Best financial tools to stay on top of your accounts
Whether you’re a startup or scaling up, keeping on top of your accounts is crucial. Effective financial management ensures you are compliant and helps you make better-informed decisions so you optimise your resources.
But managing your finances can be a time-consuming task that easily falls to the bottom of the pile… so it’s no wonder you want to speed up the process.
Good news – we’re sharing our favourite financial tools that we’re either using in our VA agency business or on behalf of our clients in their companies. All these tools will give you more time to do the important tasks for growing your business.
Get ready for Making Tax Digital
Due to the government’s Making Tax Digital scheme, getting your accounts in order and using digital tools is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a necessity.
Digital accounting is now a requirement by law if you’re VAT registered, and will be enforced by April 2026 for self-employed business owners earning more than £50,000 per year. So if you’re in the UK, the sooner you implement these financial tools, the better.
The full range of financial tools and systems you might need completely depends on your business set-up, daily operations, and customer base. You might need all or a portion of the following systems:
- Accounting software – track income, expenses, assets, and liabilities
- Expense management tools – monitor and control business expenses
- Payroll management tools – manage employee salaries, tax withholdings, and benefits
- Invoicing and billing software – automates the creation and tracking of invoices
- Financial reporting and forecasting tools – providing detailed financial reports and insights into your budgets
- Cash flow management tools – monitor cash inflows and outflows
Some tools offer multiple functions, so you might only need one or two to tackle all your accounting tasks. Before signing up for any new subscriptions, take some time to figure out which option best suits your specific needs.
Here are our 4 favourite financial planning tools, including what they do and why we love them…
Xero: Accounting software
First and foremost, you need to have great accounting software. Xero* is the platform we recommend for small to medium-sized businesses because it’s a really powerful tool. It’s also the accounting software that we, and most of our clients, use on a daily basis.
Not only does Xero simplify invoicing and payments, but it also automates bank reconciliation and gives a real-time view of cash flow. Xero integrates with over 800 third-party apps so any other financial tools you already use, such as Stripe or Shopify, will likely be able to connect seamlessly.
Why we love Xero
We love its user-friendly interface and comprehensive reporting tools, making it a well-rounded financial management system. The tool is also scalable, so you can start using a few features and then upgrade – which is perfect for a growing business.
BrightPay: Payroll management software
When you reach the stage where you have employees, you need to run a weekly or monthly payroll. BrightPay is a great payroll software solution that simplifies your payroll management; it’s the preferred platform for the Virtually Priceless team alongside several of our clients.
Some of BrightPay’s key features include auto-enrolment for pensions, online submissions to HMRC, and comprehensive reporting and payslip distribution.
Why we love BrightPay
The BrightPay system is easy to set up and use. It has an affordable pricing structure and should you ever need it, the customer support is great.
Dext: Expense management tool
As your business and team grow, so will your expenses. This is where a great expense management tool helps you to stay on top of outgoings. We use Dext, formerly known as Receipt Bank, with one of our clients and we’ve been impressed at the time it saves when managing receipts and expenses.
With Dext, you can snap and scan receipts with your phone and it will extract data automatically, then seamlessly integrate with your accounting software allowing you to track expenses in real time.
Why we love Dext
The beauty of using the system is it enhances the financial visibility and control in your organisation, so your decision-making around expenses is better. Dext saves many hours a month on manual data entry and reduces the risk of errors from traditional manual input.
Crezco: Open banking solution that improves cash flow
Crezco is the final tool we think is worth mentioning – an online payment solution designed to facilitate business-to-business transactions. Crezco streamlines your payment processes and provides international, instant, and frictionless payments for businesses, resulting in improved cash flow management.
Integrating easily with your accounting software, you can use it to enhance your payment experience with customised payment pages and receipts, as well as reusable payment links. Or it can streamline your payroll and supplier payments, providing straightforward methods of making bulk payments. You also have the ability to grant role-based access, which is great when you start delegating your financial admin.
Why we love Crezco
We love Crezco’s transparent and affordable pricing model. You select only the elements you need for your organisation – there are no hidden fees or transaction costs.
Save time and streamline your financial management
All these tools can transform your financial management process, making it more efficient and less stressful. Remember, you don’t have to use all of them… a single financial planning tool can make a real difference to your business accounts process.
And, of course, if you need any help with researching or evaluating the choices of tools for finances, or implementing a tool you’ve selected, we’re here to help. Get in touch for a free 30-minute consultation with Virtually Priceless.
*Please note, some of these are affiliate links, meaning if you click and make a purchase, we may receive a small reward. We only ever recommend tools that we use in our business, or have personally tried and tested.