In today’s small business world, there are so many ways to compound your efforts and free up your time for what is important- making profits. But where to begin? Everywhere you turn there is a tool that will make your life easier, but too many of these tools and you’re back to square one. We have compiled a list of the Top 10 areas these tools will help you become more efficient through automation without adding too much to your small business.
1. Blogging and Social Media
Having scheduled social media is becoming a must for every business. Hubspot has easy to use tools and tutorials that will help you get up and running with scheduled content and so much more.
2. Project Management
Since our first group project in grade school there has always been a negative stigma behind projects. Asana is a list making tool that allows you to create projects, invite people, check off tasks as you go, and set goals. Receive alerts from anywhere with their app!
3. CRM
Keeping customer relationships in good order is important for everyone. Insightly has been ranked the #1 CRM tool for small businesses, according to their website. Look at metrics on the go with their app.
4. File Sharing
Having your assets in a place where they are easily accessible to the right people makes everyone’s lives easier. Doing this with less communication is even better. Dropbox is a popular tool that allows you to share what you want with who you want.
5. Mileage logs
Tracking your miles is a necessary evil. The tax benefits are great but tracking them every day isn’t. Let MileIQ do it for you. This easy to use app keeps track of business and personal miles with an easy swipe.
6. Competitor Research
No download needed for SpyFu because it works completely online. Look at metrics around competitor’s online campaigns and pricing. Find out what keywords work the best and which are the worst. See who is ranking organically. SpyFu allows you to tap into 6 years of metrics that have been tracked.
7. Human Resources
Keep everything from payroll to onboarding to benefits organized and together with Zenefit. All of your HR needs will be a snap and your payroll will be automated.
8. Recruiting
Having a talented team takes work and makes all the difference. ZipRecruiter, is on top of it. ZipRecruit allows you to post jobs for free and puts these job listings onto other recruiting websites while also sending notifications to individuals subscribers.
9. Inventory
Stay efficient with getting inventory and getting product out the door with Stitch Labs. You can manage inventory, fill orders, and ship faster with this simple but powerful tool.
10. Invoicing
Managing invoices needs more than your typical spreadsheet. Freshbooks is free and can accept online payments, schedule invoices, and share data across multiple tools.
GadellNet is an award-winning IT consulting firm that provides full-service technology solutions to small businesses. Since 2003, we have been delivering efficient, profitable and happier workforces. GadellNet’s best-in-class engineering team is highly successful at implementing and maintaining value-add hardware and software technology.
