Fresh Books™?

[Russ T.]

Does anybody have experience with this software? I'm using Service Monster but curious about this app based program. We are getting very limited response with Fill My Schedule but are only a little over a year into it. Fresh Books looks like it would play nice on our smartphones and iPads. Thanks.


The Clean Machine

 

[Royal Man]

I'm very unhappy with Service Master and thinking about bailing too. You should be able to segment and target your marketing by amount, type of service ( Tile, deo, furniture, carpet etc...) From the service description. Just marketing by date of last service is very lacking. For a program that is so expensive and touts how it helps with marketing. They really need to step up their game!!!

 

[Bill Soukoreff]

What are you looking to do Russ?

I just completed a free trial of Freshbooks, Quickbooks Online and Wave. I left out Zero as it is too expensive.

 

[Russ T.]

Hey Bill. If I were to leave SM, I'd need invoicing as well as expense recording. I hate paper clutter and like how SM has helped me get away from that. I guess I'm just open to suggestions. I use a smartphone and like the option of putting everything in there "on the fly". All the paper creates a lot of anxiety for me.


The Clean Machine

 

[Russ T.]

There is an app for iOS called Expensify that I'm trying right now. It might help with the expense recording. It looks like Fresh Books might do all of that. I'm not sure how we would handle scheduling though. It's just 1 route (me) but my wife has gotten used to scheduling in SM.


The Clean Machine

 

[knoxclean]

check out service minder

 

[Russ T.]

check out service minder

Have you tried several? What makes Service Minder stand out? On line scheduling looks cool. Is there a way to track expenses?


The Clean Machine

 

[Bill Soukoreff]

Have you tried several? What makes Service Minder stand out? On line scheduling looks cool. Is there a way to track expenses?


The Clean Machine

I like many things about Freshbooks but in the end you don't get as much as QBO. I went with QBO and went with paperless invoicing and sales receipts. I use Gopayments to take credits cards in the home. QBO has the best auto import for bank and credit card statements and attach receipts by a photo or scan if you want true paperless. Set up your chart of accounts and everything is there for taxes. QBO is true accounting.

When I book a a job I add the customer into QBO. Then when you do a sales receipt in the home, you barely have to enter any information. Vey quick.

 

[jwfoulk12]

I like many things about Freshbooks but in the end you don't get as much as QBO. I went with QBO and went with paperless invoicing and sales receipts. I use Gopayments to take credits cards in the home. QBO has the best auto import for bank and credit card statements and attach receipts by a photo or scan if you want true paperless. Set up your chart of accounts and everything is there for taxes. QBO is true accounting.

When I book a a job I add the customer into QBO. Then when you do a sales receipt in the home, you barely have to enter any information. Vey quick.

Im in my free trial of QBO and am trying to figure out how i can have multiple job addresses for one customer. I clean for a fair amount of property managers but need to be have the job address on the invoice as well as the billing address. This is a deal breaker for me if I can't do this. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[hogjowl]

Yes, unless the on-line version is more versatile, you can't keep up with multiples under one account.

Also, does QBO allow you to keep up with and track service dates and coordinate marketing better than the 2010 desk top version?

 

[TomKing]

I do not see what the problem is you can go to marketing campaigns and do a file export or labels for any of your core services.

I just did a search for all customer's who we cleaned rugs for in the last 365 days.

If you create labels in each customer file you can mark them after each service visit.

The customers who have rugs, pets, kids and then do campaigns for each.

What seems to be limiting about this?

none of these low end customer ,management systems are going to do what you are looking for at the push of the button.

Call SM and ask for help in setting up a campaign they do it for our staff all the time.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Yes, unless the on-line version is more versatile, you can't keep up with multiples under one account.

Also, does QBO allow you to keep up with and track service dates and coordinate marketing better than the 2010 desk top version?

You should really look at the intuit online business center.. QB is only one part of it.

I have not found and one all end all program.. I think QBO is a must and its just about finding something that will sync up to it.

 

[jwfoulk12]

But is what I'm asking possible with QBO? Can I have multiple property addresses under one billing address?

 

[hogjowl]

Tom:
I assume you are responding to Yocum?

 

[hogjowl]

You should really look at the intuit online business center.. QB is only one part of it.

I have not found and one all end all program.. I think QBO is a must and its just about finding something that will sync up to it.

If I'm going to have to use multiple programs, I might as well stay with my current Quickbooks/ServiceMonster set up.

 

[Tony Neville]

But is what I'm asking possible with QBO? Can I have multiple property addresses under one billing address?


Yes set it up as a sub customer and bill to the parent company

Tony

 

[jwfoulk12]

But is what I'm asking possible with QBO? Can I have multiple property addresses under one billing address?


Yes set it up as a sub customer and bill to the parent company

Tony

I looked into doing that but do I use the same parent company name? If I'm cleaning for Johns apartments, do I enter johns apartments as the customer name for the parent company as well as the sub company? Thanks for the help

 

[Tony Neville]

It needs to be a separate name. Most property managers take care of property for other people and have a code for each owner, that is what we use as a sub company. The billing address becomes the address where the work was done, however the email stays with the parent company. You can also create the customer by address and use that as the display name, or use the shipping address to separate out properties. Depends on what works best for you.

 

[jwfoulk12]

Thanks for the reply. I have a retirement community that I work for. I have probably 150 cottages that would need to be billed under the parent company. How would you do this? Each cottage address has to be on the invoice as well as the parent company info.

 

[hogjowl]

Service Monster solved that issue for me, but before SM, I would build a file for each property address. For instance, if the parent company was XYZ Realty, I'd have a file for that company, and then if I had a house of theirs at 12 Butler Ct, that file would be titled Butler Ct., 12, XYZ Realty.

Cumbersome!

 

[Tony Neville]

What I would do is leave the billing info alone. So just bill the parent co and put the address where the work was done in the description followed by what was done, then put the address in the memo box so I can search for it later.
Hope that helps.

Tony

 

[renegade_cowboy]

If I'm going to have to use multiple programs, I might as well stay with my current Quickbooks/ServiceMonster set up.

Service Minder will sync up to QBO and it does have a live scheduler with it that is able to accept CC and paypal payments. $99 a month and it has similar features as SM.

 

[amygeorge]

too many options. i have QB, but don’t utilize much of it. My computer guy told me about FreshBooks because it would work perfect for multiple computers and iPads.

It’s like buying a Truckmount - or new equipment for my laundry - which one is best?

 

[hogjowl]

I'll just stick with what I have now. Quick Books and SM. I can access SM via pad on the road.