Introduction to business financial management tools

The financial management process you adopt can be a growth breaker or a growth maker. Your process and management decisions can set you up for success five, ten, or twenty years later.

The responsibility of managing the financial well-being of your business will grow as your business grows. Selecting a financial management product today that can grow with you is key.

Tools range from freemium models to robust offerings, depending on your needs, including:

• Financial planning
• Cash flow management
• Budgeting
• Expense management
• Payroll management
• Inventory tracking
• Tax preparation

Below, we’ll focus primarily on tools for budgeting, payroll management, and tax preparation.

Financial planning tool advantages

The advantages financial planning software have over manual processes range from the practical—accuracy, time savings, and compliance—to the big picture, like the ability to turn data into insights you can actually use for decision-making and planning.

Today’s tools can be very sophisticated, with advantages such as:

Automation

Taking routine processes software so you can focus on more strategic tasks. The essence of automation is giving you your time back; look for software that can step in, so you don’t have to manage everything manually.

Scalability

Meaning the tool can grow with you without limiting you down the road. A scalable tool will handle exponential growth without adding extra work.

Compliance

Based on your industry and applicable laws and regulation, it's important to know and adhere to the necessary level of compliance for your vendors and software.

Different kinds of financial management tools

So, now you know what financial management tools can do for your small business. What day-to-day tasks do you need the most help with? Where could some automation help you scale? Let’s start with two core, operational functions of running a small business: budgeting and payroll.

Budgeting

A budget is the backbone of your financial health. Creating a goal on your own, from scratch—and keeping every decision and transaction aligned with it—can be time-consuming and tedious to do manually. Not to mention, visibility into patterns and lessons learned is limited if you’re not sifting through the data on your own.

Financial software like the following can do the heavy lifting with automated reminders, alerts, and nudges to keep you on track.

Quickbooks Online

Cloud-based, smart, and data-driven, Quickbooks is a powerhouse when it comes to reports and forecasting. Take the guesswork out of budgeting decisions with user-friendly reports. The more you use it, the more it learns from your business’s data to deliver insights—no analyst required. Budgets can also be set monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Get granular by location or customer, learn from what’s worked in years past, and run side-by-sides of how you’re doing vs. how you planned.

Freshbooks

Freshbooks understands that small businesses have diverse and various needs based on size and industry. Pricing is monthly depending on billable clients (5, 10, 50, unlimited), with tiers that offer features based on what you need now, from double-entry accounting and health check reports to secure credit card payments over the phone and easy access for accountants.

Xero

Easy to use is the name of the game with Xero. Xero has simple quick-start guides for all kinds of processes, from creating quotes or transitioning from another tool to tracking bills. With a subscription, you’ll get access to overall budgets, simple formulas, and a Budget Manager for tracking, which can run Summary and Variance reports to let you know how you’re doing.

Payroll management

If you’re still doing scheduling, timesheets, and payroll manually, chances are it’s not just frustrating for you—it’s difficult for employees, too.

Cloud-based, self-service apps are much more convenient and can be an investment in retention and, ultimately, better company culture. These payroll tools aren’t just easy to use and accessible from anywhere; they build accountability and trust into HR and people management by reducing discrepancies and manual errors.

Quickbooks Payroll

With multiple plans and pricing options, Quickbooks Payroll is a does-it-all tool that automates almost every aspect of payroll for you—including health benefits, workers’ comp, and 401k deductions. The worker portal is key, providing a home base for both you and your people to access important documents, data, and more.

Gusto

Payroll can definitely run a premium. Gusto stands out by including features like e-signing for I-9s and W-4s, lifetime access for employees, and a slew of add-ons and benefits usually reserved for premium tiers.

Homebase

If your small business’s employees work on an hourly basis, Homebase is the tool for you. It’s built for today’s workers, turning their mobile devices into a timeclock and payroll tool with a simple app. Scheduling is the hurdle this tool helps overcome seamlessly. As easily as employees can check a text message, they can see an up-to-date schedule, chat with coworkers, and view next week’s paycheck.

Tax preparation

Tax time comes once a year, but tools you use year-round can keep you organized, ready, and prepared. Look for tools that set you up for success here, including simple exports that make it easy to share financials with your tax preparer. The ability to import prior years’ filings each go-round means you won’t always be starting from scratch.

Quickbooks Online

It’s no surprise this robust offering covers the complexities of tax preparation. Connect to your bank and access straightforward steps to file sales, small business, self-employed, and quarterly taxes. Easily categorize and sort transactions in the software year-round to simplify finding deductions at tax time.

H&R Block Tax Software

H&R Block aims to keep your filing accurate, error-, and audit-free, with a team of advisors who are small business certified you can connect with in an office or virtually. Whether you’re self-employed, an S-corp, a C corp, or a partnership, H&R Block will find every credit available (with expertise for your particular state, too) and be available to you year-round, not just at tax time.

Intuit Turbotax

Turbotax (or Turbotax Self-Employed, if you are your business) is a tax filing wizard that will walk you through the process from start to finish. For contractors and freelancers, Turbotax searches for deductions and credits you may not know about (especially industry-specific deductions), guaranteeing you’re getting the best possible return.

Get quality financial software to help your business succeed

Small business financial software is an investment that will pay dividends, but keep a few things in mind: The tools you choose today should be scalable, easy to integrate with other software you add to your arsenal, and simple enough that they don’t add complexity to your day. The options above run the gamut, from robust and does-it-all to lean and streamlined.

Once you choose a financial planning software, you’ll want to stick with it, so we recommend watching demo videos online and exploring user interfaces to see which “clicks” with you. Join Capital One Business Deals and explore the tools linked above—ranging from free assessments to discounts on products and subscriptions.

Finances can be tricky, and sometimes it’s easier to talk to a real person than to read another how-to. In-person options can be accessible and affordable—and a great place to start before going the DIY route. We partner with Breakwater Accounting and Advisory, in particular, to offer an exclusive deal on their services. Get an assessment of your needs, outsource accounting, or get help with other back-office tasks.

Check out more great business deals like these on technology, insurance, benefits, and more here.