Last Reviewed: November 27th, 2024

Best Financial Management Systems Of 2024

What are Financial Management Systems?

Financial Management Systems (FMS) are the central nervous system of an organization's finances. Imagine a cockpit view of your entire financial operation, providing real-time data and insights. These systems tackle the challenge of siloed financial data, unifying everything from accounts payable to budgeting and forecasting. Benefits include improved cash flow management, streamlined financial reporting, and better decision-making based on accurate data. Core functionalities encompass general ledger, accounts receivable/payable, and budgeting. Emerging features leverage AI for anomaly detection and predictive analytics. While all businesses benefit, large enterprises and those in complex industries like finance or manufacturing see the biggest impact. Implementation costs can be significant, but the long-term gains in efficiency and financial control make FMS a powerful tool for any organization seeking to optimize its financial health. In essence, FMS empowers businesses to navigate the financial landscape with confidence and make data-driven decisions for sustainable growth.

What Are The Key Benefits of Financial Management Systems?

  • Real-Time Financial Data
  • Improved Cash Flow Management
  • Unified Financial Reporting
  • Enhanced Decision Making
  • Reduced Data Silos
  • Increased Efficiency
  • Fraud Detection & Prevention
  • Predictive Financial Analysis
  • Sustainable Growth Strategy
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Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 124 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best Financial Management Systems overall:

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Why We Picked Mint

How much mulla can Mint really help you hold onto? User reviews from the past year paint a picture of a once-lauded budgeting app facing its final curtain call. Mint, known for its comprehensive financial tools, allowed users to aggregate their financial accounts, track budgets, receive bill reminders, and monitor credit scores, all for free. Users consistently praised Mint's user-friendly interface and lauded its ability to provide a holistic view of their finances, making it a breeze to track spending and identify areas for improvement, like curbing those impulse Amazon purchases. However, the app's once-sparkling reputation has been tarnished by an uptick in negative reviews, with users reporting frequent syncing issues and an onslaught of intrusive ads. While Mint's strengths, like its intuitive design and robust feature set, initially positioned it as a frontrunner in the budgeting app arena, these advantages are increasingly overshadowed by its shortcomings. The frequent syncing issues, in particular, are a major pain point for users, as they hinder the app's ability to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information. Imagine diligently tracking your spending, only to be thrown off by inaccurate account balances due to syncing errors - not exactly a recipe for financial peace of mind! Moreover, the influx of ads, while understandable for a free app, has reached a point where many users find them disruptive and excessive. Ultimately, while Mint might still hold some appeal for casual budgeters, its waning reliability and aggressive advertising strategy make it difficult to recommend wholeheartedly. The announcement of its shutdown in March 2024 further solidifies this stance. For those seeking a reliable and feature-rich budgeting companion, alternatives like YNAB (You Need A Budget) or Personal Budget might be a better fit. These apps, while not without their quirks, offer a more polished and reliable experience, ensuring your budgeting journey is smooth sailing rather than a bumpy ride.

Pros & Cons

  • Free and Feature-Rich: Mint offers a robust set of budgeting tools at no cost, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • User-Friendly Design: The app is designed with an intuitive interface that's easy to navigate, even for those new to budgeting apps.
  • Real-Time Updates: Mint provides real-time updates on transactions and budget limits, helping users stay on top of their finances.
  • Customization Options: Users can customize budget categories and goals to align with their specific financial needs and priorities.
  • Intrusive Advertisements: The inclusion of ads in the free version can be distracting and disruptive for business users who require a focused environment.
  • Synchronization Issues: Occasional problems syncing with financial institutions can lead to inaccurate data and disrupt workflow, impacting financial analysis and decision-making.
  • Limited Customer Support: The lack of comprehensive customer support options can be problematic for businesses that require timely assistance with technical issues or have specific questions related to their business needs.

Key Features

  • Easy Setup: Sign up and connect financial accounts. Track bank, credit card loans and other investments. 
  • Secure Linking: Connect all financial accounts securely. 
  • Budget: Create a budget based on the historical patterns of average expenses. Spend cautiously and save more. Get a unique budget for each category and calculate funds for as many categories as they need. 
  • Tracking: Track all bills from one place, including credit cards to utility bills. Ensure bills get time with monthly reminders. Get alerts for low funds or unusual spending. 
  • Alerts: Get notified via email or text alerts for any unusual activity on the account, bills and low balances. Check for any suspicious spending. 
  • Free Credit Score: Get a free credit score minutes after identity verification without the need of a credit card. Verify the identity and check for credit scores and accounts at one place. Monitor credit daily and improve the score. 
  • Automatic Subscription Tracking: Check subscriptions in-app by connecting any bank or credit card. Get automatic notifications on price change and stay at the top of the spending. 
  • Categorization: Categorize and customize transactions with tags to keep track of the spending and proceed with insights. Check total spending across all the accounts at one place. 
  • Report: Get simple, customizable reports with the Trends feature. Generate different types of reports such as spending, income, net income, debts and net worth. Get investment information for performance, value, asset allocation and more. 
Start Price
$0
Free
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Why We Picked BILL Spend & Expense

BILL Spend & Expense has garnered positive feedback from users for its user-friendly interface and time-saving automation features. The software simplifies expense reporting by allowing employees to capture receipts and submit expenses directly through the mobile app. BILL Spend & Expense's budgeting tools enable businesses to allocate funds, track spending, and gain insights into their financial health. Users appreciate the real-time visibility into cash flow and the ability to integrate with popular accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero.

While BILL Spend & Expense receives praise for its core functionalities, some users note that the customer support could be more responsive. Additionally, the software may not be as feature-rich as some of its competitors, such as Expensify or Zoho Expense, which offer more advanced reporting and customization options. However, BILL Spend & Expense's simplicity and ease of use make it an attractive choice for small and medium-sized businesses that prioritize streamlining expense management and budgeting processes. Its intuitive platform and automation capabilities cater to businesses seeking a hassle-free solution to track spending, control costs, and gain better financial control.

Pros & Cons

  • Virtual Cards: BILL Spend & Expense allows users to create virtual cards for specific vendors or employees, which helps to control spending and track expenses more effectively.
  • Budgeting Tools: The platform offers budgeting tools that enable users to set spending limits and track their progress against those limits, promoting better financial management.
  • Expense Tracking: BILL Spend & Expense simplifies expense tracking by automatically categorizing transactions and allowing users to attach receipts and notes to expenses.
  • Integrations: BILL Spend & Expense integrates with various accounting software programs, streamlining the process of reconciling expenses and keeping financial records up-to-date.
  • Mobile App: The BILL Spend & Expense mobile app provides users with convenient access to their accounts and expense management tools while on the go.
  • Limited Accounting Features: BILL Spend & Expense's strength lies in expense management, but it may lack advanced accounting features required by some businesses, such as accounts payable and accounts receivable management.
  • Integrations: While BILL Spend & Expense integrates with popular accounting software, the depth of integration and available features may vary. Users should ensure their accounting software is fully compatible with BILL Spend & Expense to avoid manual data entry or limitations.
  • Customer Support: Some users have reported challenges with BILL Spend & Expense's customer support, including long wait times and difficulty resolving complex issues. Consider the importance of responsive and effective customer support for your business needs.

Key Features

  • Virtual Card: Manage businesses and make purchases online with a virtual card that has a unique number for the company.  
  • Software Integration: Integrate with the software that a business is using without any manual recoding. Customize the program to match the charts of accounts, thereby saving significant time. 
  • Tracking and Managing Expenses: Track and manage out-of-pocket expenses alongside the card spend with real-time visibility in one place. 
  • Card and Software Together: Give companies control of their finances and budget. Create a card, choose a budget and set a limit. 
  • Earn Rewards: Earn rewards with every purchase which can include a gift card or cash back.  
  • Send and Request Money: Send or request money to and from cards. Set a schedule for when money gets sent to a particular card. 
  • Expense Automation: Control overspending and adjust spenders funds as needed. Get precoded and ready-to-upload expense sheets directly into the accounting system. 
  • Budget Management: Sync automatically with employee cards to provide real-time visibility and control spending. Manage the budget by team and add or remove members instantly. 
  • Subscription Management: Create and secure virtual card for each subscription. Freeze the card anytime to protect the business from fraud and overcharging. 
  • Invoice Automation: Automate invoices with push notifications and email reminders. Keep track of the invoice dashboard by status. 
Start Price
$15
Monthly
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Why We Picked Xero

Xero’s users say it’s easy to use and has good accounting and bookkeeping capabilities. Most found the price to be acceptable, with some complaints about issues they ran into while trying to switch to a lower pricing tier. More than 70% loved the customer service and felt their representatives were extremely helpful. It has a range of features including band feeds, invoice creation, integrations and reconciliation processes. The reconciliation was particularly popular with over 80% of reviewers who mentioned it describing positive experiences.
One issue with the system came in making updates to invoices after they’d been saved. Some users said they were sent prematurely to clients or claimed to have difficulties changing the data at a later date. Many also felt that the implementation process for the new platform was difficult, but that once they learned where things were they felt comfortable. This may be a good choice for small and medium businesses. Larger companies should consider a system that’s able to handle a higher volume.

Pros & Cons

  • Affordable: Of all the reviews that mentioned price, over 70% felt it was well within their price range and felt satisfied.
  • Good Customer Service: Over 70% of reviews that mentioned the customer support said they received excellent service, especially from their reps.
  • Excellent Functionality: In more than 50% of all reviews that mentioned features, users were happy with its capabilities. They especially like the integrations, reconciliation process, invoices and accounting functions.
  • Simple and intuitive interface: Xero's clean layout and straightforward navigation make it easy for users of all skill levels to manage their finances. In over 80% of reviews that mentioned the UI, users said it was easy to navigate.
  • Automated tasks: Xero automates repetitive tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and bank reconciliation, saving users valuable time and reducing errors.
  • Mobile app for on-the-go access: Manage your finances and stay up-to-date on your business performance anytime, anywhere with Xero's mobile app.
  • Customizable reports and dashboards: Gain valuable insights into your cash flow, profitability, and other key financial metrics with Xero's customizable reports and dashboards.
  • Multi-user access and permissions: Collaborate with team members and advisors seamlessly with Xero's secure multi-user access and permission controls.
  • Limited inventory management: Xero lacks advanced inventory tracking features, making it less suitable for businesses with complex inventory needs.
  • Learning curve for complex features: While basic tasks are easy, some advanced features like multi-currency accounting can be challenging for non-accountants to navigate. Though the system was widely popular after implementation, users said it was old-fashioned and had a steep learning curve in 20% of reviews that mentioned the UI.
  • Higher cost for advanced features: Access to advanced features like payroll processing and multi-currency comes at a higher price point, potentially exceeding budgets for smaller businesses.
  • Limited phone support: Xero primarily relies on email and live chat for support, which may not be ideal for users seeking immediate assistance with critical issues.
  • Integration limitations: While offering many integrations, some key business tools may not have seamless integration with Xero, requiring workarounds or data duplication.
  • Invoices: While around 60% of users felt that the invoicing system worked well, around 40% said they had trouble making changes to them once they were saved.
  • Downgrading Issues: Around 20% of reviews that mentioned price said they had issues while trying to go to a lower pricing tier and often ended up paying a month or more at a higher rate.

Key Features

  • Payroll Processing: Provide payroll across 50 states. See when payments are due, track them and ensure on time payment. Analyze accounts payable with a quick view, schedule advanced payments and make batch payments.
  • Banking: Connect to the right bank to track and facilitate transactions daily. Keep an eye on the flow of money through a secure connection that goes directly into the solution.
  • Expense Management: Seamlessly track and manage expense claims. Access real-time data and reports that provide insight into patterns and trends. Record costs, see and approve claims, view overall spending and dole out reimbursements. Capture receipts to monitor employee spending and verify costs.
  • Project Management: Integrate with other workflows to facilitate financial project management. Provide a quote for client work before you begin to track time, costs, profitability and other variables for an accurate invoice.
  • Customer History: Use smart lists and contacts to contact details, emails, past sales, emails, invoices, past payments and more when working with a partner or client.
  • Mobile App: Let users track bank transactions, send invoices, access supplier details and more, from any mobile device.
  • Inventory Management: Undertake basic inventory management, including taking inventory, seeing what was bought or sold, look at reports on how well items are doing and get invoices and orders.
  • Gusto Integration: Calculate and pay taxes, deductions and employees through an integration with the accounting software Gusto. Simplify compliance and keep on top of industry updates.
  • Other Capabilities: Processes payment in multiple currencies, calculates sales taxes, tracks purchase orders, manages files and does several other administrative tasks.
Start Price
$20
Monthly
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Why We Picked Wave Accounting

Wave Accounting users appreciate its simplicity and affordability, making it a popular choice for freelancers and solopreneurs. The free plan covers essential features like invoicing, expense tracking, and basic reporting, catering to those with straightforward accounting needs. Users praise its intuitive interface and mobile app for on-the-go tracking, highlighting its convenience compared to clunky desktop software. However, Wave's limitations become apparent as businesses grow. Users cite frustrating reconciliation issues, limited reporting options, and the lack of advanced features like inventory management or payroll integrations. Compared to competitors like Quickbooks or Xero, Wave feels less capable of handling complex accounting workflows. While its automatic bank imports save time, the absence of phone support can be a dealbreaker for some users who need immediate help troubleshooting issues. Ultimately, Wave shines for its ease of use and zero-cost entry point, but its lack of scalability and robust features might necessitate switching to more powerful alternatives as businesses evolve. Choosing Wave comes down to prioritizing convenience and affordability over comprehensive functionality and expert support.

Pros & Cons

  • System Performance: Of the users who mentioned this solution's performance, precisely 65% said it's easy to use, documents all tasks performed and provides accurate information.
  • Modules: Approximately 57% of users who discussed this program's functionality said it has a variety of capabilities such as an assortment of reports, bank account synching and invoice reminders.
  • Cost: Of the users who mentioned this application's pricing, approximately 87% of users said they like the free version because it comes with plenty of appliances.
  • Frustrating reconciliation process: Users often describe matching transactions as difficult and time-consuming, leading to delayed reconciliation and potential errors.
  • Limited reporting options: Users express a desire for more robust and flexible reporting features, including better sorting, exporting, and preset date options for generating customized reports.
  • Lack of phone support: Wave relies primarily on email and online resources for support, which can be frustrating for users who prefer immediate assistance or have complex issues to resolve.
  • Occasional glitches and errors: Users have reported occasional software glitches, such as duplicated transactions or difficulties with bank syncing, which can disrupt workflows and create data inconsistencies.
  • No inventory management: Wave lacks full-fledged inventory tracking and management capabilities, making it unsuitable for businesses with complex inventory needs or those who sell directly through eCommerce platforms.

Key Features

  • Link Accounts and Credit Cards: Connect an unlimited amount of bank accounts and credit cards. Users may supervise multiple businesses with one account. 
  • Smooth Integrations: Integrate Shopify transactions and link with PayPal, Shoeboxed and Etsy accounts. 
  • Intricate Dashboards: Elaborate dashboards that display cash balances, invoice statuses, incomes, expenses and payments. This accessory also provides bill and invoice reminders. 
  • Export Various Reports: Export a variety of accounting reports such as profit and loss, sales tax, cash flow, comparative and others. 
  • Automatic Updates: Receive prompt updates and reminders on invoices, payments and payroll details. 
  • Evaluate High Volumes of Transactions: Process a bulk amount of transactions to ensure rapid bookkeeping practices. Users can also perform and accept transactions in foreign currencies and search for transactions based on descriptions. 
  • Double-Entry Accounting: Operate with double-entry accounting—a method that chronicles transactions in two or more accounts — that performs prompt exchange rate calculations and has a flexible sales tax module. 
  • Adaptable Expense and Income Categories: Use account IDs to create adjustable expense and income categories, sometimes called chart of accounts. There's also an unlimited income and expense tracking accessory. 
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Why We Picked NetSuite Accounting

Netsuite Accounting is a thorough accounting ERP that superintends all bookkeeping tasks. Users are most fond of its performance with automatic updates, potent workflows and precise data collection as well as its string of features-including, tax management, general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, CRM, multicurrency and more-to boost productivity. It's also adjustable, so users may tailor it to meet their company needs. Although some users were disappointed with the system's sluggishness, occasional crashes and lack of budget estimating, fixed assets and support for .xlsx and .xls files, the majority find it an adequate bookkeeping software.

Pros & Cons

  • Overall Performance: Of the users who discussed the performance of this solution, 58% said it was outstanding because it has automatic updates, simplifies accounting tasks and provides accurate data.
  • Customizable: Precisely 68% of users who addressed this program's customization said it is easy to configure to their business needs.
  • Accessories: Of the users who mentioned this application's accessories, 52% said they are effective, praising specifically the customizable dashboard, search engine that saves searches and customizable accounting reports.
  • System Performance: Approximately 41% of the users who mentioned this program's overall performance said it was slow and experienced crashes.
  • Functionality: Of the users who discussed this solution's functionality, roughly 47% said it was lacking features including budget forecasting, fixed assets and support for .xlsx and .xls files.

Key Features

  • Manageable Ledger: Add custom impact lines to transactions like invoices and vendor bills throughout single or numerous bookkeeping journals, reducing time in bank reconciliation, period closes and audit processes. 
  • Arrange Accounts Receivable: Perform accurate tax calculations on invoices and promptly post order transactions to general and accounts receivable ledgers for immediate tax processing and billing. 
  • Spot Account Peculiarities: Adjust dashboards, reports and KPIs for current views on customer aging, invoice analyses, repeatable invoices, deferred revenues and exception reports that catch account anomalies. 
  • Supervise Taxes: Work with the exact tax rate every time with the tax management accessory. It automatically applies the correct tax rate to purchases and is equipped with tax calculations for more than 50 countries and currencies. 
  • Insightful Cash Management: Receive immediate understandings of global transactions throughout numerous bank accounts and credit cards. Users may also review and predict cash requirements, conduct automatic bank reconciliations, swiftly deposit payments and safely develop accounting entries. 
  • Control Payments: Review and manage payment types to boost payment control with the payment management module. This module accepts several credit and debit card types and other forms of electronic payment. 
Start Price
$9
Monthly
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Why We Picked Zoho Books

Zoho Books lands a punch with its user-friendly interface and automation superpowers, even for accounting newbies. Invoicing, bank reconciliation, and reports become automatic allies, saving users precious time. Integration with the Zoho ecosystem and other popular tools keeps workflows in harmony. Plus, the mobile app lets you manage finances on the go, a big win for busy entrepreneurs. However, Zoho Books stumbles with transaction limits, potentially tripping up high-volume businesses. Inventory management feels like a lightweight sidekick compared to some competitors, lacking the muscle for complex needs. Unlocking automation's full potential requires coding know-how, leaving some users stranded. And while reports are generally reliable, occasional glitches necessitate a closer look. Managing multiple businesses under separate subscriptions can also add up cost-wise. So, how does Zoho Books stack up? Users often compare it to Quickbooks Online. Zoho shines with its intuitive interface and affordability, especially for solopreneurs and small teams. But Quickbooks packs a heavier punch in its inventory management and advanced reporting features, catering to larger businesses with complex needs. Zoho's seamless integrations and user-friendliness win hearts, while Quickbooks offers a more robust toolset for seasoned accountants. Ultimately, Zoho Books is a capable accounting sidekick for businesses starting their financial journey. Its ease of use, automation muscle, and affordable price tag make it a tempting choice. But for high-volume businesses or those with intricate inventory needs, other contenders might offer a more powerful punch.

Pros & Cons

  • Intuitive interface: Users consistently praise Zoho Books for its simple and easy-to-navigate interface, even for those without prior accounting experience.
  • Automation superpowers: Tasks like invoicing, payment reminders, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting become effortless with Zoho Books' automation features, saving users significant time and effort.
  • Seamless integrations: Zoho Books smoothly integrates with other Zoho apps, like CRM and Projects, as well as popular third-party tools, streamlining workflows and eliminating data silos.
  • Mobile accessibility: The user-friendly mobile app allows for on-the-go accounting, ensuring users can manage finances anytime, anywhere.
  • Value for money: Zoho Books is consistently praised for its affordable pricing plans, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
  • Customer service responsiveness: Users frequently highlight the prompt and helpful support provided by Zoho Books' customer service team.
  • Transaction limits: Users express frustration with the capped number of monthly transactions (5,000 on the highest plan), potentially hindering high-volume businesses.
  • Inventory management constraints: While Zoho Books offers inventory tracking, it lacks advanced features like sales analytics and in-depth item breakdowns, making it less suitable for businesses with complex inventory needs.
  • Coding requirements for automation: Unlocking the full potential of automation features often requires knowledge of coding (Deluge script), posing a challenge for non-technical users.
  • Occasional reporting issues: Some users report occasional glitches or inconsistencies in financial reports, necessitating careful review and potential manual adjustments.
  • Multiple subscriptions for multiple businesses: Managing multiple businesses requires separate subscriptions, which can become cost-prohibitive for users with several entities.

Key Features

  • Sales Order: Tailor sales orders with company logos, fonts and colors with the sales order idiosyncrasy. Users may transform approved estimates into sales orders and invoices in just a few clicks. Users may also pinpoint their best clients and merchandise with real-time reports from their transaction histories. 
  • Purchase Orders: Trace all items purchased and mutual prices set by vendors with the purchase order management appliance. Print, copy and share purchase orders through emails to work together with clients, partners, internal stakeholders and more to swiftly complete tasks. 
  • Online Payments: Pick the best payment portal —including Stripe, PayPal, Worldpay and more — to collect payments from customers promptly. Users may also enable recurring transactions to receive payments at weekly, monthly or yearly intervals automatically.  
  • Reporting: Evaluate total receivables, sales, top expenses and more KPIs with the reporting module's dashboard. Obtain reports like profit and loss, balance sheets, cash flow statements and more to dive into data and make wiser decisions. 
  • Automation: Deliver instant payment reminders, save client information for future automatic billing and recurring invoices and immediately send out transactions with Zoho Books' automation tools. 
  • Documents: Chronicle document details and shift them into invoices, expenses, bills, sales orders or purchase orders with the document management accessory. Users may match documents to bank feeds or previously-made transactions for proof of commerce for their archives.  
  • Mobile-Friendly: Deliver invoices, estimates and account statements to patrons and track miles traveled with the iOS app. The Android app enables users to take pictures of receipts and attach them to recorded expenses in addition to overseeing earned revenue and gathered fees. 
Start Price
$1,000
Monthly
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Why We Picked Deltek Vision

Deltek Vision provides a robust suite of enterprise planning tools that most users find intuitive and accessible. Its features support critical management tasks like timesheets and reporting that help users create reports and streamline their processes. It can be customized easily to suit business needs. However, support falls short of expectations as turnaround time is high, and support isn’t included as a part of the package.

Pros & Cons

  • User Friendly: The system is easy-to-use and intuitive, as noted by approximately 73% of users who mention the system’s usability.
  • Customizations: About 100% of users noted that this system is customizable according to their business requirements.
  • Timesheets: Nearly 94% of the users who mentioned its timesheets feature were impressed by it and said that it was easy to use.
  • Reporting: About 83% of the users who mentioned its reporting feature said that it greatly enhanced their productivity.
  • Learning Curve: Almost 90% of users who mentioned learning how to use the product claimed that the software was not easy to learn and they needed more training and documentation to become power users.
  • User Interface: The user interface misses the mark and can be difficult to navigate, according to 78% of reviewers who mentioned the interface.

Key Features

  • Project and Financial Accounting: Helps professional services firms manage financial performance by integrating project control. Its general ledger tracks profitability and identifies issues for corrective action.  
    • Integrates seamlessly and ensures effortless cost-sharing.  
    • Includes a suite of financial tools like accounts receivable and payable, overhead allocation, multi-currency and multi-company support, revenue recognition and financial and project reporting.  
    •  Enables users to maintain a comprehensive audit trail and internal control.  
  • Project and Resource Management: Ensure that people with the right skills are assigned to the right projects.  
    • Lets users make better decisions and ensures projects are on time and within budget.  
    •  Allows users to automate scheduling, budgeting, resource allocation and forecasting.
    •  Provides expense reports and timesheet entries that enter actual costs into the project tracking sheet to produce a rolling forecast.  
  • Client Relationships Management: Provides the tools required to win new contracts and strengthen existing partnerships by automating the entire project life cycle.  
    •  Automates contact and client management, marketing campaigns, business development, opportunity and activity tracking.  
    •  Facilitates collaboration by integrating with MS Outlook.  
    •  Makes a central source of information available to everyone in the firm to leverage collective knowledge.  
  • Business Intelligence: Turns key business data into actionable information and provides a comprehensive understanding of operational and strategic indicators.  
    •  Identifies and analyzes trends in specific markets, geographies and disciplines to identify future risks and opportunities.  
    •  Create filters by pointing and clicking. Filtering features include side-by-side comparison, dashboard metrics and interactive drill down into single transactions.  
    •  Supports a drag-and-drop dashboard tool that can be configured easily.  
  • Project Reports: Supports interactive reports allowing users to analyze and access data. Manages aspects like opportunity tracking, resource utilization, project analysis and important financial metrics.  
    •  Reports tailored according to users’ needs can be generated.  
    •  Supports 200 standard reports.  
    •  Supports a flexible reporting framework that configures, previews, prints and shares reports.  
Start Price
$10,000
Annually
Company Size
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Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Sage Intacct

Sage Intacct user reviews paint a picture of a powerful, customizable accounting software ideal for mid-sized, growing businesses. Users praise its real-time reporting, cloud-based accessibility, and ability to handle complex financial structures. Compared to competitors, Intacct shines in scalability and customization, effortlessly adapting to multi-entity operations and unique accounting needs. This agility is crucial for dynamic businesses operating in diverse markets. However, its strengths come with caveats. Intacct's feature-rich nature can be daunting for beginners, requiring dedicated training and technical know-how. Additionally, its subscription-based pricing can be prohibitive for smaller companies or those with simpler accounting requirements. The limited mobile functionality and lack of built-in payroll are also shortcomings some users find frustrating. Overall, Sage Intacct earns its positive reviews by empowering businesses with robust functionalities and seamless scalability. However, its complexity and premium cost may leave smaller players or those needing basic accounting solutions searching for a more accessible, budget-friendly alternative.

Pros & Cons

  • Intuitive User Interface: Precisely 65% of users stated it has an intuitive and user-friendly interface with a manageable learning curve.
  • Configurable: Approximately 90% of users conveyed that the product is customizable to fit their organization's needs.
  • Competent Performance: The quality, scalability and overall performance are favorable to 94% of users.
  • An Assortment of Features: According to 54% of users, the product has a wide range of features including accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliation, time tracking, 1099 forms and more.
  • Ideal Integrations: Merges with various third-party systems such as Salesforce, Nexonia, Expensify, Bill.com and more, as stated by 94% of users.
  • Dawdling Customer Support: Of the users who discussed customer support, roughly 64% said it was lagging in resources and took a long time to get in touch with them.
  • Lagging Search Tool: Approximately 45% of users said the search and reporting tools aren't as effective as some of the software's other idiosyncrasies.
  • High Cost: Subscription-based pricing, often exceeding the budgets of smaller businesses or those with simpler accounting needs.
  • Steep Learning Curve: Feature-rich interface can feel overwhelming for beginners, requiring initial training and time investment.
  • Limited Mobile Functionality: Mobile app lacks access to many core features, hindering on-the-go workflow for some users.
  • Customization Complexity: Advanced customization options often require technical expertise or paid consultations.
  • Integration Gaps: While offering major integrations, it may lack connections to specific niche software used by some businesses.
  • No Built-in Payroll: Requires integrating a separate payroll solution, adding complexity and additional costs.

Key Features

  • General Ledger: Contains pre-built dimensions such as customer, location, department, warehouse and class. It also allows users to add their own dimensions. Required dimension values can be inputted so that certain values are mandatory for entries to post to designated accounts. 
  • Accounts Payable: This feature lets users set spending limits and define workflows and approvals. Users can easily view AP liabilities as well as check and bill register reports in real time. Users can automate ACH, check and credit card payments through the Vendor Payment Services function, which is built on the American Express Global Commercial Services infrastructure. 
  • Accounts Receivable: The program enables customers to generate recurring invoices and to attach customer information to transactions. It integrates with other business processes to centralize sales orders, quotes and invoices. Configurable dashboards and other visualizations are included in this function and allow users to look at data points such as deferred revenue and customer aging. 
  • Purchasing: Allows users to analyze costs and monitor budget vs. actual information through dashboards and reporting tools. These dashboards are role-based for security and ease of access and also contain budget performance information, price break monitoring and purchase quote functionality. The feature gives users more control over the entirety of the procure-to-pay process. 
  • Order Management: Users can leverage point-and-click functionality to set up individualized workflows and pricing requirements in the order management system. The program can be easily connected to Salesforce CRM, which allows users to share order status and pricing data across a business and reduce duplicate data entry. The solution includes sales tax and regulatory compliance through integration with Avalara. Order fulfillment rates, inventory quantities and sales data can be viewed in real time through this feature. 
  • Cash Management: Includes a live view of funds and cash flows through all associated credit cards, savings accounts and checking accounts. The management of cash across multiple locations is also supported. The system enables the application of payments to accounts that aren’t associated with an invoice and the recording of POS payments that aren’t connected to a specific customer. 
  • Reporting and Dashboards: This program can track both financial and operational data such as SaaS metrics, machine availability, etc. The system also has the ability to discover trends, drill down to source transactions and look at roll-up figures for multiple locations or entities. The solution includes more than 150 financial reports along with the ability to develop customized reports based on business needs. 
  • Digital Board Book: Produces metrics such as Annual or Monthly Recurring Revenue (ARR or MRR), churn, Committed Monthly Recurring Revenue (CMRR), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). This analysis is conducted in real time using transactional data obtained from Sage Intacct and Salesforce. 
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Why We Picked SAP S/4 HANA Finance

User reviews of SAP S/4 HANA Finance paint a contrasting picture, highlighting both its game-changing potential and the challenges companies face during implementation. On the one hand, users rave about its real-time data access, enabling instant financial insights and faster, data-driven decisions. Imagine analyzing cash flow trends within seconds instead of waiting hours for reports to process. Automation features like auto-generated journal entries and invoice approvals liberate accountants from tedious tasks, freeing them for strategic analysis and collaboration. However, the transition to S/4 HANA can be a bumpy ride. The initial investment, encompassing licensing, consulting, and infrastructure upgrades, can be daunting, especially for smaller businesses. Additionally, the new interface and functionalities require user training and adaptation, potentially disrupting workflows during implementation. Unlike some competitors offering highly customizable solutions, S/4 HANA's pre-configured modules may not perfectly suit every specific accounting need, necessitating workarounds or third-party add-ons, further inflating costs. Integration challenges add to the complexity. Connecting S/4 HANA with legacy systems or specialized applications can be a technical hurdle, requiring expertise and potentially delaying implementation. Data migration can be another headache, as moving large datasets to the new system can be time-consuming and error-prone, demanding careful planning and data validation. So, how does S/4 HANA stack up against the competition? While solutions like Oracle NetSuite or Microsoft Dynamics 365 may be more affordable and customizable for smaller businesses, they lack the real-time data capabilities and industry-specific depth of S/4 HANA. For larger enterprises with complex financial needs and a long-term vision, S/4 HANA's advanced functionalities, scalability, and potential for long-term ROI outweigh the initial challenges. Ultimately, the decision boils down to a company's specific needs, budget, and risk tolerance.

Pros & Cons

  • Real-time insights: Gain instant access to financial data for faster, data-driven decisions. Imagine drilling down into account details or cash flow trends within seconds, no more waiting for reports to process.
  • Simplified processes: Automate routine tasks like reconciliations and journal entries, freeing up valuable time for more strategic work. Think automated invoice approvals or system-generated closing checklists.
  • Improved reporting: Generate granular, customizable reports with deeper financial insights. Easily create ad-hoc reports or visualize trends to proactively identify and address issues.
  • Enhanced collaboration: Share real-time financial data and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues across departments. Picture a single, unified platform for finance, sales, and operations to work together.
  • Mobile accessibility: Access financial information and perform key tasks from anywhere, anytime. Approve invoices while on the go or monitor key metrics remotely.
  • High implementation cost: Initial investment, including licensing, consulting, and infrastructure upgrades, can be significant, especially for smaller businesses.
  • Steeper learning curve: New interface and functionalities require user training and adaptation, potentially disrupting workflows in the short term.
  • Limited customization options: Pre-configured solutions may not fully address every specific accounting need, requiring workarounds or third-party add-ons.
  • Integration challenges: Connecting with legacy systems or specialized applications can be complex, requiring technical expertise and potentially delaying implementation.
  • Potential data migration issues: Moving large datasets to the new system can be time-consuming and prone to errors, requiring careful planning and data validation.

Key Features

  • Research & Development:  SAP S/4HANA Finance enables multidiscipline product definition, what-if analysis and iterative design processes. 
  • Real-Time Financing:  Users get real-time oversight into finance processes and finance/management accounting results. This feature makes business and financial planning a breeze with prediction, simulation and what-if analysis.  
  • Marketing Analysis:  This feature allows planning and execution of personalized email campaigns and campaign performance analysis. Users can also consolidate customer information into one enriched view and leverage advanced analytics to gain insights.  
  • Snapshot Manufacturing: This system gives users enterprise-wide visibility across supply, production, inventory and demand. This feature also provides faster execution of more current and accurate views of material quantities. 
  • Supply Chain Management: Real-time and adaptive freight planning, truck visibility, and warehouse automation are provided within the system. Users can sense short-term demand and respond quickly with fast planning, replanning and simulation. 
  • Accessible Sales Data: Users have access to product catalogs, inventory and pricing to create sales quotes and fulfill sales orders in real-time. This feature also manages accounts, opportunities and other activities while leveraging advanced analytics to gain insights.
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Why We Picked Tipalti

Tipalti is a robust accounting ERP that streamlines all workflows and bookkeeping needs. Its implementation is comfortable and pleasing to users. Its performance is impeccable because it provides a centralized location for various payment options and its modules — tax compliance, billing, invoicing, payment management and more — offer efficient bookkeeping needs. Users also agree that the customer support team is quick to respond and resolve problems. Despite some users' sentiments about the clunky interface and non-flexible reporting apparatus, most find this solution as a handy asset.

Pros & Cons

  • Implementation: Of the users who addressed this solution's implementation process, 58% said it was fast, easy and pleasing.
  • Customer Support: Approximately 69% of users who mentioned this program's customer support said employees were reliable and quick to respond.
  • Performability: Of the users who spoke of the application's overall performance, nearly 82% said it was user friendly, easy to use and centralized payable options in one location.
  • Functionality: Roughly 54% of users who discussed this solution's functionality revved about the easy transfer management, invoicing and various payment methods such as ACH, e-check, PayPal and wire.
  • Interface: Of the users who addressed this solution's interface, 41% said it was clunky.
  • Reporting: Approximately 45% of users who discussed this software's modules said the reporting function either couldn't customize reports or duplicates reports unnecessarily.

Key Features

  • Collect Tax Forms: Browse and choose the exact forms with more than 1,000 rules and TIN matching confirmation details with the tax form selection wizard extension on the supplier management appliance. There are end-of-the-year 1099 and 1042-S reports that offer submission-ready documents to superintend reporting to federal and state authorities, including withholdings. The tax compliance features are KPMG-approved meets all IRS requirements. 
  • Swiftly Send Invoices: Send invoices via email or upload them to their portal to track their progress with the inventory management component. Users can deliver invoices directly to their accounts payable alias, import them directly from the supplier or AP Hubs and clone protection notifications if the bill looks similar to a previous invoice. 
  • Customize Purchase Orders (PO) Agreements: Work with PO operations that save users time and effort thanks to the PO matching apparatus. Users gain greater compliance with their company's purchasing policies. Every invoice goes through benchmark optical character recognition (OCR), advanced data collection and approval operations before the payment is processed. 
  • Meet International Tax Compliances: Leverage local and VAT tax ID collection for non-US payers via the tax and VAT compliance feature. This tool can monitor document collection for European regions so vendors may add supplementary information accordingly and activate self-billing invoices when suppliers need to approve invoices before handling them. 
  • Full Payment Visibility: Keep suppliers in the loop about processed payments in addition to failed expenditures and why they failed with the global payment appliance. Suppliers may also review their complete payment history with the online portal function, eliminating spent-hours on troubleshooting. This component notifies payees if additional details are needed to complete the payment, whether or not tax forms need updates and more. 
  • Perform Payee Approval Self-Billing: Generate bills and mark them as pending payee approval or pending payee invoice — depending on their specific country — with the self-billing appliance. This apparatus formulates bills via API or CSV and enables payees to receive email alerts to approve bills. Payees may approve bills or provide emails as well as initiate payments that align with payee preferences. 
  • Integrate with Other ERP and Accounting Software: Sync payment results with their ERP or accounting solutions automatically via the payment reconciliation tool. This tool reduces extra work for teams within a user's business, diminishes errors and depletes unnecessary stress during close processes. 
  • Upkeep Archives of Suspicious Actions: Stay on top of threatening activities by keeping backlogs of case records to know who evaluated a case, its assessment date, the outcome and why with the detect appliance. Users can print intricate payee reports to review why a payee is blocked and what stage of risk the payee inhabits. This tool aids users in stopping swindlers before making a payment, saving their company money. 

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All Financial Management Systems (124 found)

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FreeAgent

by FreeAgent Central
FreeAgent
FreeAgent is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers. It streamlines tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and tax filing, offering a user-friendly interface and mobile app for on-the-go management. FreeAgent shines for its intuitive design and automation features, making it ideal for those with limited accounting knowledge. Key benefits include automatic bank feeds, expense categorization with receipt scanning, and HMRC-compliant VAT returns. Popular features like project tracking and time billing further cater to freelancers and service-based businesses. Compared to similar products, user reviews praise FreeAgent's ease of use and excellent customer support. However, its focus on simplicity may lack the advanced features sought by larger businesses or those with complex accounting needs. Pricing starts at a monthly subscription fee, with additional costs for features like multiple users or payroll. FreeAgent offers a free trial to allow potential users to test its capabilities before committing. Pros Easy to use Mobile app access Automated tasks Freelancer-friendly Good customer support Cons Limited features for complex needs Higher cost for multiple users Not ideal for large businesses Invoice customization limited Reporting could be more robust
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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$10 or less
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Buyer's Guide

Financial Management Systems Are All About Maximizing Financial Potential

Financial Management Systems BG Intro

Any business worth investing in needs some kind of financial accountability in order to monitor incoming and outgoing funds, maximize profits and ensure compliance with local and federal regulations. Accounting software and financial management systems are perfect for filling these needs. But with so many options on the market, how do you decide which one is right for your business?

In this article, we’ll go over the benefits and features of financial management systems, as well as recommend a few of the most popular product picks, so you can find the right solution for your business.

Executive Summary

  • Financial management systems are a form of accounting software that help you trace incoming and outgoing money in order to give you a complete, accurate picture of your finances.
  • Key features include automated data entry, accounts payable and receivable, and reporting and visualization.
  • Be sure to ask questions internally and of the vendors before committing to a purchase.
What This Guide Covers:

What Are Financial Management Systems?

A financial management system is a program or set of programs that help a business manage its income and expenses. This can be a standalone software solution or part of a larger suite of accounting software, enabling integration with other pieces of software that your business may be using to make the transition easier.

Primary Benefits

Financial Management Systems Primary Benefits

Better Visibility

Using a financial management system to track your incoming and outgoing funds and engaging in the best financial management practices allows you to share up-to-date information with employees and stakeholders, increasing transparency and trust in your business operations. You can also submit this information as reports to ensure compliance with regulations in various regions.

Reduced Errors

Financial management systems can use automation tools to automatically populate your accounting databases with information from various transactions, ensuring consistency between database locations. It also reduces the potential for typos that may occur from human data entry operators, further increasing trust in your business.

Increased Efficiency

Having access to real-time information about transactions and other money-related operations through financial management systems allows you to save time that would otherwise be spent on data entry and digging for information. This frees you and your staff up to carry out more important high-level tasks that can’t be automated and require more attention to detail.

Key Features & Functionality

Reporting and Visualization

A good financial management system provides functionality to read, understand and interpret financial data, helping any user share information with others and make important business decisions based on previous monetary trends.

Risk Management

Alongside real-time visibility to help mitigate theft and fraud, financial management systems also include dedicated risk management modules and security features to help make sure information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Automated Data Entry

Financial management systems work alongside other accounting software to populate databases in real time as transactions occur, making sure you have the most accurate information on your performance.

Accounts Payable and Receivable

Financial management systems can help not only keep track of short-term debts that you owe and others owe to you, but can also help you collect on accounts receivable debts through invoicing and reconcile accounts payable debts with automatic payments.

Revenue Management

You can easily use financial management systems to contribute to revenue management, leveraging the accurate data you receive to predict customer behavior and adjust the prices of your business’s goods and services accordingly.

Software Comparison Strategy

With so many software options available, deciding on the best financial management system for your business can be an overwhelming process.

To make things easier, start by making a list of the features your business absolutely needs. Where does your current accounting process fall short? What do you hope the software will help you achieve?

From there, select three to five software options that meet your requirements and help you carry out the best practices in financial management before reaching out to vendors and starting conversations.

If you need more help with this process, try our comparison reporting tool to compare leading software options side by side.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

While considering your budget for financial management systems, be sure to keep the following factors in mind.

Company Size

Financial management systems can vary greatly in price depending on how many users will need access. If you have a dedicated accounting department, they’ll likely be the only ones you need to onboard. If not, you may need to onboard your entire organization, resulting in a higher cost.

Current Software

A less robust financial management system option can sometimes be a smart financial decision if your business already makes use of software that covers some financial needs. However, it can also be useful to replace your current software with a completely new system, though this is usually more expensive.

Deployment

Using cloud-based software usually means you can expect a lower cost of entry, but you’ll need to pay a subscription fee each month rather than a single upfront payment as you would with an on-premise software option.

The Most Popular Financial Management Systems

Now that you know how a financial management system can help your business, where do you start looking on your shopping trip? We’ve compiled three of the most popular options on the market below.

QuickBooks Online

If there’s one name you can trust in finance, it’s QuickBooks. Intuit has been making their flagship accounting software since 1983, and their most recent version uses the cloud to meet all your financial management system needs. It’s accessible from any connected device and runs on a subscription basis, ensuring a low cost of entry for any business.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online has a user-friendly interface to help any employee understand their business’s finances.

Freshbooks

Built from the ground up for small businesses, Freshbooks is perfect for companies looking for their first financial management system. It contains a powerful invoicing module to help you collect on short- and long-term debts, as well as a full suite of core accounting features to help your business manage its finances in real time.

Freshbooks

Freshbooks makes invoicing easy with drag-and-drop templates.

Xero

One of the most customizable solutions on the market, Xero allows you to configure your financial management system to fit your specific business needs through a marketplace of over 700 third-party add-ons. These work alongside an easy-to-use dashboard and simple yet informative visuals that even the most amateur user can understand.

Xero

Xero is well-equipped to handle any financial management duties. Source

 

 

Questions To Ask

To get a better understanding of your company’s requirements, ask yourself these guiding questions:

  • What’s our budget?
  • How many employees will use the software?
  • Will our employees need training to use the software?
  • What features do we need the most?
  • Is this compatible with our existing software?

Financial Management Systems Key Questions

Here are a few questions to ask potential vendors to help you learn more about the software and vendor:

  • How many years of expertise do you have in the industry?
  • What customer support and training do you offer?
  • Is the software customizable to specific business needs?
  • Do you have experience working with businesses in our industry?
  • What data security features does the software offer?

Next Steps

Financial management systems are a crucial part of ensuring your business’s accounting operations are running at an optimal level. If you’re ready for the next step, check out our free comparison report to see how top solutions on the market stack up. Good luck!

Product Comparisons

Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Technical Content Writer
Khaleel Hayes is a Technical Content Writer for SelectHub, with over 4 years of experience crafting content for manufacturing, PLM, ERP and technology selection audiences. He's also a freelance writer in his spare time. His body of work includes poetry, short plays, feature articles and film reviews either self-published or in Denver publications. He graduated with a B.A. in Journalism and an English minor from Metropolitan State University of Denver in May 2018. When not writing, he enjoys classic movies and music, tasty burgers, tasteful bookstores, and breathtaking art and photography.
Technical Research By Rohit Dutta Mazumder
Senior Analyst
Hailing from the serene landscapes of Assam, India, Rohit is a seasoned professional with diverse expertise in several software categories. Armed with a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Operations Management, he brings a unique blend of technical acumen and strategic thinking to the table. His proficiency extends across dynamic fields such as Product Lifecycle Management, Hotel Management, Ecommerce, Accounting and Finance.
Technical Review By Shashank K K
Principal Analyst
After graduating with a Masters in Finance from Trinity College Dublin, K K Shashank's research and detail-oriented skills led them to SelectHub. He has diverse knowledge across various software categories like Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Ecommerce, Risk Management, PLM, Insurance and more since 2020.
Edited By Hunter Lowe
Content Editor
Hunter Lowe is a Content Editor, Writer and Market Analyst at SelectHub. His team covers categories that range from ERP and business intelligence to transportation and supply chain management. Hunter is an avid reader and Dungeons and Dragons addict who studied English and Creative Writing through college. In his free time, you'll likely find him devising new dungeons for his players to explore, checking out the latest video games, writing his next horror story or running around with his daughter.