Keep your bank manager ‘appy

Having a positive cash position can open up opportunities for a business to spend, save or invest.
Businessman make money and save money on virtual screens. Business technology internet concept.

Having a positive cash position can open up opportunities for a business to spend, save or invest.

Square

  • free set-up and no monthly fee – you pay 1.9% of the value of each card transaction
  • Square Reader is a one-off $19 purchase
  • works on Apple and Android platforms

Square allows even the smallest business to accept debit- and credit-card payments of any value using a smartphone or tablet. The funds come through within two days. Transactions are made through the Square Reader, which plugs into the headphone jack of your mobile device.

Square Register, the free point-of-sale app in the Square stable, enables you to:

  • monitor sales trends
  • create daily, monthly and annual sales reports
  • produce a tax-audit spreadsheet
  • create and save open orders for customers to whom you offer credit terms

Due.com

  • free to download
  • flat 2.7% transaction fee on all domestic and international credit-card payments

Due.com is a digital wallet that enables you to create and manage all your invoices in one place. Its layout and navigation make it easy to use, and in an instant you can check the status of every invoice you have issued.

All payments are processed on the site, which is encrypted, making your money and your data secure. Once your invoice has been paid, Due will forward the money to you within two working days.

You need a budget (YNAB)

  • free 34-day trial period
  • $5 a month or $50 a year after trial period
  • works on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android devices

YNAB software is designed to help you take control of your budget and, in so doing, save money.

It is based on four rules that improve your cashflow and keep you informed at a glance what you can spend to stay within budget. The rules:

  • give every dollar a job
  • embrace your true expenses
  • roll with the punches
  • age your money

YNAB users are supported by online classes and self-help guides.

Expensify

  • $9 a user a month for corporate package
  • syncs with Dynamics, Intacct, NetSuite, Quickbooks and Xero

Expensify helps businesses of all sizes manage their expenses. The app lets you approve expenses, make online reimbursements and reconcile corporate credit-card payments, as well as offering multistage approval workflow.

Support, including advice as well as troubleshooting, is via email.

Zoho books

  • Standard package (up to 3 users and 500 contacts), $19 a month
  • Professional package (unlimited users and contacts), $29 a month

Zoho Books is a comprehensive accounting solution with a variety of invoice templates and the ability to accept online payments. It helps you track expenses and inventory, and produces key reports:

  • profit and loss
  • balance sheet
  • trial balance
  • cashflow statements

Zoho Books can be linked to your business’s bank and credit-card accounts via automated feeds so they can all be reconciled instantly. You can also generate Business Activity Statements for the ATO.

Sage One

  • free 35-day trial period $99 a year
  • accessible via PCS, Macs, smartphones and tablets

You can log on to Sage One from wherever you may be. Dial up information on your customers, make notes on their file, prepare a quote for them and issue them an invoice. Your bank account can be linked to Sage One to produce automatic accounting records, and subscription includes free payroll software covering up to five employees.

Tim Ladhams, Editor, Inside Small Business

This article first appeared in issue 13 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine