Freshbooks Review: The Best Accounting Software for Coaches?

Let’s be honest? You signed up for coaching so that you can coach other people and change their lives, not deal with marketing, hiring, and the dreaded accounting. Freshbooks is the best accounting software for coaches, and it just may help you finally get your books in order.

At Lovely Impact, we help coaches around the world with their coaching branding and websites. We have over 20+ years of combined experience in tech, and as a result, we’ve learned what tools to trust. Our clients always ask us “What accounting software do you recommend for my coaching business?” and we instantly recommend they try Freshbooks. 

If you are looking for accounting software that is perfect for your coaching business, and that handles invoicing, payments, time tracking, and more…read this entire post! 

What Is FreshBooks?

FreshBooks is an online accounting platform that can be accessed using the cloud. It needs no discs, no downloads, no updating, and no space on your computer.

It is aimed at providing accounting services to small businesses and coaches like you, and it helps you ensure that your invoicing and accounts are all straightforward, up to date, and accurate.

As a user of FreshBooks, you can simply log in to your online account to access all the information you need about your coaching businesses. It provides a very neat and straightforward overview of all your finances, in a layout that is easy to understand.

Invoicing is the site’s specialty, and FreshBooks makes it very easy for you to customize their invoices, use multiple currencies, charge additional fees, send emails, and a lot more. It has a lot of automation options that make it easier for coaching businesses to cut down on time spent accounting. 

Almost all of FreshBooks’ features can be accessed on one page, and you will be able to view money owed, money made/lost, outstanding invoices, and where your business’s highest costs are.

FreshBooks Features Breakdown

FreshBooks has lots of features, which include invoicing, expenses, time tracking, projects, payments, reporting, and accounting. These features are what make it the best accounting software for coaches. 

1. Invoicing

The invoicing feature allows you to create highly professional-looking invoices. For coaches, looking professional is key and with FreshBooks, it is straightforward and quick. Forget wasting time with building your own invoices, laboriously filling them in, and sending them off.

The best part is that FreshBooks’ invoicing can help you to get paid more quickly, too, and it makes it very straightforward for coaching clients to pay you.

2. Expenses

FreshBooks makes it extremely easy to track and keep records of expenses. Instead of trying to hold onto (and losing) important receipts, you can log every cent with their accounting software.

This will massively speed up the process of doing your taxes, and ensure that your accounts are all accurate so no expenses get missed. This also makes it straightforward to keep any spiraling expenses in control before they get out of hand.

3. Time Tracking

Keeping track of hours can be a tricky process for anyone who runs a coaching business, and charging by the hour is often time-consuming and frustrating. Anyone who has ever tried to do this manually will know how much time is wasted adding up the minutes and seconds to get an accurate assessment of work done.

With the time tracking feature, you can forget all that, because it will track your time and invoice your coaching clients. Simply log your hours, enter them into the invoice, and it will auto-generate the bill so your coaching client can view it. No more dividing up the rate per hour and multiplying it by the minutes!

4. Projects

Working with multiple coaching clients can be a headache, especially if you have a virtual assistant helping you. If you find that your coaching clients miss getting important information, you’ll really appreciate their collaboration features.

You can sync up files, feedback, and chat messages under project titles to make sure that everything is straightforward and everyone is clear about what they need to do to keep things on schedule.

5. Payments

FreshBooks allows you to accept a wider variety of payment options while still getting paid quickly. If you accept credit cards via FreshBooks, you’ll have access to your money up to eleven days sooner than you would otherwise.

You will spend less time chasing after coaching clients who haven’t paid, meaning more free time to work and relax. It’s also easy for coaching clients to set up automatic deposits, making the payment more straightforward for everyone involved. 

6. Reporting

There’s a fine balance between a report that is too complicated to read and a report that is too simplistic to be useful. FreshBooks has managed to hit that balance perfectly, with reports that even a brand new coach can understand, which still carry enough detail for an accountant to handle them effectively.

Instead of grappling with reports yourself and trying to work out what datasets to include, you can leave everything to FreshBooks. You’ll have enough information for anything you need come tax time or at any other time of the year.

7. Accounting

FreshBooks provides double-entry accounting, with automated checks and balances to avoid and minimize mistakes. This account feeds into some financial info, which will help you to make smarter and better business decisions.

If you have an accountant, they will be able to use this to advise you, ensuring that your coaching business is always taking the best possible course of action, with a firm base in the numbers.

FreshBooks Pros

There are plenty of good reasons to use FreshBooks, and one of the top pros are the automated email templates which make it easy to handle late fee notifications, invoice emails, and payment reminders. 

It is also highly intuitive, making it ideal for coaching business owners who may not be very tech-savvy. It’s straightforward to see the business overview, everything about your accounts, and any other information you may need.

It has multiple payment options, and superb customer support, so you can get help with any issues that you encounter. With good startup guides and lots of advice, even inexperienced users should be up and running with minimal issues.

FreshBooks Cons

Like any software, FreshBooks does have some disadvantages. One of the major ones is that it has removed the integration with PayPal in an attempt to nudge clients toward using its payment platform. This is irritating for both coaches and their coaching clients.

Next, FreshBooks has a lot of features, which some users find confusing. Although most feel that the software is straightforward, it can get complicated, and users find that they have to just ignore sections of the site, rather than being able to hide the ones they don’t use.

Thirdly, although FreshBooks does offer multiple currencies, many users feel that this could be expanded and improved for greater client support.

FreshBooks Pricing

FreshBooks offers several different tiers of membership, with different costs, as follows:

• Lite, $6 per month (usually $15) which allows for the invoicing of 5 clients
• Plus, $10 per month (usually $25) which allows for the invoicing of 50 clients
• Premium, $20 per month (usually $50) which allows for the invoicing of unlimited clients
• Select, which has customized pricing and customized features.

There is a lot of other features that change depending on which tier your choose, such as where you can view your account from, whether you can invite your accountant (Plus membership or higher), and things like customizable email signatures (Premium).

FreshBooks Alternatives

If you aren’t sold on the idea of FreshBooks, you might want to consider hiring an accountant for coaches instead. They will similarly manage your accounts for you, handling everything that you need to know, and they can also create reports for you where necessary.

You can find available accountants at 1-800 Accountant, where you’ll find everything to suit your accounting needs and keep your business operating smoothly.

Best Accounting Software for Coaches FAQs

Answer the following questions. Be quick, brief, and concise. Two to three sentences max. 

Is Excel better than accounting software?

No, excel is not better than accounting software for coaches. Excel is a manual spreadsheet where you have to meticulously track and do your accounting yourself. Accounting software will handle the accounting math for you, all you have to do is add everything into the system.

Can accounting software for coaches reduce costs?

Yes, accounting software for coaches can reduce costs, especially during tax time. Accounting software tracks everything, your expenses, income, time worked, etc. It allows you to invoice quickly and send your accounting what they need at tax time, saving you time and money.

Is computerized accounting better than manual accounting?

Absolutely! Unless you are an accountant or a financial coach, manually doing accounting can take up a lot of your time. It also can lead to accounting mistakes. Computerized accounting is a safer and better option. 

Final Thoughts

To summarize, if you’re looking to run a successful coaching business and save time with invoicing and accounting, Freshbooks is the software we highly recommend. What accounting software do you use to manage your coaching business?