As we look towards the new financial year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what’s needed to make FY23 the best year yet for your business. One element that shouldn’t be underestimated is the tools and technology in your repertoire. Why? Our Xero Small Business Insights report shows embracing digital tools can help small businesses accelerate their growth.
This is where the new Xero App Store comes into play. Thanks to an ecosystem of over 1,000 apps, within a few clicks you can create a digital stack that supports everything from automating your financial workflows to managing your business operations – anytime, anywhere.
Small businesses often have unique complexity within their operations that can be made easier with apps. For example, industry specific needs, like for tradies out on site, or for different business models, like ecommerce. Taking time at the beginning of the new financial year to set up your systems and processes can save considerable time in the long run. Here’s how apps can help make FY23 be your best year yet.
Boost your cash flow with on-the-go payments
If you’re a tradie, you’d know much time can be wasted chasing up late payments – not to mention the impact of this on your cash flow. However, this can be made easier by collecting payments on-site, rather than after.
For those working in trades and services, ServiceM8 is a streamlined and easy-to-use job management software that allows you to get paid instantly via your phone via Apple or Google Pay. Present the QR code found in your ServiceM8 app for your client to scan and they’ll be taken to a special payments page for that job that allows them to do a contactless payment.
Time spent chasing late invoices can quickly add up; earn back those valuable hours in FY23 by setting up a more efficient method now.
Streamline your workflow by automating your financial approval processes
Complex approval processes can hold up your accounts payable and receivable. So, how can you make this better in FY23? ApprovalMax streamlines financial document workflows, meaning you no longer have to send hundreds of emails to get approvals. Through the auto-approvals feature, businesses can automatically sign off documents by adding rules to any workflow to ensure specific documents get the green light without needing to be assigned or reviewed by anyone.
ApprovalMax also has budget checking capabilities that syncs budgets with approved and ‘awaiting approval’ invoices in real-time. This enables you to track the impact of those invoices on your cash flow giving you a clearer picture of your business performance and one less thing to stress about in the new financial year.
Improve your employee engagement and retention
With Australia’s current workforce challenges, it’s never been more important to focus on your people and their wellbeing. This means improving your overall employee experience and crafting a smooth and engaging onboarding experience when you do hire.
New technology now allows us to not only manage employees online but also track morale and boost engagement. Deputy is an easy-to-use workforce management app that helps businesses organise and manage their teams more efficiently. It collects feedback and insights on employee sentiment using the Shift Engagement feature, helping small business owners and managers take action to bolster their team’s wellbeing.
Are you planning to hire in the new financial year? If so, the onboarding experience is vital to employee retention, yet many businesses still do this manually by pen and paper. Deputy Employee Onboarding supports the onboarding of new hires within a day with all documents securely stored within the app. Managers can track the status of the onboarding journey and soon-to-be-employees can sign their contracts from their mobile phone making the whole process easy with not a pen in sight.
Stay on top of your inventory
Making, managing or moving products in FY23? Keeping track of inventory and its whereabouts can quickly get out of control, especially if your business is scaling. The right technology can make a big difference and give you clarity over your operations. One such app is Unleashed, which provides inventory management software built for manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors across all industries. It even includes industry-specific capabilities for certain sectors, like calculating wine equalisation tax (WET) for wine makers.
You can also save time searching for relevant documents, such as purchase orders or sales quotes, using Unleashed’s file library. Deceptively simple, you can store everything in one central hub by attaching documents (up to 20mb) to transactions, customers, suppliers and products in Unleashed making it all easy to find.
Kickstart your FY23 with the right apps for your business
Whether you’re new to apps or a veteran trying to get more out of your current integrations, the Xero App Store has an abundance of options to help you take your business to the next level in the new financial year. To make things easier, you can search for the right apps tailored to your needs by function, industry, and collection.
Make FY23 your best year yet by taking some time to find the right apps for your business.
