APPS HELPING YOU SPEND MORE TIME ON YOUR BUSINESS THAN IN YOUR BUSINESS

Helping You Spend More Time ON Your Business Than IN Your Business. Apps

Running a small business involves wearing a lot of hats. If you’re looking to increase productivity and organiSation — or just make your life as an entrepreneur a little easier — a good business app might be just what you need. Apps can save you time, improve your productivity, help you relax or simplify complex tasks. The best business apps increase productivity and can make the life of a small-business owner easier.

To help you navigate the seemingly endless sea of business apps, we’ve compiled a list to get you started. Check with the individual companies for current pricing information.

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING

Gusto. Manages online employees on boarding, Gusto handles new-hire reporting and all local, state and federal tax filings; automates deductions for benefits and workers’ comp payments; and emails digital pay stubs to employees.

Quickbooks. Track your business’ sales and expenses; view financial statements, such as profit and loss reports; pay your employees and vendors; track unpaid invoices; maximize your tax deductions; and more. You can access QuickBooks on your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or Android tablet.

Freshbooks. Create personalised, professional-looking invoices to match your business; automatically bill your clients for recurring invoices; and accept credit cards on your mobile device. Track and organize expenses from anywhere and create customiSable business reports, such as profit and loss statements.

Wave. designed for small businesses, independent contractors and sole proprietors with nine or fewer employees, Wave lets you track sales and expenses, manage invoices and customer payments, pay employees, scan receipts and generate accounting reports.

COMMUNICATION

Addappt. When your business contacts, friends and family update their contact information, the changes automatically extend to your phone, provided your contacts also use Addappt.

Skype. Use Skype to video or voice call anyone in the world; get up to 25 people together on a call; transmit video, photos and

Fuze. This video conferencing app hosts online meetings for all devices and operating systems, including iPads and tablets. It offers high-definition video and crisp audio, and it’s easy to set up and download.

Pushover. Push messages to any smartphone and organise messages and notifications from your devices in one common space. You can send 7,500 messages each month for free and receive an unlimited amount of notifications on Android and iOS devices and desktops.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Tripit. Consolidate your travel plans into a single, master itinerary that you can access at any time and on any device, regardless of the website you use to buy your ticket. Users forward all their travel emails to TripIt, and the app takes it from there. You can also check departure times and delays, find

Rescuetime. This app tracks time you’ve spent on applications and websites and sends you detailed reports based on your activity, giving you an accurate picture of how you spent your day. Set alerts to notify you when you’ve spent a certain amount of time on an activity.

OmniFocus. This personal task manager lets you create projects and tasks and organize them into to-do lists.

My Minutes. Help you stay grounded by setting goals, such as “Spend only one hour checking email” or “Work out for 30 minutes.” The app is available for iPhones only.

MOBILE PAYMENTS

Square. Is a good fit for businesses such as food trucks, beauty salons and retail shops. Its users get a small, portable card reader

that attaches to a phone or another mobile device to take fast, convenient payments. It also offers a point-of-sale system called Square Register

Paypal Here. Attaches PayPal’s card reader to a tablet or other device and use it as a portable register.

ORGANISING

Asana. View all your tasks and projects and follow progress on the Asana board, and you can share notes, upload files and communicate without having to rely on email.

Trello. If you love a to-do list, then you’ll love Trello. Each card you create on a Trello board represents an assignment or task. You can add members, comments, attachments, checklists, due dates, and labels and stickers

to make the cards as descriptive as possible. Whenever you change a card, Trello notifies each member. Free and paid-for versions.

Proven. Organise your hiring, letting you post job listings to multiple job boards with one click on your smartphone. You can also sort through dozens of application responses in minutes; categorise applicants into “yes,” “no” and “maybe” buckets; and note when you follow up with a candidate.

LEADS

Mailchimp. Build and manage your mailing lists and easily create and send newsletters. You can also build and customise email templates and view performance reports about your emails. Mailchimp offer “Forever free” and paid-for versions.