Accounting. It’s one of those dreaded tasks every business owner faces. When you have your own company, especially a small home based business like a blog, the book keeping tends to land in your lap and there’s no escaping it.
When Should a Blogger Start Keeping Books?
Book keeping does not have to be complicated. A simple record of what comes in and what goes out will suffice at first. But when do you move up to an actual book keeping software? If you’re planning to grow at all, I say start now. Find something that works for you, even if you’re making so little you don’t need to report it for taxes purposes. Get in the swing of recording things and using the software so you’re not overwhelmed when you actually need it.
What Accounting Software is Best for Bloggers?
For years I used QuickBooks. It’s what my parents always used for their companies and it made sense to keep using something I was familiar with. But, for a simple home business like my blog and web development company, I really didn’t need such a powerful, complicated, and most of all, expensive program. I was fed up with the clutter of all the things I didn’t need, with how hard it was to find what I did need, and with how often QuickBooks changed things. My husband suggested I try Freshbooks and I’ve been hooked! And yes, I’m sharing my affiliate link in this post.
Why Freshbooks is the best Accounting Tool for Bloggers.
- It’s simple.
You login and instantly you know where to go. The simple tabbed navigation makes sense, the buttons are very straightforward and you can pretty much move along from one task to the next without any manual or tutorial showing you how. - It’s Online.
You’re a blogger. You work all over; from the desktop at home to your laptop in the airport, you’re a mobile business owner. Billing should be mobile too. Freshbooks knows this and keeps everything online for you. There’s no software to download to your computer. -
It Gives You Options.
From payment options for your clients to how you track your time, Freshbooks offers lots of options for the business owner. I have some clients who just like to receive a PDF invoice and they pay online via Paypal. Others like their invoiced mailed to them (which Freshbooks will do for you!). Still others like to have a client login where they can check in anytime to see how many of their alloted hours of my time they’ve used and see their running tab for the month. Invoicing is another area where Freshbooks is flexible. Because I sell hosting as well as offering one-time services like graphic design, I’m really enjoying that Freshbooks allows me to invoice for tasks (time tracking/hourly rate), items, etc in a one-time invoice, OR create a recurring invoice which auto-sends each month or year for my hosting clients or those who buy ad space on my blog. - It’s Cheap.
Actually, it’s free for up to 3 clients. After that you can buy in graduated packages. I’d venture to guess that most bloggers won’t need more than the first package which is $19.95/month. Do the math; Freshbooks is cheaper than Quickbooks.
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