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FreshBooks Make integrationAutomate FreshBooks with Make.

Tired of retyping the same client into FreshBooks after every signed deal? The FreshBooks Make integration gives you 20 modules: 14 actions and 6 searches over clients, estimates, invoices, items, services and expenses. This guide shows how to connect your account and build a first working scenario.

Try the FreshBooks integration on MakeSee the 20 modules

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What you can automate

What can the FreshBooks Make integration do?

The FreshBooks Make integration lets other tools write into your FreshBooks account and read from it without code. In Make, you build a scenario (the automation itself) out of modules, each one a single brick like Create an Invoice or Search Expenses, and Make runs the chain for you.

Invoices that draft themselves. A sales tool marks a deal as won, Search a Client finds the matching customer, and Create an Invoice prepares the bill. If the customer is new, Create a Client adds them first.

Expenses that file themselves. A receipt lands in your inbox or a shared folder, and Create an Expense records it in FreshBooks with the file attached. Later, Search Expenses pulls the list back out for a spreadsheet or a report.

A price list that stays in sync. When a rate changes in the tool your team treats as the reference, Search a Service or Search an Item finds the entry and Update a Service or Update an Item corrects it.

Know the limits before you start. FreshBooks has no trigger in Make, so something else has to start every scenario: another app, or a schedule. Make also flags its FreshBooks documentation as AI-generated from the vendor docs, so check important details with FreshBooks itself. If you are still weighing tools, the Make review and n8n vs Make pages give the wider picture, and Make pricing explains the plans.

Connect

How do you connect FreshBooks to Make?

  1. 01

    Register an app in FreshBooks

    Make needs a registered developer application on an active FreshBooks account. Log in, open the developer page and create a new app. Give it a name, paste https://www.integromat.com/oauth/cb/freshbooks as the callback URI, then save the form.

  2. 02

    Copy the two credentials

    Once the app is saved, FreshBooks shows a Client ID and a Client secret on screen. Copy both somewhere safe for a moment. They are the key Make will use to act on your account, so treat them like a password.

  3. 03

    Create the connection in Make

    In your scenario, add any FreshBooks module and click Create a connection. Name it in Connection name if you like, then paste the credentials or follow the on-screen prompts. Every FreshBooks module reuses this one connection afterwards.

First scenario

Your first scenario: bill a client as soon as a deal closes

GoalWhen a deal is won in your sales tool, Make finds the client in FreshBooks and creates the invoice.

  1. 01

    Start from the right event

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the + to add the first module. FreshBooks has no trigger, so pick the one from your CRM or form app that fires when a deal is won.

  2. 02

    Look the client up

    Click the + on the right to add Search a Client. Click Create a connection if this is your first FreshBooks module, then map the customer name or email coming from the first module.

  3. 03

    Prepare the invoice

    Add Create an Invoice next. Map the client found by the search, then the amount and description sent by your sales tool. Make lists what it can read from FreshBooks once the connection works.

  4. 04

    Test it with Run once

    Click Run once and trigger a test deal. Read the bundles each module received, and check that the search returned the client you expected before trusting the invoice.

  5. 05

    Schedule it and switch it on

    If your CRM trigger is a scheduled one, set its schedule: every 15 minutes by default, the shortest on the Free plan. An instant trigger needs no schedule. Then switch the scenario on and let it handle the next closed deal.

Modules

What each FreshBooks module does

FreshBooks gives you 20 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

FreshBooks1

Create a Client

Action

In Make“Creates a client.”

You get a new client record in FreshBooks without opening the app, ready to receive estimates and invoices. It closes the gap between the tool where people first appear and your billing.

When to use it
a lead signs a quote in your CRM and needs to exist in FreshBooks before the first bill.
Watch out
run Search a Client first, or the same customer can end up created twice.
FreshBooks2

Create an Estimate

Action

In Make“Creates estimates.”

Pricing requests turn into a ready estimate in FreshBooks, filled from the data your form or CRM already holds. Nobody copies line by line from one screen to another.

When to use it
a prospect fills a quote request form and you want a draft waiting for review.
Watch out
when the form holds a customer name, add Search a Client before it so the estimate goes to the right FreshBooks client.
FreshBooks3

Create an Expense

Action

In Make“Creates a new expense. Allows to attach a file to the expense.”

A receipt becomes a recorded expense in FreshBooks, and this module can attach the file to it. Your books keep the proof next to the amount.

When to use it
receipts arrive by email or in a shared folder and you want them logged as soon as they land.
Watch out
on the Free plan Make handles files up to 5 MB, so a heavy scanned PDF may not pass.
FreshBooks4

Create an Invoice

Action

In Make“Creates a new invoice.”

This is the module that saves the most typing: an invoice appears in FreshBooks from data another app sends. The client, the amounts and the description come straight from the earlier modules.

When to use it
a deal closes, an order ships or a project is marked done in another tool.
Watch out
test with Run once on a dummy client before real customers start receiving bills.
FreshBooks5

Create an Item

Action

In Make“Creates an item.”

New products reach your FreshBooks item list on their own, so invoices can pick them without anyone adding them by hand. Useful when the catalog lives somewhere else.

When to use it
a product is added to your shop or inventory sheet and must be billable in FreshBooks too.
Watch out
check with Search an Item first if the same product might be sent twice.
FreshBooks6

Create a Service

Action

In Make“Creates a service.”

Services you sell by the hour or by the job land in FreshBooks as soon as they are defined elsewhere. The list your team bills from stays complete.

When to use it
your agency adds a new offer to its internal catalog and wants it ready for the next invoice.
Watch out
services and items are separate lists in this app, so pick the module that matches what you actually sell.
FreshBooks7

Delete an Expense

Action

In Make“Deletes a specific expense.”

Duplicate or cancelled expenses disappear from FreshBooks without a manual cleanup. It keeps reports honest when the same receipt was recorded twice.

When to use it
a purchase is refunded or cancelled in the tool where it started, and the FreshBooks line must go.
Watch out
treat the deletion as final and point it only at an expense you found and checked with Search Expenses or Get an Expense.
FreshBooks8

Get an Expense

Action

In Make“Retrieves details of the specified expense.”

You receive the full detail of one expense you already know, ready to map into the next module. It answers the question "what exactly was recorded?" in a single step.

When to use it
before updating or deleting an expense, to read its current values and decide.
Watch out
it targets one specified expense; to find several at once, Search Expenses is the right choice.
FreshBooks9

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

When none of the listed modules covers your need, this one reaches any endpoint of the FreshBooks API with the connection you already set up. No new login, no separate app.

When to use it
you need an object or an action FreshBooks offers but Make lists no module for.
Watch out
you write the request yourself, so keep the FreshBooks API documentation open while you build it.
FreshBooks10

Update a Client

Action

In Make“Updates a client by ID.”

When a customer's details change in your CRM, FreshBooks follows without anyone retyping them. The client you bill always matches the one your CRM knows.

When to use it
a contact is edited in your CRM and the billing record should follow.
Watch out
the module updates a client by ID, so add Search a Client before it to fetch that ID.
FreshBooks11

Update an Expense

Action

In Make“Updates a specific expense.”

Corrections to an expense flow into FreshBooks on their own, with no second entry. Your accountant sees the right figure without asking.

When to use it
an expense gets approved or corrected in a spending tool after it was first logged.
Watch out
read the expense with Get an Expense first so you only change what really moved.
FreshBooks12

Update an Invoice

Action

In Make“Updates an invoice by ID”

An invoice already in FreshBooks gets adjusted from outside, so late changes to an order do not mean a manual edit. The bill stays aligned with what was delivered.

When to use it
an order is modified after the invoice was drafted, for example a line added in your shop.
Watch out
it works by invoice ID; Search an Invoice gives you that ID when your other app does not store it.
FreshBooks13

Update an Item

Action

In Make“Updates an existing item”

When a product changes in your shop or sheet, FreshBooks follows without a second edit. Next invoices use the new values straight away.

When to use it
your inventory sheet or shop is the reference and FreshBooks must follow its changes.
Watch out
find the right entry with Search an Item before updating, especially when two products have close names.
FreshBooks14

Update a Service

Action

In Make“Updates service by ID.”

A revised service lands in FreshBooks from the tool where your team decides it. The whole team bills the same thing.

When to use it
a service definition changes in your internal catalog or pricing sheet.
Watch out
the module updates a service by ID, so chain Search a Service first to get it.
FreshBooks15

Search a Client

Search

In Make“Searches for a client.”

Your scenario finds out whether a customer already exists in FreshBooks, and gets their record to reuse. It is the step that keeps your client list free of duplicates.

When to use it
right before Create a Client or Create an Invoice, to work with the right person.
Watch out
a search can return zero, one or several bundles, and each one runs the next modules once.
FreshBooks16

Search an Estimate

Search

In Make“Searches estimates.”

Estimates matching your criteria come back as bundles you can send to a spreadsheet, a message or another module. Follow-ups stop depending on memory.

When to use it
you want the list of open estimates for a sales review or a reminder to prospects.
Watch out
every returned estimate costs an operation in each following module, so narrow the search.
FreshBooks17

Search an Invoice

Search

In Make“Returns invoices by filter”

Invoices come back filtered the way you choose, ready to feed a dashboard or a reminder. Despite its short name, it can return many invoices, not a single one.

When to use it
you track unpaid bills in a sheet or post them to your team chat.
Watch out
each returned invoice runs the next modules once, so filter tightly before posting anything to your team.
FreshBooks18

Search an Item

Search

In Make“Searches items”

You check your FreshBooks item list from a scenario and pick the exact product to reuse or update. It prevents twin items with slightly different names.

When to use it
before Create an Item or Update an Item, when products come from a shop or a sheet.
Watch out
several matches mean several bundles, so make your criteria precise enough to land on one.
FreshBooks19

Search a Service

Search

In Make“Searches services.”

Services already defined in FreshBooks come back to your scenario, so you can update the right one or reuse it on an invoice. The catalog stays tidy.

When to use it
ahead of Update a Service, or to check that an offer exists before billing it.
Watch out
like every search here, it may return nothing; test with Run once to see what comes back.
FreshBooks20

Search Expenses

Search

In Make“Searches for expenses or lists them all.”

You pull your expenses out of FreshBooks, filtered or all of them, to reconcile, report or export. Finance gets its numbers without a manual download.

When to use it
you feed a spending sheet or a budget report from FreshBooks data.
Watch out
listing everything can produce a lot of bundles, and Make counts one operation per bundle in each next module.
Need help

Need help automating FreshBooks with Make?

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FAQ

FreshBooks and Make: common questions

01Is the FreshBooks Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. FreshBooks is a standard app, so it works on the Free plan. That plan allows 2 active scenarios, a scheduled run every 15 minutes at the shortest, 5 minutes of execution per run, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams, Enterprise) bring the interval down to 1 minute and remove the cap on active scenarios. FreshBooks itself requires an active account on its own subscription, and its pricing page gives the details.
02What do you need to connect FreshBooks to Make?
An active FreshBooks account and a registered developer application inside it. On the FreshBooks developer page, create an app, name it, enter the Integromat callback address given in the Make documentation and save. FreshBooks then shows a Client ID and a Client secret. In Make, add a FreshBooks module, click Create a connection and paste both values or follow the prompts. The same connection then serves all 20 modules. If the authorization fails, check the callback address first.
03Does the FreshBooks Make integration react in real time?
No, because FreshBooks has no trigger module in Make, neither scheduled nor instant. Something else has to start the scenario. The most responsive option is an instant trigger from another app, which calls Make as soon as its event happens, followed by your FreshBooks modules. The other option is a schedule set on the first module: every 15 minutes by default, 1 minute at best on a paid plan. Either way, test the chain with Run once before switching it on.
04What if the FreshBooks module you need is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It reaches any endpoint of the FreshBooks API with the connection you already created, so no second login is needed. You write the request yourself, which asks for a look at the FreshBooks API documentation. Also note that Make labels its FreshBooks documentation as AI-generated from the vendor docs, so confirm important behavior with FreshBooks before building on it. Every FreshBooks module shares that one connection, including this one.
05Should you use Make or n8n for FreshBooks?
It depends on how you like to build. Make gives FreshBooks 20 ready modules plus Make an API Call, a visual editor and a Free plan to test on. n8n also covers many apps, and FreshBooks may have a node there too; check before deciding. Compare the modules each tool offers for your exact case, rather than reputations. The n8n vs Make comparison, linked higher on this page, lays out the criteria side by side.
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