Freshbooks

[http://www.freshbooks.com FreshBooks] is a product of the software company 2ndSite Inc. which is located in Toronto, Canada. It is an online invoicing software as a service made for freelancers, small businesses, agencies, and professionals. The product includes a myriad of other related features, such as time tracking, expense tracking, recurring billing, online payment collection, the ability to mail invoices through the U.S. Post, and support tickets.

Company

2ndSite was founded by Mike McDerment and Joe Sawada in 2003 out of McDerment's previous Internet marketing consulting business [http://www.anicon.ca Anicon] . It has about 20 employees and remains privately held. Among their more notable employees are Mitch Solway, former VP of Marketing of LavaLife, Saul Colt founder of SSS Comics and launcher of ZipCar in Canada, and Sunir Shah of MeatballWiki.

Originally, the product was named [http://www.secondsite.biz 2ndSite] , synonymous with the company. In early 2006, the company [http://www.brandmurder.com rebranded] the product as FreshBooks with a completely different look and feel based on the then burgeoning Web 2.0 style.

Social media and Word of Mouth Marketing

FreshBooks makes extensive use of social media. They were recognized in 2008 as the second best company in Canada using social media by KPMG and Backbone Magazine (see references).

FreshBooks maintains two primary blogs. The most important one is [http://www.freshbooks.com/blog Fresh Thinking] , where the company publishes the majority of its corporate news plus a mixture of opinions on entrepreneurship as well as updates on its product and marketing efforts. They also maintain a [http://developers.freshbooks.com/blog developer blog] to provide updates about their API. They also create secondary blogs on occasion like [http://roadburn.freshbooks.com RoadBurn] , which they created during their RV road trip campaign from Future of Web Apps in Miami to SXSW 2007 in Austin, and [http://www.brandmurder.com Brand Murder] which they created during their rebranding. Finally, the company are also extensively uses Twitter under their [http://www.twitter.com/freshbooks freshbooks] account as recognized by Fast Company in July 26, 2008 (see references).

FreshBooks frequently mixes social media with their word of mouth marketing stunts. For instance, during SXSW 2008, they started with the aforementioned RV road trip for which they hired a videographer to post [http://www.youtube.com/user/RoadBurn2008 videos] on YouTube, and also extensively [http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2008/03/25/10-ways-to-become-an-unofficial-sponsor-of-sxsw-interactive-2008/ stunted] SXSW itself. Later that year, at the HOW Design Conference, they rented a trade show exhibit space without a trade show booth. Instead, they [http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2008/06/03/looking-at-things-through-fresh-colored-glasses/ hired a muralist] to paint their booth during the show, which they later turned into a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9pBOMB_zAo music video] .

Customer Service

FreshBooks puts an emphasis on customer service.

API

FreshBooks has an extensive API documented [http://developers.freshbooks.com here] . They list the add-ons built on top of the API [http://www.freshbooks.com/add-ons here] . Their developer forum is [http://forum.freshbooks.com/viewforum.php?id=19 here] .

See also

* invoice

References

* Wall Street Journal (August 11, 2008): [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121803411067916899.html Small Talk]
* KPMG and Backbone Magazine (July, 2008): [http://www.onedegree.ca/2008/07/canadas-web-20.html Pick 20] award
* TechCrunch (August 23, 2006): [http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/08/23/freshbooks-pushes-the-envelope-in-online-billing/ FreshBooks pushes the envelope in online billing]
* SitePoint (August 8, 2008): [http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/08/08/15-companies-that-really-get-corporate-blogging&cid=0&usg=AFQjCNHtgzVtsMMAsNlWvLBNrI2Wz1h7MQ 15 companies that really get corporate blogging]
* Fast Company (July 26, 2008): [http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/stephen-l-rose/tech-odyssey/twitter-%E2%80%9Cintelligence%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-new-bi-tool Twitter Intelligence? - The New BI Tool?]
* CBC (June 16, 2008): [http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/16/f-trends-mac.html#socialcomments BIG MAC ATTACK]
* L.A. Times (March 31, 2008): [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-smallbiz31mar31,0,1663885,full.story For small business, when the going gets tough, get tough on costs]
* IT World Canada (March 25, 2008): [http://www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?id=idgml-cf9b41ce-0eab-4032&Portal=2e5351f3-4ab9-4c24-a496-6b265ffaa88c&sub=4500743 RV IT: Toronto’s FreshBooks spreads the word]
* ZDNet (March 27, 2008): [http://blogs.zdnet.com/enterprisealley/?p=175 Bubble Thinking]
* U.S. News & World Report (March 10, 2008): [http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2008/03/10/tips-for-steeling-your-firm-against-recession.html Tips for Steeling Your Firm Against Recession]
* PC Magazine (February 2, 2008): [http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2254091,00.asp Editors Choice: FreshBooks]
* IT World Canada (August 30, 2007): [http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/Daily-News/8bfb6530-8260-42f7-b2aa-d744661dd763.html FreshBooks pilots Amazon payment service]
* PC World (July 30, 2007): [http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135119-c,webservices/article.html Trends in Software as a Service]
* CityTV (July 25, 2007): [http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/13/freshbooks-on-tv/ Homepage]
* Canadian Business (July 24, 2007): [http://www.canadianbusiness.com/technology/trends/article.jsp?content=20070618_85498_85498 SaaSsy: Software-as-a-service]
* USA Today (May 18, 2007): [http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2007-05-13-sales_N.htm Better hone your sales pitch]
* PROFIT Magazine (March 22, 2007): [http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/technology/article.jsp?content=20070212_143233_5880 The only bills you’ll ever love]
* The Globe and Mail (January 25, 2007): [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070125.gtsaas25/BNStory/Technology/home Less paperwork just a click away]
* PROFIT Magazine (December 20, 2006): [http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/managing/article.jsp?content=20061201_124525_6052 Your Next Big Thing: Web 2.0]
* CNET (August 9, 2006): [http://news.com.com/2061-12572_3-6104038.html A refreshingly straightforward invoicing service]
* National Post (May 19, 2006): [http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=835cb62a-c2d2-4b6e-8679-0c7898924072&p=2 Encouraging Signs for Web Services]
* ZDNet (April 14, 2006): [http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe/?p=31 Running a business on Web-based software]
* The Webhost Industry Review (April 5, 2005): [http://www.thewhir.com/features/lee-2ndsite.cfm FreshBooks Automates the Billing Cycle]