7 Reasons for Accounting Professionals to Get FreshBooks Certified

Is it time to add a new skill to your toolkit? When you support clients with accounting software, taking the time to level up your skills goes a long way in helping you work more efficiently and reach new customers.

As a firm or business owner, you want to be where your clients are. FreshBooks has an entire training program to help accounting professionals who work with small businesses learn the ins and outs of the platform.

Don’t just take our word for it, though! We asked Accounting Partners in our Community to let us know what they thought of the FreshBooks Certification.

“Being FreshBooks Certified has changed the entire course of my business,” said Kate Josephine Johnson, owner of Heritage Business Services. Read on to get the full story and learn why it might be time to add another certification to your skillset.

What Is the FreshBooks Certification?

The FreshBooks Certification is a training program designed to give accountants and bookkeepers the tools they need to work better with their clients in FreshBooks. It’s an online training program that’ll walk you through how to use FreshBooks’ key features to better serve your clients.

From setting up your accountant access to running Reports, and learning how to manage your clients’ Chart of Accounts, the Certification covers everything an accounting professional needs to know about FreshBooks to serve their small business clients.

Members of the FreshBooks Accounting Partner Program can access the Certification through the Community.

1. Keep Up With Accounting Tech

Your clients’ businesses aren’t static, and yours shouldn’t be, either. Getting your FreshBooks Certification is an easy, free way to level up your skill set and keep your firm up-to-date on multiple accounting software platforms.

“Being FreshBooks Certified gives my clients (and prospects) peace of mind that I am not devoted entirely to only 1 company’s software,” said Susie Fergus, FreshBooks Accounting Partner. “Instead, I am customer-focused—recommending what is best for their unique business. This software is well-supported, user-friendly, and ever-evolving to meet the needs of business owners.”

Getting a deeper understanding of the software makes it easier for you to take a customer-centric approach, too.

“The best part of the Certification is the insight into how the software thinks and acts,” said Megan Justice, owner of Crayon Advisory. “We’re trained to think one way by other software, and it’s not always the best, most efficient, or most business owner-centered way of thinking.”

2. Get Access to Specialized Accounting Support

While the Community is a great resource to check if you need product support, sometimes it helps to connect with someone one-on-one. Certified Partners get dedicated support from our Accounting Specialists, who have accounting backgrounds and know the ins and outs of the FreshBooks platform.

That being said, even if you haven’t completed your Certification yet, the FreshBooks team is still here to support you! As an Accounting Partner, you’ll be connected with your Partner Consultant, who will become your go-to person at FreshBooks. You’ll also get Community support from yours truly, and of course, our award-winning Support team is always here to help, too.

3. You Won’t Feel Like You’re Jumping Through Hoops

You’ve got enough on your plate, so we totally understand that any product certification has to work around your schedule. The entire FreshBooks Certification process takes around 5 hours, but you can always pause and pick it back up if you need a break.

The training is made up of modules with video lessons, so you can see how to do pretty much everything in FreshBooks. You’ll get step-by-step instructions on tasks like how to add Journal Entries, create an Invoice, use Time Tracking, and Bank Reconciliation.

4. Review Lessons On-Demand

You’re not a robot, so no one’s expecting you to remember every tiny detail from the Certification. You can always go back to review lessons if you need a refresher. A lot of Accounting Partners find that completing the Certification makes it easier for them to go back and find the information they’re looking for.

“Personally, the Certification modules are like a library for me,” said Kate. “I know that I can’t remember everything that’s taught in each module after only one listen. But, I have a strong grasp of the overall platform, and I know I can search through the module titles when I need to be reminded of how a specific feature works or how to do a specific task.”

5. It’s Made for Accounting Professionals

Accountants and bookkeepers will likely use FreshBooks differently than their small business clients. That’s why the Certification training is designed for accounting professionals–giving you the tools you need to best support your clients.

“The certification is easy for me to go back and re-watch the thing I need to know or have a question about,” said Megan. “From my perspective as an accountant, I love all of the help articles FreshBooks has available to small business owners, but, they don’t always address my needs as an accounting professional.”

6. Access to the Exclusive FreshBooks Accounting Community

As a Certified Partner, you’ll get access to the FreshBooks Accounting Community. Along with being the place where you go to access the Certification training, the Community offers tons of networking and professional development opportunities.

It’s an online hub designed to connect accounting professionals through peer-to-peer networking, along with being your one-stop shop for learning resources, product updates, and industry news to help you support your small business clients.

And most importantly, it does the thing that any good community should–creating a supportive environment for like-minded people to connect.

“The Certification has given me access to one the friendliest partner communities out there,” said Megan. “And, from what I see, the Community is active, helpful, and supportive without judgment.”

“The main benefit of getting certified for me has been being a part of the Partner Community,” said Tracey Rigaux, Senior Bookkeeper and owner of Balanced Bean Bookkeeping. “It has been wonderful to feel supported, have a lot of great resources, have other Partners to discuss and communicate with, and have a person at FreshBooks who is my contact person. It’s a great Community, and despite the fact that I’m certified in 3 programs, this is the only partner community I engage with.”

7. You’ll Get a New Badge (And Other Free Stuff)

One of the top reasons to complete the FreshBooks Certification really comes down to showing your clients that you’ve got the skills to back them up on a variety of accounting platforms. When you complete the training, you’ll get a badge that you can use on your website or social media platforms to showcase your skills.

“Being FreshBooks Certified gives me one more way to show my clients I’m competent at what I do and with the products I use,” said Megan.

The cherry on top is that you’ll also get rewards for working through the Certification. As you progress through the training, you’ll get points that you can use to redeem for free swag, books, or enrolment in a public speaking course. Once you’ve completed your training, you’ll also get free Certified Partner swag.

Your First Step to Getting FreshBooks Certified…

Ready to get started on your training? Great! The first step to getting FreshBooks Certified is to become an Accounting Partner.

From there, our team will be in touch to find out your goals and get you on your way to getting Certified. I can’t wait to see you in the Community and cheer you on as you complete your Certification!