This FreshBooks company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. FreshBooks works in small business accounting software. It was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its latest valuation on record is Over US$1 billion (August 2021). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2021 | Equity and debt | US$80.75M equity plus US$50M debt | Over US$1B | Accomplice (lead, inside round); J.P. Morgan, Gaingels, BMO Technology & Innovation Banking Group, Manulife, Barclays | TechCrunch |
FreshBooks timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2003 — FreshBooks is founded in Toronto by Mike McDerment.
- Aug 2021 — Equity and debt: US$80.75M equity plus US$50M debt, valuing the company at Over US$1B. Investors: Accomplice (lead, inside round); J.P. Morgan, Gaingels, BMO Technology & Innovation Banking Group, Manulife, Barclays.
Investors
Overview
FreshBooks makes cloud accounting and invoicing software for small businesses, freelancers and self-employed professionals. It's built for people who need to send invoices, track expenses and get paid, not for trained accountants. Mike McDerment started it in Toronto in 2003, reportedly after accidentally saving over an invoice in a word processor, which makes it one of the oldest cloud software companies in Canada.
Funding history
FreshBooks took relatively little outside money in its early years. Its best-known round came in August 2021: US$80.75 million in equity plus US$50 million in debt. Existing investor Accomplice led the equity, which the company described as an inside round. J.P. Morgan, Gaingels, BMO, Manulife and new backer Barclays also took part. The company said the round valued it at more than US$1 billion, making it a unicorn.
An inside round, led by existing investors rather than a new firm, is worth noting. It can mean insiders are highly confident, or that a new lead couldn't be found at the desired price, or simply that existing investors wanted more ownership. Context matters.
Layoffs and the move to profitability
Like many software companies that raised in 2021, FreshBooks had to change course when funding markets tightened. BetaKit reported several rounds of layoffs starting in 2022, including a cut of about 10% of a roughly 800-person team. The CEO explained the decision in plain terms: capital markets had become too unpredictable to keep relying on outside funding for growth. FreshBooks instead set a plan to reach profitability using its own cash flow and a debt facility. BetaKit also reported significant turnover in senior leadership during that period.
Revenue: what's public
FreshBooks hasn't published its revenue. It sells monthly and annual subscriptions in tiers based on features and number of clients, so revenue is recurring, but the size of the business isn't public. Third-party estimates vary, so we don't repeat them. See our guide on estimating private company revenue.
What FreshBooks' path shows
FreshBooks is a good example of a mature software company that raised at a peak valuation and then chose profitability over another round. That decision often makes sense when a new round would mean a lower valuation, and when the business is close enough to break-even to get there with cost cuts and existing credit. Our guides to bridge rounds and venture debt cover the alternatives.
The competitive landscape
Small business accounting is one of the most competitive categories in software. FreshBooks competes with large global accounting platforms that serve both small businesses and their accountants, with invoicing and payments tools, and with bank-provided tools. Its long-standing focus has been on service-based small businesses and freelancers, people who bill for their time and want invoicing to be quick and simple, rather than on businesses with complex inventory or accounting needs. That focus shapes its product and marketing, and gives it a loyal customer base in its niche.
Payments and financial services
Like other small business software companies, FreshBooks earns revenue not just from subscriptions but from payments: when clients pay invoices online, a share of the processing fees can go to the software provider. Payment revenue grows with customers' business, which makes it an attractive addition to subscription revenue. Expanding these embedded financial services is a common strategy for small business platforms looking to increase revenue per customer.
What FreshBooks' story says about inside rounds
FreshBooks' 2021 round was led by an existing investor, Accomplice. Inside rounds are often read as a signal, positive or negative, but the reality is more nuanced. When insiders lead at a higher valuation, as here, it can reflect strong conviction from investors who know the business best. The risk is that without a new outside lead, the price isn't tested by an independent investor, which can make later rounds harder if the market changes. Our guide to pro rata rights explains how existing investors' participation shapes rounds.
What to watch next
The key questions for FreshBooks are whether it has reached sustained profitability under its plan, how it uses AI to automate bookkeeping tasks for small businesses, and whether it pursues a sale, merger or new funding. As one of the longest-running Canadian SaaS companies, its eventual outcome will be a notable data point for the ecosystem.
Key facts at a glance
FreshBooks is a Toronto cloud accounting and invoicing company for small businesses and freelancers, founded in 2003 by Mike McDerment. In August 2021 it raised US$80.75 million in equity, led by existing investor Accomplice, plus US$50 million in debt, at a valuation it described as over US$1 billion. After 2022 it made several rounds of layoffs and shifted to a plan to reach profitability using its own cash flow and debt.
Choosing accounting software as a freelancer or small business
The best accounting tool depends on how your business works. If you mainly bill clients for time or projects, invoicing speed, time tracking, online payments and simple expense tracking matter most. If you sell physical products, you'll need inventory features. If you have an accountant, check which software they prefer, because shared access saves time and fees at tax time. Whatever you choose, make sure you can export your data easily, keep your own copies of key records, and connect your bank feeds so transactions are imported automatically rather than typed in. The experience of Bench's customers in 2024 is a reminder of why exportable data matters.
Why FreshBooks matters to Canadian SaaS
Founded in 2003, FreshBooks is one of the earliest Canadian software-as-a-service companies to reach global scale, long before cloud software was mainstream. Generations of Toronto founders and operators worked there, and its path, from bootstrapped beginnings through a unicorn round to a focus on profitability, mirrors the arc of the wider Canadian tech sector over two decades.
Its eventual outcome, whether a sale, an IPO or continued independence, will be watched closely by Toronto's software community as a signal of what mature Canadian SaaS companies are worth.
What this means if you're…
Selling to FreshBooks: a company focused on profitability buys tools with fast, measurable payback, especially in customer support efficiency, payments and marketing performance.
Building for small businesses: FreshBooks' integration marketplace is one route to its large base of small business users.
Researching SMB software: compare its approach with larger accounting platforms that serve both small businesses and their accountants.
Latest developments (October 2026)
FreshBooks has focused on partnerships and AI-assisted bookkeeping in 2026, announcing collaborations with Kick on automated bookkeeping, Bluevine on business banking, Ownr for Canadian entrepreneurs and Grasshopper, and expanding lending options for customers, according to its press releases. It has not announced new funding since 2021, when it was valued at more than US$1 billion.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does FreshBooks do?
FreshBooks is a small business accounting software company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2003.
What is FreshBooks's valuation?
FreshBooks was valued at Over US$1 billion as of August 2021, according to FreshBooks press release. Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does FreshBooks make?
FreshBooks is a private company and has not publicly disclosed its revenue. Figures on third-party sites are usually modelled estimates rather than numbers reported by the company.
What was FreshBooks's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a equity and debt in Aug 2021: US$80.75M equity plus US$50M debt, at a valuation of Over US$1B. Source: TechCrunch.
Who are FreshBooks's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include Accomplice, J.P. Morgan, Gaingels, BMO, Manulife and Barclays.
Who founded FreshBooks?
FreshBooks was founded in 2003 by Mike McDerment.
Is FreshBooks a public company?
No. FreshBooks is a private company (private, venture backed), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is FreshBooks headquartered?
FreshBooks is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. See our guide to raising money in Canada for context on the Toronto startup ecosystem.