These Apps Can Make a Big Difference for Small Businesses
The potential for small businesses to succeed and grow is great. However, the budget and workforce for these ventures are often limited. As someone who is starting in the industry, you can confirm that every cent is accounted for, and none of the money goes to unnecessary expenses.
Good thing that there are applications or software packages to help you run your business on a day-to-day basis. Any of the services below may be free of charge or on a subscription basis to unlock more features. Nevertheless, paying for these apps is not as expensive as hiring professionals or committing costly rookie mistakes. If you are looking for a Power Platform, then you can checkout microsoft power platform.
As you streamline the tedious and complicated tasks, you can focus on productivity, efficiency, and building your company’s brand. Are you excited about making your life easier as an entrepreneur or freelancer, perhaps? Here are a handful of popular and useful apps for you to get down to business.
For Accounting
One day, you can hire an in-house accountant to take care of your business’s financial health. In the meantime, you can use their tools when you do the work:
- QuickBooks’ basic plan for small companies tracks income and expenses, organizes receipts, issues invoice, and also manages contractors.
- Kashoo provides accounting software that is easy and intuitive for business owners to navigate.
- If you are wary of subscription fees, Wave offers free accounting services as well as the creation of professional invoices.
For Filing Taxes
Any discussion about business is not without tax, primarily on preparing and filing returns. The service may be included in your accounting package or done separately.
- The Internal Revenue Service has a Free File option, which allows you to file your taxes for free if your income is below $66,000. The service is available through October 15.
- Turbo Tax is a popular software for filing taxes online. It also has a Free File program for those qualified.
- TaxSlayer offers e-file services with packages depending on the tax situation (e.g., student, self-employed, and those with dependents).
For Communicating
It’s the era when communication happens with fewer clicks and taps within the room or wherever in the world. You can look into numerous instant messaging and calling platforms:
- Skype is free to download and chat with fellow Skype users. You need credits to make landline or cell phone calls or a Business subscription that bundles Office 365 products.
- Slack has free and paid versions, which differ in the storage, access, and search of previous messages sent via the app.
- If you are using Gmail in the company, Google Hangouts comes with G Suite. It offers voice and video calls too.
- WhatsApp has Web and mobile versions, although the latter is more accessible for people on the go. Calls using WhatsApp are free but subject to data charges.
For Making Payments
Digital wallets have long been in use, and here are examples you can utilize for your contractors, suppliers, customers, etc.:
- PayPal has a global reach that allows you to send and receive money, transfer funds, and create invoices for customers. You can also link a bank account as well as debit or credit card to your PayPal account.
- Venmo is a PayPal service that is more personalized as payments are made to or for people you know. You can use Venmo for free, but you incur a fee when you send money from a credit card.
- BitPay allows you to accept Bitcoin as payment (for merchants and stores). You can set up a BitPay Wallet to store, send, or spend supported cryptocurrencies.
For Email Marketing
These apps let you accomplish the task of sending a monthly newsletter or official correspondence and managing campaigns to improve email open rates and more:
- MailChimp has been one of the foremost tools for email marketers. It has a free plan to get your marketing campaign running.
- MailerLite is a less costly alternative to MailChimp with landing pages, surveys, and automated emails.
- Aside from email marketing, Sendinblue sets up SMS marketing campaigns with targeted messages.
Organizing as You Go
It’s okay to start small and smart as you navigate your business toward profitability. Surely, you have countless things to keep track of, being the owner, problem solver, tactician, strategist, and master planner while maintaining mobility for networking and growth opportunities.
Thankfully, you can pack your work with a laptop and take both to your next destination. One pro tip is to take a multiport adapter so that you can connect to HDMI, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and more as you make sales presentations. If the adapter has USB Power Delivery, it can support the fast charging of a device.
Take stock of anything beneficial to your venture, and grow.
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