Busy people have their phones at their fingertips throughout the day. In fact, 80% of people check their phones before brushing their teeth in the morning, and we physically touch our phones over 2,500 times a day!
We all love our smartphones – why? Because they can do so much for us. We can keep in touch with family and friends, play games, shop, watch movies, get recipe inspiration, pay our bills, and so much more. Your smartphone works for you, so why should it be any different for a business owners. Anyone who runs a business knows the number of hats required on a daily basis – one moment you’re paying bills, next you’re dealing with an upset customer, and next you’re placing the weekly supplies order. Many business owners or entrepreneurs have found that the best way to streamline operations and reduce the time it takes to do many of these tasks is to use apps that are made for each specific purpose. Essentially, this allows business owners and managers to run their entire business operations from their cells phones. The sheer number of apps that have been created for business functions is phenomenal – you can literally find an app to do anything – and the best part is, they are usually free or low-cost, which is ideal for small businesses.
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Here we have compiled a list of 16 of the best apps for your smartphone to make it easier to run your business:
Finance Apps
QuickBooks
QuickBooks can be used to track sales and expenses, create financial statements, pay employees and vendors, track invoice payments etc. It integrates with many other accounts to make all your business finance needs easy – including doing your business taxes!!
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
QuickBooks Go Payment
QuickBooks GoPayment allows business owners to swipe credit cards, scan a card with the camera, or manually key in card details for secure payments.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Wave
Wave is another easy-to-use accounting software app that allows businesses to track sales and expenses, pay employees, create reports etc. Receipt by Wave can be used to for expense tracking – quickly categorizing all of your receipts and connecting them to your account.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Expensify
As the name may suggest, this is an app for expense tracking. You can link your credit or debit card to your account so charges incurred are put directly on an expense report, or take pictures of your receipts with your phone, and Expensify will automatically extract the relevant information.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Invoice2go
Invoice2go is an invoice app that allows small businesses to choose from a wide range of invoice templates to then create and send professional invoices. You can track sends, and opens of invoices, and easily see when invoices are overdue. Reports show you the financial health of your business.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Square
Square is a popular payment app with small businesses due to it’s ease of use, and the fact that it negates the need for a POS machine. It uses a small, portable card reader that attaches to a phone or another mobile device to take fast, convenient payments. For the most basic service, it’s free for set-up.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Communication Apps
Slack
At GetintheLoop we love Slack’s instant messaging platform for internal communication. Conversations can be separated into private or public channels, or you can communicate with one or several people via direct messages. Share files in the chat window.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Organization and Productivity Apps
Trello
Trello is an easy-to-use project management app. Use it to track work assignments and progress via cards on a Trello board. To the Trello boards you can add members, comments, due dates, etc. Whenever you change a card, Trello notifies each member via email and on mobile devices.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Google Drive
For file storage and sharing, us GetintheLoop-ers love Google Drive as it lets you keep all files in one place that can be accessed from any device. Permissions can be altered to allow people to view, comment, or edit documents.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Evernote
Evernote is designed for taking notes, and general organizing using tasks lists. Notes can be a piece of formatted text, a webpage, an image, a voice message and more. Notes can have attachments and can be organized in a multitude of different ways. Keep your life in order, declutter and find things when you need them!
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Square Appointments
With this app, business owners are able to better track their calendar and take online appointment bookings and payments. Clients receive appointment reminders, reducing the likelihood of no-shows.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Not available at this time on Android
TripIt
If you’re a big traveller for work, Tripit is the app for you. Once a trip is booked, from any website, simply email the confirmation email to TripIt and it will consolidate and organize all travel plans in one place, on a single itinerary that can be accessed at any time on any device.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Sales and Marketing Apps
GetintheLoop
Start using GetintheLoop to inform customers old and new about your business’ exciting unique experiences and exclusive deals. GetintheLoop is an offers platform for businesses to attract new customers and build loyalty. These offers and experiences are delivered straight to the smartphones of locals via the GetintheLoop app.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Mailchimp
Email marketing is the tried and true digital marketing channel with an average return of $38 for every $1 spent. Mailchimp makes it easy and fast for business owners to stay in touch with customers via email. Build and manage your mailing lists, use templated emails or create your own. View reports of the results to inform your next email content to ensure you’re providing value to your email recipients.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Inventory and Shipping Apps
ShipStation
This app is a must have for someone who ships a lot as part of their business. From the app, you can create and print batch labels and connect to top shipping carriers, process orders, track shipments, process fulfillment orders, and more.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
Scheduling Apps
When I work
When I Work is employee scheduling software built with hourly employees in mind – perfect for many small businesses. Through the app, employees can see their schedule, clock in and out and communicate with their manager, and vice versa.
- Download via the iTunes App Store
- Download via Google Play
These are just some of the apps we like for small business owners and managers to save time and money on some of the less glamorous aspects of running a business. Got any apps that you particularly love? Let us know!
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