It’s no secret that financial management is a key factor for any business’s success. As a small business owner, there’s so much to consider when it comes to managing your finances. From budgeting to payroll management, from tax filing to billing and invoicing – it all adds up! I remember the days of managing my parents’ retail store, from accounting books to cashflow analysis. The time-consuming and labor-intensive process only magnified as our investments deepened. It was quite a challenge. Fortunately, today there are plenty of tools available to help small business owners maximize their finances. From accounting and payroll software to budgeting and tax filing programs, there’s something out there for everyone—no matter the size of the business. Let’s take a look at six essential financial management tools for small businesses that can make your life easier.
1) Accounting Tool
A reliable accounting tool is essential for any small business. It allows you to track all your expenses, payments, invoices, and other financial transactions in one place. A good accounting tool will give you an overview of your company’s financial health by providing insights into your cash flow, profit margins, and expenses. Some popular accounting tools include QuickBooks and Xero. QuickBooks has options for both small businesses and freelancers. Plus, they also have a low-cost payroll subscription plan. These tools are subscription-based and are truly user-friendly and perfect for small business owners that tend to wear multiple hats.
2) Payroll Management Software
Managing payroll can be tedious work—especially if you have multiple employees with different pay schedules and payment methods. Payroll management software makes it easy to keep track of employee salaries and ensure timely payments without having to manually enter data into a spreadsheet or manually calculate taxes owed by each employee. Popular payroll management solutions include QuickBooks, Bambee, Gusto, Zenefits, and Wagepoint.
3) HRM Management Software Tool
Ready to take HR off your plate and experience peace of mind?  Streamline your HR and automate onboarding, policies, and employee training with programs like Bambee. Secure the protection of your business and your employees with up-to-date policies that get signed off semi-annually; receive a dedicated HR manager to help craft any unique HR needs. As a small business, you can enjoy the convenience of automatic taxes; compliant policies; immediate payroll processing…and more. Plus, ongoing audits and employee onboarding/termination guidance are all on tap. Leaving you to do what you do best… taking care of your business and making sure both parties are satisfied by encouraging regular two-way feedback from the employer to employee.
4) Business Budgeting Tool
Budgeting is an important aspect of any business’s financial management plan. Not writing or tracking your budget is a common mistake new business owners tend to make.  One of the crucial factors of a successful business is maintaining effective budgeting. Tracking a real-time cash flow helps companies plan ahead, establish prices to boost profits, and make rational purchasing decisions. With a budgeting tool like You Need A Budget (YNAB) or Mint Business Edition, you can easily set up budgets for different departments or projects within your company and track how much has been spent in each area over time. This helps you stay on top of your spending so that you don’t overspend or go over budget in any given area. We recommend the popular 50/30/20 budget to maximize your money. In it, you spend roughly 50% of your after-tax dollars on necessities, no more than 30% on wants, and at least 20% on savings and debt repayment.Â
5) Billing and Invoicing Systems
If you want to get paid on time from clients or customers, having a billing and invoicing system in place is essential. This kind of system allows you to quickly generate invoices with accurate details about payment amounts due as well as invoice due dates so that clients know exactly when they need to make their payments. Popular billing and invoicing systems include Freshbooks and Zoho Books. Â
6) Tax Filing Program
Tax season can be stressful, especially if you don’t have the right tools in place to make filing taxes easier for yourself or your accountant/bookkeeper/tax preparer. Fortunately, there are plenty of tax filing programs out there such as TurboTax Business or H&R Block Online that can help simplify the process by automatically generating reports based on the information provided in order to accurately file taxes on time every year without worry or hassle.
Final Thoughts
Managing finances effectively takes time, effort — not to mention knowledge — but the good news is that there are plenty of great financial management tools out there that can help small businesses keep their books in order while freeing up time for other tasks (like growing the business!). Whether you need software to track your expenses or something more comprehensive like a billing system or tax filing program, there’s sure to be something out there that fits the bill perfectly! So don’t wait any longer – get your finances in order today with one (or all) of these top-notch financial management tools!
