QuickBooks Online integrated apps: simple, powerful, brilliant!

The role of accounting is rapidly changing, and accounting software has evolved to meet these changes. With a need for greater accuracy, efficiency and speed, the transition to online platforms like QuickBooks Online enables the changing role of accountants and allows for more efficient functionality. Doing things the old-school way is like trying to run a marathon in your slippers, but with QuickBooks Online and its integrated apps, you’ll be swapping your slippers for skates.

Having access to accurate, organised financial data is critical in making successful business decisions. With online programs, small business and accountants can have immediate access to information. QuickBooks integrated apps are simple to onboard and operate (so, no need to call up the ghost of Einstein), and provide excellent client service and support. These apps afford users near real-time access to financial data, with single login access to the data you need, when you need it. They streamline workflow and reduce the cost (time) associated with processing files and reporting.

On-site presence is also less relevant. The virtual office is allowing people to work from anywhere, expanding capabilities and the talent pool, and enabling consultants to take on multiple clients at once. QuickBooks Online makes this transition seamless; however, if you have any concerns about moving from desktop to Online, the following apps will make it super-simple to help you manage Expense Management, Inventory and Reporting.

EXPENSE MANAGEMENT

With QuickBooks integrated apps, the manual processes of expense management are not necessary, and costly mistakes can be avoided. Cross-checking heaps of slips and bashing away endlessly at a calculator are no longer required – human resources can be utilised more efficiently, and business owners can get on with what they do best … managing and expanding their enterprise.

Expense Management Apps

Dext is a software application that allows business owners to electronically capture and store their receipts (so you can toss that tatty old shoebox). Supporting documentation is securely stored electronically so it’s available on any computer or connected device. Dext automates entry of bills, receipts, bank statements, sales invoices and more.

AutoEntry integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks and extracts the required data before posting it into your QuickBooks account. AutoEntry is also a smart solution and remembers how you categorise expenses, so you won’t ever have to categorise them again. People will be saying, ‘What a boytjie!’

Expensify: automates every step of the expense management process from receipt tracking to reimbursement. It customises how expenses are coded to QuickBooks expense accounts, customers/jobs, classes, locations, items, and more. From new accounts in QuickBooks to expense reports and invoices in Expensify, all data is reflected in real-time.

INVENTORY

Poor inventory control is indeed a leading factor in business failure. To avoid serious losses and sustain profitability, business owners should be able to have quick, easy access to information about their inventory, with a comprehensive overview and detailed insights into every aspect. QuickBooks Online and its inventory management apps are designed to give business owners exactly that.

Spreadsheets have traditionally been used for inventory control, but these cannot scale and grow as your business does and are also subject to human error. In addition, only one person can work on them at a time, recording large quantities of stock is time-consuming and easily entered incorrectly, and information is not available in real-time. Relying on spreadsheets can end in a bun fight if incorrect versions are saved over others – Steve will think he’s working on the right version while Janet will be convinced that her version is the latest.

SOS Inventory: offers a complete inventory, order management, and manufacturing solution. You’ll be able to track serial numbers and lots/batches and sync them to QuickBooks Online. If you have multiple locations, SOS will allow you to receive into, ship out of, and transfer stock among them. You can set customer-unique pricing and vendor-specific costs, add custom fields to track your unique data, and more (definitely not just a pretty face, then?).

TradeGecko: integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks and many other applications within a merchant’s commerce and supply chain ecosystem. With TradeGecko, you won’t have to spend time or make any embarrassing blunders, updating accounting and inventory details as you sell products across multiple channels, in multiple currencies, with multiple tax requirements. QuickBooks works with TradeGecko’s inventory and order management solution to sync accounting and online inventory and order management, providing you with the perfect cloud-to-cloud solution.

REPORTING

QuickBooks Online has set a new baseline standard for ease of entry and reporting, helping business owners and non-financial managers to see financial reports and supporting information more transparently and more often. Much of the slog of the past is now automated. Technology has produced an array of business metrics that go well beyond the traditional financial statement; quickly summarising key measures that allow those little grey cells to make better decisions faster (and you’ll have more time for tea breaks).

This means big changes for the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and financial consultants. Both clients and employers are looking for revenue-generation ideas, cost-saving ideas, an asset base that produces better returns, and more flexible capital ideas. It’s about providing insight that impacts the bottom line. For CFOs specifically, this technologically enabled shift has moved the finance and accounting role from one of primarily record-keeping to business planning and long-term forecasting (your clients will love the slick new you).

Spotlight Reporting: designed by accountants with decades of experience in advisory and consultancy. This app is for accountants and businesses wanting reporting that delivers deeper insight and clarity for better decision-making. You’ll be in the spotlight with this app – whether you operate in a vibrant busy small business, an accounting firm with a fast-growing client base, or a business that delivers regular Board packs, Spotlight has a range of time-saving features. You can quickly create reports, run them on-demand, and instantly share them with your clients or your team.

Draftworx™: it’s time for you to shine with this fully integrated, compliant, automated drafting and working paper suite designed to alleviate problems identified in current drafting, working paper and audit software. The solution includes financial statements, XBRL reporting, working papers, audit methodologies, collaboration tools and digital signatures, in an affordable solution.

Fathom: for the genius in you, this financial analysis and management reporting tool will help you assess business performance, monitor trends and identify improvement opportunities. It creates insightful analytics, reports and dashboards, and enables you to measure and monitor the financial and non-financial metrics which matter most to your business. The goal of Fathom is to help you understand what’s happening in your business and how to take action when needed.

To conclude, QuickBooks Online, with its fully integrated inventory management apps, saves significant time and money. They improve efficiency so that business owners can have accurate information at their fingertips and focus on acquiring new business, expanding marketing efforts, enhancing customer service, and just being downright cool!