6 Useful Apps All Small Businesses Need

In the early days of starting your business, you’ll find yourself being pulled in so many different directions on a daily basis. The demands on your time can be overwhelming. It’s therefore important to make sure you’re utilising the right tools to available which ensure your time is being used as efficiently as possible.  Here are Evri top six apps we think all small business owners need to know about.

Productivity: Evernote

If you’re just starting out on your small business venture, you’re probably going to be bombarded with advice from all angles. With Evernote, you can clip and organise these nuggets of wisdom and easily sync notes across both desktop and mobile devices. The app allows you to save useful information from the web, tag for easy searching, as well as embedding pictures, tables and videos. The app can also be used for organic notes, to-do lists, contacts, receipts or even emails you want quick access.

(Basic: Free, Plus: £19.99 per year, Premium: £34.99 per year)

Time tracking: Rescue Time                                                                         

You’re not alone if you feel as though you waste too much time procrastinating online. Rescue Time is the app that will hold you accountable. This app breaks down where you spend your time by website and by application, allowing you to set productivity goals. If you invest in the premium version, you can even block certain sites, track your offline activity and set notifications if you have spent too much time on one action. This app will give you an accurate picture of how you actually spend your time during the day and will send you detailed reports based on your activity, showing you how you could have been more productive.

(Basic: Free, Premium monthly: $9, Premium annual: $72 with first 4 months free)

Project management: Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the most well-known project management apps. Its design is intuitive and easy to use. Basecamp allows you to easily invite people to collaborate, attach files, track progress and create checklists. If you have reasonably straightforward projects and don’t have time to dedicate your limited time to learning a new system, this could be a good choice for you.

(First Basecamp: Free, Internal teams: $29 per month, External teams: $79 per month)

Communication: Skype

Despite many competitors making gallant efforts, no one has quite managed to knock Skype off the top spot for videoconferencing. Skype remains extremely effective so, whether you are speaking to contacts overseas or just a colleague working from home, Skype is the app which keeps everyone in a company well connected. You also have the ability to share files and photos, share your computer screen, call a group of up to 25 people and send text messages to friends. The app has the advantage of working on all operating systems and devices and its basic version is completely free.

(Basic: Free, Professional: £1.30 user/month)

Customer Relationship Management: Streak

If you’re running a small business which uses Google Apps and Gmail, this app is a handy Content Management tool that can integrate with both. Instead of organising your customers by contact, it allows you to keep track of where you are with your business relationships.

For example, whether you’re beginning a business pitch or perhaps finalising a deal, Streak will allow you to view all emails associated with each client directly and, its newsfeed feature will keep everyone on your team updated on the status in the app.

(Basic: Free, Starter plan: $19 per month, Corporate plan: $39 per month, Enterprise plan: $89 per month)

Accounting: Xero

The cloud-based invoicing app Xero gives you easy access to your figures anytime, anywhere. You can access your invoices on the go using its mobile app, Xero touch, which doesn’t restrict you to your office to check your accounts. As your data lives in the cloud, it provides you with a completely up-to-date overview of your current financial situation, as well as allowing you to import all your paperwork straight into your accounting software.  Moving your data into this digital format helps minimise the risk of manual error and results in a faster and more efficient way of keeping on top of your accounts.

(Basic: £4.59 per month, Standard £10 per month, Premium £12.50 per month)