Complimentary Apps to Keep Small Businesses on Budget

You can get the right tools to set yourself up for success. | Photo by Josh Sorenson from Pexel

There are hundreds and thousands of apps that claim to help businesses manage their budgets more efficiently. However, after carefully testing dozens of apps on my business, I came to the conclusion that not every app is what it claims to be.

To help relate, I run a creative digital agency that not only operates on a global scale but also hires on a similar level. The services we offer are primarily digital - which allows for flexibility in the way we hire and retain our employees. This simply means that we have many remote workers. While flexibility is great for the team, it can be a hurdle for HR and finance. There is always something that gets mixed or lost, and keeping tabs on everything manually is impossible.

After years of trying, we decided to invest in efforts that would automate certain aspects of the business that would help us in budgeting internal processes and projects, manage employee expectations, increase accountability and more.

So, to help you cut through the clutter of boring and outdated apps, I compiled a list of apps that I found useful and that mashup well when used together.

How did I evaluate the apps?

I first looked at the reviews of the app in Apple’s App Store and Androids Google Play Store. Then I used the trial, which every company listed below offers, and after a few days of trying the app, I filtered those that were good and those that simply didn’t fulfill the core needs of small businesses, as listed by the Goldman Sachs Progress report called “10,000 Small Businesses: Stimulating Small Business Growth”.

Without wasting too much time, let’s look at a few apps dedicated to budgeting a small business.

Mint for Finance

A costless perspective to budgeting

The above statement does the app justice. Developed by the makers of Turbotax and Intuit, Mint is like your own personal money manager. And unlike real money managers, Mint doesn’t take cuts from your earnings because it’s free. 

To operate Mint, all one needs to do is connect their bank account to the app and everything else takes care of itself. Expenses are tracked, categorized and calculated automatically. Relative to native bank apps, Mint is specialized in budgeting and its features are tailored to help users understand where their money is going. If you own a risky business, where cash flows are uncertain, then having a dedicated budgeting app to track expenses in great detail is something that you should think about.

What businesses benefit the most from Mint?

Mint was originally intended to be for personal use but it’s free-to-use nature has drawn the attention of businesses too. Today, small businesses use Mint for its smart notifications, alarming business owners of billing dates, and as a virtual tracker that manages expenses on an advanced level.

Mint features: Bill Payment Tracker, Budgeting Goal Tracker, Budget Alerts, Categorize Bank Transactions, Investment Tracker

To learn more about Mint, visit their official website.

Atto for Time

A heart-throbbing user experience

Hidden in the mist is Atto, a digital time clock designed for small businesses. I came across Atto as I was looking for well-reviewed budgeting and productivity apps. The first moment I entered and logged into the app, a big green pulsating bubble popped up, which upon clicking started counting my work hours. Over the years of running a small business, I have come to understand that one of the most challenging tasks of the business owner is to retain and improve the team’s performance. Time tracking apps claim to have all the necessary capabilities to help business owners make effective decisions based on historical data. 

For example, one prominent problem that we discovered and solved through time tracking is employee tardiness. Using Atto, I was able to identify those who were late to work on a continuous basis and take disciplinary measures to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. A simple measure that saved us over $36,500 a year.

Another key benefit of these apps - which lies on the other side of the spectrum is pricing. If you know exactly how long it takes to complete a project then charging the right price won’t be an issue. Furthermore, you would be able to support your price with real evidence - which is the data you derive from the app.

What businesses benefit the most from Atto?

Atto is best utilized by small businesses that are heavily reliant on labor. For example, construction, landscaping, home repair, home care and other businesses of this nature would be a great suite for a time tracking app. Or for freelancers or consultants looking to track their own time.  However, we wouldn’t limit our options there as agencies, small retailers and restaurants can also use modern digital time clocks to grow their capacities while reducing costs. 

Atto features: Location Tracking, Team Activity Insights, Timesheets, Real-time Reporting, PTA Tracking

Take a look yourself, with Atto you get 14-days to test the time clock app for free.

Asana for Workflow

It is one thing to track expenses with Mint, and it’s a completely different thing to actually plan them ahead of time. Asana is a well-regarded project management solution that helps teams steer projects towards a common goal or objective. 

But, what if there is more to this platform than workflow management?

Well, if you dig deep enough, you will run into this Asana web page dedicated to its budgeting capabilities. Remember the earlier problem that we mentioned regarding the fear of running out of cash, well with Asana you can set goals from day 1 and manage them directly from the platform. Additionally, you can set reminders for invoices with due dates and payments to avoid having receivables and payables stack up on your financial statements. 

If as a small business you have claimed debt on your account then having a payback strategy is paramount to avoiding interest premiums. This is another example where Asana can help busy you maintain focus on tasks that are most important to the business.

What businesses benefit the most from Asana?

Generally speaking, Asana is a platform for every business, be that small or big. The main benefits that businesses should consider with regards to Asana are its contribution to general management, work efficiency, collaboration, accountability, and planning. All around, it can take a little getting the team to integrate Asana in their workflow but once it’s in place then getting out of it will be difficult - in a good sense. 

Asana Features: Project Management, Workflow Management, Scrum & Agile, Scheduling, Goal Setting & Prioritization and more. 

Oh, and did we mention that Asana offers most of its core functionalities for free? Try it out.

The solutions offered by Asana are countless and when combined with the other two apps that we have listed, you will have an arsenal of data through which you can power through any challenge.

Get to testing and learn how using a combination of apps can help you lower costs, raise productivity and potentially increase earnings.

Guest writer Art Raifi is the Chief Executive Officer at Black Bird Marketing. Besides his passion for entrepreneurship, Art is actively engaged across communities where he shares his positive and negative experiences in an attempt to help people make the right choices in business.