How to Manage Finances Without an ERP (or Accounting Software)

How to Manage Finances Without an ERP (or Accounting Software)
A tactical guide for founders, freelancers, and lean teams managing company finances without a full ERP system.

1. Build a Finance Stack in Spreadsheets

Your spreadsheet can become your CFO if you know how to use it right:

• Transactions Ledger: Create one sheet to rule them all. Use columns like Date, Description, Category, Amount, Payment Method, and Status.
  
• SUMIF + QUERY: Pull totals by category, month, or vendor.
  
• Rolling Budget: Compare forecast vs. actuals. Colour-code overruns.
  
• Dashboard Tab: Visualise cash flow, burn rate, and profit trends.
  
  

Qashio Tip: Use IMPORTRANGE() in Google Sheets to automatically consolidate data across tabs or projects.

2. Create a Lightweight Filing System in Google Drive

Keep financial documents organised and easily accessible:

Suggested Folder Structure:

• /Finance/Invoices/Sent  
• /Finance/Invoices/Received  
• /Finance/Receipts  
• /Finance/Payroll  
• /Finance/Tax  

Use a consistent naming convention: e.g., 2025-06_ClientName_Invoice001.pdf to make audits easier.

Qashio Tip: Create a monthly "Finance Backup" ZIP file with all key documents.

3. Work Like a Bookkeeper

You don’t need accounting complicated software. You need better structure:

• Pay with a company card: Use a dedicated company card. Don’t mix in personal expenses, it can complicate reconciliation at month-end.
  
• Give employees corporate cards: Tools like Qashio let you issue unlimited corporate cards, making reimbursements obsolete and accounting cleaner.
  
• Centralise funds: Route all income through one bank, payment gateway, or spend solution for cleaner exports.
  
• Monthly reconciliation: Match your spreadsheet with your bank/card CSVs.
  
• Invoice log: Track date issued, amount, due date, and paid date. Colour overdue rows red.
  
• Qashio Tip: Use Google Forms with file upload to let teammates submit expenses auto-logged in Sheets.
  
  

4. Forecast Like a CFO

You don’t always need an ERP like Xero or Quickbooks to plan ahead:

• Scenario sheets: Build best-case, conservative, and worst-case tabs. Use =IF and % tweaks to test different revenue/cost assumptions.
  
• Cash runway calculator: Know how many months of burn your current balance can cover.
  
• Qashio Tip: Add a burn-rate graph using SPARKLINE for instant visual feedback.
  
  

5. Review with a Schedule

Discipline is everything for financial hygiene:

• Weekly: Update transactions, check balances, follow up on unpaid invoices.
  
• Monthly: Run budget vs. actuals, reconcile accounts, clean up folders.
  
• Quarterly: Back up all data, analyse major spenders/savers, and set new targets.
  
  

6. Use Qashio

Qashio let's you :

• Make all business payments from one platform
  
• Create unlimited corporate cards to maintain segregation of spend
  
• Pull detailed reports and gain visibility across the entire business
  
  

As an added bonus, Qashio also integrates directly with most ERP. Which means it can scale with your business.

Speak to the team to find out more