REVIEW: KASHOO ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
/I am officially in LOVE!
As a small business owner, I wear a lot of hats. I'm a photographer, I'm the CEO, I'm the CMO, and the CFO of my little corner of the world. There's a lot going on to keep a business running - hence the entire purpose of this blog. For many of us, one of the most important aspects of running a business, is also our least favorite: bookkeeping. Just this week, I spent 8 hours with 13 photographers in a ONE DAY INTENSIVE, talking about how to get a better grip on their business, and by far the most complicated and confusing part for each of them is to really understand the numbers.
I've felt for a long time, that there had to be something better. I've been using Quickbooks for years, just like every other small business. The problem was that the amount of work it required just to understand how to use it meant that it really wasn't helping my business - it was just sucking the life out of me. Even still, there had never been any other choice... until now!
I have been literally thinking about creating a cloud based accounting platform that sync'd with a beautiful iPad app for months. I've even gone to the extent of looking for an iOS designer. Then just last week, I discovered Kashoo. I'm acutally not entirely sure these guys haven't been bugging my phone and listening to my conversations because it's literally EVERYTHING I've been dreaming about in an accounting platform.
I realize you think I'm nuts right now because we're talking about dreaming about accounting software, but it's true - I'm so excited I just had to tell you about it. It's as if they actually designed something based on how small business actually need to use it - and then made sure to program it in a way that makes your accountant happy too!
Here's the 5 things I love the most about Kashoo.
1. It's Super Easy to Setup
Kashoo actually makes sense. Other software platforms require an in-depth knowledge of accounting principles just to get started. Kashoo makes it easy by being intuitive to setup your business. You can literally set it up and start using it in less than 10 minutes.
2. It pulls in everything from the cloud.
It syncs bank accounts, credit cards, statements, etc - all right into your business. This makes it super easy to reconcile and categorize your expenses and income. I can't tell you how cumbersome it has been to get Quickbooks to do the same for a lot of the same things!
3. Entering Transactions is Fast and Simple.
Want to create an invoice? Click on "Enter invoice." Want to record a payment? Just click on "enter payment." Want to enter an expense? I bet you can guess what you do next... Sure, all of this functionality exists elsewhere, but Kashoo makes it beautiful, and simple to use. It's also extremely fast.
4. It Makes it Easy to Generate Reports
There's really only one reason to both using accounting software - and that's to produce the reports that paint a picture of the health of your business. On a regular basis, you should be able to generate a P&L, Balance Sheet, and information about transactions and cash flow. For most small business owners (who aren't accountants) Quickbooks has far too many options, and generating the right reports is cumbersome and confusing. With Kashoo you can generate reports with one click - and have useful information at your fingertips to guide you as you make decisions about your business.
5. It Has the Most Beautiful iPad App Ever!
I'm not joking. The fully functional iPad app is AMAZING. It's beautiful, and allows you to do everything you can do online - right on your iPad. I have no idea why other accounting software makers haven't done this already, but I love it. There's only one thing it doesn't do - that I wish it would - but I've passed that along to them :)
6. BONUS: It's FREE!
Seriously - it's FREE. There is a premium level that has some additional features, but the basic service (including the iPad app sync) is free. Everyone likes FREE right?!?!
Images used from www.kashoo.com