finance.
- FreshBooks vs Easy Month End: This is a business tool to streamline month-end tasks. Its competitor is for managing personal finances.
- FreshBooks vs Docyt: This uses AI for business bookkeeping and automation. The other uses AI as a personal finance assistant.
- FreshBooks vs Sage: This is a comprehensive business accounting suite. Its competitor is an easier-to-use tool for personal finance.
- FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: This is an online accounting tool for small businesses. Its competitor is for personal use.
- FreshBooks vs Wave: This provides free accounting software for small businesses. Its counterpart is designed for individuals.
- FreshBooks vs Quicken: Both are personal finance tools, but this one offers more in-depth investment tracking. The other is simpler.
- FreshBooks vs Hubdoc: This specializes in document capture for bookkeeping. Its competitor is a personal finance tool.
- FreshBooks vs Expensify: This is a business expense management tool. The other is for personal expense tracking and budgeting.
- FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: This is well-known accounting software for businesses. Its alternative is built for personal finance.
- FreshBooks vs AutoEntry: This is designed to automate data entry for business accounting. Its alternative is a personal finance tool.
- FreshBooks vs NetSuite: This is a powerful business management suite for large companies. Its competitor is a simple personal finance app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Expensify better for small businesses or large companies?
Expensify is great for both. Its advanced features, like SmartScan and corporate card reconciliation, benefit larger teams, but its basic plans are also suitable for small businesses and freelancers managing expenses.
Can FreshBooks handle payroll for my employees?
FreshBooks doesn’t have built-in payroll. You’ll need to integrate with a third-party payroll service to manage employee salaries and deductions.
Is it possible to switch from Expensify to FreshBooks easily?
Switching between accounting software can involve exporting and importing data. Both platforms allow data export, but ensure you plan carefully to avoid losing information during the transition.
Which software offers better financial reporting for tax season?
FreshBooks provides standard financial reports like Profit & Loss, useful for basic tax preparation. Expensify’s reports focus more on expense management and reimbursements, which can also aid in tax deductions.
Do both Expensify vs FreshBooks offer free trials?
Yes, both Expensify and FreshBooks typically offer free trial periods. This allows you to test out their features and see which one better fits your business needs before committing to a paid plan.
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