A Fresh and Modern Take on Business Bookkeeping

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Bookkeeping is a tedious yet necessary part of owning and running a business; no matter how big or small your operation. Before the advent of computers, all business transactions had to be entered into daybooks by hand and manually balanced. Today, you can take care of your business’ bookkeeping needs more efficiently through the use of computer programs and online services.

Bookkeeping computer programs, like QuickBooks, must be purchased and offer a more in-depth approach; great for mid-size or large operations. Online bookkeeping services are often free (with an option to pay for an upgraded version) and are great for start-ups and smaller businesses.

If you are looking for a tech-savvy and modern way to handle your start-up’s transactions and bookkeeping, consider using the following online services:

• Freshbooks.com: This site allows you to set up accounts for fast, easy invoicing by integrating with your choice of 11 online payment options (including PayPal). FreshBooks even keeps up with the clients who owe you money and automatically sends them late payment reminders through email. The site promises that your invoicing will mimic the professionalism of a Fortune 500 company and can invoice in any currency, so you can handle international transactions. You can even set up recurring payments and process them as credit card transactions. In addition to invoicing, FreshBooks allows you to log your business expenses, create profit and tax reports, log work hours and create and send estimates, among other features. You can set up a free account or upgrade to paid account with extra features.
• Shoeboxed.com: This site is strictly for logging receipts and business cards and is great for eliminating paper clutter and streamlining the tax-filing process. Shoeboxed.com allows you to send documents through a pre-paid envelope, an online or desktop uploader, an email account or their mobile app. Business cards are transformed into digital contact lists that can be exported for email marketing or to your personal address book. You can even generate and send expense reports with receipt images. Shoeboxed.com is a free service.

Both of these online bookkeeping services ensure that your privacy and data are safe, because they use the same encryption technology as online banks. In addition to great security, these sites operate with cloud technology, so you can access your information from any corner of the world.

Article written by Molly Mitchell, owner of EconomicsDegree.net.

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