FreshBooks’ recent transformation
FreshBooks is best known as the billing system of choice for entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, taking the pain out of what used to be tedious bookkeeping, which is difficult for anyone wearing multiple hats that just wants to focus on serving their customers; they have over five million users in 120 countries.
The company recently repositioned from online invoicing to cloud accounting for small businesses, having expanded their accounting offering with expense receipts, this week adding the release of balance sheets, a tool that helps businesses grow by getting you prepared to apply for grants or loans, submitting taxes, or even seeking investors.
What is a balance sheet? Why do you need one?
FreshBooks explains, “A balance sheet is a picture of your business as of a specific date, and typically calculated at the end of the quarter or year. Gain a detailed picture of your business and a summary of your company’s assets, liabilities, and equity or to get a detailed account capture for end of quarter reporting or for those important discussions with your accountant.”
The new Balance Sheet tool allows users to see a summary of assets, liabilities, and equity and easily determine the health of their business. Users can select from a list of line items or click “add more line items” to create their balance sheet.
The company seeks to simplify the process and show users exactly how to calculate the necessary line items to create a printable balance sheet that can be handed to a bank, accountant, or even the IRS. The idea is to take the complexities out of the process so that a small business can focus on their business instead of spending endless time and money on accounting, particularly in situations where so few people wear so many hats!
