Nitin Mittal Senior Manager, Assurance and Risk Advisory at Perfect Accounting .and shared services Pvt. Ltd. Read more…
One of the great factors that contribute to the success in business is the accurate utilization of capital, identifying and minimizing expenses on unproductive front and channelizing the funds in the productive direction. With so many coordinates to connect, it is an accepted standard that businesses must implement an expense management system depending on their requirement. Now the greater challenge lies in shortlisting the best software suite from the lucrative lot available in the market. Amazing features, price points, service level agreements and free toolkits- all sound just perfect but might not be very purposeful to the requirements of your enterprise. Depending upon the size of your enterprise and your business needs, you will have to map the goals with the features and compare between the favored vendors.
To make it a little easier, here are some of the best practices to guide you in selecting the online expense management software that best serves the interest of your company. These are:
- Map the financial goals of your organization with the features promised by the software suite so that you buy exactly what you need.
- Involve the stakeholders in business in the decision-making process to understand how much value the software suite brings to daily operations.
- Estimate how much support and hand holding your organization needs in terms of implementing the software, on-boarding the stakeholders and troubleshooting just in case.
When it comes to small businesses and start-ups where the scale of operations is low and scalability is a challenge, here are some of the cost-effective best options that the market has to offer.
1. Zoho Expense – This is one of the most popular expense management system used by small businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide. One of the most interesting parts is that you can get a customized quote based on the functionalities you require. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Records all expenses real time and offers you with the possibility for editing data if required
- Categories users as per the organizational hierarchy thereby, defining the access & controls
- Integrates with other enterprise applications
2. NetSuite ERP – It is one of the most acclaimed finance management tools especially meant to cater to small retailers and e-com entrepreneurs. Designed to monitor sales, automate communication & feedback mechanism, and bring about a convergence between order management and order fulfillment, this software suite spells success. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Delivers smart modules for e-commerce, sales & marketing
- Offers you with smart and intuitive business data points
- Minimizes cost of ownership because it runs on a cloud
3. Expensify – This is an award-winning expense management software that takes a holistic approach to expense management, travel management, tax compliance, invoice management, and payment processing. Its SmartScan technology can automatically scan a receipt and extract the data and submit it in real time. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Provides real-time notifications regarding your upcoming official travel
- Supports integrations with other accounting application and software suites
- Deposits the reimbursement directly to your bank account
4. Shoeboxed – This is one of the most comprehensive toolkits for small businesses when it comes to expense management. The best part is that you can integrate it with other applications. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Digitizes all the invoices and receipts and organizes them in a suitable manner
- Achieves your receipts based on tax categories
- Extracts all the information from the image of a receipt
5. QuickBooks – This is another great market offering specially designed for freelancers and entrepreneurs. This software suite boats of a unique capacity to sync many profiles within an organization on a single dashboard. If you want to have a free trial of the features before you make the buying decision, then this is just the right option. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Offers you with robust features for creating, editing and sharing relevant documents with other stakeholders
- Stores all your documents are safely and securely on the cloud
- You can access the system anytime anywhere in the presence of internet
6. Sage Business Cloud Accounting – This is one of the most comprehensive accounting platforms based on the cloud. The USP of this expense management tracking software lies in its ability to offer intuitive data regarding the performance of your business. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Serves you as a tax management tool apart from its core functions of accounting and compliance
- Offers Android and iOS applications for the creation of invoices using smartphones
- Forecasts accurately cash inflow and outflow for better cash management
7. Xero -This is one of the most revolutionary accounting software suites that have simplified even the complex accounting processes whilst focussing on smart user experience. A robust help center is what makes it tremendously popular with entrepreneurs. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Offers you the double benefit of a stock and inventory management
- Provides smart and intuitive readymade templates for editing purchase files
- Delivers comprehensive financial reports
8. Tipalti – This is a software suite that automates the payment process. Based on the cloud, this expense management system enables businesses to seamlessly resolve issues arising out of non-compliance and delayed payments. Very interestingly, this platform has the capability to resolves tax compliance issues across 190 countries. Some of the other valuable functionalities that it offers are:
- Offers you with a sophisticated and automated reporting dashboard for generating reconciliation reports
- Brings together power capabilities of using 6 major payment methods across 120 currencies of the world
- Creates W-9 and W-8 forms with ease for withholding paying in cases of non-compliance
9. Invoices – This is a SaaS-based invoicing tool for entrepreneurs and start-ups. With the basic plan priced most attractively at $9.99 per month, this platform offers a holistic platform for accounting functions. With an enhanced degree of customization, this offers you great customization capabilities. Some of the other functionalities that it offers are:
- Offers a single platform for managing multiple small businesses
- Provides a smart and sophisticated accounting model with all bookkeeping features
- Generates payment notifications automatically
10. FreeAgent -This is one of the great expense management software suites standing out amongst others in the market. Catering specifically to small businesses, start-ups, and freelancers, this software is one-stop holistic expense management support. Some of its major functionalities are:
- Connects seamlessly with your bank account and imports transactions
- Offers smart co-ordinates for measuring your project profitability and expenses
- Tracks your time spent on each task or project with in-built time tracker