Every business, no matter the industry or size, has to manage finances. And every business faces two issues here: it takes a lot of time and there are always errors, which lead to additional expenses. There are different ways to address these issues and one of them is automation. That is, you implement software that takes over the tasks that were previously performed by humans.
5 Software Solutions to Manage Business Finances
Before you order the development of any software solution, your first task is to decide which tool will benefit you most. Usually, you decide this together with the financial software engineering service that will be building this tool. The benefit of working with professional services is that they have expertise not only in design as such but also in integration and compliance. Below are five software solutions that you may want to consider in the first place.
Personal Finance Management Tools
Traditionally, personal finance management tools are designed for individual use. Yet, small business owners and freelancers can find them useful, too. These typically have some basic finance management features such as
- expense tracking
- budgeting
- financial planning.
Small business owners, for instance, would benefit from a tool that can track all transactions, categorize expenses, and set financial goals. They could use it to create a budget that covers both personal and business costs.
Freelancers, in turn, can benefit from tools that track income, estimate taxes, and manage fluctuating revenue. If you order the development of a custom tool, ask the professionals to link it to your bank accounts so you can automatically monitor expenses.
Accounting and Billing Software
Businesses of any size deal with accounting and billing. Specialized software can help them to
- manage financial records
- generate invoices
- track payments
- ensure compliance with financial regulations.
These tools automate quite a lot of processes, which means you save time and escape errors.
Even if you can do without accounting software as a freelancer or startup, for SMBs, it’s a must-have. For instance, a small retail business might use this software to automate invoicing and track inventory. Plus, it can help with client billing and even projecting expenses.
Large enterprises may need advanced features such as multi-currency support and financial analytics. A global company needs good accounting and billing software to manage finances across multiple countries and comply with local tax laws.
Payroll Management Software
Payroll management is where errors typically arise. The task takes tons of time and is never smooth. Custom software is thus of great help here. It automates lots of different tasks:
- calculating wages
- withholding taxes
- distributing payments.
If you are a startup or a small business, it’s best to start it right with custom software that’ll automate calculations and tax filings. You’ll just escape a lot of mistakes (and expenses) in that way.Â
If you are an enterprise, you can upgrade your existing software or build one from scratch to have advanced features such as benefits administration and compliance management.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems
ERP systems are more complex solutions, which you may find handy when you are already a mid-level or large enterprise. Such systems typically take care of all business operations:
- finance
- supply chain
- manufacturing
- HR.
You thus get your software designed with a focus on financial management and it gives you a unified view of organizational data. Based on the latter, you make smarter decisions such as which processes can be simplified and made cheaper.
Of course, you can use off-the-shelf solutions, too, here. But the benefit of a custom software tool is that it’ll only have functions YOU need. This means you pay for what you use plus training is easier because there aren’t random unnecessary functions.
Tax Management Software
Finally, managing taxes is another tricky task on any business’s list. The software here is primarily required to
- automate tax calculations
- ensures compliance with tax regulations (and thus saves you from fines)
- provides accurate reporting for tax filings.
Of course, it’s best to have such a tool from the very start. For a small business, a software solution that manages quarterly tax filings should be enough. For large enterprises, it should have advanced tax management features (e.g., sales tax automation, international tax compliance, etc.).
Final Thoughts
So where does this leave us? The key takeaway is that however paradoxical it may sound, spending more on financial management is sometimes smart. At all stages of your business development, you want your finances to be alright, that’s just the basis for everything else.
So if you have the resources required, it’s best to invest them in building quality software. The sooner you get it, the more costly errors it’ll save you from.
