Big confession. Finances are not my strongest points. I’m in business because I enjoy working out the technical kinks for people and developing tech related products and services. Not to be an accountant. I also have a tendency to ignore it – which of course is not very good. That’s why I 100% outsource this. But what if you’re the type who doesn’t mind crunching the numbers? 
This is not to be confused with a shopping cart or billing system. While some billing systems and shopping carts do give you financial reports like sales and what invoices you are owed, they do not always carry your expenses. You’ll still need to export and plug these into a book keeping system so you can track the actual profit or loss after expenses.
Here’s what we found that can help.
- Outright. This is looking very interesting indeed and even though I outsource this now, I am very tempted to check it out. It even helps you with taxes and issuing 1099’s, plus the price is free.
- Simply Accounting Express. This is a free version. There are various levels of upgrades starting at $49.99
- GnuCash. Free open source accounting software for PC, Linux and Mac.
- Less Accounting. Plans starting at $12 a month. Integrates with Basecamp, PayPal and banks.
- Xero. Plans start at $19 a month for business.
Of course, we can’t go without mentioning long time leaders like Quickbooks Online and Peachtree.
By the way, my bookkeeper tells me she is currently taking new clients. She’s awesome, very helpful, detailed oriented and FAST. Plus, she holds a day job as an accountant so she really knows what she’s doing. If you’re in the market to outsource your business financial record keeping, put your request in the comments. Make sure you enter a valid email address and I’ll pass your contact information on to her.
Image by Darren Shaw