Meet Lisa, a Social Media Marketer Who Uses Accounting Software to Keep Track of Her Time and Money

It was years of working desk jobs, plus the yearning for work-life balance that drove Lisa to become her own boss.

So 7 years ago, she transitioned from the 9-to-5 to a role that offered her the flexibility to juggle her family and career.

“I found that I didn’t want to swim against the current anymore,” she reflects. “It made more sense for me and my family to start something I’d have more control over.”

Today as a Toronto-based social media marketer and consultant for Lisa Pedersen Media, Lisa works closely with clients to talk strategy and articulate their message online, and through various marketing materials.

But despite Lisa’s unwavering love for her marketing career, being an entrepreneur was a different beast.

New Entrepreneur, New Challenges to Staying Organized

Luckily, with former experience working at a financial institution, Lisa knew she needed to manage her books as a new business owner.

“I always tried to stay organized because I’m not by nature,” she explains. “I’m more creative than anything else, so I didn’t want anything else to fall at the wayside.”

Lisa goes on to describe her former process of getting paid. When her business was in its very early stage, she says she would brief clients and create invoices manually. At the time, Lisa explains, there weren’t many automated options worth entertaining.

And then there was time tracking. Lisa knew that enough was enough after she took on a large social media client.

“At the time, when I was busy with the baby or nursing while I worked, I wouldn’t necessarily think of the time or to mark it down,” she explains. “At the end of the month, I would think ‘oh great’—it would take me 2 hours to put together an invoice.”

Aware that her ability to stay organized was at stake, she sought a better way to stay on top of her business.

“It was important for me to have a time tracker without me freaking out at the end of the month not having the proper notes. Not only did I realize my old process was costing me time, but it caused me major frustration.”

I like to consider it as part of my business. FreshBooks is just intertwined with everything I do every day.

The Search for Accounting Software: A Call Out to Friends

Out of her frustration with manual invoices and the inability to effectively track time, Lisa voiced her concerns to a friend. That’s where she learned about FreshBooks.

“I mentioned to a friend that I didn’t want to lose a receipt,” she recalls. “She mentioned she had a friend who used FreshBooks. Being the frugal person I was, I didn’t want to spend the money at first. But when I looked at all the free options, they didn’t have everything I wanted or needed.”

So before committing to FreshBooks, she called to her larger network of friends. Through Facebook, she asked for more recommendations for “accounting software.”

“I got so many people saying FreshBooks that I tried it out,” Lisa says. “After using it, I loved the fact that the app meshed seamlessly with desktop because I do a lot of work at the park with my kids or at a coffee shop.”

Mastering Organization with FreshBooks

With a new tool at hand, Lisa now feels more empowered to stay organized. As a user for over 4 years now, she takes advantage of everything from expenses and time tracking to invoicing on FreshBooks.

But according to Lisa, FreshBooks goes beyond the tool itself.

“Not only is it user-friendly, sleek, and intuitive—the customer service is one of the things that kept me with it even when I was frustrated by my own lack of organization,” says Lisa. “Customer service was all over it and always picked up the phone. I think that’s one of the main things that really helped the transition.”

Accounting Software That’s Part of the Team

Hard to quantify the helpfulness a tool like FreshBooks brings, Lisa simply calls FreshBooks an extension of her team.

“I like to consider it as part of my business. FreshBooks is just intertwined with everything I do every day.”

And with a tool so close to her business, she recommends other freelancers and small business owners make the same investment.

“It gives you, as an entrepreneur, a really good snapshot of where you are in your business,” she says. “It’s like your business’ heartbeat.”