Every small business has constraints in terms of time and resources. The right apps and software help address these by adding efficiency to processes like bookkeeping and collaboration. Thanks to easier interfaces and advanced technologies like machine learning, the capabilities of these apps can be quite powerful, especially for small business.
We’re highlighting five of the most popular apps for small business with some alternative solutions mentioned as well. If you’re already familiar with many of these apps then we suggest also checking out our announcement of the new Jagernaut app to help small businesses with SEO.
Considered the gold standard for small business accounting, QuickBooks is certainly one of the most popular overall apps for small business. You can track business income and expenses, view financial statements, track invoices, pay employees and vendors, and maximize tax deductions. It can also connect to most accounts, including credit cards, bank accounts, PayPal, and Square.
QuickBooks is also brining machine learning to small business with QuickBooks Cash. Recently announced, QuickBooks Cash aims to help small business owners better understand and predicts their finances. By analyzing inputs with machine learning, it predicts cash flow needs over the next 90 days and will notify owners of any potential concerns. Cash flow is a high priority for small business—poor cash flow was the number one reason why small businesses fail with 60% experiencing such issues before Covid-19.
Pricing: Varies. Look for free 30-day trial.
Alternatives: FreshBooks, Wave
While it may not provide a robust set of features for accounting, Certify is most attractive for its simplicity. If you already manage reimbursements for expenses, then you are already familiar with the challenges of reminding employees, analyzing receipts, recording expenses, and processing payments. Even just a few expenses can be painfully time-consuming.
Certify is one of the most appealing for small business with decent features and affordability. You can scan receipts and use the auto-fill feature to help save time. The app is also easy-to-use. Other solutions in this category offer more robust features aimed at mid-sized businesses and enterprise like reconciling corporate cards and implementing expense policies.
Pricing: Currently priced at $8 per user/month for up to 25 employees. Look for 14-day free trial.
Alternatives: Expensify, ExpensePath, Rydoo
Even for small businesses that have all or most of their employees on-site during the current pandemic, Slack is a great way to facilitate communication. With Slack you can organize conversation in private or public channels, send direct messages, and share documents in chat. For those times that you are looking for a document or a message you received from a colleague 2 months ago, Slack makes them easier to find with indexing features.
Most of the apps on this list will help small businesses succeed only if they are well implemented. This is especially true for communication tools like Slack. It will only provide value to the extent that it is used by everyone on the team, whether it’s a formal communications policy or a just a reminder to your employees every so often.
Pricing: Free with premium upgrades.
Alternatives: Microsoft Teams, Mio
Every small business may not need to manage and facilitate projects, but those that do could use an affordable and easy-to-use tool like Asana. With Asana you can track projects and tasks among teams and use boards to track progress. On each board, users can add tasks, notes, files, and deadlines through integrations with Google Drive, Dropbox, and Slack.
Pricing: Free with premium upgrades.
Making your small business look more professional is now a little easier thanks to Canva. With Canva, you can choose between different templates for both digital and physical content, including Instagram posts and business cards. You can also do some basic photo editing and easily access stock photos for purchase. Some of their premium features include branding kits that can help create a more consistent look and feel as well as a custom logo creator.
Pricing: Free with premium upgrades.
Choosing the best small business apps
The apps mentioned above represent some of the most popular apps and software for small business. Yet there are many more out there and sometimes the most uncommon ones are the best fit.
A good strategy is to start with your own requirements before doing any research. Here are some useful tips:
Identify the biggest needs of your small business and list your criteria in terms of must-have and nice-to-have.
Leverage the input of your team, including stakeholders like users, managers, or IT staff.
Research apps and read reviews with a grain of salt (every reviewer has different needs and some highly-rate apps may be more suitable for enterprise).
Consider benchmarking larger businesses in your industry such as retailers if you have a small boutique.
Choose 2-4 of the most suitable apps according to your requirements to more closely compare tradeoffs, loop-in your stakeholders for input.
Make a final selection and determine steps for successful implementation and adoption of the app, especially if it used across the business.
Looking for more input?
What are some of the most useful apps for your small business? Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts or reach out to us. We can also offer some more insight on some of the apps mentioned above since we have experience with them (both in enterprise and small business environments).