We've rounded up the top finance software for businesses that want to lead the pack.
The finance function was once relatively straightforward as it served a reflective purpose. Today, thanks to the increasing creation and accessibility of data, it has so much more to offer.
Unlike past CFOs who dealt primarily with historical numbers and events, CFOs today must be forward-looking. This future-forward approach is not achieved single-handedly. Rather, various finance software help FP&As centralize, stay on top of, and monitor every client, deal, prospect, project status, and budget. Numbers are just the route to information as they are passive and need to be interpreted in order to gain insights and guide decisions. But to get to the point where finance professionals can spend their time thinking instead of gathering, they must first make use of the modern tools that exist.
Finance Software Advantages
Relying on financial automation using finance software and other tools offers the following advantages:
Software is designed to help us work better. When it comes to finance solutions, FP&As can get in depth reports which can lead to better decision making.
Finance department can detect errors before they lead to serious effects - Implementing various software benefits organizations greatly as they can apprehend and prevent problems before they arise and solve them intelligently.
Automation = less human errors ad time saving.
Payroll processing is made a lot easier with automated tools.
According to McKinsey, many activities in corporate finance can be automated. Since this is so, we’ve rounded up the top finance software that are hot in the market for finance professionals working in SMBs.
Accounting Software
OneUp is an up-and-coming accounting software that lets accountants easily keep track of expenses and audit the books. With OneUp, accountants can view cashflow and profit information daily, allowing them to always stay on top of finances.
OneUp also calculates sales tax for every period, so accountants always know what needs to be paid and when.
Freshbooks is an accounting software operated by 2ndSite Inc. primarily for SMBs. It is a web-based software as a service model, that can be accessed through a desktop or mobile device.
They offer a subscription-based product that includes invoicing, accounts payable, expense tracking, time tracking, retainers, fixed asset depreciation, purchase orders, payroll integrations, double-entry accounting, and industry-standard business and management reporting.
Quickbooks is an accounting software built for small businesses. Their software allows for tracking expenses, customizing invoices, run reports and more - all in one place.
Financial planning and analysis software
DataRails is an enterprise-class software for budgeting, planning, and forecasting with powerful reporting and analytics capabilities. The cloud-based solution lets you use Excel on an organizational scale without running the risk of inaccuracy, unnecessary errors, or data loss. With DataRails, Excel is enhanced into a database-centric organizational solution.
The best part-it empowers each finance professional to deliver actionable, data-driven insights by allowing them to access and leverage financial and operational data independently.
“Switching to DataRails was like wearing glasses for the first time. Suddenly everything was sharper, clearer, and made more sense.” -Rob Grasso, Director of Global Sales Operations, Bauer Hockey
Prophix provides both on-premises and cloud solutions to support modeling, profitability analysis, dashboards, and performance reporting, in addition to supporting financial close processes.
They puts a slightly higher focus on AI than most of the other organizations which helps detect anomalies and autofill data that was very time consuming in the past.
Accounts Payable Software
Procurify allows you to bring together all purchasing needs in one place. Implement speed controls by customizing approvals, improving vendor management, controlling expense management, and looking over audit logs.
“It’s comforting to know that consistency is there. I love that Procurify is a web-based application, because no matter where we are, we can still completely work” – Paul Ljucovic, VP Finance, Asics, North America
Netsuite is the leading integrated cloud business software suite, including business accounting, ERP, CRM and ecommerce software.
The platform is used mostly for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and to manage inventory, track their financials, host e-commerce stores and maintain customer relationship management (CRM) systems. It can be applied to a range of business applications.
Payroll Software
Gusto is a modern payroll and benefits tool. With Gusto you can simplify core processes like automatically filing payroll taxes, setting payroll on autopilot, and syncing teams’ hours automatically.
“My favorite thing about Gusto is the compliance aspect. They make quarterly taxes, onboarding, and everything else so simple and easy, which saves me a ton of time.” - Luke Henke, Accounting Manager, Amplio Digital LLC
Patriot Payroll is an easy online payroll for small business owners in the United States. You can choose between their different online payroll subscriptions, and choose the option that is right for you.
The platform allows for over 25 features available for use depending on your needs.
Why invest in these finance software solutions?
Purchasing any one of these finance software solutions will have an immediate effect on your pocket, so it’s important to keep in mind why they’re worth it in the first place.
For starters with a platform like DataRails, you’ll have teams doing less busywork and investing more time in making meaningful contributions and value-added work like analyzing data.
With an accounting software like OneUp, you’ll see productivity skyrocketing since accounting data will be centralized on one system, making it easy to attain any piece of information at any given time.
These are just two examples, but ultimately the bottom line is that these solutions result in more accurate work and precise financial reports, which can be leveraged to gain smarter insights.
"CFOs are challenged with turning the numbers into something meaningful. You need to be able to derive insights and deliver information to the rest of the organization. The integrity, flexibility, and speed of that information enable your management and staff to more effectively manage the business." -Chris Pass, CFO of John Muir Health
It’s also important to keep in mind that, ultimately, success in the market is determined by how well information is used to drive value. The finance software we covered above can, each in its own way, contribute to this. If you want to use your data wisely in order to drive value, centralizing your data and familiarizing yourself with the software we covered is an excellent place to start.
