Entrepreneurs can greatly benefit from new technology, like many apps for smartphones or tablets that can help organize small business costs. Money management is one of the biggest challenges facing startups today, especially for those new owners who are making a career change or have not previously worked in accounting or finance.
One of the most complicated parts of starting a new business can be accounting. While taking bookkeeping courses can help owners learn the basics for managing a startup, there are some other tools that can make life easier for entrepreneurs. Here are a few of the top apps for businesses to use when it comes to managing their money:
Freshbooks
Owners can use an application like Freshbooks to track how they spend their time, handle online payments and supervise expenses. Many aspects of the program are customizable, so the style and design can fit any business, and employers can also use the available tools to watch how their workers use their clients' time to different projects.
Freshbooks not only acts as an invoicing system. It also boasts features like expense and balance sheets while allowing users to manage three different companies, sections or clients. An upgraded package integrates staff members, team-reporting elements and branding.
Outright
Honored by the eBay Star Developer Awards as the most innovative app of 2010, Outright organizes accounting information for individuals and businesses. The program places special emphasis on preparing taxes, even finding potential deductions and organizes expenses in IRS-recognizable categories.
LessAccounting
This web-based program tracks expenses while creating invoices and business reports. Other special features in LessAccounting include managing business contacts, forming proposals and connecting to banks for automatic transactions and optimum ease.
"It's a quick analysis of how much money you've spent this month compared to last month," Michael Carney, owner of an accounting firm, told the National Federation of Independent Business. "I only have to go into my account once a day and I can see everything I need to know."
These apps may help startup companies manage their finances, but they only scratch the surface when it comes to successfully maneuvering the trials and tribulations of running a small business. In order to control the costs and profits of a business properly, owners should expand their education with accounting courses at a local college.
Students who are interested in pursuing careers in business can enroll in Accounting and Payroll Administrator program at Vancouver Career College. To find out more information, fill out the form on the right.