January isn’t over yet, which means there is still time for you to take your small business to the next level. Of course, there are certain tools that all business owners need to rely on in order to grow and see success. We’ve spoken about different digital marketing tools before, but what if you haven’t even reached the point of being able to fine tune your marketing strategy?
If you feel like you’re at ground zero but are ready to take things to the next level with your company, we’ve got your back. Take a look at some of our favorite small business apps below that can help you keep a handle on every aspect of your business as you take it from ideation to conception.
Small Business Apps for Accounting
There’s no denying that accounting can be a very daunting aspect of starting your own business. But it doesn’t have to be the thing that keeps you from bringing your great ideas to fruition. Take a look at some of these accessible and comprehensive apps that you can use to make your business bookkeeping much more manageable moving forward:
QuickBooks offers a 30-day free trial for users to decide if it’s right for them. Should you choose to continue, you can use the Simple Start, Plus, or Advanced plan. Each plan boasts a variety of features including these below:
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- Track income and expenses
- Capture and organize receipts
- Maximize tax deductions
- Mileage tracking
- Manage cash flow
- Create unlimited invoices and accept unlimited payments
- Run reports
- Create and send estimates
- Track sales & sales tax
- Manage 1099 contractors
- PLUS/ADVANCED – enter employee time sheets
- PLUS/ADVANCED – manage & pay bills
- PLUS/ADVANCED – track inventory
- ADVANCED – business analytics and insights
Xero also offers a 30-day free trial, after which you can purchase an Early, Growing, or Established plan depending on the needs of your business. Some of Xero’s features include:
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- Pay bills
- Claim expenses
- Bank connections
- Accept payments
- Track projects
- Link payroll with Gusto (for additional fee)
- Bank reconciliation
- Manage contacts
- Capture data
- Files
- Reporting
- Inventory
- Send invoices
- Multi-currency
- Purchase orders
- Quotes
- Analytics
Zoho Books is a comprehensive accounting services app that allows you to choose from the Free, Standard, Professional, and Premium plans depending on your specific needs and company qualifications. Zoho Books includes these features:
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- Integrated business platform – Zoho has 40+ other apps you can use in conjunction
- Create invoices and payment reminders
- Manage payables easily
- View performance using KPI dashboard
- Generate financial reports, – balance sheets, cash flow statements, income statements, and more
- Add widgets to your phone homescreen to easily access key features of the app
- Use siri to set reminders, create invoices, and view expenses
- Track time on projects and bill time in the app
- Multiple currencies available
- Unlimited transactions
- Easy adding of contacts
Small Business Apps for Point-of-Sale
If your business is in the eCommerce category, these are some apps that you’re going to want to check out immediately:
Square is free to download, you only pay a fee when you process a successful transaction! With Square you can:
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- Allow customers to pay online or with a debit/credit card using chip reader, payment links, QR codes, etc
- Keep track of sales and inventory
- Next-day money transfers for free
- Send receipts via email or text
- Also has ecommerce, payroll, and bank account available
Stripe is a mobile-app optimized point of sale system that allows you to accept payments globally without hassle. With Stripe you will enjoy:
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- Shareable payment links
- Accept in-app payments
- High-value partners: Slack, Lyft, Glossier, etc
- No contract in order to use
- Free usage with a fee charged only per successful transaction
- The ability to view earnings, customers, payments, balances and payouts
Shopify is a unique POS that actually helps you create your own storefront. It’s also integrated with a powerful mobile app that includes key features:
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- Fulfill orders
- View mobile dashboard
- Call and email customers
- Sync products, customers, inventory, etc in app
- Manage inventory easily
- Begin with a free 14-day trial
Small Business Apps for Payroll
Gusto is a simple-to-use app that was created to make payroll fast and simple for employees. Download Gusto to:
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- Automatically file payroll taxes
- Built-in benefits and time tracking
- Sync team’s hours automatically
- Set payroll to autopilot
- Sync with Xero, Quickbooks, Clover, and more if you choose
- Store I-9s, W2s, and 1099s online for compliance purposes
- Partner with the Gusto Wallet to allow employees to easily track paychecks and W2s, transaction records, and even their time in one convenient place
- It’s Core Plan is $39/month + $6/month per person (includes all above features, health insurance administration, and customer support)
QuickBooks Payroll is part of the Intuit business collection of apps and services. Its aim is to help people manage their payroll and team using the same app. QuickBooks Payroll offers:
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- Same-day direct deposit payments
- Run payroll for taxes
- Integrated with payroll, taxes, HR, health benefits, workers comp, and more
- Automatically syncs to Quickbooks online
- Starts at $45/month + $/month per employee
Small Business Apps for Project Management
Once the money is handled, you’ll free up time to think about the day-to-day. That means finding ways to streamline the process of completing projects so that your deliverables are achieved in a timely and consistent manner.
Asana has a variety of ways to organize your projects and includes the useful ability to assign tasks to different team members so that everyone is on the same page. Additionally, you can take advantage of:
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- Timeline – a visual project planner that you can share with your entire team to keep projects on track to meet deadlines
- Kanban Workflow Boards – visual workflows organized into “To Do”, “Doing”, and “Done” categories in order to help you team see what needs to be done and where projects are being stumped
- Shared calendars for teams and projects
- In-depth reporting across departments in order to track all teams’ progress
- Create tasks and subtasks that can be assigned to different team members
- Multiple forms of communication including task comments, project conversations, and team conversations
- Basic free version, or Premium version for $10.99/month when billed yearly
Trello is a very visual project management tool that’s great for small teams or subgroups to work together. Features include:
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- Multiple workflows – boards, timelines, maps, calendars, or dashboards
- Coding-free automations – simply set rules that trigger actions
- Integrate with other apps such as Slack, JIRA, and email that can work with automations such as sending emails
- Powerups – various additions to your Trello workspace such as voting abilities and Google Drive integration help you get the most out of the platform
- Plans range from Free to Enterprise at $210 annually for up to 25 users
JIRA is a sophisticated workflow management tool that teams can use if they tend to have many different or revolving projects to work on. Notable JIRA features include:
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- Scrum boards for agile teams
- Kanban boards for teams to collaborate
- Roadmaps provide a visual for your team to plan ladder-style from a project’s initiation to completion
- Multiple options for team reporting and project analytics that culminate in the JIRA dashboard
- Plans from Free to Premium for $145/month
These different tools will form the backbone of your business by making sure that your finances and work systems are sound. This is the year to get your business off the ground and these small business apps are more than enough to get the job done. As you continue to grow, rest assured that any of these apps will grow with you every step of the way.