Document Management

FreshBooks, which has offered online invoicing, is becoming an accounting package. However, while declaring the product is now going to be known as an online accounting product, the company has not described what specific accounting functions might be added but did say it will be targeted at professional services.

"While we definitely won't be adding everything under the sun, our goal is to provide small business owners with the tools they need to run their business in FreshBooks," says Kasey Bayne, who has the title of accounting ambassador with the company. She said the recent addition of an account overview is one move in that direction and there will be other.

The change is reflected in the company's logo. Originally, the logo at www. Freshbooks.com had the tagline "painless billing" under the FreshBooks name.That has been changed to "cloud accounting."

Mike McDerment, the company's founder, announced the new description this week in a letter that had few details about product direction. He did make clear the intended audience, those in professional services such as lawyers and architects, and that it would not be suited to inventory-based businesses.