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Connect FreshBooks

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Connecting FreshBooks lets your Modules look up your clients and invoices and save a draft invoice for you, for example, "invoice Acme for 10 hours of consulting." You create a small FreshBooks app of your own and paste its ID and secret into Raileon. Raileon keeps them encrypted.

What your Modules can do

  • Find a client by name or email and see what they currently owe.
  • List your invoices with their status (draft, sent, viewed, paid, partial or overdue), the total, and what is still outstanding.
  • Save a draft invoice for a client who is already in FreshBooks. You approve every one first.

What your Modules can't do

  • Send an invoice to a client. A draft stays a draft until you send it in FreshBooks yourself.
  • Record a payment, charge a card, issue a refund or move money in any way.
  • Create, change or delete clients, or change or delete an existing invoice.

Names and notes typed into FreshBooks are treated as information only, never as instructions.

Before you start

You need a FreshBooks account where you can open the Developer page. The client you want to invoice must already exist in FreshBooks. A Module can't invoice a name that isn't there, and it will ask you to add the client first.

One business per connection

Raileon connects to one FreshBooks business. If your FreshBooks login belongs to more than one business, the connection is refused with a message saying so, rather than guessing which one to use. Connect with a login that has only the business you want your Modules to work in. Once connected, the Apps card shows the business name.

Create your FreshBooks app

  1. In FreshBooks, open the Developer page and choose Create New App.
  2. Give the app a name, for example "Raileon". FreshBooks asks for a unique name.
  3. In the Redirect URI box, paste the redirect URI that Raileon shows you when you select Connect. It looks like https://api.raileon.com/api/integrations/callback/freshbooks.
  4. Under the app's permissions, allow these four and nothing else: Profile (read), Clients (read), Invoices (read) and Invoices (write).
  5. Save the app, then copy its Client ID and Client Secret.

Connect FreshBooks

  1. Open Apps

    In your dashboard, go to Apps in the left sidebar and select Connect on the FreshBooks card.

  2. Paste your app details

    Paste the Client ID and Client Secret, then select Save & connect.

  3. Sign in and approve

    Sign in to FreshBooks, choose the business to connect, and approve the access. You return to Raileon and the FreshBooks card shows Connected.

Disconnect FreshBooks

Open Apps, find the FreshBooks card, and select Disconnect. To be thorough, also delete the app on the FreshBooks Developer page.

If it stops working

If a Module says FreshBooks needs to be reconnected, select Connect on the card again and approve the access. FreshBooks signs the connection out if the app is deleted or its secret changes.