Small business owners and entrepreneurs know that you should always look for new, innovative ways to streamline business operations. With the right technology, you can free up more time for expanding and improving your business. Please take a look at this list of seven of the best apps for small businesses.
1. Best for Finances
Every business needs software to manage finances. If your business is newly launched or still in the startup phase, Crunch is a great option for you. It’s a free service that allows you to organize invoices and receipts, and you can pay for add-ons later as your business grows.
If you’re utilizing an Excel spreadsheet to track expenses, you can attach invoices. You’ll stay better organized if you can keep everything in one document. If you have multiple PDFs that you’d like to keep together, you can merge them easily with an online tool. If you embed (import) a PDF into Excel, you may also have fewer documents to send to your accountant.
2. Best for Organization
The number of apps available to help you get organized is endless. Asana will help you manage tasks using a customizable list format. You can download it on a laptop and connect it to the same lists from your mobile app. Evernote allows you to streamline and organize your notetaking process, and Basecamp is a great app for project management.
3. Best for Staff Communication
Research shows that successful businesses need open communication. Additionally, keeping your business communications separate from personal communications is a great way to stay on top of projects and keep your staff in the loop. If you have remote workers, Skype is still a top choice, but Slack is commonly used in remote and in-office settings. You can communicate from across the hall with instant messaging or log in for a video chat.
4. Best for Planning Business Travel
For entrepreneurs and business owners on the go, TripIt is the perfect app to keep your itinerary organized in one place. It inputs details for flights, car rentals, hotel bookings, and any other part of your schedule. You can even sync it to your calendar to manage meetings.
5. Best for Managing Customer Relationships
In the digital age, you can stay in near-constant contact with your customers. Spendgo is an app programmed to help you create a rewards program and direct marketing campaign for your online customers. The company also offers tiered plans with add-ons.
6. Best for Accounts Receivable
Your point-of-sale program is extremely important to your business. Most people pay for products and services using a credit or debit card, so you need a reliable POS app that you can use anywhere. PayPal is an established company, and PayPal Here is the app that allows you to process cards, keep up with inventory, and manage orders. It also charges one of the lowest rates per card swipe.
7. Best for Managing Your Products
As your product inventory grows, you need an app to help you manage it all. SOS Inventory allows you to track orders and stay on top of manufacturing. It even has add-on services that process analytics on sales activity.
Regardless of the type of product or service you provide, any of these apps could benefit your business. Most of them require no payment to download, which means you have nothing to lose from giving them a try. Should any not work for you, all you have to do is delete and try something else.
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