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Freshbooks Review: Time & Billing Software for Lawyers

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Lawyerist Rating for FreshBooks

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Rating Breakdown

Our Rating: 4.5/5

Our rating is based on our subjective judgment. Use our resources—including our rating and community ratings and reviews—to find the best fit for your firm.

4.5/5

Overview
Featured Rating

What is FreshBooks?

Although FreshBooks markets itself as cloud-based accounting software, it’s really more of a timekeeping and billing platform. It’s a good choice for solo and small firms that want a solution that allows them to easily track time and who also have a practice that demands frequent recurrent billing.

Starting Cost: 7.50

Pros
  • Cloud-based
  • ePayments
  • Project Management
Cons
  • Not for Large Firms
  • No LPMS Integrations
  • No LawPay Integration
Overview
Featured Ratings

Freshbooks Review: Time & Billing Software for Lawyers Features

Customer Experience & Support

/5

Price & Value

/5

Security

/5

Innovation & Future-Proofing

/5

Overview
Featured Rating
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Freshbooks Review: Time & Billing Software for Lawyers Video

Compare with Other Timekeeping & Billing Software Products Download the Field Guide

Product Details

Website
https://www.freshbooks.com/
Platforms
  • Android
  • iOS
  • Web
  • MacOS
  • Windows
Payment Processing Options
  • Built-in
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
Payment Forms Accepted
  • Major Credit Cards
  • eCheck/ACH
Accounting Integrations
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Xero
Document Management Integrations
Data Migration
  • Standard
Data Location
Miscellaneous Integrations

Core Features

For Timekeeping & Billing Software, the following are essential features, and you should therefore expect to see a check in every box in this section.

Yes
No

Free Trial

In-app Timer

AI Timer

Manual Timer

Invoicing

Estimates

Expense Tracking

Reporting

Split Billing

Online Payments

Recurring Payments

Universal Payment Link

Basic Bookkeeping

Trust Account Management

Full Accounting

Split Origination Reporting

Project Manager

Task Management

Document Management

Some timekeeping and billing software includes basic document management so that you can add documents and associate them with your cases/matters.

Compare FreshBooks Similar Products

Select another product to compare:

FreshBooks

4.5/5

freshbooks logo
Pros
  • Cloud-based
  • ePayments
  • Project Management
Cons
  • Not for Large Firms
  • No LPMS Integrations
  • No LawPay Integration

TimeSolv

4.3/5

TimeSolv Product Logo
Pros
  • ePayments
  • Payment Reminders
  • Easy Migrations
Cons
  • ["No LPMS Integrations","Not Full Accounting"]
Read TimeSolv Review

Tabs3 Billing

4.1/5

Tabs 3 logo
Pros
  • Advanced Trust Accounting
  • 3-way Reconciliation
  • ePayments
Cons
  • ["Not DIY","On-premises"]
Read Tabs3 Billing Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I use FreshBooks?

As a web-based application, FreshBooks can be used in any modern browser on a Mac or PC. Additionally, its mobile apps will run on either iOS or Android platforms.

What is the price of FreshBooks?

At the time of this review, FreshBooks pricing starts at $7.50/month for 5 Clients for the Lite tier. They have a Plus and Premium tier and custom pricing for enterprise users.

Is FreshBooks secure?

No. At the time of this review, FreshBooks does not natively integrate with any Law Practice Management Software.

Does FreshBooks integrate with my Law Practice Management Software?

Yes. FreshBooks has many features that will help you automate your law firm's billing.

Can FreshBooks handle my law firm's trust accounting?

No. Freshbooks hails itself as stand-alone accounting software. Although, at the time of this review, it is missing some key features that would make it workable for small to medium sized attorneys. As such, it does not integrate with QuickBooks or Xero.

Is FreshBooks good for solos?

No. It has its own built-in payment processor, and integrates with Stripe and PayPal. As none of these are Law Firm specific payment processors, attorneys should be careful when connecting the payment processors to their trust accounts.

Will Freshbooks Review: Time & Billing Software for Lawyers connect to my online bank account?

Yes. FreshBooks uses CSV files to migrate data into its platform.

Can my law firm manage users with FreshBooks?

Yes. But you should be careful when connecting a trust account as neither the built-in FreshBooks Payments, nor the integrated Stripe or PayPal are legal specific payment processors. Lawyers would be wise to be extra dilligent to make sure no fees are withdrawn from their trust accounts.

Will my law firm's accountant be able to use FreshBooks?

FreshBooks does have extensive timekeeping and billing reporting. Additionally, for the flat-fee attorneys, it has the ability to create and send estimates to clients.

Can my firm accept ePayments with FreshBooks?

Yes. As a browser-based platform, the web app can be accessed from either Mac or PC.

Additional Details about FreshBooks

It’s not accounting software. Although FreshBooks markets itself as “cloud accounting,” its use of the word accounting is misleading at best. FreshBooks is not a replacement for actual accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks. FreshBooks is excellent timekeeping and billing software with some nice-to-have features like expense tracking, but it is missing many essential features of actual small-business accounting software.

Customizable invoices. Their invoicing feature is highly customizable, allowing attorneys to quickly add logos and other personalized touches such as a “thank you” email. Multi-language invoices and multi-currency are also available.

Security. Information traveling between your browser and FreshBooks is protected with 256-bit SSL encryption. Both the application and your data rest behind firewalls. Sensitive information such as credit card numbers and bank account information are encrypted in FreshBooks’ database using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). FreshBooks uses redundant servers and your data is replicated across multiple databases, which ensures that a single database failure won’t cause data loss. Data is backed up nightly and stored in an offsite location.

Migration. You can import your clients into FreshBooks via a CSV (comma-separated value) file. FreshBooks provides a sample file to help you format your file.

Not sure where to begin? Download our Field Guide

Take the guesswork out of researching, purchasing, and implementing the right legal tech products and services for your law firm. Our Field Guide answers your essential questions and breaks down the features most important to your business, so you can buy with confidence.

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