The managing of your company’s finances can become complicated pretty quickly. You are gaining clients, you need to hire a freelancer or two, and you have to navigate new tax laws. These changes alone are enough to begin looking past an Excel spreadsheet for something a little more advanced.
However, there is good news. You do not have to break the bank when it comes to selecting a reliable financial management tool. In fact, you might not have to pay a thing. From accounting to time tracking, there are tons of free options out there for managing your company’s finances. After scouring the most popular technology review sites, here are five of the best financial tech tools for small businesses with a price tag of free.
Accounting Software – GnuCash
According to TechRadar, GnuCash is all the rave when it comes to managing your accounting at no cost. It was initially created to be an open source alternative to programs like Quicken in the late 90s. It has since grown into a robust program that can handle double entry accounting, scheduled transactions, the production of accounting reports, statement reconciliation, payroll management, and many other features related to small business accounting.
Alternatives: Wave, Zoho Invoice
Payroll Management System – Payroll4Free.com
Fitsmallbusiness.com named Payroll4Free as a top option for payroll management. It is free for up to 25 employees, is available in all 50 states, and allows you to pay employees with direct deposit or paper pay stubs. You do not have to worry about keeping up with tax laws yourself as the system takes care of calculating all federal, state, and local taxes. You can pay 1099 contractors, and even track employee vacation time. There are some extra paid features you can invest in, but most of the standard payroll procedures are right here.
Time Tracking – Hubstaff
Whether you are working with contractors, freelancers, or your employees, tracking their time is essential in producing accurate invoices. Hubstaff received a 4.5 out of five on Capterra’s technology review site. If you are a small business of one, this software’s free capabilities should take care of all your time tracking needs. Hubstaff can monitor unlimited programs, take automatic screenshots to prove work is being done, provide online timesheets and attendance reports. It also has a built-in payroll system. In the event, you had to expand your team a basic paid plan for 20 users is under $100 annually.
Expense Tracking – Zoho Expense
One of Zapier’s top choices for employee expense tracking is the well-known Zoho suite of financial management products. Zoho expense is perfect for small businesses that allow employees to use a company card. It integrates with most popular credit card companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe by pulling over credit card purchases to the Zoho Expense database. Users can code the expenses, and upload photos of the receipts using the Zoho expense mobile app. You can even set up per diem rates for your staff as they travel to ensure employees do not spend over the specified limit. The system also automatically converts expenses in any currency. Zoho Expense is free for up to three users and is $15 per month for up to 10. Anyone added after the standard $15 plan is an additional $2 per person.
Alternative: Expensify
Inventory Management – Delivrd
Delivrd is a new inventory management system on the block, having launched in 2016. While it did not make the number one spot for FinanceOnline.com’s top list, the program has some redeeming qualities that could benefit up-and-coming small business owners. Delivrd allows you to create a product catalog for up to 25 products, manage serial numbers, monitor inventory transaction history, print barcodes, and integrate with Shopify and WooCommerce. The site does offer a paid option for those who need to manage multiple inventory locations.
Alternative: Ordoro
Final Thoughts
Getting a business up and running is not an easy task. The last thing you need is a complicated and expensive financial management tool that makes it difficult to focus on providing what your clients need. Many of the tools above give you the option to take advantage of additional features at a reasonable price. However, while you are still gaining your footing as a small business owner, it wouldn’t hurt to have a reliable system that is easy on the pocket.
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