The Best Mobile Apps for CFOs

CFOs aren’t known for being fast adopters of new technology.

But savvy CFOs are using smartphone apps to work better, faster and cheaper, says four-time CFO John Kogan, now president and CEO of Proformative, an online community for finance professionals.

“You’ll see the smart guys working away between meetings and at the airport because they’ve got their apps. They just can’t afford a lot of idle time,” Kogan says.

Most mobile apps are either free or a few dollars each, and many are extensions of trusted enterprise software that mid-sized firms already use.

Here are 10 ways mobile apps can help finance executives at mid-sized companies stay informed and productive on the go.

1. Perform Calculations on the Fly
Rather than lug a laptop or calculator to meetings, use phone or tablet apps to crunch numbers. Valentine McGovern, partner and CFO of Sullivan, a Madison Avenue marketing agency, favors LoanShark (runs on Apple’s iOS operating system for iPhone and iPad; $2.99), a loan amortization calculator that he uses during meetings to assess whether to lease a piece of equipment. “It definitely speeds up that decision process,” McGovern says. Groupon CFO Jason Child swears by an HP 12C Financial Calculator app (iOS; $14.99), the smartphone version of Hewlett-Packard’s $69.99 financial calculator. Child also uses iCurrencyPlus (iOS; $1.99) to get real-time updates on exchange rates. “I only really care about 10 currencies,” Child explains. “It’s nice to get them preselected on my iPhone.”

2. Access Your Desktop Remotely
Being away from the office doesn’t mean you can’t access your desktop computer. Use LogMeIn Ignition (iOS, Android; $29.99) and GoToMyPC (iPad only; free with $19.95/month web account) to operate a laptop or desktop computer from a mobile device. “I never travel with anything other than my iPhone anymore because I can access my computer anywhere in the world with it,” says Ralph Presciutti, a LogMeIn enthusiast and technology partner at Tatum, a Georgia CFO outsourcing and consulting company. Two web-based data storage sites, Box (iOS, Android, BlackBerry; free with $15/user/month web account), and Dropbox (iOS, Android, Blackberry; free), give users remote access to files and let them share data with colleagues. “If a team of five people needs access to one document, these apps make it incredibly simple to collaborate,” Proformative’s Kogan says.

3. Access Databases Remotely
As CFOs work away from their desks more, they need a way to mine company databases from anywhere. “That quick, easy access can make a real difference when you’re meeting with others and trying to negotiate terms or propose deals,” Presciutti says. Database apps include DataGlass (iOS; free), with mobile access to Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase and other databases, and the mobile versions of CRM platforms NetSuite (iOS; free with product license) and Salesforce (iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile; free with paid web subscription). Tuan Pham, CFO of Case-Mate, an Atlanta maker of cases for mobile devices, considers NetSuite one of his top smartphone apps. “It lets me track the business in real time,” says Pham, who logged 40,000 business miles last quarter. “No matter where I am in the world, I know exactly how many sales we have and how much cash we have in the bank.”

4. Keep Credentials Secure
Apps such as Keeper (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile; $29.99/year) and DataVault (iOS, $9.99; BlackBerry, $29.99) keep passwords and logins safe. “I have hundreds of logins — security codes, credit card numbers, account numbers and other credentials,” says Dan LaFontaine, CFO of New York social marketing agency Mr Youth, whose seven-person operations and finance team uses DataVault. “I can track all of my logins and it’s completely secure. All that I have to remember is one password.”

5. Simplify Travel
Travel management apps such as Concur (iOS, Android, BlackBerry; free with paid web subscription) and TripIt (iOS, Android, BlackBerry; free with paid web subscription) deliver itineraries to your smartphone. “When I’m at the airport, I open my TripIt app and it’s got everything laid out for me,” Proformative’s Kogan says. “It’s insanely easy, and there’s no data entry at all.” Inside the airport, an app called FlightTrack (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Palm; $4.99) shows which gate a flight leaves from and if it’s on time. If you rent a car, navigation apps such as MotionX-GPS Drive (iOS; $2.99) and TomTom (iOS; $49.99-$119.99, depending on country) direct you to your destination. Or use Taxi Magic (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Palm; free), Cabulous (iOS; free) or Uber (iOS, Android; free) to book a cab or car service.

6. Track Expenses
File expense receipts from the road with apps such as Concur and Expensify (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Palm; free with $5/user/month web account), which offer paperless expense reporting for both submitters and approvers. “It lets you take photos of your receipts,” says Expensify fan Ken Kaufman, founder and CEO of CFOwise, a team of part-time CFOs and business finance consultants. “You can set it up to automatically submit to whoever reimburses you, so it speeds up the process of getting paid,” he says.

7. Stay Productive
Take advantage of found time. If a flight’s late, review a report or spreadsheet using Documents To Go (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Nokia; $9.99-$29.99, depending on device), which lets you open and manipulate Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and other files. “It’s not just a reader, you can actually edit documents with it,” Kaufman says. “It’s one of the more expensive apps, but it’s worth it.” Child, whose commute to Groupon is 40 minutes each way, says the Dragon Dictation (iOS; free) voice-recognition app is a lifesaver. “I can verbally create emails while I’m driving,” he says. The program also sends email.

8. Keep up with News
Use the Bloomberg mobile app (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Nokia; free) to follow breaking business news or track stocks worldwide. “Everything is in real time, which helps a lot,” says Case-Mate’s Pham. App such as Pulse News Reader (iOS, Android; free) and Flipboard (iPad only; free) organize and display news sites and finance feeds. “Pulse is like a dashboard where you can place your top 20 websites,” Pham says. Because of the app, “I don’t need to watch TV, and I don’t need to read newspapers,” he says.

9. Engage in Social Media
When it comes to social media, apps aren’t just for reading comments on your company’s Facebook page. The LinkedIn mobile app (iOS, BlackBerry, Palm; free) offers a quick way to research a potential business partner or new hire. “It’s about getting more context going into a meeting or a call,” says LaFontaine, Mr Youth’s CFO. “For recruiting, it’s fantastic.” If you’re on multiple social networks, TweetDeck (iOS, Android; free), organizes Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media accounts. “It saves me from going to each site and posting individually,” says Chris Benjamin, of Rogue CFO, a management consultant and outsourced CFO in Phoenix.

10. Connect with Staff
Use social business apps such as Chatter (iOS, Android, BlackBerry; free) and Yammer (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile; free with web account) and the instant messaging feature on Skype (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Palm; free) to connect with your team in real time. Mr Youth uses Yammer, the private microblogging platform, “to post exciting news, new hires, a new business win,” LaFontaine says. “Across our company, it’s the number one way people stay informed about what’s going on.” Proformative’s de facto mode of internal communication is instant messaging on Skype. “You can see who’s online,” Kogan says. “Unlike email, you know you’re going to get a response. It’s just more convenient.”