The Apps Which Make Small Business Possible

in Business

Most small business owners face a similar challenge; time. When you are working hard to promote your company, sell products, and complete projects, it will be hard to invest time into the administration which can come with your company. Of course, though, this work is very important, and most won’t be able to afford to simply skip it. Instead, new ways have to be found to find the time to keep your business afloat, and this often involves using technology to help you out. To give you an idea of what is available in this area, this post will be exploring some of the most prominent smartphone apps available on today’s market.

Accounting

Keeping track of money is always crucial when it comes to running a successful company, and will be paramount when you’re looking for apps to help you out. Companies like Freshbooks have worked incredibly hard to serve the mobile platform with the same level of features as their normal website. Not only does this give you the power to keep track of money while out and about, but it also give you the chance the avoid using the computer during a busy work day. Some will be better at working with the tax system in your location than others, and this will be worth researching before choosing your app.

Marketing

This area is on of the biggest a small business has to think about. Nowadays, simply sticking with local customers won’t be enough, and you’ll need to be able to compete with the big players when it comes to marketing. To achieve this, a couple of different tools can be used. Google AdWords has long been one of the most powerful ways to get more people to your website, and can be completely controlled from a smartphone. Having a tool like this in your pocket can make it very easy to keep business rolling in, even when you’re too busy to go out and target people directly.

SendX recently wrote an awesome, and super actionable guide to Google Ads which will help you get started fast, even if you don’t have large ad budget.

Along with traditional forms of marketing, a lot of companies are also using social media to get the word out about their work. Unlike AdWords, this can be done completely free, and you won’t have any limit on the amount you’re allowed to post about the work you’re doing. Instagram, Facebook, and all of the other platforms out there have their own apps, with some being dedicated to helping you run your business pages. Nowadays, this can be a great replacement for customer services, as it gives users the power to talk to you directly without having to call or email.

Customer Services

Of course, though, not a lot of businesses will want to leave their customer services in the hands of social media entirely, and it will be worth having an alternative in place for people who prefer traditional methods. Using a special virtual office service, you can have a business-style phone number attached to your smartphone. Along with a live chat app and something to send emails, this will give you everything you need to keep customers happy without having to leave the work you’re doing. Of course, you will have to make sure that you’re willing to answer questions very quickly of you go down a route like this.

CMS/CRM

When you’re selling goods over the web, it’s essential to be able to manage orders, stock, and all of the other important backend information which is processed by your website. Nowadays, modern CMS services like WordPress have their own apps which are designed to make it easier to manage sites from a phone. This will give you access to loads of resources, including the power to change pages and information on the site itself. Some systems are better than others for this. For this reason, it can be worth putting in some time to research your options here, as you may be able to find a CMS which will cater to all of your needs out of the box.

Along with this, though, you’ll also have access to all of your orders and the information which comes with them. Customer relationship management is very important to modern companies, with the speed of fulfillment being a big selling point for a lot of businesses. To make sure that you can handle this correctly, having all of this information fed to your phone will be essential. Options like WooCommerce, SquareSpace, and Wix can all give you access to this resource, enabling you to keep working on orders while doing your normal jobs.

Shipping

It may seem like a simple thing, but shipping goods can often be one of the hardest jobs a small business has. Keeping track of all of the parcels you send out is almost impossible, especially when you have to deal with hundreds of paper receipts. To help you to avoid this, postal management apps have become popular amongst business owners all over the world, giving you place to keep an eye on all of your shipments. This can make it incredibly easy to see when packages have arrived without having to go to a dedicated website for it. Of course, along with this, it can all be done from your mobile phone.

Employee Management

There will be loads of parts of your business which won’t have any impact on your customers, but will still be important to the running of your business. Managing your employees, for example, is critical if you want to be able to complete work on time. You may be asking yourself; What’s The Best Way To Schedule My Employees? Instead of scratching your head, installing a simple app could solve all of your issues in this area, making it incredibly easy to keep everyone on the same page. As a big part of this, a lot of businesses struggle to manage sickness, but your app will be able to keep a record for you.

You won’t only be interested in making sure that everyone is in work, though, as there won’t be much point in them being there if they aren’t doing anything. You may have to work on something of your own for this idea, but having the power to track the work being done within your business from a phone would be incredible. Without having to keep an eye on CCTV or a computer, you would be able to watch a constant stream of the tasks employees are working on, all while being able to step in when they need help. If you can’t find an option which will work for you, a simple app like this wouldn’t cost too much to have built for you.

Security

Not a lot of people will think about large-scale security when they look at their phone screen. In reality, though, this sort of device has everything you need to use it as a security HQ, especially when you have a fast network. CCTV, alarms, and even non-aggressive booby traps can be given commands from your mobile phone. While this sort of technology isn’t very new, it is still worth having, as it can give you access to all of your security information when you’re out of the office and having fun.

Time Management

Keeping track of time can be another troubling area for business owners, with important meetings being forgotten about and other parts of the company feeling the hit. To solve this issue, some clever use of your phone’s native calendar app should be plenty. On both Android and iOS, this sort of tool can give you reminders, take complex meeting information, and even sync up with your emails so that you don’t even have to add your important events to it. It will take a little while to learn how to use this to its full potential, but this will be well worth it.

Sales

Finally, as the last area to think about, it’s time to consider the direct sales you have to work on as the head of your company. There will always be deals in the works which are more important than your consumer offerings, and having the tools to manage them will be critical. Lead generation, sales management, and loads of other areas in this field can be handled from your phone. Companies like Salesforce are perfect for this. Not only are their options reasonably priced, but they also include loads of other online resources to help you out.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start working harder on the time you put into your mobile phone’s functionality. This tiny device has a lot to offer when it comes to running your company, with loads of people working on apps, programs, and other tools can make all of your work nice and easy. Of course, for some of these jobs, you will want to hire dedicated employees for them in the future. Until that becomes possible, though, you will have to be the one doing this sort of work. If you need further help with this, it’s a good idea to find a way to take a break from your work to figure out the right course of action.


Image Credits: Unsplash

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