Written by: Lynn Cadet
Edited by: Lillian Castro
TL; DR: Technology has made the lives of small business owners much more manageable. Simple software solutions for everyday tasks, such as marketing and accounting, can go a long way for entrepreneurs who already have so much on their plates. FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software company that provides SMBs with a comprehensive platform for tackling everything from payroll to invoicing. We spoke with Stefano Grossi, CPTO of FreshBooks, about the software solution and how it helps small businesses simplify their financial operations.
There has never been a better time to own a small business. Although small businesses have long been the heroes of our economy, managing them has been a different story. Owners usually shoulder the burden of manual work on their lonesome. Thankfully, business owners can leverage advanced technological solutions in almost every operational category to streamline tasks and management.
Small business owners no longer have to be the marketer, controller, content strategist, and everything in between. Tech offerings have completely changed the game, helping teams save money and time. Entrepreneurs can now offload several operational duties and focus on the main value of their business by enlisting easy-to-use software solutions.
FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software helping small businesses manage their billing needs, payments, expenses, payroll, projects, time tracking, and reporting. The FreshBooks team focuses on providing the tools users need to get their accounting in order without the complexity.
“Why do massive enterprises only get to have the beautiful tools to automate their workflows and have an integrated view of everything in their business operations? We are trying to give it to Small Business Owners, from when they start to when they scale because our customers grow with us,” said Stefano Grossi, CPTO of FreshBooks.
FreshBooks offers everything from professional invoicing and automated payments to expense tracking and big-picture accounting. Users can also collaborate with their accountants on the platform, giving them one place to manage all things accounting.
The Engine Behind Small Business Accounting
Since 2003, FreshBooks has helped SMBs manage their accounting. More than 30 million people have leveraged the platform over the last 20 years. FreshBooks sets out to be the light in the dark for business owners who stress over and struggle with accounting. Reconciling books and taking care of payroll are not the most enjoyable tasks of running a business, so FreshBooks can handle that burden for users.
“We have the easiest-to-use platform on the planet. Or at least we strive to do so. And we have amazing technologies that allow us to be always available,” said Stefano.
FreshBooks’ comprehensive platform includes solutions for every step of the accounting journey. Stefano refers to Freshbooks as magic accounting working behind the scenes and doing the duties to ensure you and your team get paid so you can only focus on your craft.
“There is the whole engine that starts working for you. So collecting payment, creating a project or record and converting that into an invoice in a super easy fashion, working with subcontractors and connecting them to the same billing cycle, and collaborating with team members,” said Stefano.
FreshBooks allows small businesses to serve clients and run their business efficiently. It works on both sides. It ensures entrepreneurs can provide the invoicing, records, payments, and time tracking clients need. And it also assists with internal operations by providing software for payroll, team collaboration, and cash flow health. And everything is super simple to navigate and use because of automation.
“Once a week, or at the cadence you prefer, the system can gather all the information that is not billed yet (time, expenses, items), create an invoice, bill it, automatically attach the credit card to pay the bills, import it from your bank account connection, coordinates the movement, reconciles the books, and therefore save you a big deal of time, while improving your cash flow,” said Stefano.
Championing Customers with Owner-Centric Solutions
FreshBooks is a people-first company. The team develops its solutions to help owners work better and faster in a precise way. This is also why FreshBooks calls itself an owner-centric platform.
“Our mission is to Execute Extraordinary Experiences Everyday to Help Owners Grow and is about delighting the customer. Everything starts with the Small Business Owner, and the Owner has a network. And this network includes their team and clients but also includes their accountant, their vendors, and many more,” said Stefano.
FreshBooks not only provides a customer-centric service but also a scalable one. Stefano said the team wants FreshBooks to be a discovery through time. As users’ needs grow, the company will continue to find their desired solutions in Freshbooks. And support plays a vital role in FreshBooks creating that experience.
“The big differentiator for FreshBooks is also our support. We have an incredible support team. You can call our number; someone will pick up the phone, and we’ll bring your case to resolution,” said Stefano.
FreshBooks does extensive training with everyone who joins its team so they can understand the culture, the customers, and the product. Stefano said he doesn’t fail to speak to a customer at least once a week, showing how significant customer satisfaction and feedback is to the team. Having those touchpoints is essential for Freshbooks to ensure top-notch performance.
“We have direct contact with customers to solve their pain points and experience that connection. We all want to do better. It’s engraved in each of us to execute this experience and make sure that the customer feels good too,” said Stefano.
More to Come: Greater Collaboration with Recent Features
Stefano said FreshBooks has a lot of new features on the way. The team is still experimenting with new capabilities, including AI, and recently held a company-wide hackathon to brainstorm solutions and push boundaries. As for already released features, FreshBooks recently launched Collaborative Accounting™.
“We made owners’ collaboration with accountants automatic. So FreshBooks is where the owner can see all the financial information, and the accountant can operate in the same place. And they can collaborate because all the accounting information is all there,” said Stefano.
FreshBooks created Collaborative Accounting™ to improve and encourage better collaboration between business owners and their accountants. Stefano said FreshBooks came to this solution on feedback it received from a group of accountants and owners they sat with to ask about the product’s experience. FreshBooks also has a fully embedded payroll experience coming out soon.
“We are still at the beginning, discussing the surface. There is, behind the scenes, over 18 months of work. We are only limited by the speed of the operation, especially because of our care to how good we want that experience to be for our customers,” said Stefano.
