20 Fintech Tools Small Businesses Must Have in their Arsenal

A successful company is often distinguished from a struggling one by its financial management. The key to running your business processes smoothly is excellent financial management, regardless of the size of your organization or the industry in which it operates.

Thanks to many cloud-based platforms and tools today, any business can take advantage of them. This list contains financial management and CFO tools that every owner or manager should consider when it comes to managing his or her financial resources.

Top 20 Financial Management Tools

Managing business finances can be complex and challenging, but the right financial management tool can make it much easier. By integrating these systems, you will be able to focus on what needs to be optimized within your business and transform specific areas of it.

FreeInvoiceTemplate.org

FreeInvoiceTemplate.org is a very helpful tool for small businesses for creating invoices and bills for a client and business purposes like purchase of new inventory/stocks or keeping track of monthly finances. It's fast and very easy to use and allows you to save a lot of time you might spend in making an invoice manually on Excel sheets or by pen/paper.

Other features include multiple tax options you can add to the invoice, different payment integrations, fast emailing, online backup, multiple currencies, save in PDF format.

Recommended for: Creating free invoices for business sales, inventory purchases or of a client.

Pricing: Free to use for everyone, there are no pro or premium versions

Pros:

  • Fast and easy to use
  • Free to use
  • Calculate monthly bills and finances in few seconds
  • Email invoice and bill to anyone
  • Offers multiple tax types
  • Download and save in PDF format

Cons:

  • Invoices cannot be edited later on
  • Leaves a watermark which is hard to remove

1. Xero

There is no way that this list can be complete without including accounting tools. Accounting is a key component of any business tool lineup you're considering. By integrating with third-party applications and point-of-sale software, you will be able to enhance a variety of value-added components.

Xero is an accounting software solution designed to provide small businesses with a simple, easy-to-use accounting platform. With Xero, you can pay your bills, claim expenses, accept payments, track projects, and connect with your various banks. Having a complete financial picture of your business will make filing tax returns at the end of the year much easier. Your business will run more smoothly if you automate tasks such as invoicing and reporting.

Recommended for:

Recommended for comprehensive accounting and financial management for small to medium-sized businesses.

Pricing:

Xero starts at $20 per month

Pros:

  • Simple to use
  • A lightweight application that can run on devices with small specifications
  • Ideal for small and medium-sized businesses
  • Easily integrates with other tools

Cons:

  • In the starter version, there is a limit to the number of monthly transactions you can make
  • A well-trained financial team may not be able to use more advanced features

2. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is a top-notch financial management application that helps you manage all your finances effortlessly and efficiently. The intuitive platform enables you to track expenses, and do accounting. In addition, it can be connected to other Zoho applications, for example, Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory, so you will not need to go back and forth.

Recommended for:

Perfect for the combined bookkeeping, billing, and expenses tracking.

Pricing:

It has a free version, and after that, the basic version is $15 per month, and the professional version is $40.

Pros:

  • It is easy to navigate and has a friendly user interface.
  • Online payment
  • Support for multiple currencies
  • Integrated inventory management system
  • Financial reporting and analysis

Cons:

  • New users find software to be very challenging and not very easy to use.
  • There is a little frustration with the payment plans

3. Expensify

It may be difficult to monitor daily expenditures, but with the right tools, you can do away with the physical receipts and company expenditures. Some accounting platforms offer features to track such expenses, so if it is not already included, consider finding one that can be integrated with your accounting software.

The mobile application that Expensify provides for its users enables the employees to capture receipts or input cash expenses through their mobile phones for billing, reporting, and reimbursement. The system also provides reports on the transactions of the users of the system. The subscription plans for Expensify are divided into business and personal, and the prices differ.

Recommended for:

Most suitable for use in tracking and controlling employee’s spending and expenses.

Pricing:

The first plan costs 5$ for small business companies that have 1-10 employe's while other plan costs 9$ for large companies which have 10-10000 employees.

Pros:

  • Third-party platform integration, such as QuickBooks
  • Using "smart scanning," certain entries are automatically categorized to save you time and effort
  • Offers some extra functionality, such as GPS tracking of mileage
  • Using the software, businesses can efficiently reimburse their employees, saving them a great deal of time in the process.

Cons:

  • There is a learning curve associated with the user interface
  • Some users report that receipt scanning is slow Despite its user-friendliness and efficiency, some accounts departments may find that it does not provide enough detailed information.

4. PlanGuru

Although creating a realistic budget and adhering to it is essential for an organization's financial well-being, it can be challenging for new businesses. The majority of accounting software packages offer the capability of managing cash flow and making projections several months in advance. If you wish to strategically divide your assets on a separate platform, PlanGuru may be a good choice.

This software application aims to assist small businesses in analyzing their budgets and identifying potential financial problems before they become serious. The data used for this purpose comes from cash flow records, balance sheets, and income statements.

Recommended for:

Useful for budgeting, forecasting, and identifying financial issues

Pricing:

PlanGuru offers a free 30-day trial, and it costs $99 per month.

Pros:

  • You can access learning resources such as demos and tutorials to get up and running quickly
  • It is easy to integrate with QuickBooks and Excel
  • With the 100% refund policy, you can give the service a shot at no risk
  • Automating and simplifying complex budgeting and forecasting processes

Cons:

  • The software is only compatible with Windows-based computers
  • There is a fee associated with the cloud-based version
  • Not suitable for making 3-year forecast

5. ZipBooks

ZipBooks provides small businesses with cloud-based accounting software that addresses their general accounting needs. In addition to balance sheets, general ledgers, and income statements, ZipBooks offers a variety of data reporting tools to help you gauge your business's trajectory and identify areas for improvement.

ZipBooks Starter plan is a free plan for one user. As part of the Starter plan, users can create unlimited invoices, manage customers and vendors, and accept online payments.

Recommended for:

Great for basic accounting needs with user-friendly invoicing and financial tracking

Pricing:

The Smarter plan starts around $15 whereas the Sophisticated plan costs $35.

Pros:

  • There is no learning curve. You can start using it immediately after logging in
  • The invoicing process is simple and easy to use
  • Free plan available
  • Excellent customer service and regular improvements to the product
  • Payments can be made by credit card, Square, and PayPal.

Cons:

  • There is no tracking of mileage.
  • There are no features for tracking inventory.
  • A more robust and visually appealing reporting system would be beneficial.
  • Currently, there is no Android mobile application available.

6. FreshBooks

Customer expectations are high when it comes to online billing processes. Billing processes that are as smooth and seamless as possible will result in faster sales and a better cash flow.

Having a basic online solution that includes invoicing capabilities is adequate, but adding features and providing affordable pricing plans can go a long way. FreshBooks, a cloud-based billing software, provides a value-added experience for customers, which may increase their satisfaction and loyalty.

The FreshBooks accounting software automates essential accounting tasks for smaller companies. Entries can be easily created, managed, and exported. Since it works on the cloud, you can access your data from anywhere.

Recommended for:

Perfect for automated billing, invoicing, and time tracking

Pricing:

Freshbook pricing for the lite plan starts at $9.5 and the Plus plan costs $16 whereas the Premium one costs $30.

  • Pros:
  • Setup and use are simple without being overly complicated
  • Late payment reminders can be set up automatically
  • Third-party integrations are possible using a flexible API
  • Easy integration from PC to mobile

Cons:

  • There are not many heavy-duty functions available for larger organizations
  • Reports are not accessible via the mobile app
  • No electronic payment option

7. BrightPay

By using standard Excel payroll management systems, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of every part of wages or salaries, sick leave, and holiday pay.

Adopting a payroll management system that streamlines the process and provides employees with real-time pay information can significantly increase the efficiency of your operations. Various digital devices are capable of accessing these resources. For instance, BrightPay is a cloud-based service based in the United Kingdom that facilitates easy and intuitive payroll processing.

The BrightPay system automates and streamlines auto-enrollment tasks, including smart alerts to inform you of tasks that must be completed. Using BrightPay's integration with Modulr, users can make payroll payments to employees and HMRC in a fast, secure, and easy manner.

Recommended for:

Simplifies payroll processing with efficient auto-enrollment features

Pricing:

Brightpay pricing starts at $100 per month for up to 3 employees and is suitable for small businesses.

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Managing employee pensions is easier with auto-enrollment
  • In terms of its functionality, it is relatively inexpensive
  • A free trial is available

Cons:

  • A separate paywall restricts access to several online features of BrightPay Connect
  • There is some difficulty with the auto-enrollment function, so most of the time, you receive an error message if your submission is unsuccessful

8. Quickbooks

QuickBooks provides users with the option to choose from a basic plan to a more comprehensive solution that meets all their financing needs including tracking expenses, processing invoices, paying bills, and tracking mileage.

Online bookkeeping tools like QuickBooks are popular among small businesses. Their cloud-based platform provides easy-to-use integrations and advanced invoicing features. With cloud-based software, your books are accessible anywhere you have a computer, laptop, or smartphone.

Recommended for:

Excellent for robust bookkeeping, expense tracking, and advanced financial reporting.

Pricing:

The basic plan starts at $9 and the plus plan costs $27.

Pros

  • A broad range of features and strong scalability.
  • Third-party software as well as Intuit integrations.
  • Includes advanced analytics

Cons

  • There is a steeper learning curve.
  • There is no desktop option (a separate subscription is required for QuickBooks Desktop).

9. Rocket Money

As a small business owner, it is important to keep track of where your money is being spent. RocketMoney provides you with the ability to easily manage your finances. Apps such as this are primarily used for managing personal expenses, however, they can also be used for managing business expenses.

An easy-to-read graph will provide an overview of all your expenses and subscriptions so that you are in control of your finances.

This app is best for tracking company expenditures, analyzing subscriptions, and comparing prices of different online services. All in all, it's a helpful tool for managing the finances of a business.

Recommended for:

Useful for tracking personal and business expenses and managing subscriptions for small businesses.

Pricing:

Premium subscriptions are available for $47.99/annually, $59.99/annually, or $4 to $12/monthly

Pros

  • Get a comprehensive overview of your financial situation by connecting your bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts
  • Plan your budget
  • Feature for negotiating bills
  • A free plan is available

Cons:

  • The free plan has limited features
  • Customer service is limited

10. Gusto

Gusto is an online payroll system that small businesses can use. This platform also enables you to run payroll and file taxes on your behalf during the tax season.

There are several plans and pricing models available depending on the needs of your business. Furthermore, this software offers payroll services for all the states in America, making it easier for small businesses to meet the legal requirements.

Moreover, Gusto can help you to find cheap health benefits that will be suitable for you. Your payments will automatically be deducted from your pay when you transfer your plan to their software.

Recommended for:

Effective for automating the payroll and tax filing process for small businesses

Pricing:

The cost of using Gusto begins at $40 per month for the Basic plan and $60 for the Plus plan.

Pros:

  • The automation of forms and taxes.
  • Supports some regulations, such as the 401(k) plan in U.S.
  • There is a demo available

Cons:

  • There is no support outside of the U.S.
  • There is no mobile application available

11. SOS Inventory

To reduce the time and costs, it is possible to use software tools that help to track and monitor inventory in real time. For additional options, it is possible to use cloud-based integrated solutions offered by various companies, including SOS Inventory, that enable you to track your purchases from order to sale through your point of sale terminal.

Inventory tracking is crucial for your business because it helps to meet the customer’s demand as fast as possible. Additionally, the low-quantity alerts and the report-generation capabilities reduce the need to monitor stock frequently. SOS Inventory will be advantageous to small and medium-sized businesses.

Recommended for:

Best for real-time inventory tracking and management

Pricing:

It offers a 14-day trial and afterward charges $59 per month for the basic plan and $119 for the Plus plan.

Pros:

  • A free trial is available
  • Documentation and webinars for training
  • One of SOS Inventory's most appreciated features is its automatic syncing with Quickbooks Online

Cons:

  • It takes a while to learn
  • Smaller companies may find the pricing options unsuitable
  • SOS Inventory software has been reported to have glitches by some users. It's also difficult to navigate when multiple tabs are open because buffering is low.

12. Wave

Wave provides small businesses with an online financial management solution. It provides users with features such as invoicing, expense tracking, bookkeeping, and a mobile application that makes it easier to manage their finances. Wave is a free service that can assist you in managing your business more efficiently.

Recommended for:

Suitable for free invoicing, expense tracking, and basic bookkeeping.

Pricing:

The Basic plan is free whereas the Pro plan costs $16.

Pros:

  • It is free to use, and there are no hidden fees or charges
  • A comprehensive solution for small business financial management
  • Financial reporting and bookkeeping automation.
  • Customers can make secure and easy online payments
  • Support for multiple currencies
  • Streamlining financial management through automated workflows and reminders
  • On-the-go access through a mobile app

Cons:

  • Customer service is not quite helpful
  • Sometimes it can be glitchy

13. KashFlow

With KashFlow, you can easily manage your finances, including invoicing, bookkeeping, and expense tracking all through the cloud. A mobile application allows users to access their financial information via a user-friendly interface. With this application, users will be able to manage their finances at any time and from anywhere.

Recommended for:

Convenient for cloud-based invoicing, bookkeeping, and expense management

Pricing:

The Kashflow starter package costs around $1.5 whereas the business package costs $3.

Pros:

  • A mobile app makes it possible to work on the go
  • A wide range of features to meet your needs
  • The KashFlow website provides free business guides
  • Exceptional customer service

Cons

  • The process of setting up your account may take some time
  • There are a limited number of customization options available in KashFlow
  • There has been concern expressed by several users regarding the possibility of inconveniences from network problems or carrier issues

14. Square

Many small business owners, particularly those in retail, are familiar with Square as a financial management tool. By making it simpler to accept credit cards for small businesses, Square is enabling them to manage their finances.

With their Point-of-Sale system, merchants can accept payments via their smartphones. In addition to accepting credit cards, this tool enables small businesses to accept payments on the go. The software enables merchants to integrate mobile payments with merchant services in a convenient and easy-to-use manner. Square is used by millions of businesses worldwide to process credit card payments, track sales, and manage inventory.

Recommended for:

Ideal for point-of-sale payments, sales tracking, and inventory management

Pricing:

The Square Plus plan costs around $29.

Pros:

  • Square POS has been praised by users for its easy-to-use interface and clean design
  • Tracking of sales in real-time
  • Offering a variety of customization options

Cons:

  • Several users have complained that the Square POS is difficult to use, particularly the chip reader in conjunction with mobile devices
  • An inconvenient method of accessing sales summaries

15. Document360

With Document360, you can implement a comprehensive financial knowledge management system tailored specifically for the needs of the financial sector. It facilitates efficient capture, organization and storage of diverse information, including policies, procedures, client onboarding documents, procurement documents, and regulatory compliance documents.

A platform that facilitates the creation of better documentation allows financial professionals to improve client onboarding journeys. The Document360 platform offers comprehensive knowledge management solutions for the financial industry.

Recommended for:

Great for financial knowledge management and documentation.

Pricing:

Document360 has monthly and annual subscription options for Standard, Professional, Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus users.

Pros:

  • It is very easy to create and update articles
  • Setup and administration are simple
  • Stores images and videos

Cons:

  • Sometimes the search feature and permissions do not function properly or become corrupted

16. Mint

Mint is a personal financial management tool from Intuit available in a free and paid version. Today, it is one of the most popular apps for managing budgets. Using Mint, users can keep track of their expenditures, save money, and make data-driven decisions about their finances.

Mint allows users to consolidate all their financial accounts into one central location and manage them effectively. This method of management enables users to keep track of their expenses, budgets, and investments with greater transparency.

Recommended for:

Useful for personal finance management, budgeting, and expense tracking

Pricing:

Free to use for everyone

Pros

  • The service is free of charge
  • Maintain security
  • Integrates with a wide range of financial accounts
  • Tools for alerting and reminding
  • Monitor your credit score for free
  • Calculates the net worth of an individual

Cons

  • Setup is time-consuming
  • There may be an error in the assignment of categories
  • There are occasionally problems connecting to the account

17. Mvelopes

Mvelopes is a mobile application owned and developed by Finicity. It allows users to organize, plan, and prioritize their budgets and see how much money they have left each month. This information on where they stand in relation to their tier budget expenses enables users to make informed spending decisions.

Pricing:

The free version of Mvelopes comes with some limitations, and there are two upgrade options: $19.95 for Premium, and $59.95 for Coaching.

Recommended for:

Perfect for envelope budgeting and spending management

Pros:

  • Setup is simple
  • Your budget and spending are completely under your control: the app doesn't make any automatic calculations
  • Using Mvelopes, you can track both bank account balances and cash balances

Cons:

  • It is not free to use the app
  • Mvelopes does not remind you to save money or track upcoming bills
  • The desktop version of Mvelopes offers some spending reports, but the app does not offer a good visual representation

18. Moneydance

The Moneydance personal finance app is a simple and easy-to-use application that places a high priority on protecting users' privacy. Through this platform, you will be able to perform online banking activities, bill payments, budgeting, etc. It supports a variety of currencies, including cryptocurrencies. With the platform, add-on extensions are also supported.

In addition, the platform maintains a high level of confidentiality and encryption and does not share user data with any third party. It offers detailed and visually appealing graphs and reports for a deeper understanding of the user's expenses. The users may set up recurring and single payments so that payments will not be missed.

Recommended for:

Recommended for comprehensive personal finance management with online banking.

Pricing:

Moneydance costs $50 to purchase and use

Pros:

  • Billpay account aggregator
  • Tracking budgets and investments
  • Tracking foreign exchange
  • Trial period with no transaction fees

Cons:

  • Feels cluttered (at first)
  • It is not free

19. Workday Adaptive Planning

Some of the biggest global companies are using Workday Adaptive Planning for their financial planning and analysis needs. This software enables users to control cash, control costs, control revenues, model employees, control capital, and close the books.

Workday Adaptive Planning is a cloud-based solution and is also accessible on mobile devices. It has a good user interface, it is colorful and has good graphics which makes it easy to use.

Recommended for:

Most suitable for complex financial modeling, forecasting, and analysis

Pricing:

Provides 2 paid plans with free trial options. On the website, there is an option to request a quote for each of the plans available.

Pros:

  • Offers Version Control
  • It is convenient to import transactions and data. Users can also enhance their accuracy by splitting accounts.
  • It offers you the option to generate your own reports and sort them based on specific parameters

Cons:

  • Sometimes, it takes a long time to load the pages.
  • There are certain situations where the use of formula is restricted

20. Nutcache

The Nutcache platform offers basic financial management tools like invoices, expenses, and project management. The mobile app version is also available and enables you to view your most important financial indicators at any time with a simple and intuitive interface.

An all-in-one project screen that allows you to track all invoices, expenses, attachments, and logged hours in one place to save time. However, if you want to get the best of Nutcache, then it is advisable to go for the Pro version which has the Project Screen, the Collaborative Board, the Project Dashboard, the Overdue Invoices, and the Recurring Invoices.

Recommended for:

Useful for project management with integrated invoicing and expense tracking

Pricing:

The pro plan costs around $14 a month and the Enterprise plan costs $24.

Pros:

  • With Nutcache, you can monitor business activities anywhere, anytime .
  • The Nutcache interface offers an easy-to-use interface for managing projects on a daily basis
  • Nutcache's customer service is excellent, with quick responses to questions and training sessions for teams organized

Cons:

  • Tracking non-billable time and invoicing mixed projects can be challenging.
  • Several Nutcache issues have been reported, including stuck reloads
  • Nutcache's mobile app needs substantial improvement, especially for mobile workers and those always on the go

Conclusion

A successful business is not only about having enough money, but also how well you manage it. Using financial management software, you can track and manage financial transactions, create budgets, and create savings programs.

Using the right tools, you can keep track of your cash flow income and outgoings, thereby maintaining a good financial standing. Many small business financial management tools are also useful in simplifying many everyday tasks, such as the processing of payroll, the generation of invoices, the payment of bills, and filing taxes.

We hope you find these 20 tools useful for managing the finances of your new business. Take time to understand their workings and which one is more suited to your requirements. These tools are useful for several types of businesses like retail shops, e-commerce stores, and even physical shops as well.

Author: Suzie Owens (Marketing Executive)