Time-Saving Apps for Small Business Owners
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Technology helps small business owners maximize their time so they can be more efficient and productive. From creating a mobile office to using the Cloud, there are many ways to leverage small business technology. Here are 27 apps that will help you use technology to streamline important business processes.
- 17hats: An all-in-one app that provides a variety of services specifically geared toward "businesses of one." Services include management of contacts, invoices, contracts, bookkeeping, calendar, tasks and projects, workflow and more.
- Any.do: An organization tool that provides management of tasks, lists, and notes. It includes a sharing function that is perfect for small business owners who collaborate on projects with a team.
- Appointy: Online scheduling software for small business owners who need to schedule appointments, manage calendars, and coordinate appointments with staff. Appointy also allows customers to schedule their own appointments online 24/7.
- Asana: A project management application that focuses on managing projects and facilitating team communication on those projects in one place.
- Cyfe: An all-in-one business dashboard app that helps you easily monitor all of your business data. The tool monitors social media, analytics, marketing, sales, and support data through a variety of customizable dashboards.
- Dropbox: Dropbox for Business is a secure file sharing and storage tool that provides a central storage location and collaboration platform for your business files.
- Evernote: A multi-platform tool that creates a personal or team workspace for daily projects, ideas, and lists. Users can clip web articles, capture handwritten notes, and add photos to files.
- Expensify: A simplified expense reporting tool that helps small business owners to streamline the way employees report expenses, the approval process, and the process for utilizing that data in accounting software.
- FreeAgent: An accounting-based dashboard that coordinates invoices, expenses, and bank accounts to help small business owners manage cash flow more effectively.
- Harvest: Harvest is a web-based tool that helps small business owners manage time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking, and time-based reporting.
- iA Writer: A simplistic tool for small business owners who write in their businesses. iA Writer blocks distractions, syncs with Dropbox and iCloud, and allows users to export writing to Microsoft Word.
- IFTTT: IFTTT stands for "if this, then that," and is a tool that aggregates many different Web applications so users can create processes that streamline web activities. One example is creating an IFTTT "recipe" that automatically sends a thank you message to new Twitter followers.
- Jing: A screenshot and screencast application that captures video, animation, and still images and allows users to share them on the Web.
- Join.me: A service of LogMeIn, join.me is a tool that provides instant screen sharing and unlimited audio. Additional features include presenter swap, window-level sharing, annotation, recording and more.
- LastPass: A password management tool that securely remembers passwords and helps users generate new ones as needed. LastPass also has a mobile app that keeps passwords secure on the go.
- MileIQ: A mobile tool that tracks miles traveled by using drive-detection technology. Useful for small business owners who travel frequently for business.
- OmniFocus: A task management app that tracks tasks by project, place, person, or date. The tool allows users to create perspectives and contexts to manage tasks for their business and personal life.
- Prezi: Cloud-based presentation software that creates interactive presentations that include an engaging "zooming" feature. This tool also includes collaboration functionality that allows multiple users to work on presentations together.
- Scanner Pro: Scanner Pro turns an iPhone or iPad into a fully functioning portable scanner that scans documents into professional PDFs.
- Shoeboxed: Shoeboxed is a tool for scanning and organizing receipts and business cards, creating expense reports, tracking mileage and more.
- Skitch: A screen capture tool that allows users to take screenshots, make annotations, and then share the image with others. Integrates directly with Evernote.
- Smartsheet: A work collaboration tool with features that include file sharing, alerts, automated workflows, Gantt charts and more.
- TeamViewer: A tool for remotely controlling any computer over the Internet. Small business owners can use TeamViewer to access their own computers when out of the office or coordinate online meetings.
- Timeful: This app is all about improving productivity. Users input things they want to do and advanced algorithms will make suggestions when to schedule them.
- Trello: A project management and collaboration tool that organizes projects into boards. Users can see the progress of any project instantly.
- TripIt: TripIt is a travel organizing app that creates a master itinerary for every trip and gives users instant access to travel plans from any device.
- Wix: A free website builder that allows small business owners with no coding experience to create customized websites quickly.