Mike McDerment CEO and co-founder of FreshBooks was inspired to create a better way to bill clients when, in 2003, he lost an invoice by accidentally saving over it. Today FreshBooks for iOS has more than 5 million users and is a powerful tool for small businesses that are ready to take advantage of cloud computing. FreshBooks provides a better way to take control of finances with the ability to create and manage invoices, estimates, expenses and projects all in one place.

Developed by Toronto-based 2ndSite, FreshBooks provides an instant service for logging expenses and submitting receipts directly from a restaurant, airport or anywhere at all.

Features include taking photos of expense receipts and attaching them to invoices, viewing time sheets for projects and checking the status of receivables. Project invitations can be sent to staff and subcontractors to log work hours. Time sheets can be viewed on a single combined calendar and filtered by specific projects. FreshBooks also can be used offline and accounts will be automatically synced when they have connectivity again.

FreshBooks also has an API to let third-party developers expand and build on the platform; more than 70 app developers have already done so, including Basecamp, Google Apps, Shopify, Zendesk and Constant Contact. After a 30-day free trial, FreshBooks paid packages start at $19.95/month.

PUBLISHED NOV. 12, 2012