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.
Streamline expenses with Expensify. Join the 10+ million users who’ve automated their reports.
Pricing: It has a free trial. The premium plan starts at $5/month.
Key Features:
- SmartScan receipt capture
- Corporate card reconciliation
- Global reimbursements
Ready to simplify your invoicing and get paid faster? Over 30 million people have used FreshBooks.
Pricing: It has a free trial. Paid plan starts at $10.50/month.
Key Features:
- Invoicing
- Time Tracking
- Expense Tracking
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…
Ready to ditch the paper clutter and simplify your expense tracking in 2025? Expensify users report saving an average of 2 hours per week on expense reports and experience faster reimbursement cycles.
Key Benefits
- SmartScan accurately captures 95% of receipts.
- Automate corporate card reconciliation, saving 10+ hours monthly.
- Streamline approval workflows for faster reimbursements.
- Integrate with over 7,000 accounting software options.
Pricing
- Free: $0
- Collect: $5
- Control: $9
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…
Ready to simplify your invoicing and get paid faster? Over 30 million people have used FreshBooks.
Key Benefits
FreshBooks has some really cool things it does well:
- It makes sending professional-looking invoices super easy. You can even set up automatic payment reminders!
- Keeping track of your time is a breeze with its built-in time tracking tools. This is great if you bill clients by the hour.
- You can easily see how much money you’re making and what you’re spending with its clear reports.
- It lets you work with your team and share information easily.
- FreshBooks can connect with over 100 other apps to make your work smoother.
Pricing
FreshBooks has different plans depending on what you need:
- Lite: $10.50/month
- Plus: $19/month
- Premium: $32.50/month
- Select: Talk to a consultant
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Now, let’s dive into a head-to-head battle of features. We’ll compare Expensify and FreshBooks across key areas.
1. Expense Reporting
When it comes to handling expenses, both tools have their strengths.
- Expensify: This is where Expensify truly shines. Its “SmartScan” feature is a standout, automatically capturing details from receipts with high accuracy. It makes it expense reporting incredibly fast. You just snap a photo, and the data is pulled, categorized, and ready for review. This automation saves tons of time.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks also offers expense reporting features. You can upload receipts and categorize expenses. It’s straightforward for tracking what you spend. While it’s effective, it doesn’t have the same advanced, AI-driven automation for receipt scanning that Expensify boasts.
2. Billing and Invoicing
Getting paid on time is crucial. Let’s see how they handle your money coming in.
- Expensify: Expensify offers billing and invoicing features, but it’s not its main focus. You can create and send invoices, and it supports basic payment collection. It’s more geared towards managing money going out of your business.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks excels in billing and invoicing. It’s known for its professional, customizable invoice templates. You can set up recurring invoices, send automatic payment reminders, and track when clients view your invoices. It’s built to help you get paid faster and manage your client billing smoothly.
3. Financial Management
Beyond just expenses and invoices, how do these tools help with your overall money picture?
- Expensify: For financial management, Expensify focuses heavily on spend control. It helps you monitor where employees are spending money, manage corporate cards, and ensure policy compliance. It gives you a clear view of outflows.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks offers a broader approach to financial management for small businesses. It combines invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, and basic accounting. It aims to be an all-in-one solution for managing your business’s financial health.
4. Financial Reporting
Understanding your money means looking at the numbers.
- Expensify: Expensify provides financial reporting that centers on expenses. You can generate reports on spending categories, employee reimbursements, and overall spend trends. These reports are excellent for auditing and understanding where your company’s money goes.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks offers various financial reporting options, including profit and loss statements, expense reports, and tax summaries. While useful for basic insights, its reporting might not be as deep or customizable as dedicated accounting software for complex needs.
5. Accounts Receivable
How do they help you collect money owed to you?
- Expensify: Accounts receivable isn’t a primary feature for Expensify. While you can send invoices, the robust tools for managing who owes you money and following up are less developed compared to FreshBooks. It’s more about processing.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks has strong accounts receivable features. It helps you keep track of outstanding invoices, send automated late payment reminders, and manage client retainers. It’s designed to streamline the process of collecting payments.
6. Usability
How easy are they to learn and use every day?
- Expensify: Expensify has a clean interface, especially its mobile app. It’s very intuitive for snapping receipts and submitting expenses. However, some users find the initial setup for advanced features and custom workflows can have a bit of a learning curve. Overall, its usability for its core function is high.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks is praised for its exceptional usability. Its design is very straightforward and easy to navigate, even for those new to accounting software. It uses simple language and a clear layout, making tasks like invoicing and expense entry feel less daunting.
7. Integration & Online Payments
Connecting with other tools and handling payments is key.
- Expensify: Expensify offers strong integration capabilities with major accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero. This helps sync your expense data seamlessly. For online payments, it facilitates quick reimbursements to employees, often directly to their bank accounts.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks also has good integration options with many popular business tools. Foronline payments, it allows your clients to pay invoices directly through the platform using credit cards or bank transfers, speeding up your cash flow.
What to Look for When Choosing 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
We’ve compared Expensify with these alternatives, highlighting their standout features:
- Expensify vs Puzzle IO: Puzzle IO simplifies project accounting, offering robust job costing and profitability tracking.
- Expensify vs Dext: Dext focuses on automated data extraction, making receipt and invoice processing effortless.
- Expensify vs Xero: Xero provides comprehensive cloud accounting, ideal for small businesses with strong bank feeds.
- Expensify vs Synder: Synder excels at syncing e-commerce transactions, streamlining sales data into accounting.
- Expensify vs Easy Month End: Easy Month End focuses on closing books faster, automating reconciliation and reporting.
- Expensify vs Docyt: Docyt uses AI to automate bookkeeping, transforming documents into real-time financial data.
- Expensify vs RefreshMe: RefreshMe helps with cash flow insights, providing real-time financial health dashboards.
- Expensify vs Sage: Sage offers robust accounting solutions, suitable for various business sizes with strong reporting.
- Expensify vs Zoho Books: Zoho Books provides a full suite of online accounting tools, known for affordability and integrations.
- Expensify vs Wave: Wave offers free accounting, invoicing, and receipt tracking, great for freelancers and small businesses.
- Expensify vs Quicken: Quicken is primarily for personal finance management, budgeting, and investment tracking.
- Expensify vs Hubdoc: Hubdoc automates document collection, fetching financial statements and receipts for easy processing.
- Expensify vs QuickBooks: QuickBooks is a comprehensive accounting platform, widely used for diverse business financial needs.
- Expensify vs AutoEntry: AutoEntry specializes in automated data entry, capturing and processing documents for accounting.
- Expensify vs NetSuite: NetSuite is a full-fledged ERP system, offering extensive financial management for larger enterprises.
More of FreshBooks
We’ve compared FreshBooks with these alternatives, highlighting their standout features:
- FreshBooks vs Puzzle IO: Puzzle IO excels in project accounting, offering detailed job costing and profitability tracking.
- FreshBooks vs Dext: Dext automates document collection and data extraction, simplifying receipt and invoice management.
- FreshBooks vs Xero: Xero provides comprehensive cloud accounting with strong bank reconciliation, ideal for small businesses.
- FreshBooks vs Synder: Synder specializes in e-commerce integration, seamlessly syncing sales data into accounting systems.
- FreshBooks vs Easy Month End: Easy Month End focuses on streamlining month-end close processes and financial reconciliation.
- FreshBooks vs Docyt: Docyt leverages AI for automated bookkeeping, transforming documents into real-time financial insights.
- FreshBooks vs RefreshMe: RefreshMe offers real-time cash flow analysis, providing quick insights into your business’s financial health.
- FreshBooks vs Sage: Sage provides robust accounting solutions, suitable for various business sizes with strong reporting features.
- FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Zoho Books offers a comprehensive suite of online accounting tools, known for its affordability.
- FreshBooks vs Wave: Wave provides free accounting, invoicing, and receipt tracking, perfect for freelancers.
- FreshBooks vs Quicken: Quicken is primarily a personal finance tool, focusing on budgeting and investment tracking.
- FreshBooks vs Hubdoc: Hubdoc automates document collection from banks and suppliers for easy data entry.
- FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: QuickBooks is a comprehensive accounting platform, widely used for diverse business financial needs.
- FreshBooks vs AutoEntry: AutoEntry specializes in automated data entry, capturing and processing documents for accounting.
- FreshBooks vs NetSuite: NetSuite is a powerful ERP system, offering extensive financial management for larger enterprises.
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 and 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.
