Running business operations is not for the faint of heart.
So many layers dovetail together: scheduling, accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, tracking time, point-of-sale processing. It can seem rather endless.
Good news for the many small business owners who use QuickBooks: there are many, many apps to support your operations and free up your time to focus on running your business, instead of running timesheets and supply numbers.
Payment Systems
An online platform to send and receive money through, businesses from Etsy sellers to brick-and-mortar service centers use Stripe.
Business owners do not have to import every single transaction from Stripe into QuickBooks – using the Stripe Sync app, you can immediately sync your Stripe account with QuickBooks, automatically importing every transaction.
The same applies for the sister app, PayPal, which is also used widely around the globe. From small payments to major purchases, Stripe and PayPal can handle your transactions, and seamlessly work within your accounting software.
Time Tracking
Even if you only have two or three employees, or mainly farm out work to subcontractors, knowing the exact hours they worked is important.
The heavy hitter for time tracking linking to QuickBooks is TSheets, enabling you to monitor each person’s work hours directly from QuickBooks Online. Employees can clock in and out easily with a mobile app, or use their computer, and the timesheet information will automatically sync in real time!
TSheets also has a scheduling tool built in so you can forecast who will be on the clock and when, to help with planning.
You can edit, review, and approve timesheets and how they affect invoices without moving between programs or importing data. No more trouble with getting payroll done on time again!
Inventory Management
If you sell a physical product, your time managing stock, storage and what has and has not sold can be a huge portion of your time. Shipping, supplies, and managing communications with customers all come into play.
erplain enables users to sync their products and inventory tracking directly with QuickBooks in real-time. You can see, at a glance, where your inventory stands before you send an invoice. This app also helps track shipping and items stored across multiple locations.
Company Expenses
Tracking company costs such as travel expenses, mileage, client lunches or anything going on the company credit card can be a pain.
With an app such as Expensify, you can enter and track expenses and they automatically sync with QuickBooks. You don’t even have to save the receipt once you’ve taken a photo of the receipt and recorded the relevant details. It auto-populates an expense report for you!
Accounts Payable
Automating accounts payable can be an easy check off your to-do list.
Bill.com integrates with QuickBooks, both online and desktop versions. It comes highly recommended with high-quality features and the user platform is sleek and easy to use. Suppliers and subcontractors can email bills directly to the system, which also accepts scans or faxes. Photos of bills can also be converted into digital records, and once approval is received, payments go out via check when scheduled. Clean, easy and no stress.
Accounts Receivable
It’s not the best idea to use an accounts payable app for accounts receivable, and vice versa. If an app is built for one function, it’s not likely to be good at the other.
We recommend InvoiceSherpa 2.0 because of its automation options and communications tracking. The system can be set to automatically initiate follow-ups on open invoices, freeing members of your team for more critical tasks. The app also lets you deploy a full customer portal, allowing clients to manage their payments and view their history online. And of course, it integrates with QuickBooks.
Managing your business shouldn’t take away your passion or become a headache waiting to happen every day. With these apps, you can simplify and streamline your operations, giving yourself more time to do what you enjoy as a part of your business!
