Apps to help solve four common small business pain points

Apps can help automate your admin, generate insights, manage your day-to-day operations and give you access to deep analytics for smarter business decisions. Here are some of the most popular apps in the Xero App Store that integrate with Xero to help tackle some common business challenges.  

1. Getting paid quickly

In business, cash flow is key. Having long payment collection periods increases bad debts and can lead to cash flow challenges. That’s why tools for following up on invoices or having different ways to take payments are so important.

Here are some apps designed to help small businesses get paid faster:

• Chaser – Automate your invoice chasing and streamline your processes so you can get paid faster and more consistently.
• Kolleno – Recover overdue balances with automated invoice chasing and one-click payment collection via a simple digital payment platform.
• Stripe – Enables you to accept payments from debit or credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay for online invoices sent from Xero so your customers can pay you easily.
• GoCardless – Automatically debit your customer’s bank account when your Xero invoices are due with this bank-to-bank payment method. Ideal for businesses that bill their customers on a recurring basis.
• Ignition – A complete invoicing, payment, reconciliation and client engagement solution for professional services business.

2. Rostering and managing staff

Employees are the lifeblood of any small business but managing staff can be very time consuming. Tasks like staff rostering are important for the wellbeing of you and your team and can lead to greater efficiency of your business if done well. 

Here are some apps that help make managing staff a dream:

• Deputy – Simplify rostering, scheduling, timesheets, tasks, and team communication with an employee management tool that seamlessly connects businesses and employees.
• LeaveCal by Finlert – Manage team availability and resource planning easily. Bring your approved employee leave, birthdays and anniversaries directly from Xero into your Google, Outlook or other calendars in seconds.
• RosterElf – Handle all small business staff rostering tasks – take care of everything from staff availability, rostering, shift swaps, and clock-in-out. Also has payroll integration features built for Xero.
• Deel – Global payroll and hiring built for remote teams. Hire, onboard and pay people in 150 countries worldwide, giving you access to global talent without compliance issues.
• ServiceM8 –  A smart end-to-end job management app built for businesses that manage jobs and staff in the field, suitable for sole-traders up to companies with 20 staff.

3. Tracking expenses and stock

Keeping track of expenses and stock can be a real challenge (yes, we know about that draw full of receipts you avoid until EOFY). Apps can help you record expenses properly, pay staff and bills on time, all while maintaining visibility and control. They can also help you keep track of stock, avoiding wastage, shortages and unhappy customers. 

Here are some apps that can help you keep track:

• EzzyBills – Combine two apps in one and get invoice processing and approval management. With a mobile app for scanning receipts, it’s suitable for businesses with lots of bills or sales invoices.
• Dext Prepare – Collect and extract data from paperwork like receipts, invoices or bank statements with 99% accuracy, then automatically process it to Xero. With smart rules to automate expense categorisation and approvals, you’ll stay in control.
• ApprovalMax – Replace paper and email approvals with fully automated, multi-role and multi-tiered approval workflows so you can manage payments in and out.
• Unleashed Software – Inventory management for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors so you can always see what’s in stock – and where – and manage your production and tracking effectively.
• DEAR Inventory – Centralised order and inventory management, integrated point of sale, mobile warehouse management and integrations with leading marketplaces and shipping services.

4. Connecting your sales and accounting

Life gets a whole lot easier when all your systems and data are connected. You can gain visibility into your business performance at a glance, using apps to sync your sales data into all the most helpful places. 

Here are some apps that help connect your sales and accounting data:

• A2X – Automate your ecommerce accounting into Xero from Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy or Walmart platforms. A2X Multi supports merchants selling in multiple countries and platforms.
• Dext Commerce – Reconcile itemised digital commerce transactions in Xero with data from over 30 integrations including Amazon, Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, Square, Wix, Squarespace, Faire and more.
• Amaka – Connect your ecommerce, point of sale and e-signature platforms to Xero to automate your sales and payment transactions data entry for lightning-fast bank reconciliation.
• Square – A powerful suite of tools to get any job done, like point of sale, ecommerce, payments, pickup and delivery, online scheduling, marketing, and more.
• Cin7 – Enhance customer satisfaction and scale omnichannel commerce operations by connecting your products, sales channels, stock locations, orders, and more into one automated solution.

Apps can help you manage these common business challenges, and so much more. There’s an app for almost everything – and every app in the Xero App Store syncs with your Xero account so your business is even more connected.

Why not give some of these apps a try and see the difference it can make to your business?