In a sea of apps, it’s hard to find useful apps. But some apps are a cut above the rest.
Running a business is a lot of work, and taking care of the minutiae of the day-to-day stuff is a challenge for most entrepreneurs. Luckily, there are some cheap and easy to use tools that make running a business a little bit easier.
Here are the tools I find the most useful.
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I do a lot of networking and collect a lot of business cards. Unlike many other business card apps, this app uses human transcription to ensure that data is entered correctly. It syncs with Google Contacts and even has an integration into Zapier. Moreover, the app pulls more details about contacts including any associated social networks.
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Zapier (Free to $$$) Zapier.com
Zapier is a tool that ties together all of the APIs of different cloud services. It’s free plan includes 5 “zaps” (connections between apps) and 100 actions. This is probably enough for many startups. The paid plans are a tad pricy, but compared to the time and expense of hiring a developer it’s quite reasonable.
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I hate book keeping, and keeping track of mileage is an absolute hassle. Luckily this app keep track of mileage automatically by detecting when you’re moving, or when you’re connected to your car’s Bluetooth. It automatically keeps track of expenses with the current IRS and CRA rates and automatically emails reports that can be kept for taxes.
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I can’t say enough good things about Wave Accounting. I can snap a photo of my receipts and they are automatically transcribed and cross referenced with my credit card and bank statements. Speaking of that, they’re a Canadian company so their integration with even the smallest institutions is mostly flawless. It’s not going to replace my accountant come tax season, but for keeping track of expenses, generating invoices, and collecting payment it’s hard to find too many faults.
I use these tools every day and I can’t get over how much time and money these apps save me. For anyone trying to manage a few aspects of their business these tools are a life saver.
What tools have you found useful for running your business?