Home

/

Stacks

/

The Best Tools to Set Up Your Small Business for Success

The Best Tools to Set Up Your Small Business for Success

Tate Henshaw is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and business management executive focused on making a generational impact through financial literacy education. He's the Co-Founder of ARC – a business management firm that helps entertainers and athletes such as Blake Griffin and Ne-Yo navigate their careers.

Monday, July 14, 2025

Like

10-best-tools-to-set-up-your-small-business-for-success

Share

10-best-tools-to-set-up-your-small-business-for-success

Home

/

Stacks

The Best Tools to Set Up Your Small Business for Success

Tate Henshaw is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and business management executive focused on making a generational impact through financial literacy education. He's the Co-Founder of ARC – a business management firm that helps entertainers and athletes such as Blake Griffin and Ne-Yo navigate their careers.

Monday, July 14, 2025

Like

10-best-tools-to-set-up-your-small-business-for-success

Share

10-best-tools-to-set-up-your-small-business-for-success

Tate Henshaw is an entrepreneur and business management executive focused on making a generational impact in the world through financial literacy education. Headquartered in Atlanta, he is the Co-Founder of ARC – a business management firm that helps entertainers and athletes navigate their careers. With more than 15 years of experience executing for GRAMMY winners, record labels, music companies, athletes, and international tech companies – Tate has earned the title of one of Top 40 Accountants in America by CPA Practice Advisor.

Tate’s clients are diverse and range from multi-platinum R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo to 6x NBA All-Star Blake Griffin, among other figures across all areas of music, movies, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle. His areas of expertise include tax compliance, risk management, estate planning, and wealth management. On top of his day-to-day role, Tate is on the board of Georgia Music Partners – an organization whose mission is to promote both job growth and culture within the state to become one of the country’s best entertainment leaders. He also serves on the board of the Georgia Sports Innovation Coalition, cultivating a thriving sports innovation ecosystem in the state through strategic programs, initiatives, and partnerships.

Contributor

Tate Henshaw

Tate Henshaw is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and business management executive focused on making a generational impact through financial literacy education. Currently, he’s Co-Founder of ARC – a business management firm that helps entertainers and athletes such as Blake Griffin and Ne-Yo navigate their careers. Tate also serves on the boards of Georgia Music Partners and Georgia Sports Innovation Coalition.

Read More

Contributor

Tate Henshaw

Tate Henshaw is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and business management executive focused on making a generational impact through financial literacy education. Currently, he’s Co-Founder of ARC – a business management firm that helps entertainers and athletes such as Blake Griffin and Ne-Yo navigate their careers. Tate also serves on the boards of Georgia Music Partners and Georgia Sports Innovation Coalition.

Xero

We help small businesses thrive worldwide

xero

xero

Accounting

Xero is the best accounting platform I’ve found for artists, managers, and growing indie teams. It’s built for entrepreneurs — simple dashboards, no accounting jargon, and powerful integrations with tools like Stripe and Relay. I prefer it over QuickBooks because most creatives actually use Xero once it’s set up. For artists taking the leap into real business, this is the right software.

Xero

We help small businesses thrive worldwide

xero

xero

Accounting

Xero is the best accounting platform I’ve found for artists, managers, and growing indie teams. It’s built for entrepreneurs — simple dashboards, no accounting jargon, and powerful integrations with tools like Stripe and Relay. I prefer it over QuickBooks because most creatives actually use Xero once it’s set up. For artists taking the leap into real business, this is the right software.

Relay

Be on the money

relay

relay

Banking

Accounting

Relay is a modern digital business bank that makes it easy to separate funds, track income, and manage your cash flow clearly. It connects directly to Xero and supports multiple users — great for managers or labels handling several projects. While traditional banks with Sports & Entertainment divisions are worth exploring later, Relay is where I tell most people to start.

Relay

Be on the money

relay

relay

Banking

Accounting

Relay is a modern digital business bank that makes it easy to separate funds, track income, and manage your cash flow clearly. It connects directly to Xero and supports multiple users — great for managers or labels handling several projects. While traditional banks with Sports & Entertainment divisions are worth exploring later, Relay is where I tell most people to start.

atVenu

The All In One Solution Built For Live Events.

atvenu

atvenu

Tour Logistics

atVenu is built specifically for managing tour merch. It helps with venue settlements, inventory tracking, and reporting — especially when you’re doing multiple dates or handling large orders. It’s become the standard for merch managers on the road and helps avoid costly mistakes at the merch table.

atVenu

The All In One Solution Built For Live Events.

atvenu

atvenu

Tour Logistics

atVenu is built specifically for managing tour merch. It helps with venue settlements, inventory tracking, and reporting — especially when you’re doing multiple dates or handling large orders. It’s become the standard for merch managers on the road and helps avoid costly mistakes at the merch table.

BILL

Run your business—your way. Automate accounts payable and accounts receivable, and seamlessly control spend.

bill

bill

Business Managers

Banking

As your business grows, managing invoices and payments becomes real work. BILL helps you stay on top of who you owe and who owes you — with approval flows, recurring payments, and solid recordkeeping. Some banks now offer this functionality, but BILL is cleaner and more scalable for managers and labels who are paying multiple vendors.

BILL

Run your business—your way. Automate accounts payable and accounts receivable, and seamlessly control spend.

bill

bill

Business Managers

Banking

As your business grows, managing invoices and payments becomes real work. BILL helps you stay on top of who you owe and who owes you — with approval flows, recurring payments, and solid recordkeeping. Some banks now offer this functionality, but BILL is cleaner and more scalable for managers and labels who are paying multiple vendors.

Gusto

Simplifying Payroll, HR, and Benefits for Small Businesses.

gusto

gusto

Back Office (HR, Payroll etc)

If you hire employees — even one — do not run payroll manually. Gusto handles direct deposit, tax filings, onboarding, and compliance. It’s built for small teams and works great for agencies and management companies. Alternatives like ADP Run and Rippling are also solid, especially as your business gets more complex.

Gusto

Simplifying Payroll, HR, and Benefits for Small Businesses.

gusto

gusto

Back Office (HR, Payroll etc)

If you hire employees — even one — do not run payroll manually. Gusto handles direct deposit, tax filings, onboarding, and compliance. It’s built for small teams and works great for agencies and management companies. Alternatives like ADP Run and Rippling are also solid, especially as your business gets more complex.

MileIQ

#1 App for Automatic Mileage Tracking

mileiq

mileiq

Tour Logistics

Accounting

Mileage is one of the easiest tax deductions to miss — especially for artists, tour managers, and anyone driving to shows. MileIQ runs in the background on your phone and logs your drives automatically. At tax time, you export your mileage report, hand it to your CPA, and you’re done. It’s one of the simplest ways to save money.

MileIQ

#1 App for Automatic Mileage Tracking

mileiq

mileiq

Tour Logistics

Accounting

Mileage is one of the easiest tax deductions to miss — especially for artists, tour managers, and anyone driving to shows. MileIQ runs in the background on your phone and logs your drives automatically. At tax time, you export your mileage report, hand it to your CPA, and you’re done. It’s one of the simplest ways to save money.

Stripe

stripe

stripe

Workflow

Stripe is my go-to for accepting payments online — especially for digital products, retainers, or recurring services. It integrates directly with Xero and is developer-friendly if you’re scaling. For on-the-ground payments or merch, Square is a great alternative, and PayPal Business is still widely accepted. But Stripe is best-in-class for modern creative businesses.

Stripe

stripe

stripe

Workflow

Stripe is my go-to for accepting payments online — especially for digital products, retainers, or recurring services. It integrates directly with Xero and is developer-friendly if you’re scaling. For on-the-ground payments or merch, Square is a great alternative, and PayPal Business is still widely accepted. But Stripe is best-in-class for modern creative businesses.

ROSTR

Music industry directory, contacts, data & jobs.

rostr

rostr

Collaboration

Analytics

Industry News & Trades

"We use ROSTR constantly. It’s the best resource in the music business." - Marc Geiger, Chairman and CEO @ SaveLive

Music industry professionals use ROSTR to build their network, discover artists, save time & stay in the loop.

Promoted-Listing

Promoted-Stack-Item

stack-launch

ROSTR

own

rostr-promoted-listing

Promoted

Backline

Backline is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides mental health and wellness resources to the music industry.

backline

backline

Charities & Non-Profits

Mental Health & Wellness

Starting and running a business — especially in music — is emotionally heavy. Backline provides mental health support tailored to artists and touring professionals. From counseling to peer groups, they’re doing vital work in a space that often gets ignored. I recommend it to every client.

Backline

Backline is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides mental health and wellness resources to the music industry.

backline

backline

Charities & Non-Profits

Mental Health & Wellness

Starting and running a business — especially in music — is emotionally heavy. Backline provides mental health support tailored to artists and touring professionals. From counseling to peer groups, they’re doing vital work in a space that often gets ignored. I recommend it to every client.

Ramp

Time is money. Save both.

ramp

ramp

Accounting

Ramp is a smart expense-tracking platform with built-in spend controls, cards, and real-time reporting. It’s great for small labels and management companies handling multiple budgets. Expensify is a good alternative if you want something simpler, but Ramp is the better long-term option if you’re scaling up.

Ramp

Time is money. Save both.

ramp

ramp

Accounting

Ramp is a smart expense-tracking platform with built-in spend controls, cards, and real-time reporting. It’s great for small labels and management companies handling multiple budgets. Expensify is a good alternative if you want something simpler, but Ramp is the better long-term option if you’re scaling up.

LastPass

Every login lives in LastPass

lastpass

lastpass

Business Managers

LastPass – Your music business will end up with dozens of logins — PROs, distributors, banks, publishing platforms, ticketing services, and more. LastPass helps you keep those credentials secure, organized, and shareable with your team. It’s built for this. Don’t text passwords or rely on browser autofill.

LastPass

Every login lives in LastPass

lastpass

lastpass

Business Managers

LastPass – Your music business will end up with dozens of logins — PROs, distributors, banks, publishing platforms, ticketing services, and more. LastPass helps you keep those credentials secure, organized, and shareable with your team. It’s built for this. Don’t text passwords or rely on browser autofill.

Excel

Make data more insightful with free, online, collaborative spreadsheets.

excel

excel

Miscellaneous

Budgeting doesn’t have to be fancy — it just has to be real. I recommend Microsoft Excel (or Google Sheets, depending on your email platform) because it gives you full control. Whether you’re planning a tour, a rollout, or a monthly burn, having a live, editable budget is essential to treating your career like a business.

Excel

Make data more insightful with free, online, collaborative spreadsheets.

excel

excel

Miscellaneous

Budgeting doesn’t have to be fancy — it just has to be real. I recommend Microsoft Excel (or Google Sheets, depending on your email platform) because it gives you full control. Whether you’re planning a tour, a rollout, or a monthly burn, having a live, editable budget is essential to treating your career like a business.

Zoom

One platform to connect

zoom

zoom

Video Platforms

AI Tools

You’ll need a video call platform for meetings with labels, collaborators, and creative teams. Zoom is the most universally accepted option and works for almost every use case. Google Meet is great if you’re fully in the Google ecosystem, but Zoom is still the default.

Zoom

One platform to connect

zoom

zoom

Video Platforms

AI Tools

You’ll need a video call platform for meetings with labels, collaborators, and creative teams. Zoom is the most universally accepted option and works for almost every use case. Google Meet is great if you’re fully in the Google ecosystem, but Zoom is still the default.

24/7 Artists

Simplifying The Business Of Music.

24-7-artists

24-7-artists

Workshops & Masterclasses

This is a growing creative community that supports artists and teams through workshops, real talk, and shared resources. If you’re building a career in the music industry, this kind of peer support is invaluable. They’re helping build a healthier, more collaborative music ecosystem.

24/7 Artists

Simplifying The Business Of Music.

24-7-artists

24-7-artists

Workshops & Masterclasses

This is a growing creative community that supports artists and teams through workshops, real talk, and shared resources. If you’re building a career in the music industry, this kind of peer support is invaluable. They’re helping build a healthier, more collaborative music ecosystem.

Other Stacks

Other Stacks

Marni Wandner’s Guide to Building a Sustainable Career in the Music Industry

Marni Wandner

The deal playbook: tools I rely on for moving in music tech and law

Sean Keenan

Bandsintown's list of integrated tools to give artists control of their data and careers

Bandsintown

Michael Berg shares resources for operating large-scale music festivals in the U.S.

Michael Berg

Top 10 Breakthrough Agencies for 2025 European Festivals

The ROSTR Group

Chris Stewart shares how he runs GRIDLIFE’s ‘Speed Meets Sound’ fest for car and music lovers

Chris Stewart

The Top 10 UK Management Companies

The ROSTR Group

The Top 10 Most Viewed Listings on Stack

The ROSTR Group

Show More

Contributor

Tate Henshaw

Tate Henshaw is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and business management executive focused on making a generational impact through financial literacy education. Currently, he’s Co-Founder of ARC – a business management firm that helps entertainers and athletes such as Blake Griffin and Ne-Yo navigate their careers. Tate also serves on the boards of Georgia Music Partners and Georgia Sports Innovation Coalition.

Read More

stacks

categories

discover

search