Last updated on November 29th, 2021 at 03:13 pm
Owning a business can be a very rewarding venture, but all the responsibilities that come with it are sometimes daunting. One of the hardest things to deal with is the financial side of owning a business because most of the time it feels like a never-ending job.
Luckily, you can automate most of your daily financial tasks with certain tools thanks to technological advancements. If you’re looking for a way to manage your business revenue and expenses easily and affordably, take a look at the list of tools we prepared. Any one of them will be an excellent addition to your business.
Expense management tool
Whenever employees have company-related expenses and pay for something with their own money, they need to submit an expense report which a manager needs to approve before they can be reimbursed.
Travel and expense costs, better known as T&E, need to be documented and kept track of for tax purposes, but the process of expense management is long and overly complicated at times.
That is why your business needs to start using expense management software. With an EMS, employees get easy ways to track and report business expense receipts. These software usually come with robust policy engines that eliminate manual verification and validation from the entire expense management process.
Further, the Finance team gets real-time insight into everything expenses enabling them to make timely and data-backed financial decisions.
Failed payment recovery tool
If you run a subscription business or own a SaaS company, you know how big of an issue failed payments can be. When the end of the billing cycle comes around and a customer’s payment fails, it’s usually not their fault, but it still means that you’re left without funds.
Most of the time, failed payments occur due to credit card issues, and seeing as how 12% of monthly credit cards for average customers will fail, this isn’t surprising. However, there are many more reasons why payments can fail, which is why you need a way to recover them.
That is why you should use a payment recovery tool that will automate and streamline the communication with your customers and notify them when their payment fails or even before that.
An alternative to such a tool is to use failed payment recovery services which will help you capture unpaid invoices, uncover the reasons for customer churn, execute dunning email campaigns, and much more.
Accounting tool
Accounting is one of the most important departments in any business, but manual processing has many drawbacks. Not only is it slow, but there’s also a high risk of human error and you can’t always be sure that your reports will be accurate.
If you use accounting software, you can be sure that you will have improved accuracy and will reduce overall costs. It’s important to keep in mind that every accounting software is different and that you need to learn how to choose the technology that works best for your business.
However, there are some important features you should look for in the tool you choose. They include payroll processing, automated billing, and recurring payments, tax preparation, and integrations with programs you normally use.
Budgeting tools
If you’re new to the world of business, you might not be that good at budgeting. And this is a big problem as 29% of small businesses fail because they run out of cash. If you want to succeed, you need to maintain a careful budget and know exactly where your finances are coming and going.
Once you create a realistic budget and learn to stick to it, your chances of success are much higher. While this tool isn’t necessary for those who are good at budgeting, it’s a welcome addition for those who aren’t good at planning their finances.
Payroll management tool
Managing a company’s payroll is a complicated process even with a few employees, but especially if you have more of them. If you make a mistake in this area, it can be very expensive, so the smartest thing to do is get a payroll management system that will help you keep track of everything.
When you have this tool, you will be able to track time and attendance, calculate deductions, manage expenses, and allow employees to submit requests for time off. However, keep in mind that it can’t be a replacement for your payroll staff.
Easy billing tool
If you wait around for your vendors to settle their bills, you can fall into a world of financial struggle. Some big suppliers often pay their bills late, which is standard practice for them and you can’t do anything about it except work with another supplier, which isn’t a good solution.
If you already use online or digital solutions to accept payments from your suppliers, you can make do with their built-in invoicing capabilities. But if not, you need to find an affordable tool that comes with a robust set of features that will make your billing process smooth and provide quicker payments.
Inventory tracking
Tracking inventory doesn’t have to be complicated if you only use one location and don’t have a lot of items to monitor. But if you need to monitor your products across multiple locations, you can’t keep track of everything yourself, so it’s best to use an inventory tracking tool.
You can find a solution that will automate your inventory monitoring and tracking and give you real-time visibility of your items, allowing you to track your items from the purchase order to the sale.
Final thoughts
Many business owners struggle with keeping up with revenue and expenses. However, this doesn’t have to be as hard as some people think and you don’t need to take care of everything manually.
With the help of a few carefully chosen tools, you will be able to automate a lot of financial processes and be sure that your revenue and expenses are always taken care of.
