Freshbooks
Encyclopedia
FreshBooks is an online invoicing software as a service
for freelancers, small businesses, agencies, and professionals.
It is produced by the software company 2ndSite Inc. which is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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.
Backbone Magazine
rated FreshBooks Canada's #1 Web 2.0 pioneer in 2009 and 2nd place in 2008.http://www.backbonemag.com/Web2/PICK20_Winners_2009.asp
, and Sunir Shah of MeatballWiki
.
Originally, the product was named 2ndSite, synonymous with the company. In early 2006, the company rebranded the product as FreshBooks with a completely different look and feel based on the then burgeoning Web 2.0
style.
. They were recognized in 2008 as the second best company in Canada using social media by KPMG
and Backbone Magazine
.
FreshBooks maintains two primary blogs. The most important one is 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 developer blog to provide updates about their API. They also create secondary blogs on occasion like RoadBurn, which they created during their RV road trip campaign from Future of Web Apps in Miami to SXSW 2007 in Austin, and Brand Murder which they created during their rebranding. Finally, the company are also extensively uses Twitter
under their freshbooks account as recognized by Fast Company.
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 videos on YouTube
, and also extensively 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 hired a muralist to paint their booth during the show, which they later turned into a music video.
Software as a Service
Software as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
for freelancers, small businesses, agencies, and professionals.
It is produced by the software company 2ndSite Inc. which is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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.
Backbone Magazine
Backbone Magazine
Backbone is a Canadian business magazine that focuses on new technology. It was launched in 2001.Backbone magazine is published by Publimedia Communications Inc. and is distributed six times a year.-Pick 20 award:...
rated FreshBooks Canada's #1 Web 2.0 pioneer in 2009 and 2nd place in 2008.http://www.backbonemag.com/Web2/PICK20_Winners_2009.asp
Company
2ndSite was founded by Mike McDerment and Joe Sawada in 2003 out of McDerment's previous Internet marketing consulting business Anicon. It has about 70 employeeshttp://www.freshbooks.com/our-team.php and remains privately held. Among their more notable employees are Mitch Solway, former VP of Marketing of LavaLifeLavalife
Lavalife is an online dating service.-History:Lavalife began as a basement operation in 1987 by two Toronto entrepreneurs: David Chamandy and Ed Lum...
, and Sunir Shah of MeatballWiki
MeatballWiki
MeatballWiki is a wiki dedicated to online communities, network culture, and hypermedia.Founded in 2000, its original goal was to focus on collaborative hypermedia, but current topics range from intellectual property to cyberpunk to the confusion of URIs....
.
Originally, the product was named 2ndSite, synonymous with the company. In early 2006, the company rebranded the product as FreshBooks with a completely different look and feel based on the then burgeoning Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
style.
Social media and Word of Mouth Marketing
FreshBooks makes extensive use of social mediaSocial media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
. They were recognized in 2008 as the second best company in Canada using social media by KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
and Backbone Magazine
Backbone Magazine
Backbone is a Canadian business magazine that focuses on new technology. It was launched in 2001.Backbone magazine is published by Publimedia Communications Inc. and is distributed six times a year.-Pick 20 award:...
.
FreshBooks maintains two primary blogs. The most important one is 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 developer blog to provide updates about their API. They also create secondary blogs on occasion like RoadBurn, which they created during their RV road trip campaign from Future of Web Apps in Miami to SXSW 2007 in Austin, and Brand Murder which they created during their rebranding. Finally, the company are also extensively uses Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
under their freshbooks account as recognized by Fast Company.
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 videos on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and also extensively 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 hired a muralist to paint their booth during the show, which they later turned into a music video.
Further reading
- TechCrunch (August 23, 2006): FreshBooks pushes the envelope in online billing
- CBC (June 16, 2008): BIG MAC ATTACK
- L.A. Times (March 31, 2008): For small business, when the going gets tough, get tough on costs
- IT World Canada (March 25, 2008): RV IT: Toronto’s FreshBooks spreads the word
- ZDNet (March 27, 2008): Bubble Thinking
- U.S. News & World Report (March 10, 2008): Tips for Steeling Your Firm Against Recession
- PC Magazine (February 2, 2008): Editors Choice: FreshBooks
- IT World Canada (August 30, 2007): FreshBooks pilots Amazon payment service
- PC World (July 30, 2007): Trends in Software as a Service
- CityTV (July 25, 2007): Homepage
- Canadian Business (July 24, 2007): SaaSsy: Software-as-a-service
- USA Today (May 18, 2007): Better hone your sales pitch
- PROFIT Magazine (March 22, 2007): The only bills you’ll ever love
- The Globe and Mail (January 25, 2007): Less paperwork just a click away
- PROFIT Magazine (December 20, 2006): Your Next Big Thing: Web 2.0
- CNET (August 9, 2006): A refreshingly straightforward invoicing service
- National Post (May 19, 2006): Encouraging Signs for Web Services
- ZDNet (April 14, 2006): Running a business on Web-based software
- The Webhost Industry Review (April 5, 2005): FreshBooks Automates the Billing Cycle