With only you’re mobile in your hand you can efficiently run an entire business and constantly connect with your customer base.
Here is our top pick of small business apps that will keep you productive and organised when you’re running your business on the go – all this without an office space to utilise.
Wunderlist for your to-do list
Managing your tasks on the go on every major platform. The app allows you to rearrange your to-dos based on changing priorities, assign to-dos to people and get reminders for upcoming deadlines regardless, of which device you have with you. You can also share lists with colleagues, duplicate lists and recover accidently deleted lists.
While the Pro version is quite costly, even the free version has great features. Wunderlist has desktop apps for Mac and Windows, plus mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, but not BlackBerry. There are also browser plug-ins for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
https://www.wunderlist.com
Toggle for logging billable hours
1.5 million users can’t be wrong – that’s how many people currently use Toggle. This time tracking software is aimed at improving workplace productivity and helps define priorities. It’s great for freelancers, consultants and small companies and allows users to track the time they spend on different projects. Toggle can be used on the web, as a desktop widget or on your mobile and all data gets synced in real time.
Zoho Projects for project management
This project management app is currently the most popular in its class and offers a free version that you can try before upgrading. It integrates with Dropbox and Google Apps and it’s easy to set up and add projects as you go along. The live chat component is great for communicating with colleagues and the notifications allows you to respond directly from the note itself.
Intelligent features include being able to break down larger tasks into subtasks for specific team members and to chart your progress with Milestones.
https://www.zoho.com/
Skype for Business for team communication
Used by almost 700 million businesses both large and small across the globe, Skype for Business works with Microsoft Office applications. It’s a cost effective way to speak to clients across the globe, and cuts down on non-essential business travel expenses. Services include Skype video call and group video calling which allows up to 10 people to join a meeting.
The instant messaging is useful for sending links, documents and images. New features include PSTN conferencing that allows employees to attend meetings using a traditional telephone, Skype Meeting Broadcast with tools to create virtual meetings for up to 10 000 attendees, and Cloud PBX that allows enterprises to transition to the cloud, using Office 365 utilities to manage communications. Different plans are available, depending on your needs. https://products.office.com/en-us/skype-for-business/compare-plans
Streak for customer relationship management
This flexible CRM and process management system works with your Gmail inbox, offering advanced email organisation and CRM features. You can group emails and create pipelines for anything from sales to employee recruitment.
Pre-loaded with preset sales- and business-related pipelines such as Sales / CRM, Hiring and Dealflow, you can also create your own pipelines, including personal pipelines such as for planning your trip. You can store client information in boxes which are then associated with pipelines. Other features are Send Later, Email Tracking and Mail Merge for mass mail sendings
Square for accepting payments
Square has received rave reviews for its ease of use on iOS and Android. It is a quick way to accept all major credit cards on mobile devices.
Features include digital receipts, inventory and sales reports and analytics.
Once you’ve downloaded the app you plug in a reader (available online or from retail stores into an iOS or Android device and open the app to select purchases. Then you can swipe cards and customers sign the device to complete the transaction.
Square is available in the App Store and Google Play. It’s designed to run on a smartphone or tablet, on your counter or on the go. It’s currently available for us in Australia, the U.S., Canada and Japan.
QuickBooks Online for accounting
Quickbooks allows you to send invoices, track sales and expenses, manage over 60 accounting reports and can be integrated into your online banking. It works on Mac, PC, tablets and Android or Apple phones – wherever there is Internet.
You can also send detailed bills to your customers, transact in multiple currencies and it will help you organize your financial data. It comes with balance sheet templates, profit and loss statements and income statement templates.
Data is automatically backed up and it supports multiple users. Different plans are available, depending on what your needs are. Try the 30-day free trial to decide.