In today’s day and age, everything is digital. Businesses of the past traditionally had to record all transactions, debits, and credits on paper. Financial statements had to be drawn up for tax purposes through an arduous process in which a bookkeeper went back through a year of transactions. Fortunately, the advent of technology has helped to streamline business processes across the board. Bookkeeping is no exception. Today we have QuickBooks Online and MindBody.
You should be freed up to do what you love when running your yoga studio. Exploring online accounting software is the best way to ensure that you will not get caught up in a stressful financial situation; something that often happens when small business owners handle bookkeeping themselves.
Below are some of the best reasons to choose online accounting software:
- Bookkeeping automation ensures accurate and quick recording
- Simplified taxes from having all transactions stored in one place
- Running history of your business makes setting target goals easier
- Comprehensive insight into the financial health of your yoga studio
The benefits of switching to an online accounting software rather than paper bookkeeping are endless. Choosing which software to use, however, can be far more difficult. Let us look at two of the leading options and break them down to see which one can help simplify your business more.
Mindbody
Mindbody boasts a proprietary software that allows you to schedule clients, manage staff and payroll, and run reports from an all-in-one dashboard. Using Mindbody, you can post your schedule anywhere for clients to see and it will even automatically update when a client books a spot in your class. Payments can all be handled through the service.
Your staff will also have access to the general calendar and can make changes according to their own schedules. The software will also clock in staff and handle commissions. If you previously used ADP, Paychex, or Exact Payroll, then you can simply integrate with Mindbody.
The software also offers ready-to-go performance charts that track stats like sales, payments, clients, and inventory for your yoga studio.
Mindbody offers a high level of service with 1-on-1 setup and training; along with 24/7 mobile support. They also help small business owners by providing business education resources that can help you take your yoga studio to the next level. However, Mindbody is also known for its steep learning curve and expensive price tag. Mindbody users also get more “fluff” services and fewer financial services.
Highlighted services offered by Mindbody:
- List your business and services in the Mindbody app
- Schedule classes, appointments, and resources
- Manage clients and staff
- Product inventory tracking
- Payroll supports
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online, not unlike Mindbody, offers an all-in-one dashboard. However, QuickBooks Online specializes in accounting and payroll needs. From this dashboard, you can handle accounts payable and receivable, invoicing, expense management, and financial reporting.
This software allows a user to snap a photo of a receipt and QuickBooks will match that receipt to a listed expense. This can help keep you and your expenditures more organized. Quickbooks Online does not allow you to create a schedule for your clients, but it does accept payments and has payroll capabilities.
Quickbooks Online is optimized for small businesses only whereas Mindbody is optimized for small businesses and medium enterprises. Due to this, their pricing model is far cheaper while including many of the same features as Mindbody. The learning curve is steep for both Mindbody and Quickbooks Online, however, I offer specialized Quickbooks training if you run into trouble.
Highlighted services offered by QuickBooks Online:
- Send invoices and payments
- Track income/expenses
- Manage and pay bills
- Track sales and sales tax
- Capture and automatically organize receipts
- Run insightful reports on key business metrics
If you are looking for software that handles overall business management tasks, then Mindbody may be for you. However, if bookkeeping services are strictly what you require, then Quickbooks Online is the better choice.
Regardless of your decision, switching away from paper bookkeeping and relying on automated accounting services will help to simplify your yoga studio and allow you to get back to doing what you love.