Do you have shoebox full of paper records and a collection of spreadsheets ?

Managing your mobile business

Small business owners work hard and are often on the move. You may be out meeting clients, working on-site or travelling between jobs. If you have an office – at home or anywhere else – you probably don't spend a lot of time in it.

Mobile phones, tablets and laptops have made working on the go much easier. You can check messages and emails, manage appointments, update business social media accounts and use apps to create and share documents.

But did you know you can also manage your accounts on the go? Mobile accounting apps let you manage expenses, send invoices and track your cash flow from anywhere. There's no need to wait until you get back to the office at the end of the day.

Here's how a mobile accounting app can work for you.

An accountant in your pocket

Using a mobile accounting app is like having a bookkeeper or accountant with you at all times. Some of the tasks you can accomplish include:

1. Invoicing on the move
2. Send invoices directly from your mobile device, straight after you finish a piece of work. You won’t have to waste your evenings on billing, and you’ll be far less likely to forget about sending an invoice.
3. Check payments
4. Mobile accounting apps pull fresh bank data through every day so you can check to see if and when payments have landed.
5. Photographing and storing receipts
6. Do you have a pocket or glovebox full of receipts? Don't just throw them in a box to sort out later. Take a photo of them with your phone and store them with your accounts, so they can't be mislaid. You can even use apps that process your receipts for you. Just take a photo of the receipt and an app like Receipt Bank will enter the information into your accounts automatically.
7. Bank reconciliation
8. You probably dread reconciling bank transactions with your accounting records at the end of the month. Smart mobile accounting apps help you avoid painful backlogs by making it easy to reconcile your accounts every day. Yesterday’s bank transactions show on your phone, allowing you to run through and create or confirm matches with your accounts over your morning coffee. You need never fall behind again.
9. Keeping an eye on your cash flow
   Keeping tabs on money coming in and going out is vital. Without good cash flow your business can go under – even if it's profitable on paper. Mobile accounting apps help you check cash flow whenever you like, with simple dashboards that show you things like revenue, expenditure, overdue invoices and payments that are due.
10. There's no build-up of paperwork – you simply deal with your finances as you go along.

Making life easier

Keeping on top of finances has traditionally been a chore for small business owners. But technology has made it easier. You can see how things have changed over the past two decades. Twenty years ago, you’d have had a shoebox full of paper records and a collection of spreadsheets. Then dedicated accounting software came along, but it could only run on a single computer. Now we have online accounting tools that can be used anywhere at any time, on any device.

Each transition has made life simpler. Mobile accounting apps let you build bookkeeping and accounting into your work day. These apps automate much of the work, which means you spend less time going through the numbers.

That means more free time for you in the evening and at the weekend – and less chance of accounting errors.

For business people on the go

The biggest benefit of a mobile accounting app for small businesses is convenience. You don't have to set aside a chunk of your day to do the accounts. Instead, you can use spare moments to keep on top of the figures.

Queuing for a bus? Use that time to check and reconcile any new bank transactions, so you’re up to speed with your finances.
Finished your lunch? Take a quick glance at your cash flow to make sure your income is covering your expenses.
Waiting for a coffee? Quickly run through your recent expenses and assign them to different client accounts.
Just completed a job? Send the invoice straight from your phone, using ready-made invoice templates, before you leave their premises.
There's no build-up of paperwork – you simply deal with your finances as you go along. A mobile accounting app helps busy people stay on top of their accounts.

Will mobile accounting apps work for you?

Mobile accounting apps are useful for almost any business. But they are great for sole traders and businesses that don't have dedicated office staff.

In other words, if you do most of the bookkeeping yourself, an app can really save you time. You can do things on the fly that might otherwise take hours. Instant invoicing, cash flow management, accounts reconciliation – it can all be done on the move.

You can still access your accounts online from a desktop computer too. It's exactly the same accounting data.

When you're ready to start using a mobile accounting app, choose wisely. Get one with on-the-go invoicing and visual dashboards. Make sure it syncs with your bank account every day, too. These time-saving features will help you streamline your daily finances. Soon you'll wonder how you ever managed without the accountant in your pocket.