vs FreshBooks
Looking for a FreshBooks alternative?
FreshBooks is small-business accounting software with time tracking and invoicing as features. Hoursmith is a focused time-and-billing tool with no accounting beyond CSV export. The two overlap on invoicing; FreshBooks covers a much wider surface (expenses, accounting reports, proposals); Hoursmith pays off on the narrower one with flat-fee pricing and direct-to-your-Stripe payments.
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FreshBooks is good for
- · Customers who need full small-business accounting in one tool — expenses, P&L, balance sheet, accountant access.
- · Teams that work with their accountant inside the product (FreshBooks' Accountant role + book-closing workflows).
- · Use cases that need recurring invoices, retainer automation, or built-in proposals + e-signatures.
Tiered per-feature pricing with billable-client caps on lower tiers. See freshbooks.com/pricing for current rates.
Hoursmith is good for
- · Your accountant lives in QuickBooks / Xero and you just need clean CSV exports from your billing tool.
- · You bill more clients than FreshBooks' tier cap allows on your plan and don't want to pay up for that alone.
- · You want payments to your own Stripe account directly, not routed through a separate processor.
- · You want flat-fee pricing instead of paying extra per team member.
Flat-fee pricing. Free for solo, Studio $15/mo annual up to 10, Agency $31/mo annual up to 25.
At a glance
Compared on 2026-05-27. Both tools change fast — if you spot something out of date, email hi@hoursmith.app and we'll fix it within 48 hours.
| Feature | FreshBooks | Hoursmith |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-tier with billable-client caps; per-extra-member fees | Flat fee per workspace; unlimited clients on every plan |
| Billable-client cap | Yes — lower tiers cap billable clients (5 / 50 etc., check current) | No cap — unlimited clients, even on Free |
| Time tracking | Yes — built-in | Yes — server-side timer, manual entry, all plans |
| Invoicing from tracked time | Yes | Yes — pulls every billable un-invoiced entry, rounded + priced |
| Online payments destination | FreshBooks Payments (their processor) | Stripe Connect direct charges to your own Stripe account |
| Accounting (P&L, balance sheet, etc.) | Yes — full small-business accounting | No — CSV export to your accountant's tool |
| Expenses & receipts | Yes — receipts, categorization, mileage | Yes — client expenses with categories + receipt files, billed onto invoices; no mileage |
| Proposals & e-signatures | Yes (on some tiers) | No |
| BYO email for invoices | Custom from-address available; verify current docs | Studio+: SMTP / Amazon SES / Resend with encrypted credentials |
| Importer from prior tool | FreshBooks is the prior tool here | CSV/Excel importer (clients, projects, time entries); free on every plan |
Choose FreshBooks if…
- · You want full small-business accounting in one tool — not just billing.
- · You collaborate with your accountant inside the tool (FreshBooks' accountant role is well-built).
- · You need mileage tracking, proposals, or recurring invoices that Hoursmith doesn't ship.
- · Billable-client caps aren't a constraint for you.
Choose Hoursmith if…
- · Your accountant lives in QuickBooks / Xero and you just need clean CSV exports from your billing tool.
- · You bill more clients than FreshBooks' tier cap allows on your plan and don't want to pay up for that alone.
- · You want payments to your own Stripe account directly, not routed through a separate processor.
- · You want flat-fee pricing instead of paying extra per team member.
Switching questions
Can I import my FreshBooks data?
Clients, projects, and time entries — yes, via CSV/Excel. FreshBooks exports each of these; map columns in Hoursmith's importer and run. Invoices and accounting data don't import — those stay in FreshBooks for historical reference.
What do I lose moving from FreshBooks to Hoursmith?
P&L / balance-sheet reports, mileage tracking, proposals + e-signatures, the accountant collaboration role, and recurring invoices. (Client expense tracking with receipts you keep — Hoursmith ships that.) If any of these are central to your work, FreshBooks remains the better tool.
Does Hoursmith export to QuickBooks or Xero?
Via CSV, yes. There's no native direct integration today. The CSV is RFC-4180-compliant and includes invoice and time-entry data; your accountant's tool typically accepts that format directly.
What about recurring / retainer invoices?
Not yet. You can create the first invoice manually and duplicate it next cycle (one click), but there's no scheduled-send automation. If retainer billing is your dominant model, that gap matters.
Related
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