By Natalie Cooper, cloud-accounting access administrator with 9 years of experience managing bookkeeping software roles
Last reviewed: July 22, 2026
FreshBooks business owners should use the main account login, while staff, contractors, managers, and accountants should enter through their own invited profiles. Each role receives different access, so a missing report or invoice control may be a permission issue rather than a failed login.
This independent guide is not affiliated with FreshBooks.
Do not share the owner’s credentials. Invite each person separately, assign the narrowest suitable role, and confirm that they can reach the projects or records needed for their work.
What FreshBooks Team Access Means
FreshBooks is cloud accounting and invoicing software for small businesses and independent professionals. Its business tools cover invoices, expenses, payments, time tracking, projects, reports, and collaboration with team members.
Team access is role-based.
FreshBooks currently identifies roles including Admin, Manager, Employee, Contractor, Accountant, and Accountant – Full Access. The account owner chooses a role when activating a team member and can further control certain client and project responsibilities.
That role determines what the person can view or change. Someone may sign in successfully but remain unable to manage invoices, inspect reports, edit expenses, or enter a project they were never assigned to.
The account is working. Their access may be limited.
Choose the Correct FreshBooks Route
| What you need to do | Correct starting point |
|---|---|
| Manage the entire business | Owner’s FreshBooks login |
| Add a person without account access | Create an Unassigned team profile |
| Let someone collaborate | Send a paid team-member invitation |
| Restrict someone to assigned work | Employee or Contractor role |
| Grant broader operational access | Manager or Admin role |
| Let a bookkeeper review records | Accountant role |
| Track who edited invoices or expenses | Audit Log report |
| Fix a login failure | FreshBooks recovery and support routes |
FreshBooks allows an owner to add someone as Unassigned without giving that person account access. A paid invitation is used when the person is ready to collaborate inside FreshBooks as an Admin, Manager, Employee, Contractor, or Accountant.
Do this first: decide whether the person needs a record in your team list or actual access to the business. Skip a paid invitation when you only need to store their information for later.
How Team Members Log In
A team member must accept the invitation sent to their own email address and use their own FreshBooks profile. They should not enter through the owner’s email, even when both people work on the same invoices or projects.
The invitation connects the person to the business and applies the assigned role. Once access is accepted, the user signs in through FreshBooks and switches to the invited business when necessary.
Someone with access to more than one FreshBooks business should check the active business name immediately after login. A valid login can still lead to the wrong client or company account.
Priority one is the business name. Skip changing invoices or expenses until it matches the intended company.
When login itself fails, use the recovery options on the FreshBooks login page. The current screen includes email and password fields, Google and Apple sign-in, Forgot Your Password?, Can’t Log In?, and Sign Up.
Never send the owner’s password, authentication code, payment information, or recovery email to another team member.
Add and Invite a Team Member
FreshBooks distinguishes between adding a profile and granting active access.
An Unassigned team member can be kept inside the business without consuming a paid team invitation. When the person needs to collaborate, the owner can activate them with a paid invitation and select an appropriate role.
Review these details before sending the invite:
- the person’s email address;
- their working relationship with the business;
- the role selected;
- which clients they should access;
- which projects they should join;
- whether they need a project-manager designation.
A mistyped email can send an invitation to the wrong person. A role selected too broadly can expose financial reports, client information, expenses, or invoice controls unrelated to that person’s job.
Check the address manually.
The paid team-member add-on can be added or removed from the FreshBooks subscription. Current cost and plan eligibility should be confirmed inside the account because billing details may change.
Pick the Right FreshBooks Role
The best role is the least powerful one that still permits the person to complete their assigned work.
Admin
An Admin receives broad operational access and can perform many of the same business-management tasks as the owner. This role should be reserved for someone trusted to work across significant parts of the account.
Manager
A Manager is intended for someone overseeing work, clients, or projects without automatically receiving every owner-level function. FreshBooks lists Manager as a distinct role alongside Admin, Employee, Contractor, and Accountant.
Employee
An Employee can be given access appropriate to internal work. All invited team roles can track time, although visibility into other areas depends on the role and assigned work.
Contractor
A Contractor is suitable for an external worker who should collaborate on assigned projects without receiving broad access to the company’s books. FreshBooks also documents a separate contractor workflow in which contractors work through their own accounts and assigned projects.
Accountant
An Accountant can review bookkeeping information and carry out accounting-related tasks. FreshBooks separately identifies an Accountant – Full Access role for broader access.
Choose carefully. Skip Admin merely because another role requires a few extra setup steps.
Why a User Can Log In but See Nothing
A successful login confirms authentication. It does not confirm access to every client, project, report, or transaction.
Check these possibilities:
The person remains Unassigned: Their profile exists, but active account access was not granted.
The invitation was not accepted: The business sent the invitation, but the recipient did not complete the account setup.
The wrong role was selected: An Employee or Contractor may not see controls available to an Admin or Accountant.
The person was not added to the project: FreshBooks says anyone invited to a project can share files and collaborate, which means general business access alone may not place the user inside every project.
The wrong business is open: The person may have access to several FreshBooks companies.
The feature is outside the role: A user can track time while lacking access to unrelated accounting or payment functions. All team roles can track time, but their wider permissions differ.
Review the role first. Skip deleting and re-inviting the person until the existing configuration has been inspected.
Assign Team Members to Projects
FreshBooks projects support collaboration, file sharing, tracked time, and billing. Team members must be connected to the relevant project before they can participate in that project’s workflow.
Before adding someone, confirm:
- the correct client;
- the correct project;
- the person’s role;
- whether they need project-manager responsibility;
- the billing rate applied to their work;
- whether their tracked time will be billable.
This is a practical source of invoice errors. A worker can enter accurate hours, yet the business may apply the wrong rate or attach the entry to the wrong client project.
Review one sample time entry before allowing a large volume of work to accumulate.
FreshBooks states that any invited team member can track time. The owner can then review that time and invoice it back to clients where appropriate.
Time tracking does not equal approval to invoice. The owner or project manager should still verify the project, duration, service, notes, and billing treatment.
Use the Audit Log to Review Changes
FreshBooks provides an Audit Log report for tracking changes made to invoices and expenses. The report can be filtered by client, change type, entity type, or user.
This is useful when:
- an invoice amount changed;
- an expense was edited or removed;
- the business needs to identify which user made an update;
- several people work in the same account;
- a bookkeeping difference appeared after staff access changed.
The current documentation includes a historical limitation: invoice changes appear from May 24, 2024 onward, while expense changes appear from September 11, 2024 onward. Earlier edits will not necessarily be present in the Audit Log.
That date boundary matters.
Do not conclude that no one edited an older invoice simply because the Audit Log contains no matching entry. The change may predate the supported history.
Priority two is the filter. Skip searching the entire report when the client, date, user, and document type are already known.
Remove or Change Access Safely
A person’s responsibilities may change, or they may leave the business. Review their role promptly instead of leaving old access in place.
Before removing access:
- Check active projects.
- Review unbilled time.
- Reassign project-manager responsibilities.
- Confirm whether unfinished tasks or files are needed.
- Review recent invoice and expense changes.
- Remove or reduce the person’s access.
Do not share the departing user’s account with a replacement employee. Send the replacement a separate invitation so their actions remain connected to their own profile.
A role reduction can be preferable when the person still needs limited access. For example, broad administrative access may be changed to a narrower employee or contractor role.
FreshBooks describes team-member invitations as a subscription add-on that can be removed when no longer needed. Confirm the current billing impact inside the account before changing the subscription.
Accountants and the 2026 Hub Change
FreshBooks currently states that Accountant Hub is scheduled to retire on August 31, 2026, as the company transitions to its FreshBooks Partner Program. FreshBooks says the core features used to support clients will continue, but accounting professionals should review the transition instructions.
Each business can currently have up to 10 accountants. Team members at an accounting firm may be invited directly into a client’s account, or added by an Accountant – Full Access user where the required relationship exists.
This change is time-sensitive.
An accountant preparing workflows for after August 31, 2026 should rely on the current FreshBooks transition page rather than an older Accountant Hub tutorial.
Business owners do not need to share credentials during the transition. Accountant invitations and assigned roles remain the correct access model.
FreshBooks FAQ
Should employees use the owner’s login?
No. Invite them separately.
Can I add someone without giving account access?
Yes. FreshBooks allows an owner to add an Unassigned team member at no extra cost, then activate a paid invitation later when collaboration is needed.
Why can my employee log in but not see a project?
The employee may not have been added to that project, may be viewing the wrong business, or may lack the required role or client access. Review the existing assignment before sending another invitation.
Can every FreshBooks role track time?
Yes. FreshBooks states that all invited team roles can track time, although broader access differs by role.
How can I see who changed an invoice?
Use the Audit Log report and filter by user, client, change type, or entity type. Invoice history in that report begins with changes made on or after May 24, 2024.
What is the difference between Unassigned and Employee?
An Unassigned profile does not provide active account access. An Employee uses a paid team invitation and can sign in with permissions tied to that role.
Is Accountant Hub being discontinued?
Yes. FreshBooks currently says Accountant Hub will retire on August 31, 2026, as the Partner Program takes its place. Accounting professionals should review FreshBooks’ current transition documentation.
How many accountants can one business invite?
FreshBooks currently allows up to 10 accountants per business.