We are very excited to announce that OfficeDrop has integrated with FreshBooks by creating our very own online document management FreshBooks add-on! FreshBooks has compiled a sizeable list of add-ons and we are honored to lend our services to make their online billing service even more helpful. This integration merges the accessibility of your OfficeDrop documents with the convenience of FreshBooks online invoicing. With the OfficeDrop add-on you are able to append a link to the notes section of any FreshBooks document which allows recipients to view and download any selected group of documents in your OfficeDrop account. All of your documents are just one click away from Freshbooks for you and your clients.

For example, with the OfficeDrop integration, a FreshBooks user could attach a projected project timeline and scope of work to a FreshBooks estimate she sends to a prospective client. Her client can easily click on the OfficeDrop link embedded in the Freshbooks estimate and view the timeline and the contract – and the client can full text search within the contract and download it as a PDF.

Freshbooks users will also be able to attach entire folders from OfficeDrop to Freshbooks items. With OfficeDrop’s search feature Freshbooks users and clients will be able to search all the documents to find the specific item. OfficeDrop’s snippit views make it easy to find specific information in files or preview things like purchased photographs or artwork.

Some other great things possible with this integration include the ability to attach:

• Scanned paper or emailed receipts to invoices
• Project timelines to an estimate
• Contracts to an estimate
• Photos or artwork to invoices or clients
• Word documents to time entries
• Or even entire folders of documents and files to all sorts of Freshbooks stuff!

To get started go here: http://www.officedrop.com/freshbooks-document-management/

See how it works for yourself in the following tutorial videos we produced covering the integration:

Linking OfficeDrop documents to a FreshBooks invoice:

By linking OfficeDrop folders and documents to an invoice, clients can easily access, download and search any relevant documents.

First you will need an existing FreshBooks invoice or other document that you would like to link with OfficeDrop. Once this is done, log into your OfficeDrop account and locate the folder you would like linked to the FreshBooks form.

To do so, click the small triangle to the left of the folder to bring up the folder actions menu. From there, move down to the options listed under “Link to FreshBooks.” Select the document type that applies (Invoice in the video use case) and you will be shown a list of the designated FreshBooks documents you have created. Then select the document(s) you would like to link the folder to and decide whether this will be a private (recipient will need your username and password to view) or public link (anyone with the link can view). We recommend public link if you are sharing the document or folder with a client. Finally, you can either click “Append to Existing Notes” to add to notes already on the FreshBooks document, or “Replace Existing Notes” to replace them. The link to the shared files will appear in the notes section of the Freshbooks item; this is why you have to choose how to put it into the notes. The system will alert you of the link and the only step left is to return to FreshBooks and send the document to your client, complete with a secure link to the designated OfficeDrop documents.

Setting Up Integration

Step 1: Enabling FreshBooks API

FreshBooks API must first be enabled to start linking OfficeDrop documents.

To do this, log into your FreshBooks account and click “My Account.” From there, click the tab labeled “FreshBooks API.” The last step is to check the “Enable API” button, and you’re ready for the second step.

Step 2: Authorizing OfficeDrop for FreshBooks Integration

The second step in is to authorize your OfficeDrop account to interact with FreshBooks.

First, log into your OfficeDrop account and from the home screen select “tools.” On the resulting screen, there will be a menu on the left with a link to “Add-ons.” Click the Add-ons link, and from there move below the Evernote add-on to the space reserved for FreshBooks. Here you will have to enter your unique FreshBooks URL. You can find information on where to find this URL here. Click “Authorize OfficeDrop” and you will be asked to enter your FreshBooks username and password. Once finished, just click “Allow Access” and you will be able to start linking OfficeDrop documents to FreshBooks invoices, expenses and more.