Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Share information with other finance software businesses

Blogs are increasingly becoming the media of choice for many small business owners looking for quick and efficient means to communicate with other like-minded professionals. Find an Internet site that provides trust-worthy information and attracts reliable posting participants. Talk to other local business financial software firms in your networking groups to find out what they are doing that may be new or innovative.

I recommend: Keep up with the industry changes and emerging issues through the Financial Information Services Division of the Software & Information Industry Association. PC Magazine is a great source of up to date articles that track the news and trends affecting the industry as it regularly reviews and covers the latest financial software news as it emerges.

Read up on changes in financial analysis software

News about financial planning software continues to emerge as technology changes at a momentous rate. The trends are closely followed in the small business financial software publications available online and in hard copy print versions. While you may get regular email alerts and newsletters from your trade association, it's a good idea to stay on top of the industry as a whole so that you can know about changes that affect the industry.

I recommend: Tech Republic is site that shares information among financial experts about the various trends and emerging issues that affect the software industry and how it is being implemented. Healthcare Finance News keeps readers up to date on the latest financial software programs that come out to keep accounting professionals in the loop and on top of the markets.

Receive online financial software email alerts

You should allow at least one informational provider to get into your email with alerts and newsletters about new financial software providers and their latest products. You don't want to be left out of the loop when it comes to getting the latest news.

I recommend: Keep up with the news and trends affecting the industry through the various newsletters and publications that are produced in a roundup list of articles at Free Software Daily. The Financial Planning Association keeps members updated as news happens and through thoughtful articles and debates from the membership. You also can find networking opportunities to keep on top of the latest trends through personal contacts.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you don't have time to keep up with all of the financial planning software news and trends, ask your administrative staff to log onto vital sites every day and keep you posted of news and trends that will affect your company.

Guide to Managing Your Business Finances Online

Put your accounting on the Web

By Tom Nutile, Principal, TN Communications Group

Before deciding to manage your business finances online, ask the following questions:

1. Does the provider offer a full array of financial management services or just a few?
2. Will my data be backed up regularly?
3. How secure is the platform?
4. Does support come with the service or is it extra?
5. Can I get my data back if I stop using the service?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Investigate Web-based accounting systems

Online accounting platforms can handle key accounting tasks through 'dashboards' that keep all your company's information right at your fingertips and can be accessed anytime and from any Internet connection.

I recommend: NetSuite offers a subscription-based small business product that, for a monthly fee of $99 for each user, allows companies to manage their accounting system, including sales orders, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, time, billing and other functions by simply using a browser.

Upgrading from software to online management shouldn't be difficult

If you manage your business finances via software, check to see whether the provider has an online edition — and whether you can transfer your information to the online edition without too much fuss. Also check to see whether the online edition has all the features offered via software.

I recommend: QuickBooks Online edition allows users to transfer information from PC-based QuickBooks to the online edition, but doesn't have as many features.

Find an offering that is tailored to your needs

Some online products are for small businesses, others for larger organizations, and some primarily for consumers, although they have business components.

I recommend: Jaya123 is designed for small to mid-sized businesses.

Some financial management products can be accessed by cell phone or PDA

For true portability, consider products that work on your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or cell phone.

I recommend: BudgetTracker is a financial budget tracking site that allows users to access data from a cell phone with an Internet connection.

Banks of all sizes offer online financial management tools for business

Software companies aren't the only purveyors of online financial management tools. Many banks, large and small, now offer products.

I recommend: Online financial management for business is offered from large banks such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America to small banks such as Community Resource Bank and Rockport National in Minnesota.

Some banks offer online business services teamed with an online software program

In a bid to grow their online banking business, some banks offer a program that interfaces with an online business software program, such as QuickBooks.

I recommend: Compass Bank, with locations in six western and southern states, offers customers the ability to take control of their business banking online with QuickBooks and Compass PC for Business Banking.

Consider an online bank for business banking

If you're managing your business finances online, why not go all the way and use an online bank for your business banking? Online banks have no physical branches or ATMs, but often offer compelling fee structures.

I recommend: Giant Bank is an online bank that offers business banking and financial services.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Advantages of online financial management for businesses: You don't have to buy servers or new computers to use it…You don't have to download software…You don't have to spend time configuring it…You don't have to build a dedicated IT network to service it

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Integrate financial modeling software into your systems

The user-friendly options available in finance software make using financial software applications easy and accessible for any business now. Small, medium and large companies can eliminate the long meetings with accountants in favor of desktop software that can operate calculate and manage your company finances.

I recommend: Use Technology Evaluation to assess your unique needs and send you reviews of the most likely financial software to suit all your requirements. Use one of the many electronic financial software resources at Free Byte to get your programs initiated at your company.

Go online for financial budgeting software solutions

You don't even have to download any special software to your systems if you choose to engage in a web-based financial analysis software. These operations typically allow you a trial period, which you should take advantage of as well.

I recommend: Try free downloads of a variety of financial software applications at Hitech Computer Services. Find out how to use the latest financial planning software through courses and direction of the Financial Planning Consultants Association.

Get your team to use financial computer programs

Once you've opened up the possibilities of running your own campaigns by using financial accounting software, you need to get your team onboard with the programs. Instead of calling on consultants to handle projects, your managers should be able to use their own desktops to display reports and manage accounting projects.

I recommend: Meet and interact with the leading experts in the fields of financial software through the International Association of Financial Engineers. Find out how to use the latest software and who is making the best products while interacting with other financial professionals at the Financial Services and Banking Benchmarking Association.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before choosing suppliers of business financial software, let your key employees try the free demos to see if they agree on the choice of programs. It will be easier to get buy-in from your staff if everyone participates in the final decision.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tax exchange format (TFX)

The tax exchange format is a file extension that gives financial software users the ability to convert financial information into a format readable by tax software, such as Turbo Tax or Tax Cut.

I recommend: Investotek provides a tutorial for using the ConvertCSV2TXF program to transfer broker trade information into financial software using the TFX file exchange.

Comma separated values (CSV)

Comma separated values is a specific file type that can be used to import financial data from a spreadsheet table to financial software.

I recommend: Creativyst provides an overview of the CSV file extension and the common variations of this format.

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization)

EBITDA is an equation that approximates the amount of cash flow for a company. This approximation is calculated through information obtained from the company's income statement. Financial software for larger businesses can often run this calculation.

I recommend: Investopedia provides additional information on the EBITDA equation and how it is best used in business.

Locked transaction

A locked transaction is a financial software tool that allows information for payees to be memorized.

I recommend: The Pocket Quicken Owner's Guide contains instructions on how to lock and unlock memorized transactions in Intuit's Quicken for the Pocket PC.

Open Financial Exchange (OFX)

The open financial exchange file extension is important for financial software users that want to connect with bank accounts through the software. Many banks use OFX to give account holders access to their account information and transactions.

I recommend: Open Financial Exchange provides the history of the OFX file extension and how banks use OFX.

Encryption

Encryption is the process of making data unreadable to anyone but those that have access to the password to open the file. Encryption protects sensitive information from hackers and identity thieves.

I recommend: The National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes a variety of standards for data encryption including the data encryption standard adopted by the financial industry for sensitive transactions.