In the tech-world, a single company coming up with multiple solutions to too many problems never works out. Apple wouldn’t be Apple without developers creating billions of apps for its store, and smart TV manufacturers would be pretty stupid if they didn’t rely on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon to integrate with their hardware.
The same goes for accounting software. Running a business today is more than just accounts receivable and payable. It’s about sharing files, making your e-commerce site easier for customers to pay and simplifying your payroll process. That’s why it’s no surprise that Quickbooks and Xero — two popular pieces of accounting software — both offer integration with many apps.
Xero, a relative newcomer when it comes to accounting software, integrates with more than 300 business apps. Quickbooks has about 60 right now, but is adding more.
So what are these apps? Here are some of our favorites:
Square
For small businesses that have a retail store, there’s a good chance Square is being used as a main form of payment. The company plugs into an iPhone or iPad and lets customers swipe their credit card, tap in a tip and sign their name using their index finger. Square charges 2.75 percent for all major credit card swipes.
Both Quickbooks and Xero offer integration with Square’s app. The Square Quickbooks and Xero integration imports all Square sales seamlessly, automatically updating the books and keeping transactions organized.
Concur
For now, this small business expense reporting app only integrates with Quickbooks.
It automatically creates expense reports from credit card charges and syncs with your existing books in Quickbooks.
Concur lets employees download their mobile app to submit everything from lunch receipts to mileage. Everything inputted into that mobile app, again, syncs with your accounts in Quickbooks.
Expensify
This app, for now, is only for Xero.
Expensify’s tagline is “Expense reports that don’t suck.” The app’s easy-to-use interface and simple design makes expense reports fun again… if they were ever fun to begin with.
Expensify is used in 169 countries by more than 2 million people and 300,000 companies — it’s proven. Your Xero chart of accounts is imported into Expensify as expense categories, helping you easily categorize all your expenses into a comprehensive report.
Other apps
Intuit, the creator of Quickbooks, is continually adding more apps. For now, they are behind Xero, who can integrate with the likes of PayPal and eBay.
Xero currently has partnerships with Bill.com, (cash flow), Deputy (timesheets) and Kabbage (funding), and is always adding more.
Quickbooks is leaning on a few key apps as well, including Shoeboxed (expenses and documents) and Transaction Pro Importer (invoices).
Both companies understand the importance of integration, which will only push developers to create more apps that make running a business more efficient. If you want to learn more about app integration with these softwares, go to Xero and QuickBooks to learn more.