Keeping on top of finances can be a challenge, especially if you're balancing personal and business accounts. 

And while nothing beats a good accountant or book keeper, there are a range of apps out there that make balancing your books and budget that much easier.

Here are five of our favourites.

Mint

Mint is a great jack-of-all-trades app that helps manage your personal finances. Connect all your bank accounts and credit cards and Mint will take snapshot of your overall financial situation and create a budget that suits your needs.

Expenses are tracked and categorised in real time update, and the fact that Mint is free sweetens the deal that little bit more. You'll just need to sign up for a Mint.com account first.

Bill Tracker

As the name suggest, BIll Tracker helps you keep track of all your bills.

With an easy to use interface Bill Tracker keeps you up to date with due dates, amounts owed and reminders when bills are due or overdue. You can also set up recurring payments for ongoing bills like mobile phone plans. 

iExpenseonline

This sensible app has been designed by financial advisors and provides tools for managing your financial situation more effectively.

iExpenseonline offers handy budgeting tips and tricks, sets up financial goals and prioritises spending. Think of it at the good fiscal angel on your shoulder.
 

OfficeTime

Office Time is great for small business owners, freelancers and contractors. The app helps you track how much time is spent on projects by tracking billable hours and generating invoices and reports based on the data.

Office time can be used on Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad and synchs across devices.

Debt Minder

No one likes being in debt, but the best way to get out of debt is to manage it. Debt Minder manages debts for large purchases such as houses, cars and credit cards, and tracks how you're paying them off.

The app also creates tailored plans so you can pay off the debt in the most efficient way for your circumstances. It isn't all spreadsheets and data points either, Deb Minder's colour-coded graphics make it easy to visualise where your money is going – and how to bring it back to you. 

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