Just a few years ago, the idea that mobile apps had a place in the business world would've earned a laugh. Apps were regarded as kid's stuff. With the rise of Web 3.0, however, the idea of doing serious work from a tablet or smartphone started to earn a little respect. Apps are serious business now, and serious businesses from freelancers to Fortune 500 companies are taking notice. Among the first areas to benefit from this new appreciation is accounting apps. The uniquely number-centric world of accounting makes an accounting app—whether for home finances, payroll processing, or accounts receivable—a natural choice for business. There are now so many accounting apps, in fact, that some sort of guide is called for.
Starting on the home front, a number of accounting apps are optimized for personal budgeting. While the emphasis in personal accounting apps is generally on simplicity, some are sophisticated enough to handle the books for a small or home-based business. Personal accounting apps such as CalendarBudget and BudgetPulse combine an intuitive interface with colorful charts and graphs to clarify your income and expense tracking.
Moving up the scale of complexity, you'll find a number of accounting apps that place emphasis on flexible account tracking, rather than colorful outputs. The idea seems to be that the users of these accounting apps will be professionally engaged, as opposed to casual, users who need to use the apps every day. Accounting apps such as IExpenseOnline and Mint pile up features such as investment tracking and currency converters.
More than a few of these accounting apps are offered for free. This is especially true for the smaller-scale personal finance apps. You can still find some good deals higher up on the scale, though, if you're willing to look around. Yodlee MoneyCenter is free, for example, and offers such high-end features as net-worth reporting and mobile alerts. It doesn't even have in-app ads to distract you. Other accounting apps do charge a fee, usually monthly, but even here there are deals to be had. eFinPlan has long been a favorite of accounting professionals, and the $98 annual subscription can be cut in half for elderly or disabled individuals, as well as for single parents.
Accounting apps have come from nowhere in the last few years to become an indispensable part of today's business climate. Ordinary people are using them to keep track of groceries, freelance writers are using them to handle contract work and to keep an eye on payments, and even account managers at large companies have begun to supplement their in-office software with something they can work on from home. It would appear that the accounting mobile apps have arrived.
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
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