Time is money, and there’s nothing like saving both with a tool that helps you do better bookkeeping!
As certified CPAs, we spend a lot of time crunching numbers. It’s kind of our whole deal.
Which is why we adore any app or software that genuinely makes our job easier.
These programs either streamline a repetitive task, safely save information we need to access later, or speed up important steps in the bookkeeping process–without compromising on accuracy.
So for our vote on best software to run small business bookkeeping, here are the winners.
Number One: Quickbooks Online
Yes–the tried, the true, the obvious.
This one gets first place for being the single hub where you can send invoices, manage payroll, and keep track of the day-to-day items for your small business. The platform offers more options than you may ever need, which means it’s flexible enough to fit into your niche-est dilemma.
Our CPAs insist that the “online” version is best for small businesses. And we’re not going to argue.
Number Two: Sage Accounting
Formerly known as Peachtree, this program puts the power of quotes and invoicing in the palm of your hand.
You can generate forms on the spot and send them immediately upon completing work or delivering your product. You can even track payments to specific invoices.
We give it second place because it originally functioned as a desktop program, meaning it doesn’t always play nice with the mobile version. But Sage Accounting does redeem itself with cloud connectivity that allows small businesses to track their finances and inventory across systems.
Number Three: Microsoft Teams
An excellent resource, in our humble opinion, for team communication, meetings, and collaboration.
With both video calling and in-program chat threads, you can keep your staff in touch for essential meetings while segregating conversations by topic to prevent overloading inboxes.
We mean, who hasn’t suffered from “death by meeting” before? Microsoft Teams lets you avoid that and still keep everyone on the same page.
Number Four: Office Lens
Stop hunting down the copy machine and instead turn your phone into a scanner.
Using the camera feature on your mobile device, this app will let you scan printed text or handwritten notes to edit and share later. It even allows you to trim documents and save them to OneNote, OneDrive, or a local device.
Is it wonderful to have a full printer-copier-scanner with all the bells and whistles, besides a stockpile of pristine bond paper ready to go? Of course. But that’s neither practical nor affordable for many small businesses.
We rank Office Lens fourth because it’s highly versatile but only serves one function. If you want to convert business cards into contacts on your phone using a few taps, then this app’s for you.
Number Five: 24me
Can’t afford a personal assistant but still need the help? 24me gives you a super simple user interface to help you organize your calendars, notes, everyday tasks, and more.
You will need to spend time inputting the relevant information you want to track. Plus, if you want to personalize things like alerts or display colors, that will take some fiddling, too.
But the beauty of this app is that it syncs things like lists, events, and notifications to your calendar, so everything you need to see in a day is literally in one place. And when you can add to-dos or join a conference call with just the power of your voice, it really does feel like having a personal assistant.
Number Six: Shoeboxed
Should you save that receipt from coffee to itemize as a business deduction?
Yes. (But more on that in another post.)
Don’t, however, keep it in a literal shoe box or leave it lying in your car. Downloading Shoeboxed is much easier.
With this app, you can scan business receipts into your phone and keep them all organized for later. In fact, you can create expense reports and track mileage at the same time.
It automatically categorizes receipts into 15 of the most common tax categories, and over 1 million business owners have used it. With an average 4.5 stars out of 1.7k ratings, this one is a winner for anyone going DIY on their bookkeeping services.
Number Seven: SwiftKey
If you find yourself constantly hitting the “delete” button to retype something, this is going to be your new favorite app.
SwiftKey is a smart software for your device that learns and adapts to your keyboard habits. It helps you cut down on recurring typos and offers increasingly accurate predictions, so you get your point across quickly without errors.
Both swipe typing and tap-to-type techniques work, plus an expandable menu is filled with quick shortcuts. One drawback is that it will take time to learn your vocabulary, especially with industry-specific terms and proper names.
We’ve placed it last on our list because, while nifty and easy to use, it doesn’t have the same earth-shattering impact as our other picks.
Time is money, and there’s nothing like saving both with tools that help you do payroll, taxes, and all other bookkeeping better.
For more complex small business support, check us out on social media.
Sneak Peak for our next post: what counts as a business expense and how to deduct that coffee receipt you saved!