Finding the right work tools - at an affordable price - is the trick to any business owner’s success. Below are some important work apps to consider as you dive into a new year of work.
FollowUpThen: There is nothing more time-consuming than a crowded email inbox. Thankfully, FollowUpThen was created to fix that exact problem. Simply sign up with your email address and send whatever emails you’re not ready to answer to FollowUpThen. FollowUpThen will then ping them back to you at any designated time. This is also a great tool for setting automatic reminders to follow up with contacts so they don’t fall through the cracks.
Square: Square enables users to manage a business from anywhere by accepting credit cards using a free card reader or manually inputting credit card information. Unlike other merchant processors, Square takes only a 2.9% cut - no other percentages or hidden fees. The funds from swiped payments are deposited into your bank account within 1-2 business days.
QuickBooks: Still a must-have for business owners, QuickBooks lets you reconcile your finances, send invoices, and track expenses. It has tons of analytical tools to let you run reports and track your numbers. It’s online “Essential” package (now reduced to $13.99 per month) takes some time to set up initially, but is well worth the investment.
Cisco WebEx: If you are a business owner, then you shouldn’t be using Skype to host your web conferences or online meetings. Instead use the more robust Cisco WebEx, which lets you host virtual meetings with up to 3 people for free. Moreover, it lets you record the session, share your screen, attach documents for review before the meeting, and send follow-up notes.
TimeTrade: Tired of wasting time going back and forth to book a meeting? Instead use TimeTrade, a calendaring tool that lets you choose different meeting types (live or phone call), times and dates. TimeTrade gives you full control of your calendar - only showing what you want it to show - and makes booking a time with you as easy as one click.
ScanBizCards: What do you do with all those business cards? Don’t just stack them in a drawer - use ScanBizCards to scan the card and upload the information to Outlook, Gmail, or your phone. You can even reach out directly or connect via LinkedIn.
Evernote: Do you have the good habit of taking notes during a meeting? Evernote lets you take a countless amount of notes that you can then search, share and send. You can even pin documents, PDFs and photos for just $5 per month.
EchoSign: Get your deal signed, sealed and delivered faster. EchoSign allows you to electronically sign documents easily and securely. It also records and stores each document’s history so that you have automatic audit trails - saving you the time and trouble of backtracking in case the need arises.
FedEx Office: This mobile app is one of the most helpful on-the-go apps for business owners. Easily send files, documents or photos through the app to your nearest FedEx location to be printed or made into a beautiful presentation. You can even upload files directly from Box, Google Drive and DropBox.
Pocket: Great ideas are everywhere, and they'll hit you when you least expect it. Enter Pocket, a phone-based bookmarking app which can save all types of content (anything from a lengthy article to a work report) to all your electronic devices.
What business apps do you use everyday? Let us know below or email us at [email protected].
