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December 16, 2009

Pulse – Managing Your Cash Flow Online

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If you’re a small business owner or a freelancer, Pulse is an application that has been designed as a way to better manage your cash flow and income. Built specifically for small businesses that may not have a large accounting firm handling their finances, Pulse offers the tools to help users make more informed financial plans and decisions. In addition to basic accounting tools, the application allows users to enter their income, expenses, and invoices, and offers spreadsheets and charting tools that make financial forecasting a snap.

After signing up for a Pulse account, you can get started quickly by adding your income and expenses. Not only can Pulse organize the funds you have paid and received, but it can organize your projected income and expenses as well. Using this information, Pulse can help you plan for the future—determining when would be the best time to hire a new employee or take on a new client. Pulse can quickly create customized financial reports, and lets you add or remove companies from the list of businesses you frequently work with.

While Pulse is far from alone in the category of financial applications focused on small businesses, what sets this application apart is its emphasis on forecasting and planning. The site’s extensive charting and projections tools make it easy for small business owners to plan for the future and estimate what their financial outlook will be in the months and years to come. Not only that, but depending on your account level, the site allows multiple users to manage an account at once. If you are at all interested in growing your company and determining what it’ll take to get there, Pulse is definitely an application worth checking out.

Practical Uses:

  • Stay organized when managing your company’s finances
  • Create a financial forecast and plan for the future
  • Determine the best time to hire a new employee
  • Give your business partners or investors access to the company’s financial accounts

Insider Tips:

  • Transfer your company’s information directly from Basecamp or Highrise into Pulse
  • Track potential income and expenses
  • Keep records of past income, as well as present
  • Make separate income charts for each vendor or company you work with

What we liked:

  • Easy to import and export financial information with other programs
  • Straightforward layout makes Pulse a good option for novice users
  • Ability to attach PDF invoices to any income or expenses records

What we didn’t like:

  • Solo accounts offer only 1 GB of information storage, which might not be enough for some companies

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: May 2009
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky and Chicago, Illinois
  • Founded by: Aaron Boeving and Stephen Rainey
  • Web site: http://pulseapp.com

Costs:

  • Free 30 day trial
  • Solo accounts are $9/month
  • Standard accounts are $14/month
  • Premium accounts are $24/month

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