Think savings: Apps to save time, money

In this Think column, Virtual BeanCounters founder Tim Sernett shares his favorite apps that can save your business time and money. The Think column helps entrepreneurs to stop and think about the various aspects of starting and running a business. Read Venture Legal founder Chris Brown’s piece on hiring contractors or employees here.

Tim Sernett

Invoices, expense reports, monthly bills, and payroll … all these financial necessities are costing your business time, money and resources.

Instead of delegating an employee to spend hours a week — or days — on these tasks, why not use technology to your advantage and make an app do most of the work for you? If you are a diehard numbers person who likes to keep your eyes on the books, these apps should make your life a little easier.

1. Tallie– $50 per month + $9 per user

Few people enjoy filling out expense reports, and even fewer people find them legible. This app helps to make a normally mind-numbing and generally illegible procedure less daunting and horrifying. Simply install the app on your phone (iPhone and Android friendly) and take pictures of company receipts, then Tallie will convert them all into a neatly, legible document.

2. Invoice2go– Free

Creating and sending invoices is almost as thrilling as writing expense reports. Instead of going through all that organizational hassle yourself, this app (available for iPhone and Android) does it for you. With Invoice2go, you can send invoices from your phone, tablet or computer.

Every invoice you draft and send is backed up to the cloud and whatever device you used the app on, including your phone or tablet. Most importantly, this app will show you who has paid their invoice, and who still owes you money. You can also send automated emails to parties who have not paid.

3. Harvest– $49 per month  

This time-tracking app is ideal for small businesses with both salaried employees and contractors. This simple tool tracks not only when employees are on the clock, but where your employees are spending their time on various work projects. Harvest allows you to track time on your phone, tablet or computer. You can also set time limits on certain projects or assignments, ensuring that your employees are prioritizing their time in the office.

4. BillTracker – $1.99

Monthly bills can stack up fast. They can also easily get forgotten as no one likes paying them — no matter how good the service. BillTracker alerts you when upcoming bills are due, lets you know what bills you paid on time and flags you when your bills are past due. This app also keeps a record of how much you paid and when you paid —ensuring that you never overpay or submit a payment late. You can also set up email reminders and pay bills directly from your iPhone, iPad or Tablet.

Tim Sernett is a certified public accountant of more than 20 years, helping small businesses with accounting and finance. To learn more on his company, Virtual BeanCounters, click here.