MitoBooks vs. FreshBooks: invoicing app or full set of books?

FreshBooks started as invoicing software for freelancers, and it is still very good at that job: clean invoices, time tracking, client-friendly payment pages. The question is what happens when the business grows past one person sending invoices, and an accountant asks for a balance sheet, a reconciled bank account and a general ledger they can trust.

What each product is built around

FreshBooks is organized around clients, projects and invoices, with accounting reports added on top. MitoBooks is organized around the general ledger: every invoice, payment, bill and expense posts a balanced journal entry the moment you save it, and the reports read straight from those entries.

That difference shows up the first time something goes wrong. In MitoBooks, a sale can't be saved without its journal entry, a payment can't be applied twice, and the books refuse an entry where debits and credits don't match to the cent.

Team members and pricing

FreshBooks plans include a single user, and each additional team member adds a monthly fee. Check FreshBooks' pricing page for current prices.

MitoBooks is $30 per company per month, unlimited users. Adding your bookkeeper, your office manager and your business partner costs nothing extra, and roles (Owner, Admin, Accountant, Member, Viewer) control who can change what.

What MitoBooks adds for a growing business

• Bills and accounts payable: bills, bill payments in bulk, vendor credits, purchase orders and an A/P aging report.
• Inventory: quantity on hand, adjustments, cost of goods sold and valuation reports.
• Classes and locations: profit and loss by class or by location.
• Sales tax: agencies, rates, filing periods and a liability report.
• Closing the books: a closing date, with an optional password, so last year can't change after you've filed.

Where FreshBooks is ahead

• A simpler experience for a solo freelancer who only needs to invoice and track time.
• Automatic bank connections and a mobile app. MitoBooks imports bank statement files and runs in a phone browser.
• Payroll options and a large app ecosystem.

Which one fits

If you're a freelancer sending a handful of invoices a month, FreshBooks may be all you need. If you're paying bills, carrying inventory, collecting sales tax or handing your books to an accountant every year, you need a full set of books behind the invoices. Look around the demo company to see what that looks like in MitoBooks.