Switch from FreshBooks to Guliel

Guliel is accounting and finance-operations software that runs invoicing, expenses, purchasing, payroll, reporting and a double-entry general ledger on one engine. Switching from FreshBooks today means you import your client list from a spreadsheet, issue new documents in Guliel, and keep your FreshBooks invoices, payments and time entries in FreshBooks or in reports you export from it. Guliel has no FreshBooks importer or connector today; a direct FreshBooks connector is planned.

You don't have to close FreshBooks first. Run Guliel beside it and close FreshBooks when you're ready.

Why people switch from FreshBooks

FreshBooks is built for freelancers and small service businesses, with time tracking, estimates and double-entry books. People look elsewhere when the business grows a second side, such as suppliers and purchase orders, stock, payroll, a second entity, or invoices in another country's format. Pricing is the other reason. FreshBooks plans are priced partly by the number of billable clients, and extra team members cost extra (as of 2026-10). Guliel prices per organisation, not per seat, and its published plans set no client limit.

In Guliel those parts share one engine. The general ledger is computed from the same document lines as receivables and payables, so the trial balance and the open balances agree.

What maps to what

In FreshBooks	In Guliel today	How it moves
Clients	Customers (live)	Spreadsheet import
Invoices and credits	Invoices, receipts, credit and debit memos as PDF in the formats of 39 countries (live)	Not imported; old ones stay in FreshBooks
Recorded payments	Payments against documents, in full or in part, with a receipt issued on recording (live)	Not imported
Expenses	Scans with OCR and an AI category, inbox capture, and a person's approval before the ledger (live)	Not imported; new ones start in Guliel
Chart of accounts, journal entries	Double-entry ledger on a fixed chart of accounts, manual journal entries that must balance (live); custom accounts (planned)	Opening balances as one journal entry
Recurring invoices	An automation on the monthly schedule that creates the invoice (live)	Set up again
Estimates, proposals, time tracking, projects	No equivalent today	Stay in FreshBooks
FreshBooks Payments	Guliel does not process payments; PayPal payment links are built, not switched on	Stay with your processor
Team members	Roles per organisation: manager, contributor, viewer (live)	Added after you switch

How the client import works

Export your client list from FreshBooks to CSV or Excel. Rename the headers to Guliel's template: Name, Tax ID, Email, Phone, Address, City. Only Name is required. On the Customers page, choose Import, then Other / spreadsheet template. Importing needs the manager role.

1. Column check. Guliel shows which columns it recognised, which required ones are missing and which it will ignore.
2. Review. Each row is marked new, already imported or invalid, with the reason.
3. Commit. Nothing is written until you commit. A bad row is skipped on its own.

Upload the same export again and rows already imported are skipped. Files can be CSV or Excel, up to 10 MB or 50,000 rows.

Step by step

1. Start free, create your organisation and import your clients. The organisation's country sets the document format and numbering.
2. Pick a cut-over date, ideally the start of a month or quarter. From then on, invoices come from Guliel.
3. Collect the invoices still open in FreshBooks there, so each payment sits next to its invoice.
4. Capture new expenses in Guliel by scan or from a connected inbox, and approve them.
5. Give your accountant access. A manager adds them by email once they have a Guliel login. To start the Guliel ledger from your FreshBooks numbers, they can post the opening balances from FreshBooks's trial balance as one balanced journal entry.
6. Before you close FreshBooks, download the reports you want to keep: invoices, payments, expenses and the general ledger.

Running both while you switch

Running Guliel beside FreshBooks is an option for as long as you need it. Guliel's ledger exports as CSV, so your accountant can work from either side (live). As automations take over routine steps, such as acting on overdue invoices, move the rest over. For a business in Israel, documents are issued in Hebrew in the Israeli format (live); SHAAM allocation numbers are built, not yet switched on.

Your accountant stays in the loop

Guliel prepares the records; you or your accountant review and approve them. Captured expenses wait for a person's approval before they reach the ledger, and a manager sets the books lock date (live). A sign-off queue where an accountant approves AI work, and GST and VAT return preparation, are planned. Guliel does not file tax returns.

What it costs

Importing has no charge. Free is $0 per organisation per month: 200 invoices, 100 expense scans, 10 reports, 5 automations. Standard ($20) and Premium ($99) are published; paid plans are not on sale yet. See pricing and Guliel vs FreshBooks.

FAQ

Is there a direct FreshBooks importer?

No. Your client list moves by spreadsheet. FreshBooks invoices, payments, expenses and time entries are not imported. Direct connectors for QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, Wave, FreshBooks, Invoice Ninja, Stripe and Shopify are all planned; none is built yet.

Does Guliel keep the books, or only send invoices?

It keeps the books: a double-entry general ledger on a fixed chart of accounts, balanced manual journal entries, trial balance, balance sheet, general ledger report, income statement, cash flow, a books lock date and CSV export (live). Custom accounts are planned.

Will my FreshBooks invoice numbers carry over?

No. FreshBooks invoices aren't imported, so they keep their numbers there. New documents follow Guliel's numbering for your country.

Do my time entries come across?

No. Guliel has no time tracker. If hours drive your billing, keep FreshBooks or another tracker for them.

What about recurring invoices?

They aren't imported. An automation on the monthly schedule can create the invoice in Guliel.

Does Guliel replace FreshBooks Payments?

No. Guliel does not process payments. Record each payment against its invoice, in full or in part. PayPal payment links are built, not yet switched on.

Start free, import your clients, and issue the next invoice from Guliel.