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How to Utilize Financial Tools for Your Business
Money SmartsAugust 22, 2023
If you’re like many small- to-medium-sized business owners, managing business finances is not your background or your primary job. Instead, you spend most of your time focused on delivering excellent products and services to your customers, and the financial side of the business can easily become a headache you need to figure out how to deal with.
Luckily, maintaining the day-to-day financial tasks of your business can be made easier with a few cloud-based financial tools designed specifically for businesses.
Key Takeaways
- Financial tools allow you to keep track of the budgets, taxes, payroll, profits and losses of your business.
- Accounting software saves you time and cuts down on administrative chores by automating financial reporting, tax filing, and revenue management.
- Budget planners are crucial to operating a successful business, enabling you to maintain an effective budget.
- Payroll management tools help to ensure you follow state and federal regulations and empower employee self-service.
- Accepting credit card payments increases sales opportunities, improves cash flow with faster transactions, and provides better security for both you and your customers.
- Accepting electronic payments will help you receive funds instantly and works well for field service providers.
- Consider all-in-one solutions for your small business.
What are financial tools for business?
Financial tools allow you to keep track of your company’s profits and losses, plan budgets, pay taxes, fulfill payroll, and so much more. Today’s cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms can help you effectively manage income, expenses, and assets to maximize your profits.
Accounting Software
Many business owners use spreadsheets to track finances. While that’s a good tactic to start, as your business grows you will likely find it challenging to stay on top of all your transactions with manual accounting systems. Accounting software helps to automate financial management and reduce inaccuracies.
QuickBooks is well-known as the accounting software for a reason – it effortlessly tracks expenses, processes payroll, handles taxes, invoicing, monitor’s your business’ financial records and data, customizes reports, and can even do inventory management.
Xero is a newer accounting software that has been gaining traction. It offers many of the same capabilities that QuickBooks offers, sometimes using third-party partners.
GnuCash is a free, small business accounting tool option for startups. It helps you handle double-entry bookkeeping, accounting reports, and scheduled transactions. It also helps to manage payroll and statement reconciliation.
Budget Planners
Effectively tracking your budget and cash flow are crucial aspects to operating a successful business. Keeping an accurate view of these elements help you establish pricing, make rational purchasing decisions, plan for the future, and boost profitability.
PlanGuru is a great stand-alone budgeting tool which includes financial analytics and forecasting.
Mint is among the best free online business tools out there for individuals, but it can also help you manage your small business finances in one place, as well as handle budget planning.
Payroll Management Software
Another administrative headache for small business owners is payroll management. Simplify your operations by leveraging a payroll software to help you manage state and federal compliance, ensure accurate calculations, and empower employee self-service. Many payroll management software options will also help you track employee time off and manage complex schedules.
ADP is considered to be one of the top payroll management software options and also combines elements of human resources. This software may be cost-prohibitive for a startup, but great for more established organizations.
Gusto is frequently ranked as one of the for best payroll software platforms for small businesses and accountants.
QuickBooks also offers a competitive payroll management option if you’re using this platform as your main financial tool. QuickBooks has many features and partnerships with other third-party applications that it can easily be scaled to an all-in-one financial solution.
Accepting Credit Card Payments
There are many benefits to accepting credit card payments, including more sales, faster transactions, improved cash flow, and enhanced security for both you and your customers. However, as a small business owner, it can be hard to know how to offer this payment option. These tools can help you bridge the gap:
Square has a lot of great features to allow your business to accept credit card payments. It supports both point-of-sale transactions and online sales; enables you to pay your team; and includes some cash flow management features. And, it allows you to reach your customers more effectively with customized purchase suggestions and marketing functionality. Square also offers hardware to help providers take credit card payments in person.
Stripe is a payment services provider that allows you to accept credit and debit cards, among other payment types. Stripe is best suited for businesses that make most of their sales online. It also has a few financial tools like billing, invoicing, and basic financial management through linked account data.
All-in-One Small Business Solutions
Zoho is a good all-in-one option to consider for any small business. It offers a powerful financial management platform that includes automated payments, inventory management, and a checkout platform, and goes beyond offering financial tools with customer relationship management (CRM) software, helpdesks for customer support, and task management software to help your team members collaborate. You can also use Zoho to engage with the prospects housed in your CRM and run multi-channel marketing campaigns targeting them.
HoneyBook is an affordable option for startups that offers online payments and invoicing. It also offers appointment scheduling, and enables you to send proposals and sign contracts. It also integrates with QuickBooks to round out its financial management features.
Think Big Picture
Take the time to consider what your needs are in both the short and long term. It might be advantageous to go with an all-in-one platform, even if you start out with a lower cost plan, and then upgrade your package as your needs grow. With the right financial tools at your disposal, and an idea of how those tools might need to change as you grow, managing the finances of your business will be less of a headache. And, you’ll have more time to spend more on offering your customers the great service and products that encouraged you to start your business in the first place.