Customer invoicing, business bookkeeping and finance reporting. These are just some of the most valuable features you should look for when choosing the best bookkeeping app for your small business. This blog will break down the features to look out for to help narrow down your choices.

Software is supposed to make bookkeeping a breeze, not make the entire process more long-winded. So, keep all of the following in mind...

• Things to Consider When Choosing an App
• Features Your Bookkeeping App Should Include
• Some Useful Extras to Think About

Things to Consider When Choosing an App Your Budget

Cheap can be attractive, but there’s a risk of a cheaper option not having the features your business will actually find useful. At the same time, expensive options might be both out of your price range and full of confusing features you’ll probably never use.

Look for an app, like EasyBooks, which offers a subscription-based service so you can choose the perfect package for your needs. That way, you’re only paying for the features you’ll need without paying for those you’ll never use.

Your Business Needs

Don’t go in blind. Make a full list of the features you want and what you want your bookkeeping app to do for your business. Remember, different companies have different financial requirements, so you might need a more specific system compared to others on the market.

Safety and Security

Financial information is clearly sensitive data, so you don’t want this to fall into the wrong hands. As the app will be web or phone-based, you need to be sure your choice values security and is determined to keep all of your data safe.

For example, EasyBooks’ backup and restore feature means you don’t have to worry about losing data. Plus, passcode locks will make sure only you ever see your vital business information.

Features Your Bookkeeping App Should Include Basic Bookkeeping Features

Before diving into the full features, make sure that the app you choose can handle all of the basics of bookkeeping. When comparing your choices, look for features your business will benefit from the most.

This can include report generation, standard tracking or even expense management so you can see how your business is performing.

Customer Invoicing

When looking for invoice-specific features, make sure to find an app that takes all of the complex hassles away. Instead, narrow your search down to one that can easily prepare any estimates or sales invoices while letting you send these customised invoices directly to your customers without a piece of paper in sight.

Some useful customer invoicing features to look out for include:

• Create and send professional, personalised invoices.
• Send estimates through the app and win customers much faster.
• Send PDF invoices directly to customers without using paper.
• Replicate previous invoices easily to set-up repeat future invoices.

Business Bookkeeping

The business bookkeeping aspect also needs to be made simple. Look for an app which has business bookkeeping features to help you run every part of your business without any hassle. Plus, make sure it’s easy to understand.

Some useful business bookkeeping features to look for in an app include:

• The ability to set transactions to repeat automatically to save time.
• Add multiple businesses but be able to manage from one unified system.
• Make sure it’s helpful and in easy-to-understand plain English.

With the EasyBooks bookkeeping app, for example, you avoid mistakes by being given early warnings. The app also handles over 150 currencies with exchange rates updated hourly.

Finance Reporting

When choosing the best bookkeeping app for your small business, narrow your selection down to those that offer multiple finance reporting options rather than just one.

Some useful finance reporting features to look out for include:

• Keeping tabs on your finances by running reports like Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets and more.
• Utilise simple reports without any confusion.
• Monitor your sales and inventory through the same app.
• Track and monitor your best customers.

Online Syncing

The digital bookkeeping process should be made simple with automatic online syncing capabilities to keep your data online.

Some useful online sync features to look out for include:

• Knowing you have continuous data backups.
• Retrieve your data quickly with simple, single sign capabilities.
• Decide how much sharing access you want to give.
• Easily share, manage and sync data for multiple businesses.

As a whole, make sure the app you choose allows you to easily submit digital tax returns, especially with the government introducing the Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative.

Some Useful Extras to Think About

Don’t limit your search to just features. While they’re important to help narrow your search for the perfect bookkeeping app, think of the following as well which can help in the long run.

• Free Trial: Does the app provide  you with the option to enjoy a free trial so you can get to grips with the app to see how it feels? This will give you the best understanding of whether it’s the right one for you.
• Technical Support: Does the app have an expert team on-hand to help you with any issues you might face? It’s important to know this information rather than realising you’ll be left entirely on your own.
• Online Reviews: Does the app have a good reputation online? Look at online reviews to see what others in your position are saying and how they’ve rated them.
• Speak to Providers: Does the app plan to grow and add more features? It’s nice to know that you can speak to the software developers to ask about functionality, features, integrations and more.

That’s where EasyBooks comes in. All of the features we’ve mentioned above are part of the EasyBooks app, giving you one less job to worry about so that you can get tax right the first time, every time.

EasyBooks has been specially designed to be simple to use and understand. That’s why you won’t spot any confusing jargon as the entire process remains quick and painless.

See How Easy It Is to Do the Books With The EasyBooks Bookkeeping App…

Bookkeeping can be complicated for some, but we’ve only included the features you’ll need. Gone are the days of headaches and confusion regarding the books and data being all over the place - and you can see for yourself.

Go ahead and grab your 14-day free trial with no commitments. You’ll see for yourself that EasyBooks is built with small businesses like yours in mind while enjoying the many features.

Click the link below to activate your free 14-day trial.