Does your accounting or invoicing software fall short of all the features you need? Are you paying a monthly subscription fee for software that doesn’t meet all your needs? Are you tempted to switch to a new software program promising you a full list of features?
If you’re using a popular cloud-based accounting app, you probably have access to several integrations. Is it enough? Do you need more?
Here’s a list of necessary integrations your firm needs to boost functionality and help you succeed this year:
1. Payroll processing
While most deluxe accounting software comes with payroll processing, lightweight apps skip this feature all together.
Most accounting programs integrate with Gusto to add payroll functionality. With Gusto, you can manage contractors alongside hourly and salaried employees. Gusto also allows you to manage benefits like health insurance plans and 401(k) plans, and sick/vacation days. You can pay your employees and contractors by direct deposit.
2. Payment gateways
There are plenty of payment gateways to choose from, but which one is right for you? The answer depends on your needs and your accounting software. For example, Braintree integrates with Freshbooks, Hiveage, and Invoicera and has an open API for developers.
PayPal integrates with far more apps including Xero, Quickbooks Online, Quickbooks Pro, Invoice2go, Invoicely, Wave, and Zoho just to name a few. However, PayPal has been known to withhold funds randomly, so you may not want to risk that.
Whichever payment gateway you choose, make sure it meets your needs and you’re not paying too much in fees.
3. Project management
Accounting may not seem like it requires any form of project management, and perhaps that’s why most accounting applications don’t come with this feature. However, project management is a necessary component for every accounting firm.
The most popular choices for project management include Basecamp, Asana, and Monday. Although, you can find plenty more options here.
4. Time management/tracking
Chances are, you have hourly employees and need them to track their time worked. If your accounting software doesn’t come with a way to track time, you need a time sheets integration.
A popular time tracking integration is T-sheets. It’s compatible with Quickbooks Online, Quickbooks Pro, Xero, and it has an open API for developers to customize calls. As a bonus, T-sheets provides a booking option in case you need to schedule appointments. This app also helps you with job costing, paid time off, approval tracking, shift scheduling, and the ability to see who’s working at any given time (based on the day’s schedule).
5. Point of sale software
POS software is for more than completing transactions. The best POS software will also provide you with reports, manage inventory, help control stock, provide customer/vendor profiles, and manage gift cards.
For this type of integration, many people choose Vend. Vend is a cloud-based application that is especially favored on iPad. Although it runs in the cloud, the program will keep working if the internet goes down and will sync your data when a connection returns. The only downside is they don’t provide an API so customization isn’t possible.
6. Email marketing
Staying connected with your clients is non-negotiable these days. You need an email marketing program that integrates with your accounting software so you can communicate better with your clients.
MailChimp is one of the easiest email marketing programs to use and integrates with plenty of accounting apps like Freshbooks, KashFlow, Harvest, Xero, Quickbooks Online, Sage One, and ClearBooks. MailChimp also provides an open API for developers to customize more integrations.
7. Expense tracking
If your receipts are still piling up in boxes or filing cabinets, it’s a safe bet that your accounting software doesn’t offer all the expense tracking features you need.
Some worthy considerations for expense tracking include Receipt Bank and Shoeboxed.
Receipt Bank is the most widely used expense management integrations with more than 60,000 users. It’s easy to use. Just take a photo of your receipt with your phone, the Receipt Bank app extracts the information from the receipt and saves it in the expenses section in your accounting software. Receipt Bank is compatible with Twinfield, Quickbooks Online, Sage One, Xero, KashFlow, Freshbooks, and Free Agent.
Shoeboxed is another contender for expense tracking, although it works a little differently. While you can upload photos of receipts, you can also send your physical receipts to the company in a pre-paid envelope. The company will scan your receipts and turn them into digital data. You can also use a custom Gmail plugin to automatically import receipts from your email account.
Another possibility is Botkeeper. Botkeeper is an AI-powered bookkeeping program that identifies your transactions and determines where to enter the data.
What integrations are you using?
If you’re already using integrations, great! You’re going to have an easier time managing your work flow and daily business. If you haven’t started using integrations, it’s time. You’ll never find a truly all-in-one solution and that’s okay. Check out the integrations in this list to see if they’re compatible with your accounting software before you switch applications.
