Gathering Data for the Greater Good
So … Version 3.5 is out the door.
Many of you (FreshBooks *active* users only) will notice a special message the next time you login. It is a prompt to tell us what profession/industry you are in. It’s optional, but here is the kicker - if you tell us, we are going to deliver some real value to you and your business.
Applications that use the web as a platform have the potential to begin an era of providing new value for their users. Never has there been a better opportunity for users to learn from other users. Some may call this social software (I would), but it’s not all about creating a profile page on a web, uploading photos and hoping someone finds you online. This is a different kind of learning.
All the users that profile themselves (e.g. tell us “I am a web designer”) will begin receiving useful comparative business metrics they can use to benchmark their business. For example, a web designer might like to learn:
- What is the average invoice size for web designers?
- How long does the average web designer take to get paid?
- What is the average monthly revenue of other web designers?
We’re going to tell our active users their industry average AND their own average, so they can see how they stack up. “If everyone is getting paid faster than me, why is that and what can I do about it?” Good questions.
We’re going to take things one step further too. We’re going to scour our records for the best performers for various metrics and interview them to get tips. We will then feature them as experts so other businesses can learn how to run their own businesses more effectively.
Remember when you had to pay Forrester $1200 for a report like this? It’s times like this I catch a glimpse of how our service - and services like ours - will begin to move markets.
Just so we are clear, the data collected will only be used in its anonymous aggregate form. We’re not looking into your data on an individual basis and it won’t be copied or shared outside of our organization. Also, the request to have users profile themselves, and the access to the comparative industry reporting, are only available to users who have demonstrated a commitment to using FreshBooks. Our active users.
So sign up, use FreshBooks and join the data party.
Copyright © 2000-2009
10:31 am
Hey Mike.
I’m not a Freshbooks user but I still read your blog just for inspiration. You have a great service and a website. I see myself in your shoes an year from now (though we’re in different markets).
I read that you have 80,000 user accounts created. Do you want to share how many active members you have, and how many of them are paying?
Cheers.
1:38 pm
Ali - looks like your product is coming along well - congratulations. I was asked a similar question, and I replied, over here.
2:33 pm
It is ironic that you ask your customers to share information about their business while refusing to share information about yours. This practice is common but comical when such a company encourages its customers to share information with them…for the greater good of course.
2:44 pm
Good point, however we are not asking anyone to publically disclose their individual company’s information. We are only gathering information for aggregate release. And for the record I am working on a project where I am collecting information from web application service providers (i.e. businesses like ours) for release in aggregate form. I will be publically releasing that information. Fair is fair.
For anyone interested in participating in that project, you can find out how at the bottom of this article.
9:05 pm
[...] My mesh partner Mike McDerment and his Freshbooks colleagues have launched a new version of their online invoicing service - details in their post. As another of my mesh partners Mark Evans has noted, the new version has a very interesting feature: One thing that makes v3.5 different is Freshbooks asks for the user’s profession/industry. So what do you get for disclosing some personal information? Well, Freshbooks will produce comparative business metrics that users can apply to their own businesses. Freshbooks is also going to sift through its records for the best performers in each sector, and then interview them for tips that will shared. [...]
11:12 pm
[...] The latest addition is a social aspect that plenty of small businesses and freelancers would likely be very interested in: the ability to aggregate and track not just your own data — that is, how often and how quickly you get paid, etc. — but data supplied by others as well, to see how you compare to the rest of the industry. As Mike explains in his post, all of this information would be voluntary, and would remain anonymous. [...]
11:36 am
[...] Yesterday I posted this on the FreshBooks blog: Applications that use the web as a platform have the potential to begin an era of providing new value for their users… [...]
12:15 pm
Mike, it is such a pleasure to watch you and the FreshBooks team in action.
Data capture is where it’s at!
I’m impressed that your’e doing it, and that you have come up with a way to do it that presents a clear benefit to Freshbooks users like me. (I’m a very happy Freshbooks user.)
Guess this means I’m submitting my expenses today instead of Friday so I can log in and check out the new question….
12:46 pm
[...] Online invoicing service FreshBooks released a new version of its software yesterday and included an interesting new component that I think is a sign of things to come. Users are now asked if they would like to identify what industry they work in and contribute to aggregate data collection by sector. Participants will be able to see how much other web designers, for example, are charging per job, how much they make per month and are how quickly invoices are being paid. Those who participate will be able to access their individual averages over time and be notified whether or not their performance is improving relative to others. FreshBooks will find the top users in various fields and interview them for tips on their success. [...]
5:10 pm
[...] Online invoicing service FreshBooks released a new version of its software yesterday and included an interesting new component that I think is a sign of things to come. Users are now asked if they would like to identify what industry they work in and contribute to aggregate data collection by sector. Participants will be able to see how much other web designers, for example, are charging per job, how much they make per month and are how quickly invoices are being paid. Those who participate will be able to access their individual averages over time and be notified whether or not their performance is improving relative to others. FreshBooks will find the top users in various fields and interview them for tips on their success. [...]
11:53 am
[...] Online invoicing service FreshBooks released a new version of its software yesterday and included an interesting new component that I think is a sign of things to come. Users are now asked if they would like to identify what industry they work in and contribute to aggregate data collection by sector. Participants will be able to see how much other web designers, for example, are charging per job, how much they make per month and are how quickly invoices are being paid. Those who participate will be able to access their individual averages over time and be notified whether or not their performance is improving relative to others. FreshBooks will find the top users in various fields and interview them for tips on their success. [...]
8:32 am
[...] Hmm, I thought to myself, that sounds mightily similar to the (free) service FreshBooks is going to start offering, described by Mike in a recent blog post, and reported on by Zoli from the Office 2.0 conference. [...]
5:41 pm
[...] Was invited to Web 2.0 in the spring and I decided to attend. I was just running through the opaquely presented schedule….lots will be happening…so far deciding what workshops to attend has been fairly easy…in any given workshop slot there are about six workshops…four of which are sponsored and smelling incredibly lame. That rules four out and makes my decisions easier. I’m looking forward to seeing Paul Kedrosky talk about data and what not in Enterprise 2.0…something that is close to home. [...]
1:41 pm
[...] Just last month we raised the bar again and reshaped what our industry can be by making strides to deliver industry benchmarks to our clients that they can use to measure their performance against similar businesses. Once we have benchmarks for various metrics, we are going to seek out best performers for the metrics and interview them so they can share their insights with other FreshBooks users. [...]
9:58 pm
[...] Paul said much the same thing about my fellow mesh organizer Mike McDerment’s company Freshbooks, which does online invoicing and time tracking for companies. Mike and his team recently introduced a feature that will aggregate the data from all of its users (more than 100,000 now) and allow them to benchmark their companies against the rest of their industry, or other industries. Valuable stuff. [...]
11:06 pm
[...] Gathering Data for the Greater Good How Freshbooks analyses metadata and gives its members a reason to provide more personal information. Brands and sites who want to know more about their consumers/visitors should pay attention. There may be better ways than financial incentives to make (tags: marketresearch crm) Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
10:28 am
[...] * NOTE: Ripe Data will not include the valuable industry benchmarks active FreshBooks users will have access to in 2007. For companies who accept online payment - In October, 14.5% of payments were accepted online - November, 17.5% [...]
2:33 pm
[...] 4th Place: “Gathering Data for the Greater Good” with 17 comments. “We’re going to tell our active users their industry average AND their own average, so they can see how they stack up. “If everyone is getting paid faster than me, why is that and what can I do about it?” Good questions.” [...]
9:51 am
[...] I think FreshBooks is attempting something very interesting. [...]
9:44 am
[...] of various metrics we track here at FreshBooks. Please note, Ripe Data will not include the valuable industry benchmarks active FreshBooks users will have access to in 2007. With that said, [...]
9:45 am
[...] of various metrics we track here at FreshBooks. Please note, Ripe Data will not include the valuable industry benchmarks active FreshBooks users will have access to in 2007. With that said, [...]
1:15 pm
[...] FreshBooks. My comments are written below in italics. Please note, Ripe Data does not include the valuable industry benchmarks active FreshBooks users will have access to soon. Get it while its [...]
8:15 am
[...] arriving every semester. The difference is that instead of Cs in Algebra, this report card has valuable business benchmarks for your small business. My guess is, instead of dreading it, you will be counting down the days and hours until your [...]
8:22 am
[...] Users are now asked if they would like to identify what industry they work in and contribute to aggregate data collection by sector. Participants will be able to see how much other web designers, for example, are charging per job, [...]
4:09 am
How is a featured expert going to be anonymous? How is scouring your records for the best performers only using data in its anonymous aggregate form?
3:43 pm
That’s a good question, Jean. We’re not actually looking at the data itself, we’re simply examining the results of the comparisons being made. If users then choose to share their results beyond that, we’re all ears; but we certainly don’t make a habit of examining our users’ financial details, we simply get in touch with the top performers in a chosen category to see if they’re willing to chat about their methodology.
2:05 pm
Hey. I’d love to add my profession, but its not listed. How about adding “Photographer”.
10:04 pm
Jason - thank you so much for piping up and telling us this. We need to revamp those professions and it is currently on our list of “to dos”. We will add photographer for sure - thanks again.
3:05 pm
Freshbooks fell into my lap when I was just surfing. I was getting ready to order business quicken software, I was formerly doing all this stuff by hand. Yuck
It certainly had everything I needed, only one suggestion, I would like to send the clients invoice to the client and to the rep and myself at the same time. Is there a feature where I can do that, that I might have missed?
Thanks O.J.
Lowest cost ink and toners on the net. Personal pricing only saves you more money. We don’t charge Fed Taxes if purchased via the internet or out of the state of Wisconsin. Good Deal all around.
renewink@msn.com
11:56 am
You can add multiple contacts to each client on the screen where you edit them. Once you’ve got multiple contacts in there, you’ll be asked to select who will receive an invoice anytime you’re sending one out.
5:46 pm
hi there,
just getting started with FreshBooks but already loving it and recommending it.
quick request/suggestion:
please place “Translation Services” under the “Professional Services” category and not “Education”… although we do educate and consult with our clients as to how to communicate effectively with their target audience, what we do is provide professional translations by professional translators and proofers.
thanks,
Monica Nainsztein
Spanish Media Translations, Inc.
6:54 am
Hi! I’m an illustrator and a graphic designer (nt only web). Why my profession is not in your list?
thanks in advance
2:16 am
i wish you guys would add photography as a profession so i could stop choosing “other” !
( that and adding multiple currencies … )
5:16 pm
hey mike et al,
i have just signed up for a free account, your product looks good and…. in response to one of the really high-up posts about asking for details to your users, i think it is not intrusive at all, in fact i would be interested in participating in any customer feedback project you may be running
I will see how I go along with using your little gem, probably better than before as all my billing processes are manual
cheers
david
2:23 pm
[...] so much in the accumulation of data, but the proper aggregation and analysis allowing customers to benchmark themselves against industry peers - that’s where the real value is, not in raw data. So much so, that I probably wouldn’t [...]
3:51 am
[...] Are the metrics statistically significant? That remains to be seen. While there is no clear indication of the population size, it is known that FreshBooks has been gathering user data for two years. [...]
10:44 am
Looks like a dead in the water business. No current comment in the comment section
11:40 am
Jeff - you might want to look at some more current posts, this one a few years old.
7:21 pm
Definitely not a dead in the water business, has been featured in Entrepreneur magazine in the past few months and is helping our business operate with low overhead and headcount during this recession.