3 Finance & Accounting Tools to Try If You Hate Spreadsheets

So you want to manage your business finances like a pro, but spreadsheets give you sweaty palms. You’re not alone, and better yet, you’ve got options! There are plenty of financial management tools that can help you track your finances without those dreaded Excel documents.

Here are my favorite finance and accounting tools for people who hate spreadsheets.

Should You Use Spreadsheets In Your Small Business?

Great question! As an accountant, I love spreadsheets, but I also understand that they can feel intimidating. Plus, if you don’t know how to properly use them, it’s easy to make mistakes.

Even if you’re spreadsheet-averse, there are plenty of interesting and helpful ways you can implement them in your business:

• Calculating pricing. Looking to raise your prices? You can use spreadsheets with simple formulas to set your prices based on your hourly rate, expenses, and material costs.

• Tracking petty cash. If you handle physical money in your business, you’ll want to create a simple petty cash log to help you keep track of it. (I’ve even got a free template for you!)

• Experimenting with your budget. I don’t know about you, but I love daydreaming about making more money. Use a spreadsheet to experiment with different prices and budgets before you make the switch in your accounting software.

At the end of the day, though, you definitely can DIY your bookkeeping and accounting without spreadsheets.

My Top 3 Finance Tools to Try If You Hate Spreadsheets

Here are my three favorite finance tools for business owners who hate spreadsheets.

1. Quickbooks Online.

If you’ve been around for a while, you already know how much I love Quickbooks. But you don’t have to be a finance pro to take advantage of all the amazing features it offers!

I use Quickbooks Online for pretty much all of my business finance tracking and reporting. The transactions tab is especially helpful for tracking all the money coming into and going out of my business accounts. And unlike in a spreadsheet, all the automations in Quickbooks are already set up and ready to go. Less room for error that way!

2. Mint.

If you hate spreadsheets at work, chances are you don’t want to use them for your personal finances either. One of my favorite spreadsheet-free apps for budgeting and tracking is Mint (also by Intuit!). I especially love how it uses graphs to break down my purchases in a really visual way. For people who aren’t very numbers-minded, it’s super helpful!

3. Honeybook.

While I know it’s not strictly a finance tool, I still think Honeybook (or your CRM of choice) deserves a spot on this list. Using a CRM like Honeybook allows you to keep all your business functions–from contracts to invoices to client communications–in one place. And because it’s so versatile, it’s also a tracking and reporting powerhouse.

Along with processing payments and keeping track of unpaid invoices, I use Honeybook to help me track my different income streams and referral sources. This way, I can easily tell which of my services are making me the most money and which forms of marketing are worth my energy.

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