By Adam Taylor.
In the age of technology, entrepreneurs and small business owners can run almost any business with just the convenience of their smartphone. The best apps save time and help you stay in touch with your business wherever you are. Research shows that making technology upgrades a regular business goal is necessary to stay competitive. The six apps on this list cover basic office tasks, payroll, marketing, banking, and billing.
1. Mobile scanning app
Scanning and sending documents is a normal day-to-day business for businesses. Luckily, you no longer need a bulky scanner attached to your computer. Scan and send documents directly from your smartphone, saving you time and helping you keep important papers organized.
If you have an iPhone, basic scanning functionality is already available in the Notes app. However, if you want a full-featured app, SwiftScan can be a bit pricey, but it offers a wide range of features, including crisp photo and business card scanning. Office Lens or Adobe Scan are also great choices. After scanning the document, it is convenient to edit the PDF online using a free PDF editor. This tool allows you to tweak or correct scanned documents.
2. Business banking app
Almost everyone already uses online banking, but you can also access your business account through your banking app. If you don’t already have one, download your banking app as soon as you start your business journey. Track vendor payments and process everything electronically. If you use the same bank for your personal account, you can access both from the same login. Centralizing your finances keeps you organized and saves you time.
3. Social media apps
Every business needs an aggressive social media marketing strategy. Must use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Tiktok advertising programs. Link your business account to apps on your phone and create social media folders on your phone to help keep you organized. Use your business email and logo on every account to streamline communications and promote your brand across all platforms. You can also create email folders to organize all your social media emails in one place.
4. Business Graphic Design App
Every entrepreneur and small business needs a brand and one of the first elements of creating a brand is designing a logo. There are online tools that make logo design easy with logo templates that you can customize with free images and fonts. You can also use this software to create banners with social graphics, business cards, and logos. Download an image that will also be used as your social media profile picture.
5. Billing app
If your business issues invoices, you can download our invoicing software directly to your phone or computer. Zoho Invoice is free and provides a portal for time and expense tracking, payment approvals, and client tracking of activities. Harvest is a great option for businesses that bill for hourly services or freelancers who need to track hours for multiple projects.
6. Payroll App
If you have employees, your business absolutely needs a payroll app. Gusto is relatively inexpensive compared to other apps and gives employees access to a portal to track benefits and wages. You should choose an app that offers options for small business payroll processing. Not only does this make your job easier as a business owner, it also makes it easier for your employees.
Managing a small business requires multitasking, but with the right applications, you can focus everything on your smartphone or laptop. Being able to work from anywhere is especially important for freelancers and entrepreneurs is. So try to get the most out of the app.
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Both Adam Taylor and his girlfriend Sarah Noel quit their corporate jobs to work as freelancers, pursuing a balance between the work they love and the life they want. Since then, they have made it their mission to work on their own terms. They have taught themselves how to work smart instead of hard. They promised to separate work and home so they could enjoy both. I now use TaylorandNoel.com to share my best practices with other freelancers and hope they can do the same.
