Finding the right applications to keep your business running smoothly is, no doubt, a challenge. Personally, I’ve been through the treacherous app land more than a few times searching for the right solution for a streamlined financial management system . . . and, after ruling out lots of viable options, I absolutely love the outcome of my search. I now have a trio of apps that keep my finances in order. Now I consider these three apps my right-hand men. My tripod.

Freshbooks :: Invoicing

If you’re like me, there are many things you’d rather do than keep up with your billing. When I first started Ali Taylor Design, I tried to create each estimate and invoice individually in an InDesign template I made. I quickly realized this wasn’t the most efficient route. That’s when I discovered FreshBooks. Freshbooks has now become my go-to application for time-tracking, invoicing, recording payments, and managing client contact information. I always have it open in my browser and I keep a running tab open for many of my clients. As I work, I am able to track my time with their nifty stopwatch widget. As I complete a task for each client I record that time to their invoice. At the beginning and middle of each month I send an invoice with a log of each task that has been completed to date. Once I receive payment, I record it in Freshbook and, in turn, Freshbooks automatically notifies my client that their payment way received. My clients appreciate the thoroughness, and I love that I never forget to record a task — even the smallest ones!

Shoeboxed :: Receipts

If I remember anything from accounting in college, it’s that you must debit what comes in and credit what goes out (or is it the other way around) :P? Now, while I’m on a scholastic kick, here’s an SAT flashback for ya: as Income is to Freshbooks, Expenses are to Shoeboxed – the second leg of my tripod. Shoeboxed is my receipt tracking application. They have a free account where you have to scan your receipts yourself, and a paid account where they’ll do it all for you. I don’t have a ton of expenses in my company, so I chose to stick with the free account. Essentially, I take a picture of every receipt from my business-related expenses and upload them into Shoeboxed once a week (I deem Fridays as my finance days). Once you’ve uploaded your receipts, you can choose a category (for tax purposes) and, ta-da, you’ve filed away your receipt for your tax records!

Outright :: Bookkeeping

Now, it ALL comes together with Outright — the third and final leg of my tripod. This wonderful, wonderful application pulls my income from Freshbooks and my expenses from Shoeboxed and compiles the data into super-clean and user-friendly reports for accounting purposes. It even generates a Schedule C for me come tax season! Now, I just use this Schedule C as a reference for my accountant (who is a very important piece of the puzzle). She then adds in other various line items such as medical expenses, charitable contributions, etc. I’m sure I could use Outright to manage these too, but I haven’t quite gotten that far yet :)

All in all, I’m very happy with my financial management system. It has been able to grow with my company thus far, and as I continue to expand into different facets of my business, these applications continue to expand their capabilities. I’m looking forward to a long-standing relationship with my tripod.