5 apps for the new financial year

While many small businesses are focusing on maximising their tax return for the year that has just passed, the new financial year is the perfect time for small businesses to get set up with new tools that will make help to make them more efficient, save time and improve their cashflow.

With a rapidly increasing number of cloud-based platform available, this has become simpler than ever before as the platforms begin to integrate with each other, meaning that small business owners can access their business data from anywhere in the world, and use data in one platform to make informed decisions using data from another.

Here are five valuable business tools currently available to the Australia foodservice industry, designed for small business owners who want to have a big-business approach to growth this new financial year:

1.Square
Square gives small business owners everything they need from a powerful point-of-sale, integrated and affordable credit and debit card payments with Square Reader, and now the ability to send invoices directly from the free smartphone or tablet app.

The Square Reader, released in March, is $19 and plugs into the headphone jack of your Apple or Android smartphone or tablet and allows you to accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express card payments. There are also no monthly charges, hidden fees or lock-in contracts.

Pricing: Square’s free point-of-sale app, Square Register, is free. Square Reader costs $19 at Officeworks, Bunnings and Apple stores. There is a 1.9 percent transaction fee for any credit or debit card payment accepted.

2.Deputy
As your business grows, so does your team. Deputy is a workplace management solution that gives business owners access to the tools they need to better manage their team and allowing them to schedule employees, monitor time and attendance, manage tasks and communicate with the team. The mobile app means that even if business owners are out of the workplace, they can see who’s at work, answer messages and call in replacement staff if someone calls in sick. 

Pricing: Deputy pricing starts at $1 per employee, per month.

3.Intuit Quickbooks Online
Quickbooks Online is powerful, cloud-based accounting software that allows business owners to complete their bookkeeping and billing. Access from a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone, to automate bank feeds, track sales and expenses, scan receipts and process payroll for employees. All the data then builds into accounting reports which can be provided to a business accountant or bookkeeper in retail time to ensure business owners are prepared for any tax obligations.

Pricing: Pricing for Quickbooks Online starts at $13.50 per month.

4.ATO App
At the end of another financial year, there’s nothing more satisfying than ensuring that you’re well across your taxation for the upcoming period. The ATO app helps small business owners by simplifying tax and super affairs, giving you access to all the information and tools you need in one convenient location.

The ATO App lets you record work-related expenses, gift and donations as well as the cost of managing business tax accounting. The app also allows business owners to calculate tax withheld from salary and wage payments, and check ABN details of potential or new business suppliers before they start to work with them.

Pricing: Free

5.Dropbox
With all of these tools designed for businesses to operate on the go, there are also tools designed to help business owners access documents and share information in a mobile world. Dropbox Business function allows small to medium businesses to store, sync, and securely share Office documents, videos, music files and images and allow users to access them via iOS, Android and Windows devices. Securely preview, edit and share files direct from your smartphone. Files can even be accessed offline by adding them to your favourites, giving you the freedom to manage files on the run.

Pricing:  Dropbox Business pricing starts at $17 per user, per month for unlimited space.