Are you a new freelancer? Or have you been self-employed for years and never really got the hang of managing your finances?

For many contract workers, hiring an accountant just isn’t worth the expense. However, that leaves you in charge of crunching the numbers, which can be tricky if you don’t have much experience.

Making mistakes in your accounts can lead to an unrealistic picture of your financial situation, problems with your tax payments, and issues with tracking expenses.

Luckily, all of these issues are easily avoided when you start using bookkeeping software.

Most software is extremely intuitive, meaning that even the least tech-savvy freelancer should have no issues using it. You’ll stay up-to-date on all your transactions, and there won’t be any nasty surprises come tax season.

Not convinced?

Keep reading for five compelling reasons to give bookkeeping software a try.

You’ll have an accurate real-time view of your finances

How often do currently log your profits and expenses? And how regularly do you take a look at your finances to gauge whether any changes need to be made?

If you don’t have a system for doing your accounts, there’s a good chance that weeks or months pass without you knowing exactly how well you’re doing financially, which isn’t smart.

When you use bookkeeping software, it’s easy to log income the second you receive it, keep track of sent invoices, and track your expenses. You’ll see a handy list of totals for the month, year, or any other period you decide to specify.

Instead of working away blindly, hoping that you’re earning enough, you’ll know exactly what you’re bringing in day-to-day.

You’ll save money by tracking expenses correctly

Do you track your business expenses consistently, or only when you remember to save the receipt for a purchase?

Forgetting to log expenses means you could end up paying more tax than you need to, and stops you from getting a clear picture of your business spending. Most bookkeeping software makes it easy to log expenses via a mobile or desktop app - in many cases, you can even take photos of receipts instead of scanning them in.

If you do a lot of business spending, using bookkeeping software will save you tons of time.

You’ll always pay the correct amount of tax

Ask any freelancer what they hate most about being self-employed, and there’s a good chance the answer will be ‘taxes.’

If you’re bad at tracking your income, tax season can be an absolute nightmare of going through old invoices, bank statements, and receipts to try and figure everything out. If you make mistakes, you risk being hit with penalties or legal repercussions.

When you use bookkeeping software, all these problems will melt away. Since you’re tracking your income daily, you won’t need to search for old documents months later, and there’s much less risk of making errors.

You’ll also be given an estimate of your tax throughout the year, allowing you to save accordingly, instead of panicking when you’re hit with a bill.

It’s always smart to keep up-to-date with the latest tax news and developments, and not having to spend hours on your finances each month means you’ll have time to read more about any recent changes.

Managing your finances as a freelancer can be hard.

If you don’t want to spend a small fortune on hiring an accountant, using bookkeeping software is the smartest thing you can do. You’ll have a clearer picture of your finances, will find it easier to track expenses, and won’t be caught out by tax.