The 56 Small Business Apps That Every Entrepreneur Needs to Try

Small business apps. Who needs ‘em?

You do.

Because, as a small business owner, you’re just too dang busy to handle all the banking, budgeting, accounting, planning, employee management, customer management, inventory tracking, quality assurance, marketing plans, complaints, requests, equipment, financing, and ten thousand other things—all by yourself.

Why go lone wolf if you can download some small business apps that automate those processes for you? You’ll save yourself time, money, energy, and headaches, often for very little in exchange… Or even for free.

So instead of stressing out over every detail of your company, check out this list of 56 small business apps that will make your life a whole lot easier. Focus your attention on what’s important and leave the rest to these small business apps.

Small Business Apps: Budgeting

1. Mint

Follow your spending closely with Mint’s weekly reports to help stay within your budget. You can sort your expenses by type, set budgets for different categories (like restaurants and drinks), pull your credit reports and bank statements, and more.

2. Goodbudget

Mint for the customization-minded, Goodbudget offers you a bit more to play with. On the other hand, it might be a little more complicated to learn—but either way, your budget is in good hands.

3. Level Money

Level Money is another one of these budgeting small business apps. However, Level Money also helps by suggesting daily, weekly, and monthly budgets for you to stick to—based on your income, bills, and other factors it can detect in your bank statements.  

4. You Need a Budget

YNAB works a lot like Level Money, only you have to pay to upgrade after a free trial month. Instead of using it to constantly monitor your budget, you could have it take a deep dive into your finances and figure out the plan you should follow—plus, you can take this company’s free classes to learn even more about managing your finances.  

5. Wally

The difference that sets Wally apart is its ability to scan receipts and incorporate them directly into your financial planning… No need to wait and sync with your bank statements or enter in your expenses manually.

6. Home Budget with Sync

For many entrepreneurs, their small businesses are a home away from home—and their co-owners and employees are a second family. Home Budget with Sync offers budgeting help for groups, but you can use it for your small business instead of your family.

7. Spendee

Not interested in all the high-tech features these small business apps have? Not a problem. Spendee focuses on simplicity so managing your finances doesn’t spin your head around.

Small Business Apps: Accounting

8. QuickBooks

One of the biggest names in the accounting world, QuickBooks is simple, powerful, and everywhere. (In fact, half of the small business apps on this list integrate with QuickBooks’s app in some way.)

From tax accounting to payroll, profit analysis, and inventory management, QuickBooks can do it all—depending on which version you’re paying for. Whether you’re a small small business or a “small” small business, QuickBooks has an edition and a price point that will fit your needs. And don’t forget about their mobile app, either!

9. TurboTax

Another Intuit app, TurboTax offers a lot of functionality in a single package. You can sample its features with a free trial and then decide whether or not it’s the right fit for your small business.

10. FreshBooks

If you’re looking for an accounting app without the price tag, FreshBooks could be the right move. Oversee your cash flow, expenses, invoices, and more on your computer or your phone, and get top-notch customer service to boot.

11. InDinero

InDinero offers easy-to-interpret analytics for your small business’s financials. Understand your revenue and spending at a glance, order and process specific financial reports that investors and lenders will need, monitor your cash flow, and more.

12. Intacct

Known for their cloud-based security, Intacct doesn’t focus on small business—but they are a great accounting small business app if you’re especially concerned with your financial data. Take a look if you’re in a sensitive industry.  

13. Wave

Accounting, invoicing, payroll—this app helps you with all free. And the best part? You won’t have to fork over a cent. Wave runs on desktop and mobile, and also offers a receipt scanner (Why? Why not?) and a network of accountants for you to contact if you need help.

Small Business Apps: Banking

14. Simple

Tired of your big, slow, confusing bank and its big, slow, complicated app? Simple is, well, banking on that. Download Simple to try out a new kind of tech-first banking that gets rid of the cobwebs and helps you save—simply.

15. Citi Mobile

If you’re more interested in small business apps for your traditional bank, though, you’ll have plenty of options.

One is Citi Mobile, an app that gives you insight into your personal and business finances on-the-go, lets you pay your credit card bills and transfer funds on mobile, and more.

16. Amex Mobile

Another banking app, Amex Mobile also gives you roaming access to your bank account and statements. Plus, if you’re into additional layers of security, this app offers fingerprint authentication.

17. Capital One Mobile

If you can do it from your bank’s website, you can probably do it on your bank app: Capital One Mobile is no exception. If you work with this bank, you’ll want to download this app to manage your finances away from your keyboard.

18. Bank of America

When it comes to the Bank of America app, we’re not just talking about your everyday bank app. Oh, no. You see, this application won 1st place in three different categories of the Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard last year—so maybe it’s time to switch banks, if you care about mobile apps a whole lot!

Small Business Apps: Inventory

19. Inventory Tracker

If you’re looking for small business apps to seriously take some work off your plate, then Inventory Tracker is for you. Review your inventory—along with your sales, expenses, and credits—and make tracking easy by scanning bar codes and creating spreadsheets to export.

20. Lettuce

This all-in-one small business app combines inventory management with a few other useful functions—like sales and payments management, customer relationship maintenance, and more—that you could really benefit from. Try out the free trial of Lettuce today.

21. SOS Inventory

SOS Inventory is one of those small business apps that just makes things easier. It integrates with QuickBooks, allows you to manage inventory in more than one business location, track your items according to a number of different attributes (like serial number and cost history), and create tickets and packing slips, just to name a few features.

22. jumpStock

One of the most interactive and responsive small business apps out there, jumpStock lets you deep dive into managing your inventory—from your mobile phone and tablet, if you need. As a portable, cloud-based solution to inventory management issues, jumpStock can streamline how you work.

23. BoxMeUp

If you’ve got an Android phone, then BoxMeUp will help with your shipping headaches. Track packages, create new labels, scan old ones, and more with this mobile inventory management tool.

Small Business Apps: Help Your Register

24. Square

You’ve probably heard of Square, that tech startup changing the world of small business apps—and improving how small businesses process credit card transactions. Use your phone or tablet to swipe a customer’s credit card—all for free, including both the Square app and the card-swiping hardware they’ll send you—and simply pay a flat 2.75% fee each transaction.    

25. PayPal Here

Another point-of-sale business app, PayPal Here can process credit cards, checks, and invoices on your phone. One thing to note: PayPal Here works through PayPal, not your bank account, so make sure you’re synced up properly if you’re going to use it.

26. QuickBooks GoPayment

Intuit’s version of Square and PayPal Here, QuickBooks GoPayment lets you swipe a card or scan it with your phone camera, review your analytics data, review your best-selling items, and even integrate with your Apple Watch.

27. AccuPOS Restaurant

Although it’s a bit expensive, AccuPOS Restaurant is one of those small business apps that you just can’t live without once you’ve tried it. It integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, and plenty of other accounting apps, as well as other point-of-sale programs. With this restaurant-specific app, you can make paying the bill more efficient, simplify your food order system, and give your customers the best experience possible.

28. Revel Systems

Got a spare iPad lying around? Revel Systems will transform your tablets into hyper-efficient point-of-sale systems, letting you control seating, ordering, financials, inventory, sales, and schedules. Plus—split bills, without the hassle.

Small Business Apps: Managing Staff

29. TSheets

Hate processing payroll? Join the club. The TSheets club, that is—with this stellar example of the best of small business apps, TSheets will help you with employee management by tracking their schedules, automating timesheets, and integrating with QuickBooks or other accounting software platforms.

30.  Gusto

If TSheets isn’t your flavor, then maybe you should take a look at Gusto. Manage payroll, benefits, and compliance with this small business app—plus, you can calculate and file payroll taxes (at state and federal levels), track sick days and vacation time, and more.

31. Expensify

Next up on the list of boring, frustrating employee management tasks? Expense reports.

Cut out the fat with Expensify, a small business app that lets you scan receipts and process employee expenses easily and on-the-go, whether you have an iPhone or Android phone.

32. Neat

Neat helps you with invoices and receipts, taxes, expenses, and record-keeping… Without the big price tag. However, you will have to pay for the cloud service, so it’s not 100% free.  

33. Proven

Hiring? Proven could be the app that streamlines this time-intensive and, let’s face it, pretty boring process for you. Post your job listings across multiple different job boards, filter all your applications, bucket your candidates according to their fit, and leave notes to revisit later on. The app itself is free,

34. Slack

This productivity app makes instant messaging work-friendly. Instead of holding unnecessary meetings or typing twice as many emails up as anyone needs to, you can just shoot a quick slack over to one of your employees—and get an answer just as fast. With a free trial and a premium version with additional features, Slack is well worth trying… Especially since they claim to increase productivity by 32%.

35. Fuze

If video conferencing is a must in your line of work, then Fuze can help you get over all the bugs, laggy meetings, and lost connections that plague this medium. Host high-definition meetings that any device can join, without a hassle.

36. Skype

Among video chatting apps, Skype is still king. Send texts, share files, display your screen to others, include up to 25 other participants, and more with this robust video conferencing program from Microsoft.

Small Business Apps: Managing Customers

37. Belly

It’s a fact: customer loyalty programs work. That’s why you need Belly, one of those small business apps that has the potential to change your entire business. In addition to the email and social media marketing and analytics software it comes with, Belly’s main offering is a custom-tailored loyalty program. Does one of your customers love a specific item or meal? Great! You can design their points program specifically around what they prefer—and improve your chances of repeat customers.

38. AppSuite

Similar to Belly, AppSuite integrates with your point-of-sale software to help you design specific loyalty programs based on what your customers are interested in buying. It helps you, it helps your customers—everyone wins!

39. eBay

Running an eBay store? If so, the eBay app is a must. Manage your inventory and orders, respond to customer feedback, and more with this powerful app for e-commerce professionals.

40. Sell on Etsy

Unlike eBay, which offers one app for buyers and sellers alike, Etsy has an app specifically for its sellers. Manage your customers, review their orders, process payments, and edit your store details no matter where you are. That’s the freedom of running an online business.

41. InvoiceCare

Sync this business app up with your accounting software in order to consolidate your accounts receivable in one place. InvoiceCare will contact your late-paying customers over email or phone, send thank-yous, and maintain meticulous records for you.

42. FundingGates

Another invoice management app, FundingGates has the advantage of also offering accounts receivable financing and accounts receivable management certification. If you’re looking for an invoice app with extra features, this one could be for you.

43. Chargify

Run a business with a subscription model? If so, Chargify will help you simplify your recurring billing system, making the payment process easier for you—and your customer. Plus, you can rest easy with their Level 1 PCI-compliant record.

Small Business Apps: Planning

44. Evernote

Whether it’s Evernote or another note-taking application, you’ll want some cloud-based way of writing quick memos to check back with later. Running a small business is a busy endeavor, and planning-oriented small business apps like these help you make sure never to forget a golden idea or let an important contact’s information slip through your fingers.

45. Wunderlist

If you’re more of a list-maker, Wunderlist could be your note-taking app of choice. Easily create and maintain multiple lists, share them with others, assign mini-tasks, give them deadlines, and set reminders.

46. LivePlan

Need help crafting a business plan? LivePlan can help. This app will give you excellent tips and templates for business plans, pitches, and infographics, along with budget and revenue tracking with accounting software integration.

47. RescueTime

Got a procrastination problem that’s stopping you from working full-time on your small business. RescueTime is here to help, offering a tracking system that will send you reports on how you’ve spent your time online. If you splurge for the premium version, you’ll also get alerts, filters, and blockers for certain especially distracting sites.

48. My Minutes

Same problem, different solution: My Minutes tackles your time management issues by letting you set goals for how you spend your time. Stick to your plan and watch your productivity skyrocket.

49. TripIt

When you run a small business, everything is about your company. You live, sleep, and breathe your business. So if you can shave some time, energy, and stress off any travel plans you make, it’s probably worthwhile to your bottom line. TripIt will help you consolidate all your tickets, receipts, and travel plans in one place, and offers free, pro, and team versions.

50. Trello

If you’re managing more than a few employees and are starting to think about implementing larger, more complicated processes, Trello is a good option. This card-based system lets you easily create, assign, monitor, update, and complete different tasks—it’s a great way to make sure everyone is as productive and efficient as possible. Plus, Trello integrates with other small business apps like Evernote, Slack, and more.

51. Kanban Flow

If Trello is a bit complicated for your needs, try something simpler—like Kanban Flow. Visualize the work you have to do with a simple, intuitive engine that anyone can grasp. Plus, Kanban flow offers analytics reporting

52. Asana

Another workflow management small business app, Asana takes a slightly different approach. Instead of visual cards, like Trello, Asana uses a highly customizable list format that you can design however you like—but the fundamental idea is the same. Using a specific system to manage your tasks will improve productivity for your entire team.

53. Basecamp

Basecamp organizes your project into 6 categories, not one to-do list like Trello and Asana. With this app, your project or team will get: a chatroom, a message board, a documents and images bank, a task list, a calendar, and a recurring check-in system. It’s a slightly different philosophy of workflow management, but just might work better with your team than the other alternatives!

54. Toggl

Billing itself as “the ultimate timer,” Toggl is a team-based timekeeper you can use to record billable hours, export timesheets, and more. It works on mobile as well as desktop—and syncs with your workflow management apps like Trello and Asana. It’s also free for any number of accounts and projects, offers sub-grouping of team members and assignments, and more.

55. LocalVox

When it comes to marketing plans, small business apps can help you strategize, plan, and execute. LocalVox, for example, will make improve your search engine rankings, reputation, social media reach, mobile-friendliness, business listing, and more.

56. LinkedIn Pulse

LinkedIn’s news app, LinkedIn Pulse, makes it easy for you to stay on top of important industry news when you’re out of the office—and even offline. As a small business owner, you know how important it is to always be learning. This app will help.

***

With the right small business apps, you can cut down on the tedious, boring, annoying, time-intensive every business owner has to do, and deal with the issues that require more thought instead. That’s why you became an entrepreneur in the first place, right?  

Comment below if you use any small business apps that have changed your life! We’d love to add your great recommendations to our list.

The post The 56 Small Business Apps That Every Entrepreneur Needs to Try appeared first on Fundera Ledger.

from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/08/16/small-business-apps/