Barely anybody has the time, let alone the will, to bury themselves in spreadsheets or receipt books when they could be focusing on growing or even scaling up their small business. Thankfully, a handful of fantastic app-based alternatives are able to wrestle you away from much of the heavy lifting.
They promise to remove boring administrative tasks from your day-to-day workflow, which may be difficult to manage, especially while you’re on-the-go. Your handheld device, therefore, from your phone to your tablet, could come to be your saving grace, allowing you to automate administrative tasks while you’re out and about. We’ve combed through a number of UK mobile accounting apps for your iPad so you’ll never have to fret about an admin-heavy accounting workload again.
FreeAgent
FreeAgent, an app for freelancers and small businesses alike, is a piece of accounting software with everything you’d expect alongside a suite of features to manage your sums in the cloud. UK-based users can choose between four account types including UK Sole Trader, UK Partnership, UK Limited Liability Partnership and UK Limited Company, with FreeAgent automating your calculations based on your selection. The app can even be set up to process VAT information.
For sole proprietors or freelancers, meanwhile, you can manage your personal and business banking arrangements simultaneously and separately, with the software allowing for the capacity to process small business financials. These include business proposals and invoicing as well as tax estimates, in addition to integrations with PayPal and GoCardless.
FreeAgent also sports a highly-rated iOS app. Using mobileAgent, you can’t do everything you could from a computer, but you can do the most important things, like invoicing a client on-site and billing for services rendered before even starting the car to drive away. You can even keep track of real-time expenses.
FreshBooks
Of all of the apps on this list, FreshBooks boasts the highest rating in the iPhone/iPad app store.
FreshBooks was built specifically to make the day-to-day of the small business owner’s life just easier, focusing particularly on streamlining the part that’s most important to you – getting paid.
It’s built for the completely non-accounting professional, aka you.
The FreshBooks Cloud Accounting iPhone and iPad app even comes equipped with a freelancer’s favourite tool – a project manager. The app tracks billable time against project budgets, and then you can manage tasks and hours in a calendar view to see time spent by project, enabling not only you to stay better organised, but to keep track of any staff or freelancers you work with.
The iPad app also sports a robust dashboard to track income and expenses.
“When I’m in a rush or at a meeting, it’s great to be able to invoice the client on the spot and walk out with a cheque,” reviewed one FreshBooks user. And if you, like me, will probably still struggle with the accounting of it all, FreshBooks will be there to help you, via UK and Irish free-phone support lines, promising to pick up within two rings…
Which accounting app is right for your small business then?
There’s no doubt about it, accounting apps take the dread out of the financial equation. With these tools balancing budgets and tracking time and expenses, hopefully you can focus on what you need to do (and want to do) and ditch those spreadsheets once and for all!
Do you think we are missing a great small business accounting app from this list? Get in touch to share your thoughts.
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