Managing Cash Online for Small Business: 3 Tools to Help You Keep Things Flowing

Ah, the internet.  It has made life so much easier for business owners.  Everything that used to take up untold amounts of time and effort can now be done in a flash on the net, and that includes money management.  The things you can do online these days include tracking your money, putting away savings and managing invoices, among many others.  We’ve tracked down 3 of the most useful online tools that will make managing your money easier and faster so you can concentrate on doing what you do best.

Quicken Online – Intuit released an online version of their popular money management software earlier this year.  What’s so great about this – especially for small business owners who don’t employ bookkeepers – is that they’ve made it as streamlined and easy to understand as possible.  It’s specifically designed for people who aren’t exactly finance whizzes, connecting all of your financial accounts and aggregating all of your financial info in one place. It auto-updates with all of your financial information each day and assigns categories based on your expenses, like ‘rent’, ‘utilities’, ‘credit cards’ and ‘office supplies’.   And, if you need help, support staff are just a click away.  One caveat: it doesn’t support investment tracking.  If you need a more robust program, you may want to look into Intuit’s QuickBooks Online Edition.

ING Direct – The advantage to an online savings account over a traditional bank savings account is a much higher interest rate, which can add up to substantially more money in your pocket.  ING Direct offers a business savings account with a current interest rate of 3.15% APY, so you can put your money to work without lifting a finger.  There are flexible savings account options for sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, corporations and not-for-profits.  No fees, no service charges.  It’s easy to use, and you can set up safe and secure access for up to three people.

FreshBooks – This online invoicing software is a big time-saver.  It’ll help you stay organized by telling you with a glance which invoices have already been paid.  You can easily create, send and track invoices, as well as tracking time and expenses for yourself and your staff.  You can choose to send invoices via snail mail or email, automatically send invoices and late payment notices, create robust reports and import/export your data.  You can take a tour or sign up for a free trial.

• MARKETING | Marketing With No Money: Using Social Media to Grow Your Offline Business
• The Ins and Outs of Incorporating- What a Startup Needs to Know about Getting Organized
• Twitter 101 for Business People
• The Franchise Dream: When to Go For it, When to Stay Small
• The Paperless Office: Six Ways to Cut Costs and Save Trees