iPhone Apps Help Musicians Take Care of Business

iPhone apps make life a bit easier, especially for artists in the music industry. I’ve been using an iPhone for Growth Group now for 3 years! In that time, I’ve come across a few iPhone apps that make a musicians career manageable.

I’ve covered why I love the companies behind these music business iPhone apps in a previous post, which included a few of my favorite cloud business products. Xero, Expensify, Bill.com and Docusign will help musicians take care of business, all from the palm of your hand (each of the iPhone apps are available as iPad apps too, score!). Here’s my recommended iPhone apps for musicians:

1. Xero iPhone app

Why would a musician download an accounting iPhone app? Good question! You should keep good records, not just produce them. Your music is business if you plan on making money. Record-keeping (aka bookkeeping) helps track how much you will owe in taxes to the IRS, ensures cash keeps flowing in, and eyes your bank account all in one place. Learn more about Xero. Growth Group is a certified Xero partner, and can help with the accounting for your music business.

2. Expensify App

Expensify is a must have for any touring musician. The Expensify iPhone app keeps track of your mileage using the built-in GPS on your iPhone, my favorite feature. Throw away (okay, my bad recycle) those paper receipts after snapping a picture from your iPhone camera when using Expensify. Flights, hotels, shuttles and taxis, when traveling for performances are tax deductible, and this app makes April 15 a breeze for a musician with this app. You can send the reports to your music tax accountant easily! Speaking of tax deductions, I’ve talked before about the iPhone tax write off for musicians.

3. Bill.com “app”

Want to pay your backup singers, dancers, and band members? Or, how about getting paid faster after a gig? You can when you use Bill.com! It’s easy to use, cheaper than PayPal (when using a bank account), and integrates with Xero (that accounting app we chatted about earlier). Venues where you play and other artist you back-up may now direct deposit your performance income to your bank account. Although this is a mobile version of the full Bill.com website, it is still very useful as an iPhone app. Growth Group is Bill.com Certified and therefore super qualified to get you all setup to start raking in the money!

4. DocuSign App

Smart musicians sign contracts- with venues, instrumentalists, backup singers/dancers, studios, and music accountants- to protect themselves. Faxing is near death and you probably don’t own an old school fax machine, I don’t. So, when you need get a performance contract signed fast, use the DocuSign iPhone app, even from on the road! Your agreements with other businesses in the music industry are crucial to your success as an artist, being able to deliver contracts for signature or signing quickly, not only screams professional musician, but makes other music industry professionals want to work with you again. Sign or send music contracts from your iPhone using DocuSign.

If you’re paying more than $600,  you must send musicians IRS Form W-9 to report their income, using the Docusign app is a great way to do this on the go, right when they say “yes.” You may also send form W-9 to a vocalist, choreographer, videographer, photographer, etc.

Each of the iPhone apps I love for musicians are FREE, yes the big F. DocuSign and Expensify have options that are always free, while Bill.com and Xero require a monthly subscription to the normal desktop service to be of use. Although, Xero and Bill.com are paid services, each offer a free trial period. If you’d like to know more about how to use these iPhone apps, or to get started managing your music business finances, give us a call, I’d love to hear from you.

What iPhone apps do you use regularly as a musician?