“There’s an app for that”. Yeah we know. Our phones are laden with the weight of thousands of apps and, frankly, most could be binned.
So, when we’re always told there’s a mobile app for something, we need to decide if we need it, especially if you’re running a small business.
The one area in life where apps are becoming even more essential is in business.
If you run a small business, there are at least nine essential small business apps you should have installed to make running your small business a simple affair.
Work smarter not harder.
1) Microsoft 365
Gone are the days of desktop pay-per-license access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook and now, the ever-present Teams.
Even if you’re a diehard Apple fan, if you’re running a business, the chances are that someone in your team or in your business life will be using Microsoft products. You should be able to meet them there.
Better yet, if you aren’t already using a cloud drive for backups, data and files, Office 365 comes with Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage.
2) PayPal
Ecommerce is undoubtedly the future, and arguably the present, of business and you’re going to need to get yourself a solid solution.
Cut through the chaff by getting yourself onto PayPal.
- Firstly, you need something recognisable and trustworthy so that people will feel comfortable paying you.
- Secondly, your customer doesn’t need to have an account to pay via card.
- Thirdly, it has world class security and fraud protection.
3) Workflow app
Whether you go with Monday, Asana, Trello or another solution, you’re going to need a simple and powerful workflow solution to keep yourself and your team on track.
If you set yourself up with a workflow of day-to-day tasks, cards, calendars, associated files, and alerts, it’s almost impossible to forget something.
By regularly updating and tending to your workflow tool, you’ll have all the information you need to keep on top of the steady stream of things you have to do to keep your business running.
4) Team communication app
On top of your chosen workflow solution, keep your team communication centralised and transparent with a comms app. Email is becoming less of a primary communication tool, so it’s well past time to get yourself a modern alternative.
Slack is a big one, although many top tier alternatives exist.
As a side note, there’s a lot of crossover between communication apps and workflow apps, so you may be able to kill two birds with one stone after a little research.
5) Zoom
“Can you hear me?” must be the most spoken sentence of 2020. Yes, we can hear you!
You should get the Zoom app to manage the now ubiquitous remote sessions we’ve all grown so accustomed to since 2020.
6) Social media manager
It’s standard for any small business to have a heavy presence across an increasing variety of social media platforms. All of these channels need content and community management.
Managing numerous social media accounts individually is a momentous task.
The trick? Save an inordinate amount of time by hooking up your array of social media accounts under one roof and managing them within one screen.
By uploading your content once, you can populate all your accounts simultaneously, and even set posts up in advance to be published on a pre-determined schedule.
Tools like Hootsuite and Buffer stand out in this area.
7) Cloud storage
If you aren’t using OneDrive on your Microsoft account, make sure you make good use of Google Drive or Dropbox.
Backups, sharing files, centralised storage and multi device access are all a big must in today’s business world. Get on it.
8) Booking app
If your small business is service based, you’re going to need a booking solution.
By integrating a booking app with your website and linking to it through social media, you never have to answer a phone or email inquiry ever again.
Make sure your solution does more than just booking though. By choosing a more powerful solution you can also have an integrated CRM with all your customers’ info and contacts.
Better yet, make sure you can use this solution to take card payments and market to your existing base through an email or SMS functionality.
9) Cloud accounting app
Oh really? An accounting software provider recommending a cloud accounting app? Wonders never cease.
But let’s cut to the chase – it’s almost unthinkable to be doing the following manually, using Excel, or heaven forbid… on paper:
- basic accounting
- sending invoices
- running payroll
- submitting Single Touch Payroll
- managing cashflow
- submitting BAS
No matter which product or provider you decide to go with, do yourself a favour and get a cloud accounting app. It’s the most important and useful business app you’ll ever install.
