Small business owners play a lot of roles and for many, one of the least favorite is that of the bookkeeper. Let’s face it, after the client meetings, sales proposals, buying trips, conference calls, trade shows and updating all of the above on social media, tracking numbers is a tedious, although very necessary task. There are apps out there that can help you track your money.
Mint (Free – Andoid, IOS) – Mint was originally designed for home budgeting but it also works well for small businesses. Setting up budgets, bookkeeping accounts and linking banking and credit card accounts lets you track cash flow for your business as well as spot spending habits and income trends. You can ‘teach’ Mint to recognize transactions and categorize them automatically. In addition, you can add transactions manually.
Expensify (Free – Android, Blackberry, IOS,Windows) – This app sounds like a Hogwarts spell and while it’s not quite as simple as a swish and flick of the wand, using your smartphone to track expenses in real-time sure feels like magic. By linking your bank and credit card accounts, you can track your expenses as you go. For cash transactions, just snap a picture of the receipt and Expensify will pull the necessary information off the receipt for you. You also have the option of creating manual transactions for mileage and other undocumented expenses. Use the app to create expense reports easily. The app is free to use for you and one employee. You’ll be billed from $5 – $10 for additional employees.
MileBug ($2.99 Android, IOS, Windows) – A must-have if you do a lot of driving. This app calculates you mileage using real-time GPS so you can claim your 56.5 cent/mile deduction. It allows you to create and export mileage expense reports to Excel and Numbers to file with your other expenses.
What apps do you use to help keep your business bookkeeping up-to-date and more manageable?
