Here is a list of apps that we and our clients have found useful for small businesses. These small business apps that either help to make everyday tasks easier, or give you a better way to communicate with your team. We have no affiliation with any of these apps or services, we’re just fans.
- Gusto is an app that helps with payroll, HR and benefits for small businesses. Features include:
- payroll tax filings
- set up time off policies and allow employees to make requests online
- offers employee self set up
- automatically generate W-2 and 1099 forms and employees can download them online
- automated payroll, direct deposit and checks, unlimited pay rolls, multiple pay rates
- sync payroll and employee time off to your personal calendar
- customize multiple pay schedules.
- $39/month base price plus $6/month per person. 401(k) retirement plans and 529 college savings accounts are available for an extra fee. At this time they do have 1 month free trial and there is no long-term contract, you pay month-to-month.
- Quickbooks is the industry leader in personal and small business accounting software. It lets you:
- organize expenses made with connected credit card and bank accounts
- track inventory and price per item to easily find your profits
- control your cash flow and manage your bills
- create professional invoices and estimates and set up a “Pay Now” button to get paid instantly
- quickly and easily see reports and dashboard overview
- easily share tax info with your accountant and prepare your 1099s
- easy to use on-the-go with the mobile app
- paperless receipt tracking
- enhanced and full service payroll are available for an additional fee
- if you are a freelancer you can track mileage automatically and set up quarterly tax information
- Pricing starts as low as $5/month for an independent contractor. They also have a free month trial and as of now have special introductory pricing for the first 6 months
- Slack allows you to keep in touch with your team and let’s you:
- create open channels and private channels depending on the project your team members are working on
- send messages directly to people or groups
- complete voice or video calls from the app
- drag, drop and share files with team members
- integrate notifications to Slack so you don’t have to keep switching between apps
- easily search your archive for files, messages and notifications
- packages start free and increase depending on your company’s size and needs
- Evernote is a note-taking service that lets you make notes on the go, and keep them in sync wherever you go. With Evernote you can:
- make a task list for projects
- use it for reminders
- save text, images or documents
- once you “capture” a note it’s available across all devices
- share ideas with a group
- the free version allows you to upload up to 60 megabytes of data/month with other packages allowing for larger data uploads and other features
- Trello is a great way to keep track of small task items for yourself or a team. It’s a visual board with categories for your task cards. With Trello you can:
- create task categories to keep track of your progress
- create cards for your task items
- move the cards between categories as your tasks are updated
- keep your boards in sync across all devices (Android, iOS, and web)
- Trello is free, but offers plans with more features and bigger teams
- Square is a great payment app for retail shops, restaurants and anyone who needs to take payments on the move
- business receives a portable card reader that they can attach to their phone or mobile device
- with every swipe it deducts 2.75% automatically
- sales reporting and analytics
- digital and printed receipts, real-time inventory management
- point of sale app is compatible with Apple and Android products
- manage different locations from the same account
- transactions are linked to employees, which makes it easier when dealing with tips and commissions
- help with long lines when employees can get customer payments while they wait in line
- DropBox has over 500 million users who share and store their files in the cloud
- can sync files with desktop and mobile apps, to keep up-to-date wherever you are
- keep your important files backed up in the cloud
- free plan has limited storage for one person
- paid personal plan has more storage, limited to one person
- business plans have additional storage, share files among team