Starting a small business is, of course, an incredibly overwhelming experience. There are always factors that you haven’t accounted for, and trying to keep a good overview on everything that’s going on can sometimes feel completely impossible.
Nevertheless, tracking your finances can be a much easier burden to manage than you may originally have thought. Using the tools we’ll be sharing with you today, you can start to keep a closer eye on your finances without needing to become the kind of number-crunching accountant you always thought you needed!
Wave
Since it first hit the market back in 2010, Wave has grown in popularity exponentially; in fact, over two million people have used it to handle their account, payroll, and invoicing requirements.
To make things even easier, the app has its own receipt scanner, meaning that you don’t need to use a bulky desktop alternative just to track the costs of the lunch you treated your latest client to!
One of the most useful features the app has is its ‘Find an Accountant’ option; should you run into any serious financial trouble or concern, you can find someone to help you sort things out without even needing to leave the app!
Wave is free, and we definitely recommend it for anyone who needs to track invoices and accounts, whether you’re a freelancer, business owner, or an accountant yourself.
Due.com
While Wave is an incredibly useful app, Due.com does have a significantly prettier design on its side. The invoices it allows you to generate wouldn’t look out of place next to those produced by an actual accountant, and the unique colour-coding system allows you to keep an eye on the progress of your affairs at a quick glance.
If you have less than five clients per month, Due is free. Otherwise, pricing options start at just $3 and this will open up some seriously useful features, including unlimited invoicing, recurring payments, and paypal integration.
You Need a Budget
We recently wrote about You Need a Budget (YNAB) in another article where we were discussing useful apps for tracking personal finances; but would you believe it, it’s also a great tool for small business owners to use to track finances.
Much like its behaviour with personal accounts, YNAB helps you to make informed decisions based on actual calculations. This means that you’re not spending money that you expect to have at a later time, only the funds that are already in your account.
You can use it to automatically pencil in payments, split transactions, and schedule upcoming bills.
And even better – if YNAB appeals to you and you find it works well for your needs – there’s no need to subscribe to a monthly or even annual plan. Instead, you’ll be given a free trial upon signup and, once it expires, you can by an unlimited license for $60.
So there you have it; a selection of our favourite tools to use when managing your small business’ finances. Keep checking back for more great articles like this in future, as we’re just getting started!