Best Budgeting Software

What Is Budgeting Software?

Budgeting software is any enterprise planning software that assists in the management, planning, and assessing a business’s or person’s finances. When it comes to budgeting software, there are two main categories:

• Personal budgeting software – this software provides insights into an individual’s personal spending habits and how they can spend their money more effectively.

• Business budgeting software – this version is designed to help companies manage their finances and review their monthly ingoings and outgoings to create spending forecasts and clarify areas where you can reduce spending.

Personal budgeting software is often less expensive, as it needs to process a smaller amount of information. However, business budgeting software needs scalability and should offer higher levels of customization.

You can use budgeting software every month to analyze your spending and develop more precise strategies for saving money. You can apply budgeting software in personal and business contexts to reduce unnecessary spending.

What Does Budgeting Software Do?

If you’re still unsure about what’s actually on offer with budgeting software, here are some of the main functions that budgeting software performs:

• Automated reporting – when you upload data into your budget management software, you want your reports to be updated immediately. Budgeting software provides automated reporting, so you don’t have to export data for reporting – your reports are automatically updated to present the most up-to-date information.

• Provides user-friendly financial analysis – using Excel templates can be pretty tricky, and budgeting software doesn’t require weeks of training. The user-friendly tool shows you where to enter your data and provides clear and readable reports.

• Commentary – budgeting software offers an analysis of your data, providing suggestions. Often, budgeting software will provide you with multiple options that other businesses have used to solve their financial inefficiencies.

• Complex Calculations – if you don’t have the knowledge or resources to perform complex calculations, budgeting software offers the solution. The software does the calculation legwork for you.

How We Rank the Best Budgeting Software

We use a comprehensive evaluation methodology to rate and rank budgeting software. Our evaluation considers factors such as functionality, ease of use, customer support, and value for money. Each software is given an individual score, called a Genius Score, which ranges from 0 to 100 to provide an accurate assessment of its performance. Visit our dedicated page to learn more about our rating methodology and the Genius Score.

Main Features Of An Budgeting Software Product

Here are some of the main features of budgeting software that you should be looking for. Consider which features are a top priority to suit your business needs:

• Workflow features – your budgeting software should enable you to assign budgeting workflows to individuals, and you will review the work at executive levels. Your executives should have a clear picture of which tasks are being performed and the progress on each job.

• Financial statements – your budgeting software should provide you with financial statements for your revenue, costs, cash flow, and working capital. With financial statements formatted to your budgeting software, you will gain better insight into every part of your budget.

• Reporting – you need reporting that offers you a greater understanding of your financial data, and custom report creation is an essential feature in a budgeting software product.

• Planning and forecasting – your budget management software should be able to offer you forecasting based on the most up-to-date data, which is instrumental in ensuring your budget is sustainable.

• Customization – the software you choose should offer customization to make it more adaptable to your company’s specific needs.

Benefits Of Using Budgeting Software

When you use budgeting software, you must input data that is necessary for forecasting, financial statements, and reporting. Budgeting software will store all of your business’s financial information in one place for better budgeting across all departments.

Let’s discuss some of the main benefits your company can gain from using budgeting software.

Make Budgeting More Accessible

Excel spreadsheets can overcomplicate the budgeting process and can require more legwork. Manual processes leave a significant margin for human error and require higher levels of expertise. Budgeting software makes the budgeting process more accessible and straightforward, particularly if your company is not equipped with financial experts.

Monitor The Cost Of Supplies And Labor

Your company needs to be constantly aware of the cost of supplies and labor. If these costs rise, this could be detrimental to your profit margins and growth. Budgeting software helps you maintain an awareness of your expenses and any changes in these expenses.

Manage Your Stock

Budgeting software will give you insight into your inventory, including trends in demand for inventory. Your company needs to consistently maintain its inventory to keep daily operations running efficiently, and budgeting software is instrumental in helping you to manage your stock levels and stock expenditure.

Who Should Use Budgeting Software?

Here are some of the company types that would benefit from budgeting software.

Small Businesses And Startups

Suppose you are running a small business or startup. In that case, you will likely not have the resources to hire a financial department responsible for financial reporting, budgeting, accounting, and forecasting. Budgeting software allows you to stay on top of your expenses without hiring a financial team, which could be unattainable.

eCommerce Businesses

If you’re running an eCommerce business, you need to focus heavily on your profit margins and expenses. If there are any opportunities to streamline manufacturing, logistics, and fulfillment costs, you need to be aware. Budgeting software can help you gain a competitive edge in the market, allowing you to offer better prices for both your products and shipping costs, bringing in more sales and revenue.

Self-Employed Businesses

If you are self-employed and running a business that provides a service or goods, you need to be aware of your finances while managing daily tasks. Budgeting software can help you stay on top of your expenses and plan, which can be difficult to undertake without hiring external help. Budgeting software grants you more affordable budgeting.

How Much Does Budgeting Software Cost?

The cost of your budgeting software depends upon the size of your business. The pricing tiers of the software are based on the size of the business entity. The higher-tier plans offer more features than the lower tiers. There are often free versions of the software that offer limited features.

The pricing tiers are usually structured as follows:

• A starter tier – this tier is designed for smaller businesses and startups.

• A middle tier – this tier is designed for medium-sized businesses.

• An enterprise tier – this tier is designed for large businesses and corporations and usually offers premium features.