If you’re a small business owner then chances are, you frequently find yourself wearing many, many hats. Not only are you in charge of both general business operations and employee management, but you may also be managing things like bookkeeping, payroll and employee benefits. With all of this on your plate, it can leave little time for you to focus on the things that really matter, like growing your business and spending time with your family.
However, there’s an array of new enterprise apps cropping up, each designed to help solve common pain points that many small business owners experience. In the same way that the creation of QuickBooks helped reduce the headaches (and bulky ledger books) that went along with manual bookkeeping, these new small business-focused enterprise apps can truly change the way you run your business and help you go paperless without added headaches.
Here are four game-changing small business tools that will simplify many aspects of managing your business. As an added bonus, every tool on this list integrates with QuickBooks, making tax season less stressful for both you and your accountant.
1. Expensify
Simplifies: Business Expense Tracking
For many businesses, the act of receiving, processing and saving expense reports is a pain… and a huge waste of file space. Anyone who’s ever found themselves cursing shoeboxes full of receipts will want to check out Expensify. Not only does this app make it quick and easy to both submit, reimburse, and record business expenses, it also cuts down on paperwork, big time. Users have two options for submitting expenses: they can connect their bank account and import business expenses electronically, or simply scan/photograph their receipts. Expensify integrates with Quickbooks and many other bookkeeping platforms.
2. TripLog
Simplifies: Mileage Tracking
Mileage tracking is a pain – particularly if you’re prone to resetting your odometer (guilty!). Thankfully, many new mileage tracking apps like TripLog will track your mileage using GPS, enabling users to essentially set it and forget it. Unlike some mileage tracking apps on the market, TripLog goes one step further, offering built-in tools for fleet management and Quickbooks integration. Best of all, the app creates IRS compliant reports that will “CYA” should you ever get audited.
3. Gusto
Simplifies: Payroll and Benefits
Given that most small businesses and startups have a small budget and an even smaller team, many forgo hiring a dedicated payroll and benefits specialist. Unfortunately, managing things like employment taxes isn’t always a simple task, and an unintended screw-up could have pretty big consequences for your business. Apps like Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll) enable company founders to seamlessly manage everything from benefits tracking and running payroll to managing employment taxes and handling workers’ comp, helping you dot your i’s, cross your t’s, and cover your bum.
4. Breezeworks
Simplifies: Billing, CRM and Team Management
If you’ve ever wished there was a way to streamline appointment booking, CRM, job estimates, invoicing and payment processing, then you’ll want to check out Breezeworks. An affordable end-to-end solution for service businesses, this app can automate everything from bookings to billing to fleet management, helping your business go virtually paperless, and saving you from having to waste time with redundant data entry tasks. Breezeworks also makes life easier for your field employees, giving them an easy way to create estimates, add job notes, invoice customers and process payment on the spot. The platform integrates with Quickbooks, allowing you to quickly and easily export important data.
Sign up for a 14 day free trial of Breezeworks – no credit card required!
