Small and home-based business owners are some of the hardest-working people in the country. With tasks ranging from admin to sales, marketing and everything in between, time is a precious commodity. Working fluidly from laptop to tablet to smartphone is crucial. As a result, you should look at some great small business apps to improve your workflow. These small business apps will help with a range of tasks that will maximize productivity and, ultimately, increase your profit and your time.
1. FreshBooks
Most small business owners are highly tuned into their financial picture, as it is literally what puts food on the table. One of the most well-known and highly-used accounting apps is FreshBooks. FreshBooks is intuitive, easy to use and has a huge list of features. At the core, this small business app helps you to track invoices and view payments, giving you a detailed look at your financial situation. With apps for both iOS and Android devices, any small business will find significant value in this one app. For more information, visit freshbooks.com.
2. Trello
Both project and time management are crucial to your small business’ success. One of the best tools for both of these is Trello. This small business app allows you to manage projects, set schedules and view status updates from team members in a simple dashboard. You can send notes, leave comments, see the progress someone has made, set schedules or reminders and much more. The app is essentially an office manager you can set up and start in minutes. Best of all, the app is entirely free with optional premium features. Once you’ve downloaded the app, immediately scratch off ‘get small business insurance‘ from the to-do list by contacting us. For more information, visit trello.com.
3. Evernote
Inspiration, ideas and notes-to-self can come at any time. Often, we jot those quick notes down on a piece of paper that we either lose, have crumpled up in a pocket or forget about. Those ideas can be the foundation of something that can actually improve your business. This is where Evernote steps in. This app allows you to easily create notes and drawings, take photos or save the text. You can also share the notes with colleagues, access them anywhere and easily search through them. It’s like always having a personal assistant there to take notes. We’ll suggest your first note: Does my insurance cover my home-based business? For more information, visit evernote.com.
4. Tripit
Travelling requires you to be organized, especially when travelling for business. With flights, car services, hotels, and reservations on your docket, it’s easy to lose track of all your bookings. That is where Tripit comes in. Tripit is a way of managing all of your trip bookings and placing them in one place to create an efficient and straightforward itinerary. After creating an account, you simply forward the booking confirmations, and it will create a user-friendly itinerary of your travels. It will do everything from monitoring your flights, notifying you of delays or cancellations, and even automatically sharing your itinerary with those that you wish to share it with. For more information, visit tripit.com.
5. Adobe Sign
Gone are the days when you need to fax contracts to clients or, worse, still sign them in person. With just your smartphone, you’re able to sign contracts digitally that are legally binding. Adobe Sign, previously known as EchoSign, is one of the best small business apps. It lets you open PDF documents, quickly review them, make changes, and digitally sign, add dates, initials, and more. The app has a unique security feature that confirms who you are so no one can sign on your behalf. That said, while the app comes with a few free credits after you use them, you must pay for additional signings. Similarly, docusign.ca is an alternative signing website. For more information, visit adobe.com.
6. Square
If you’re a small retail business owner and make sales on the fly, then the Square app is for you. A small Point of Sale (POS) device allows you to make Debit or Credit Card sale transactions anywhere, anytime. You can set up a free online store that syncs with your inventory and social media and meet customers wherever they shop. You can also accept orders online, over the phone or by email, and help new customers find you through Square’s delivery hub. Additionally, if you prefer contactless payment, you can send professional invoices, track them in real-time and accept payments online – all from one place. You can save time with auto-billing, stored information and powerful reporting tools. For more information, visit squareup.com.
7. OmniFocus
It is easy to feel swamped by your workload. With so many tasks and due dates on the fly, it can be difficult to compartmentalize and divide up your time to get everything done. If you are struggling with this, OmniFocus is a resource you should consider looking into. OmniFocus is a task management software that will help you break down your tasks and help to remember and follow through with all you need to do. This app helps to manage your assignments and keep up with deadlines, automatically sending updates to your device and connecting to your calendar so you never miss a beat. For more information, visit web.omnifocus.com.
8. Hootsuite
If you need help coordinating various social media platforms to help promote your business, you can use a tool like Hootsuite. Hootsuite is one of the first social media managers, having helped companies manage various platforms for over a decade. With this app, you can create, manage, and schedule social media posts, as well as keep tabs on any mentions of your company and monitor activity and reception to the posts. You can use this to see how your business is doing from an outreach perspective, as well as get reports about how your business is doing in comparison to others in the field. For more information, visit hootsuite.com.
9. Xero
Managing your financials is one of the most important aspects of helping your small business succeed. If you need any help keeping tabs on accounts, budgeting, or any financial need, look no further than Xero. Xero is an online accounting software that helps you to manage all your financial needs. This app can do everything from sending reminders and invoices to reconciling with local banks and keeps all your information in one place while remaining secure and organized and can be accessed from any mobile device. For more information, visit xero.com.
10. Slack
The most important thing for any business is having an easy and open line of communication. Say you have a virtual meeting, and the invitation to the chat gets lost in the endless emails of an inbox, but with a tool like Slack, all your communication needs are in one place. No more searching your inbox for that one email you need in order to get your work done. Slack is a way that your whole company can communicate as a faster, safer and more accessible alternative to emails. All of your correspondents are organized into channels that make it more user-friendly and a faster way to create, join, and search within the company. For more information, visit slack.com.
We hope these apps help you and your small business thrive!
