It’s guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest post is from Tyler Nay – Enjoy!

As a small business owner, what is more rewarding than focusing on the area of your business that you are most passionate about?  To invest your uninterrupted attention in doing the things that pushed you to start your own business in the first place?  Closing a big sale, writing a book, designing a new product, understanding expenses . . .

Did I lose you with the last one?

What about controlling cash flow or understanding which products generate the most profit? Accounting is frequently an overlooked area in small business as it does not hold the flash and appeal that some other areas of owning a business hold.

The good news is that the days of simply relying on old, stuffy, boring spreadsheets with confusing terms and data have come to end. Software app makers have given accounting reporting and analytics a whole new face making understanding the numbers that drive your business a powerful competitive advantage. (Oh, and they keep the accounting, payables, receivables, banking and tax folks happy too!)

Below are examples of 4 tools that any small business can employ to help stay on top of its bookkeeping and better understand its financial position.

Xero

Billed as the company that makes “Beautiful Accounting Software”, Xero is standing at the forefront of the cloud based accounting software revolution. After playing around with the software, it’s easy to understand why people refer to it as “beautiful”. The easy-to-navigate user interface removes a lot of the pain out of finding different tools, booking entries, and negotiating through the site. In fact, its overall design has been credited by some with making accounting “fun”. Another major benefit is the ability to sync your business bank accounts and credit cards with Xero. It saves loads of time, removes some of the redundant data entry from the accounting process, and reduces the likelihood of key strike error.

Zoho Invoice

The speed at which a small business gets paid for services rendered is vital to health of that company. Zoho Invoice strives to improve cash flow by making invoicing easy and payment receipt faster. I really enjoy the entire invoice conversion feature offered by Zoho. You can issue an estimate to a customer and once approved, turn that estimate into an invoice and email it directly to them. The invoice design is also highly customizable which allows you to add company logos and your own unique style to the layout.

QuickBooks for PC

A mainstay in small business accounting software, QuickBooks still offers a PC version of its small business accounting solution that is ideal for a small business that wants an on-premise accounting solution with few users who need access to it. The array of features offered by this product and how it can conform to almost any small business is an important element. As a past QuickBooks user, I would recommend purchasing additional reading material to help navigate all the features. The software offers a lot of reporting capabilities that can be difficult to navigate.

Square

Producer of the little white reader box that sits atop your Apple or Android device to complete credit card transactions, Square’s point of sales system allows users to complete payment for service transaction anywhere, anytime. Square allows users the ability to integrate with their small business accounting software programs like Xero or QuickBooks – a highly attractive feature.  Through this integration, your accounting software automatically creates the accounting entries necessary to record your daily Square sales, in turn, leaving a small business owner more time to focus on the more enjoyable aspects of his or her business.

By implementing any of these four products, small business owners will see immediate dividends paid in their accounting and bookkeeping department. I personally enjoy the direction in which Xero is moving. Its cloud-based accounting software seems to be the direction that small business accounting is moving and the simple, easy-t0-use interface is attractive for users who may not have a lot of accounting experience.

If you liked this post, check out our Guide to Managing Your Small Business Finances.

Tyler Nay is presently a senior operations accountant at Watco Companies, LLC, a transportation company based in Pittsburg, Kansas. Over the course of his career, he has spent time in both the public and private accounting sector, where he developed the passion for streamlining accounting information systems for any business, regardless of size. If you would like to connect with Tyler, please do so on LinkedIn.