Owning your own small business can be a real nightmare. It’s so liberating, and so exciting…but come tax time, it’s also a major headache. if you need a hand with bookkeeping, tax deductions, or just making sure that you’re staying in the black, a mobile bookkeeping app can be a real lifesaver. One interesting option is an app called Outright, which was developed by Outright, Inc.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

Outright is a bookkeeping application for small businesses.

Pros

• Specifically targeted towards and well-suited for small businesses and their needs
• Easily builds pie charts and bar graphs to help you visualize your business
• Track mileage and receipts (and also includes the ability to store photographs of the receipts)
• Great for businesses that do a lot of their business online: App tracks your eBay, Etsy, PayPal, Amazon accounts, and bank/credit cards
• Customer support team is US-based
• Used and trusted by 350,000+ people
• Tracks sales tax
• Tracks estimated tax owed per quarter
• Automatically fills out tax forms: just print and hand over to your accountant!
• Helps you stay organized, relieving headaches around your quarterly and yearly tax calculations

Cons

• App aesthetics may not appeal to all users
• App requires you to set up an account prior to use (though this does not take a terribly long time to take care of, it is a minor annoyance)
• Some users have complained about the lack of customization options
• App doesn’t appear to sync/allow data import with top online tax filing programs, which would be handy

Discussion

Even the smallest of small businesses (a sole proprietorship, for example) has a ton of paperwork to manage. Sales tax, income tax, federal tax, expenses, mileage deductions…it can be a major headache, especially when you have to calculate it all at once, for an entire year. This app makes tracking less of a hassle, and can help you get a head start on next quarter’s (or next year’s) taxes.

I particularly like the ability to create profit and loss charts, and the fact that there are multiple ways to breakdown your expenses into lush visual charts. Being able to attach images of your receipts to your notes is super handy, and there’s a ton of space for adding detailed, organized notes to each receipt stub.

This app, unlike many other apps of its ilk, feels like it was truly designed for the small business owner who is constantly on the go. The app feels perfectly suited for mobile transactions and notetaking, and that’s a really nice feeling to have when managing your business on your phone.

Conclusion and download link

I’m of the opinion that there is no “perfect” app out there for small business bookkeeping, accounting, and tax document help. That being said, Outright is pretty decent all around. It’s a sturdy app with a growing following, and a really robust list of things it can track for you. It’s an app to try out, and to keep watching: I have a sneaking suspicion that this app will only get better with age.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 1.15

Supported OS: Requires iOS 5.0 or later

Download size: 9.9 MB

Outright on Apple App Store