The Accountant Hub gives accounting professionals a centralized place to create and manage FreshBooks accounts for clients as well as access their clients’ books. Accountants on the Accountant Hub can choose to pay for their clients’ FreshBooks subscriptions or let the client pay for their FreshBooks subscription instead.
Create an Accountant Hub Account
Sign up for an Accountant Hub account using your existing FreshBooks login, or create a new login with these steps:
- Go to the Accountant Hub
- If you have an existing FreshBooks account, you can log in using your Email and Password to create a new Accountant Hub account
- Otherwise, to sign up using a different email address, select the Sign Up link at the bottom
- Then enter in your Email address
- Next, add a Password (minimum of 8 characters or more)
- Select the Get Started button.
- To sign up with your Apple ID, select Sign up with Apple
- Enter in your Apple ID email and select the arrow button
- Enter in your Apple ID password, then select the arrow button
- If prompted, verify with Two-Factor Authentication
- Select Continue to proceed with setting up Sign in with Apple
- To sign up with your Google account, select Sign up with Google
- Select the Sign in with Google button
- Enter in your Google email and select Next
- Enter in your Google password, then select Next
- Select Allow to authorize FreshBooks to access your Google Account
- Verify your account with the verification code or select the link in the email. Once verified, you’ll be taken to your Accountant Hub account to finish setting up.
Once you have an Accountant Hub account, you can log into it anytime at the Accountant Hub.
Clients
Add clients to work together with you, which allows you to access their FreshBooks accounts to manage their accounting. You’ll also be able to specify whether you’d like to pay for your client’s FreshBooks account by selecting a plan right away without a trial, or have the client pay for their account once their 30 day trial ends.
- Select the Clients section
- Then select the Create Client or plus + button
- Enter your Client’s business information - Business Name, Industry, Currency, Revenue, Country, and additional details, then select Next
- Then enter your client’s information as the business owner - First Name, Last Name, and Phone Number, then select Next
- Next, choose a Currency for the billing of the FreshBooks account
- For who will pay for the client’s FreshBooks account, choose either:
- Select My Firm then select Finish
- Next, select Choose a Plan and complete the upgrade
- Or select Do it later to go back to your account
- Select The Client then select Save and Finish
- Next, select Set Up your Client’s Account
- Or select Do it later to go back to your account
- Select My Firm then select Finish
- Once you have your client’s FreshBooks account created, you can continue setting it up for them using our Get started in FreshBooks guide here.
Invite Client
Once you have your client’s account created, invite them to start working with you in FreshBooks using the below steps:
- Select the Clients section
- Then select the client you want to invite
- In the client profile, select the Invite Owner button
- Enter the Client’s email address
- If needed, customize the Subject and Message of the email
- Select Send Invitation and your client will receive an email inviting them to join. Feel free to send your client our Getting started guide here to help them get set up in FreshBooks.
If needed, you can resend an invitation by opening the client’s profile and selecting the Resend Invitation button.
Client Profile
Any client’s profile can be viewed by going to the Clients section and selecting on a client. You’ll be on the Business Info sub-tab by default. Once you've created a new client, you can review how to set up your clients' FreshBooks accounts.
On every client’s profile you can access:
-
More Actions - Choose between Transfer Billing, Cancel Plan, Remove Firm Access or Archive
- Remove Access - Available for Billed to Client or Accepted statuses, remove your access to the client’s account
- Archive - Available for No Plan or No Access statuses, move the client to your list of archived Clients
- Log in to Client’s Account - Allows you to open the client’s FreshBooks account within a frame in your window
Business Info
In the Business Info sub-tab, you can find the below information:
In the Business Info sub-tab, you can find the below information:
-
Owner - Name, Email, Phone Numbers
-
Invite Owner - Available on Active or Free Trial statuses, invite the client to their FreshBooks account to start working with them
- If the client’s account is being paid for by the Firm, a plan must be selected before inviting the client
- Resend Invitation - Available on Invitation Sent status only, resend the invitation to the client again
- Edit Owner - Available on Not Invited or Invitation Sent statuses, edit the client’s information
-
Invite Owner - Available on Active or Free Trial statuses, invite the client to their FreshBooks account to start working with them
-
Business Info - Business Name, Phone, Address, Currency, Fiscal Year End Month and Day, Date Format and Standard Rate
- Select the Edit Info button to edit the owner’s business information
Billing
In the Billing sub-tab, you can find the below information:
-
Billing Type
-
Billed to Firm - Your Accounting Firm is paying for the client’s FreshBooks account
- Select Edit to update your billing and credit card information across all accounts your Firm is paying for
- Billed to Client - The client is paying for their FreshBooks account
-
Billed to Firm - Your Accounting Firm is paying for the client’s FreshBooks account
- Plan / Add-On - Lists the plan and any add-ons for the client's FreshBooks account
- Receipts - Select any receipt to download it as a PDF
- Transfer Billing - Available on Billed to Firm or Invitation Accepted statuses, transfer ownership of the account to have your client pay for their account instead, this will block your access to the client’s account until they upgrade to a new plan
- Select Plan - Available on Billed to Firm or No Plan statuses, choose a plan for your client’s account
- Cancel Plan - Available on Billed to Firm or Active statuses, cancel an existing plan, this will block your access to the client’s account
Manage Clients
From the Clients section, you can review your clients’ information as well as their billing type and statuses:
Billing Type
- Billed to Firm - Account is being paid for by the Firm
- Billed to Client - Account is being paid for by the client
Statuses
- Active - Account is on a paid plan
- Free Trial - Account is currently on a free 30 day trial, client pays for the account when trial expires
- No Plan - Account is not on a paid plan yet, billing is cancelled, or billing is being transferred to the Client
- No Access - Accountant Firm has removed access to the client’s FreshBooks account
- Not Invited - Client has not been invited to join their FreshBooks account
If needed, select any of the status filters above the list of clients to quickly filter by All, Active, Free Trials or Archived clients.
Billing
The Billing section is where you can manage your payment method on file for any accounts that are being Billed to Firm, as well as access your receipts for these FreshBooks subscriptions:
- Payment Method - Your current payment information on file, select Update Credit Card to modify your payment and billing address information across all clients' accounts with the Billed to Firm status
- All Receipts - Select any receipt to download it as a PDF
Notes:
- If your updated credit card details are not saving, review a list of common issues here
- Information on what email address receipts are sent from and how negative balances on receipts work can be found in How do I access my Receipts for my FreshBooks Subscription? here
Settings
The Settings section is where you can manage your account and firm information, as well as customize your email templates.
Account
To access your account, select Settings. You’ll be on the Account sub-tab by default.
Account Details
The Account section is explained in detail below:
The Account section is explained in detail below:
-
Email Address and Password - Used to log into your Accountant Hub
- Select the Change email address or Change password links to update to a new email address or password and select Save Changes to finish
Firm
To access your firm details, select Settings, then select the Firm sub-tab.
Accounting Firm Details
The Accounting Firm Details section is explained in detail below:
The Accounting Firm Details section is explained in detail below:
- Firm Logo - Select select an image to upload a logo up to 500kb in JPEG, GIF, PNG or TIFF format, this will display on communications sent to your clients
- Accounting Firm Name - This is the name of your firm and is displayed on all communications sent to your clients
- Business and Mobile Phone - Use this to display your phone number(s) as needed
- Country and Address (Line 1 and Line 2) - This is your firm’s address
Preferences
- Date Format - Choose between dd/mm/yyyy, dd.mm.yy, mm/dd/yyyy, yyyy/mm/dd, or yyyy-mm-dd for the formatting of your invoices, estimates, and proposals dates
Email Template
To access your email template, select Settings, then select the Email Template sub-tab. From here, customize the invitation email sent to your clients by editing the Subject and Your Message fields as needed. Select Save Changes to finish.