Tag Archive : Invoicing tools

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7 tools for easy automatic finance management

Owning a business is a full-time job that requests a lot of energy and time, especially if you are a small business owner. But with every business comes the burden of keeping up with the finances – which is a time-consuming neverending job.

From invoices to expenses to billing and bookkeeping, dealing with IRS or accountants, each small business owner find themselves stuck in this maze trying desperately to automate this process and make their lives easier.

The good this is that technology these days has given small business owners tools which will help them in the finance part of their business and save them time.

Here is a list of 10 financial tools for your small business:

  • Accounting softwareBusiness News Daily’s recommends you look for these features while choosing your Accounting software: basic accounting tasks like as invoicing, expense tracking, and client/vendor contact management; automation of billing and recurring payments, quote and estimate creation, tax preparation, multiple-user access, payroll processing, mobile access, and integration with programs such as point-of-sale software, credit card processing, and Google Apps. Among most popular Accounting software you can choose Xero, Quickbooks or Freshbooks.

 

  • Invoicing software – if you are just starting your business, you offer services to few clients or you are a freelancer, you are in need of only several features like recurring invoices, reports, automatic reminders, create, duplicate, send or download PDF invoices, notifications if an invoice is paid or unpaid and connection with different payment methods. In those cases, you can choose from Invoicly, Envoice, or Wave apps.

 

  • Budgeting Tools – Having a realistic budget — and sticking to it — is one of the most important things when running a small business. The Accounting software can help you create a budget for your business but if you are interested in stand-alone budgeting tool, try out PlanGuru.

 

  • Payroll Management System – if your business has more than 2 employees you need to have a software that can help you with payroll management as it can be time-consuming and you can make lots of mistakes. To avoid this you can use tools like SurePayroll or Zenefits to help you streamline your payroll process.

 

  • Cash Flow Analysis tool – even though you can be using accounting software, there are solutions like Float who can help you keep track on your cash flow on a daily basis, which is a crucial task when you are starting a business. Cash flow analysis helps you track ups and downs in your cash balance on a daily basis making it easier for you to forecast your financial future.

 

  • Inventory Management – when it comes to tracking your goods, generating sales reports, setting up automatic low inventory alerts, and managing order packing and shipping, one of the tools that can make your life easier are SOS Inventory or Scout’s topShelf.

 

  • Expense Tracking – little expenses like meals, cabs rides or gas can be very hard to track when you are running a business and bringing a lot of cash flows. Expense report tool such as Expensify or Xpenditure, can help you scan receipts or add cash expenses from your mobile devices and upload them; easily import the information, do rebilling, do expense accounting, and reimbursement if needed.

Accounting Software, Invoicing tool or Do Invoicing the Traditional Way

Each business has to handle its finances which include invoicing and bookkeeping in most cases. It can also include estimation of taxes, expenses, and billing from clients, which is the key feature in every sustainable and profitable business.

With the tendency of growth in all online businesses, as well as the increment in the number of freelancers and independent contractors, the need to have the right online tool or software to help with invoicing and bookkeeping is getting more stronger.

But when is the best time to get rid of the endless spreadsheets and docs in the cloud and start using a tool that can save you time, make you seem professional in-front of your clients and help you get your finances in a row?

Each and every one of us has started doing their invoices the hard way – the traditional way. In the beginning, the accounting needs to be simple and easy. All you need is a good knowledge of MS Excel, Mac Numbers, or Google Sheets. But as your business grows your accounting and invoicing becomes more complex. And you need more time to do it by yourself and it is a risk for potential mistakes while doing it.

Accounting Software, Invoicing tool or Do Invoicing the Traditional Way

Then comes the need to research and try out invoicing tools or accounting software or maybe both.

Here are several points to keep in mind on why you need an invoicing tool or accounting software:

  • If you create invoices, you need an invoicing tool. That’s the only way you can benefit from features such as recurring invoices and automatic payment reminders.
  • Invoicing software is very affordable. Some invoicing tools start from 0$ – 20$ per month depending on the features they offer.
  • When looking for “Accounting Software,” keep in mind to look for “double-entry accounting” or “double-entry bookkeeping” feature. If the software does not have that it’s an accounting software.

But what if you are a freelancer that has only a few clients. Or you just started your business?

Here are some criteria to have in order to qualify to use an invoicing software or tool:

  • You don’t have inventory.
  • You don’t have any payable account – like stuff you haven’t paid but you are going to soon
  • You are a one-person business and you don’t have any employees

Invoicing tools bring a lot of benefits for your business. Here are some of them:

  • They have fewer features and are simpler to use
  • Better value for money. Usually, they are much affordable for starting businesses
  • You can be paid faster especially since most invoicing software allows you to receive online payments via services like Payoneer, PayPal or Stripe
  • Accounting software can be hard to manage and confusing if you don’t have an accountant knowledge.
  • You will be more organized and you will look more professional in front of your clients
  • You can collect automatic payments and sales information
  • You will save time and resources used for traditional invoicing
  • You can send invoices from everywhere and have secure data

So do you use accounting software, invoicing tool or you do your invoicing the traditional way? Let us know!