Love them or hate them, smart phones play a major part in our lives, and Apps are the one unique facet that (although minor) can make a big impact on our business. Whether providing increased efficiencies through an easy way to compile records or providing quick access to an abundance of resources, business Apps can make running a business simple. Listed below are some of our favourite and most useful categories of business Apps.

Our Top App Recommendations

Tracking Expenses Apps

There are a wide range of Apps that aim to track day to day expenses. Whether it be business trip expenses, expenses on materials or tracking staff amenities there are a plethora of options out there. A lot of Apps provide varying methods to monitor these activities. You can either link your credit or debit card directly to your Apps or you can take pictures of your receipts on your device and some Apps will even automatically extract the relevant information. From here reports can be generated and the expenses can be processed.

Some of the more popular apps used for this purpose include:

Image to PDF Converter Apps

Scanning documents is an important facet of keeping appropriate and up to date business records. These Apps allow you to take photos using your mobile and convert them to PDF documents, which can then be emailed for filing. These Converter Apps also allows for the editing of these images to make sure your records only include relevant information.

Examples of some of the Apps we use to undertake this task include:

Vehicle Log Book Apps

There are a number of vehicle log book Apps available which can be used to track your work-related travel. When considering a logbook app, it is important to have in mind that it complies with the ATO requirements. These include the following:

  • when the logbook period begins and ends;
  • the car’s odometer readings at the start and end of the logbook period;
  • the total number of kilometres the car travelled during the logbook period;
  • the number of kilometres travelled for each journey. If you make two or more journeys in a row on the same day, you can record them as a single journey;
  • the odometer readings at the start and end of each subsequent income year your logbook is valid for;
  • the business-use percentage for the logbook period; and
  • the make, model, engine capacity and registration number of the car.

Each journey must include:

  • reason for the journey (such as a description of the business reason or whether it was for private use)
  • start and end date of the journey
  • odometer readings at the start and end of the journey
  • kilometers travelled.

Some examples of the apps that advertised to comply with ATO requirements include:

Video conferencing Apps

Many businesses have required greater reliance of virtual communication tools this year. There are many different communication Apps out there to be used. With features such as group meeting rooms, ability to screen share and much more, many of these Apps can assist with breaking the communication barrier some might be facing in this new environment. There are some platforms out there that offer free access with certain limits, while others require subscriptions, so this is something to consider when deciding on an app.

Some examples of these apps include:

Australian Taxation Office App

The ATO app has a great resource for many taxpayers and includes a host of tax related features, calculators and tools. The myDeductions feature of the ATO app allows you to keep track of your expenses and deductions, any vehicle trips, income (if you’re a sole trader) or even photos of invoices and receipts. What’s more is this information can be emailed to us, the tax agent, ready for tax time.

Other features of the ATO app include:

  • ABN Lookup
  • Business performance check
  • Fuel tax credit calculator
  • Key dates
  • Payment plan estimator
  • Super guarantee eligibility
  • Tax withheld calculator

You can download the ATO app from here.

We hope this summary has given you some ideas as to how you can adopt more automated practices in managing your day to day finance tasks.  To find out more please contact the Davidsons team on 03 52216399 or at info@davidsons.com.au.

Disclaimer: this information is of a general nature and should not be viewed as representing financial advice. Users of this information are encouraged to seek further advice if they are unclear as to the meaning of anything contained in this article. Davidsons accepts no responsibility for any loss suffered as a result of any party using or relying on this article.