Do you know Nigerian startups seeking software to manage their finances excellently? Get this information across to them.
Financial management is a very important aspect that every business should consider, especially for startups in Nigeria with scarce resources. Financial management tools help entrepreneurs track their expenses, manage cash flow, and plan for the future. Thereby reducing the challenges commonly faced by startups.
With affordable financial software options available today, Nigerian startups can make accounting a whole lot easier and, therefore, more effective. Here’s a look at the best affordable software through which Nigerian startups are managing their finances.
Why Financial Software Matters for Nigerian Startups?
For any company to thrive, it must be all about good finance management. That is even more reason why startups should track cash flow closely.
Good financial software will ensure that the Nigerian startup manages income and expenditure, generates invoices, manages payroll, handles taxes and compliance issues, and produces financial reports for making decisions.
With this in mind, here are seven budget-friendly software that could help this startup get through keeping finances in check.
1. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is the most popular accounting software globally and befits a startup in Nigeria. Some of the QuickBooks Online features include invoice creation, expense tracking, and financial report creation.
One of the most salient features of QuickBooks Online is that it is cloud-based; business owners can access financial data from anywhere at any time. QuickBooks Online, for instance, costs an affordable monthly subscription starting as low as ₦2,500 for Nigerian startups.
Besides, this software is easy to integrate with Nigerian banks for seamless synchronization of financial data. Other things that could be done with QuickBooks by a startup include automation of tax calculations, payroll processing, and professional-looking financial reports.
2. Zoho Books
Zoho Books is among the top financial management software for businesses operating in Nigeria. It provides an all-inclusive accounting, invoicing, and inventory management service. Zoho Books offers user friendly experience and budget-friendly pricing plans that start as low as ₦1,500 per month.
With Zoho Books, this Nigerian startup will be able to manage its finances efficiently by automating the most important processes, including the creation of invoices, sending payment reminders, and bank reconciliation.
Besides all the above-mentioned features, it also supports multi currency transactions that can be useful for the startups working with international clients. Another plus is that Zoho integrates well with other Zoho products, so it should be able to scale for a growing business.
3. Wave Accounting
Wave Accounting is a brilliant free alternative, without some of the heavy financial software costs that Nigerian startups cannot afford. Added to that, Wave has free features such as accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning, making it highly suitable for small startups on shoestring budgets.
Although Wave does have other value-added services, like payroll processing, for which it charges, its core features are free, thus making it one of the most affordable software solutions available. Wave easily lets you track cash flow, manage debts, and run detailed financial reports without breaking a leg via its intuitive dashboard.
4. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is an accounting cloud software designed for startups and small enterprises. It allows Nigerian entrepreneurs an easy way to invoice clients, keep tabs on their expenditure, or manage their books from any device.
Pricing starts at ₦3,000 per month, which is decent enough for such startups looking out for a powerful accounting tool. Unique to FreshBooks is the time-tracking feature, which is particularly great for service-based startups.
It enables businesses in Nigeria to bill their clients quite accurately about the time they have spent working on projects. Also, FreshBooks has integrated payment platforms such as Nigerian payment gateways that will ease receiving and managing local transactions of currency.
5. Kippa
Kippa is a Nigerian-based financial management platform for local small and medium-sized businesses only. This application helps Nigerian startups track their daily income and expenses, record debts owed by customers, and send invoices efficiently.
Kippa is ideal for any Nigerian startup that seeks to find an affordable and simple way of managing finances without needing extensive accounting knowledge. Kippa is free but offers some of its premium features at very affordable rates.
For this reason, it features as one of the best financial management software for Nigerian startups, especially in the retail, service, and trade industries.
6. Sage Business Cloud Accounting
Sage Business Cloud Accounting features an ever-powerful, yet affordable accounting solution targeted at small businesses. It empowers Nigerian startups to work comfortably with its easy-to-use interface in expense tracking, invoicing, and reporting.
The solution is integrated well with banks in Nigeria, and it can provide real-time financial data for the startup. Sage Business Cloud Accounting pricing starts at about ₦3,500 per month, making it very affordable for most Nigerian startups in search of reliable financial software.
It has tools for calculating taxes to help a business keep in compliance with Nigerian tax laws-a thing that is important in ensuring smooth operations without attracting some penalties.
7. Expensify
Expensify is an expense management software created to make it easier to track and manage reimbursements to employees. This is a software solution particularly ideal for those startups in Nigeria that have employees who generate expense reports.
With this software, scanning and categorizing receipts, approval automation, and creation of detailed expense reports become easier. Expensify has a free plan for startups with basic needs and reasonably priced paid plans for growing businesses.
It’s also flexible in that it can be integrated with other financial management tools such as QuickBooks and Kippa, making it an ideal solution for Nigerian startups seeking to automate the processes involved in complete financial management.
How to Choose the Right Financial Software As A Nigerian Startup
When you are selecting the best affordable software to manage finances as Nigerian startups, here are some of the key things to look out for:
1. Pricing
Most startups in Nigeria have a very stringent budget. You should, therefore, select financial software that ensures value for money. Ensure you go for pricing plans that fit the size of your business and also offer scalable options as your company continues to grow.
2. Ease of Use
The best accounting software should be user-friendly and less intimidating, especially for those entrepreneurs without an accounting background. QuickBooks Online and Kippa are user-friendly tools and hence relatively less intimidating compared to some of their alternatives.
3. Features
Make sure the features you want are in the software you choose, for example, invoicing, expense tracking, payroll management.
Most startups in Nigeria will require features such as multi-currency support or, at best, an integrated local bank that tools such as Zoho Books and Sage Business Cloud Accounting will not offer.
4. Scalability
While scaling your business, this need begins to shift. Find software that provides scalable options so you can quickly upgrade to a more sophisticated plan for when your business needs it.
Concluding Thoughts
Most essential to the viability of such startups in Nigeria is proper finance management. On the other hand, financial software for the right company automates much of the accounting work, instantly monitors every penny of expense, and plans correspondingly for futures’ needs.
One can find reasonably affordable solutions for Nigerian entrepreneurs’ needs, starting from Wave Accounting-free options among others-and ending with Kippa-options tailored for the local and small enterprise.
These finance management software can empower Nigerian startups to focus more on the expansion of their businesses, remembering that their finances are in order hence ensuring the smooth running of day to day activities in the long run. Software for Nigerian startups to manage finances