Running your own small Business can be rewarding. But when it comes to finances, it’s often challenging. There’s a lot to keep on top of, including expenses to keep track of invoices to manage, taxes to pay. As a business owner you should know what money’s coming in and where it’s all going. Having this information at your fingertips will help you with any business decisions you have to make. It’ll help your business run smoother.

If finances aren’t your strong point, there are tools that you can use to help you. We’ve had a look at some of the best financial tools for your small business and listed the top 5 for you here.

1. Accounting Tools

Love it or hate it, accounting is something you have to do when you’re running your own business. It’s essential that you know how much tax you have to pay. These days though, you can get your computer to do the hard work for you. By installing an accounting tool, you just have to enter your income and outgoings. There are programmes that will calculate everything for you.

When you’re choosing which software to use, figure out what you need it to do for your business. Then see which ones do what you want it to. Remember this will be another business expense, so make sure it’s within your budget.

2. Payroll Management

If you have employees, you’re going to need to give them payslips. Whether you do this electronically or digitally, you must make sure these are accurate. You could use a separate tool to the one that does your accounts for you. But it’ll make life easier if it’s included with your accounting tool.

Remember when you’re looking for a payroll management tool, check that you can add extra staff onto it. This way, as your business grows, the tool you use can grow with it.

3. Budgeting Tools

It’s easy to overspend in some areas of your business when you should be using the money elsewhere. Creating a budget and sticking to it is the smart way to run your business. Expense tracking and understanding your cash flow will help you predict when you have to cut back and when you can invest. It’ll help you avoid having to take out short term loans when your cash flow is low.

Budgeting tools are available to help you plan where your money goes. But don’t forget to see if this can be included in any other tools, you’re using to help reduce your outlay.

4. Payment Methods and E-commerce

With payment methods becoming swifter, it’s important that you keep up with how payments are made. People want to pay on the go. Fast payment solutions like Apply Pay or contactless payments are worth having. Offering other payment options online like Paypal could also help. You want your customers to complete their journey through your checkout without any difficulty.  

Make sure you have the right technology to take payments. Go through your own checkout process yourself to see if it’s quick and easy for a customer. A swift checkout process will help to prevent you from losing customers just when it matters.

5. Inventory Management

If your business sells products, knowing exactly how much you’re selling is important. Keeping stock of what you have matters more than you think too. When your customer decides they want what you sell, they’ll want it straight away. You’re more likely to lose customers to competitors if the item they want from you is out of stock.

Having an inventory management tool helps you predict what products are running low. It’ll also let you know how far in advance you need to restock. It’ll also tell you what’s not selling and could be offered on sale.

It might take time to enter everything you have initially, but it’ll be worth it. Knowing you can fulfil your customers’ orders and keeping them happy is the lifeline of your business. Your inventory is one your business’ financial assets, look after it.

Running your own business can be demanding. It might feel like you’ve got a lot of balls to juggle. The day to day tasks alone can keep you working long hours. That’s why these must have Financial Tools we’ve listed here that can help to support you and your small business. Put this technology in place to do some of the essential tasks for you. It’ll free up your time to focus on other things.

What financial tools will you put in place to help you run your small business?

Disclaimer: Please note, we are not providing financial advice. Our blogs are written for informational purposes only. Also, we are not affiliated or promoting any of the third party websites that are linked in this article. They are for reference only.