The Best Expense Tracking Tools For Small Businesses - Our Guide

Every business needs to have a good expense tracking system in place. In fact, it is crucial for businesses to track their expenses on a regular basis.

One reason for this is that, when tax season comes, you will not have to sift through piles of old receipts to try to determine which expenses were for business and which were personal. Moreover, a good tracking system allows you to see exactly where your money is going each month.

A good expense tracker can help you see what you are spending your money on and, possibly, help you cut some unnecessary expenses. With the right expense tracker, you can free up a lot of your time that you would otherwise have to spend sorting through receipts.

While large companies most likely already have their own way of tracking expenses that have been proven successful, small businesses or startups are often still searching for the best tool available. If you have only started your small business and are looking for a tool to help you track your expenses, then you are in the right place.

Listed down below are the top two expense trackers to help you get started on the right foot:

Excel Spreadsheets

Excel is one of the most straightforward options out there for tracking expenses. This old-fashioned expense tracker is free and easy to use. All you have to do is find a decent bookkeeping Excel template and simply enter all your expenses on a weekly basis.

One of the best things about Excel is that after you have entered your transactions, you can create reports so that you can gain some insights into your financial standing. With the Income Statement template, you can turn your transactions into an informative income statement sheet that shows your profit and loss over a specific period.

QuickBooks

If you’re looking for something with a few more features than Excel, QuickBooks is one of the most popular expense tracking tools. QuickBooks does require some knowledge, time, and effort in order for it to run effectively, but it is ideal for accounting-savvy business  owners. QuickBooks can be used for all your accounting needs, including running payroll, accepting online payments, tracking expenses, as well as managing your taxes.

If you have a limited knowledge of accounting or you don’t have much time to learn a new app, QuickBooks might initially leave you feeling a bit frustrated. However, if you are a quick learner, or have a great team of employees who are ready to learn, QuickBooks can offer you great value. For example, QuickBooks, you can easily scan your receipts using your phone and upload them on the mobile app for receipt management.

Final Words of Advice

Even though you have a computer program to help manage your financial records, you should still seek advice from a certified accountant or a bookkeeper to make sure that everything is on track. With the help of a knowledgeable accountant, you can be sure that all information is entered properly into the software and that all financial reports can be generated.

Totally Booked offers bookkeeping by QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisors based out of NYC. Get in touch today to see how we can help!