Owning and running your own business can be a real challenge. In this article, entrepreneur and researcher Maryam Zafar shares some of the common financial issues female entrepreneurs face and recommended some nifty online solutions.

Based on one study, researchers found that men are promoted at materially higher rates than women. They also found that women are far more likely to leave the industry or to reduce their level of ambition just at the point in their careers when they need to make the effort to push towards the top.

Meanwhile, we know that although female entrepreneurship plays a key role in creating jobs and driving economic growth, many women are still facing multiple challenges that cause hindrance in their growth and business sustainability.

We firmly believe that creating equal opportunities for women in business is not only a question of gender equality, but also an economic priority. The only way to help women entrepreneurs succeed and be more engaged in business is spreading financial management literacy.

The first and utmost challenge that most of the female entrepreneurs mentioned fell into the category of managing and/or raising money. As they needed initial investments to fund their startups and later, they were in need of even more funding to grow and truly thrive in their respective, competitive industries.

Financial management is a key skill for all business owners and is essential to helping female entrepreneurs start and run a small business. It is a complex, multi-faceted skill that takes time to master, but there are aspects that women entrepreneurs can start to focus on today, which can ensure not only that their small businesses are successful, but that their business finances are managed as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Many women-led small and medium-size businesses need business advice, training, and support for further growth. These include practical business training for women entrepreneurs to develop essential entrepreneurial skills like financial literacy, marketing techniques, and e-commerce. From developing leadership abilities to deepening one’s business acumen, women should attend seminars that bring together female entrepreneurs to share the resources available and where they can meet with business professionals and representatives from different organizations supporting this niche market, including various business associations, Chambers of Commerce, women’s associations, and more.

Any business that needs to conserve cash and operate on a tight budget requires tools to help owners and managers make good decisions. In today’s fast-paced business environment, these choices may have to get made very quickly. With the right software, women business owners can use their own past data to help them make the right decision without having to rely upon guesswork.

Women entrepreneurs need to learn a lot of different things in order to run successful companies. They must learn to lead, establish a positive company culture, and promote their companies and themselves. Obviously, the first goal of any business is to increase revenue, but poor money management can be a huge pitfall for small businesses, and companies that want to stay afloat need to develop a plan for smart money management.

Fortunately, technology can help. Money management tools intended for entrepreneurs are exploding up everywhere, and using them can give you the edge you need to ace your finances. Here, I am sharing efficient tools that can help women entrepreneurs in day-to-day operations.

Xero
Xero is an online accounting platform designed for small businesses. It is meant to simplify accounting and bookkeeping and allow you to keep them in-house. Xero offers real-time cash flow analysis, online invoicing, simple expense claim forms, and compatibility with Mac, PC, smartphones, and tablets. One of the first tools to make it simple to keep your finances in line, Xero is your first stop for better financial management.

Shoeboxed
If you’re not keeping track of your receipts, tax time becomes a real hair-puller. Fortunately, Shoeboxed makes scanning, digitizing and uploading your receipts easy. It also allows you to move them from that, ahem, shoebox where you’ve been keeping them.
Featuring human data verification, fully searchable databases, and a simple mileage tracking system for entrepreneurs that drive for business, Shoeboxed is a smart way to make tracking company expenses simple and straightforward.

Wave
If you have employees to pay, Wave is your tool. Processing an average of 96,255 annual payroll orders each year, Wave is a multi-purpose platform that helps you scan receipts, send invoices, track expenses, and accept credit card payments.

Unlike some other tools, however, it also allows you to pay your team no matter where you are in the world. With guaranteed accuracy, direct deposit and simple online pay stubs, Wave makes payroll easier and more straightforward for you and your team.

inDinero
inDinero is the ideal tool for developing a realistic picture of your finances. With a simple, graphic-dense dashboard, inDinero shows you how much income you have, how much you’ve spent and what the difference is at any given moment. It also shows you how much cash you’re predicted to have in a month if you’re spending habits stay the same. Ideal for anyone who wants to cut back, save more or allocate resources in a different way, inDinero is the go-to tool.

Improving Financial Management

Along with financial management tips, use these management tools to get a handle on your finances and improve your business in the coming year and get geared towards becoming better at managing your company finances and the small business as a whole.

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