What Finance Software Do You Need for Small Business?

When you started your small business, you probably didn’t foresee spending much time on financial bookkeeping, but it’s not unusual for small business owners to spend 21 hours or more on accounting tasks each week.¹ 

Finding the right finance software for small businesses can reduce that number. Here are seven features to prioritize as you look for a solution that suits your needs. 

7 key features of finance software for small business 

To find the best small business finance software for your company, you’ll need to weigh which features will have the biggest impact on your operations.

1. Planning and reporting 

One of the most important tasks for small business finance management software is to provide a bird’s eye view through comprehensive planning and reporting. 

Look for software that allows you to set relevant goals such as yearly profit margin or progress toward paying off loans. It should also present detailed and up-to-date reports, with charts and graphs to help your team or business partners visualize trends.

2. Automated bookkeeping 

Are you one of those entrepreneurs who spends dozens of hours each week on accounting tasks? Both you and your business stand to benefit from finance software for small businesses that automates many of those tedious tasks. 

Though it’s always a good idea to double-check automated processes to ensure they’re working as intended, you should be able to rely on your software to: 

• Automatically sort and categorize transactions 
  
• Intake details from paper invoices using optical character recognition² 
  
• Populate payments, invoices and other records using previously provided information
  

3. Billing and invoicing 

Making sure your business pays what it owes and receives payments when they’re due is critical for maintaining accurate accounting. 

The best finance software for small businesses automates the accounts payable and receivable process. Software should auto-populate details on bills and invoices and track the current status of each payment, with automated reminders for relevant parties where necessary.  

4. Payroll

Look for small business finance software with reliable payroll processes. Employees should know exactly when and where to expect their paychecks. You can go a step further with payroll solutions that allow employees to look up individual paystubs and see withholdings for taxes or a 401k.  

5. Inventory and e-commerce integration 

If your business sells products to consumers, look for finance software that either features its own inventory and e-commerce solutions or that integrates with services you already use. This ensures your financial picture always remains up-to-date while minimizing the busy work of ferrying numbers from one sheet to the next. 

6. Tax assistance 

Use small business finance management software to take some tax prep off your shoulders and help you produce accurate tax documents. 

Even if you work with a tax professional to handle your returns, small business finance software will help you save money on hourly fees by automatically collating the necessary information. 

7. Expense tracking 

Your software should help you track expenses through easy receipt uploading and processing, whether for reimbursement or to claim as a business expense later on. 

Automating these moment-to-moment processes reduces the potential for things to fall through the cracks or the need to play catch-up at the end of every quarter. 

What your business needs 

Choosing new finance software for your small business is a great step toward optimizing processes for more efficiency and a healthier bottom line. Don’t let the improvements stop there. 

With Walmart Business+ membership, your budget will go further thanks to free shipping, no order minimum³, free store delivery on orders over $35⁴ and 2% in Walmart Business Rewards on orders $250 or more⁵. 

You’ll even be able to analyze patterns with Spend Analytics to help budget for the future. Become a Walmart Business+ member today. 

Sources:

1. Accounting software vs. spreadsheets: which is better for your business?, QuickBooks

2. What Is Optical Character Recognition?, IBM

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