It’s a mobile world out there, and there’s nothing like your phone or tablet for ease of use and quick reference. I find it necessary to have all of the following apps on my phone for different things: bookkeeping, documentation, sending private information around in a secure way. Check them out!
1. Quickbooks Mobile App
Get the App – I’m starting off with this one because in my line of work, apps for your main bookkeeping software are indispensable. So I’m putting it first, even though I find the Quickbooks Mobile App to be a bit clunky, to be honest. However, a lot of that is because I switch often between companies. For a one-company user, it’s fairly easy to add expenses and check your balances on the go.
2. Xero Mobile App
Get the app – This one is along the same lines as the Quickbooks one. Xero is a great accounting platform for double-entry bookkeeping, but not as well-known as Quickbooks. Xero also has a mobile app that allows you to keep up with your accounts on your phone or tablet.
3. Your Bank’s Mobile App
This isn’t a particular app, but you should always check and see if your bank has a mobile app. If they don’t, maybe you should get a new bank! Banking apps are perfect for checking balances quickly, without the hassle of getting out your computer or going into the branch. Your bank’s app should have a lot of the basic features you need for banking: recent activity, transfers, mobile deposits, bill payments, and help features for getting in contact with your bankers.
4. Expensify
Get the app – Expensify is a great piece of software, and well worth it if you’re regularly sending in lists of expenses for travel or other business purposes. Use Expensify to scan those receipts! Attend to your tasks from your phone. Track your mileage. Get travel updates! Your life will be easier, and your bookkeeper will love you.
5. Genius Scan
Get the app – Genius Scan is a scanner in your pocket. Your bookkeeper wants receipts? Take out your phone and take a picture with Genius Scan. It auto crops and corrects so your photos are readable and usable. Save photos as a JPG or even better, a PDF. Genius Scan can send those PDFs straight to email or your printer. But it can also send them straight to Dropbox, Evernote, Expensify, Google Drive, OneNote and more!
6. Google Sheets
Find it on the Apple Store or Android – Our company uses Google Sheets on a regular basis for everything from updating transactions to preparing budgets. We can share documents with our clients and make comments. Google Sheets has a mobile version as well, allowing some of the features of Sheets. I regularly use Sheets in my browser on my iPad. It’s harder to use on my phone, but I still open it up if I just need to check some figures or answer a question and I’m out of the office.
7. Signal Messaging
Get the app – Need to pass a piece of information along to me but don’t want to send it via email? (I really wish people wouldn’t send me passwords on email!). You can try the Signal messaging app, which specializes in extra privacy features like end-to-end encryption for truly protecting your data. It’s easy to use and no one will read what you have to say!
8. Dropbox Mobile
Get the app – The Dropbox mobile app is pretty basic but if you want to look up your files there’s no comparison to Dropbox for syncing between different systems and devices. It’s no secret I’m partial to the Dropbox app for sharing files. I prefer it over Google’s file sharing and Box.net. However, ANY file-sharing is better than none, and storing documents digitally is my preferred way over stacks of paper.
9. 1Password
Get the apps – I think that my life would cease to exist if 1Password went out of business. I use this mobile app daily to log into banks, bookkeeping software, accounts of all types. When I switch computers, 1Password has all the information I need for getting set back up. It offers authentication services, checks to see if any of my services have been attacked. There’s no more critical service for a bookkeeper than keeping client data private while still being able to use it all the time.
Anything else?
Bonus: The other app I use daily for bookkeeping is Pandora! I listen to music all the time while bookkeeping, and Pandora and Spotify are my go-to apps for music.
I love recommendations, so if you have more I’d love to hear them.
