For small and medium business owners, anything that makes our lives easier, saves time, and increases productivity, is worth knowing about. We’ve put together some of the apps we couldn’t live without. Take a look at these for when you need to:
Manage finances and cashflow
We love using Xero to help us keep on top of our finances, no matter where we are. Whether it’s sending invoices while waiting in line for a coffee, or checking cashflow on the daily commute, Xero allows you and your accountant to access the same, real-time information. It also aids in producing proactive business planning, and integrates with hundreds of other apps too. This adds increased productivity and convenience – and who doesn’t want that?
Log invoices and receipts
Reclaim your valuable time by allowing ReceiptBank to extract information from your receipts and invoices quickly, accurately, and efficiently. Ideal for small and medium businesses, ReceiptBank allows you to process receipts and invoices while on the go, ensuring time-consuming bookkeeping becomes a thing of the past. Say goodbye to manual data entry and boxes of paper, and hello to seamless integration with your preferred cloud accounting software.
Communicate and collaborate with your team
Slack describes itself as communication for the 21st century, bringing all people and pieces together in a single place to get things done. Essentially a messaging app for teams, with powerful search functions, Slack makes communication among team members easier and better, reducing internal email, and for some businesses, replacing it all together. If that sounds too good to be true, take the tour to see what it could do for you and your team.
Build and engage with your professional network
With over 467 million registered members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network online. As a business owner, if you’re not on LinkedIn, you could be missing out on valuable networking opportunities, resources and support, and the chance to build relationships with potential clients and partners. Download the app and you’ll get news and information that matter for your professional day, a daily brief on what’s happening in your network, and a quick way to reach out and keep in touch with your contacts.
Access your files from anywhere
Trusted by over 500 million users worldwide, Dropbox is the cloud-based file hosting service that makes it easy to access and share your documents from wherever you are. Share files with colleagues in an instant, access your documents from your desktop, via the app on your phone or tablet, or by logging in to the Dropbox website. Storing your files with Dropbox also provides a secure backup, so if anything happens to your computer or USB, you can relax knowing your files are safe in the cloud. Accidentally deleted a file? Dropbox retains a history of files added and deleted within 30 days, which means you can retrieve crucial files, even if you deleted them a week ago.
Pay for parking without cash
You’re running late to catch the train, you finally get parked after desperately searching for a space, only to realise you don’t have change to buy a ticket. We’ve all been there. Who has £4.60 in coins anyway? That’s where PayByPhone saves the day. Easy and convenient, use the app, visit the website, or call or text, to pay for parking. If your meeting overruns, no problem! Extend your parking anytime from wherever you are and avoid receiving a nasty fine.
Travel by train
Visiting a client? The Trainline app will help you plan your journey and find the cheapest train tickets, saving customers 43% on average in advance fares. Want to avoid the delays on the Central Line? Or just need to figure out the best way to get from Liverpool Street to Paddington? Download the official London Underground Tube Map app, and have all the latest Tube map updates, the official TfL Night Tube map, real time travel information, and a smart journey planner at your fingertips.
Get across town
Uber takes all the pain out of travelling by taxi, with a superior service that maximises technology and costs less. Simply input your pick-up location and destination and request a ride. You can see the nearest Uber cars on a map, allowing you to track your Uber car before it arrives. The app estimates the cost of your journey so you know what to expect, and there’s no need to worry about fumbling for change, as payment details are stored and charged automatically for each journey. Want to split the fare with fellow passengers? Uber takes care of this too.
Name that tune
Ten years ago, you could be having lunch with a client when you notice them tapping along to a catchy tune on the radio. “Who is this?” they ask. “No idea”, you say. “I guess we’ll never know” they muse, despondently. Fast forward to 2017 and your toe-tapping client turns to you and says, “Who is this?”. “Ahhhh”, you say, whipping out your phone and launching Shazam, “It’s Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran”. When we’re not using it to impress clients, Shazam remains one of our favourite apps, identifying music instantly, and as if by magic, no matter where we are!
What apps help you to run your business better? Let us know in the comments if there’s an app that you couldn’t live without.