Boost Your Small Business Efficiency With Top 12 Productivity Tools 

Every day, the owner of the company or an entrepreneur has many tasks and responsibilities that one has to perform no matter what. Due to the lack of hierarchy and organizational structure, as well as the size of the unit, it becomes challenging to handle the work and make sure that it is equally productive. Fortunately, with the growth in technology, there are several tools available and in the form of applications that could help in work and enhance efficiency. 

Source: Tettra

Here Below The 12 Best Productivity Tools for Small Businesses

Email Marketing Tools

Nevertheless, email marketing is still efficient and cheap compared to other types of internet advertising to target the audience and make loyal buyers out of them. Two of the most effective email marketing software that are useful to small businesses include EngageBay and MailChimp.

EngageBay

Source: Engagebay

If you are an E-Commerce merchant looking to grow your e-commerce business, then EngageBay is the right tool for the job. The integration of E-Commerce with you is seamless and you possess the necessary tools that facilitate the process of transformation of your online companies.

Here’s how it works: 

It automatically integrates with the E-Commerce store to capture the customer and order details, along with the customer’s behavior, inclination, and purchasing habits. Having all this information at your disposal it will be easier to identify the right customer segments and market to the customers in the right way that will encourage them to buy a product hence boosting the conversion rates.

In EngageBay, email campaigns are composed of templates that can be edited just by pointing and clicking; this is quite helpful because you can make sure that your messages are personalized and unique without bothering too much and spending a lot of money.

MailChimp

Source: Rockstar Marketing

Mailchimp is an online based tool which offers marketing automation and email marketing solutions. Overall, Mailchimp is the trade name of its parent company Rocket Science Group, Inc an online marketing company based in the United States was founded in 2001 by Ben Chestnut, Mark Armstrong and later on joined by Dan Kurzius.

Mailchimp services was founded in 2001. For instance, one of their e-greetings card characters was given the name of the platform through which they earned several thousand dollars every month. Mailchimp initially operated as a paid email marketing tool, but expanded its basic features in 2009. It rapidly expanded the number of registered users, from 85 000 in the beginning of the year to 450 000 by the end. By June 2014, it was sending over 10 billion emails per month for its users. The platform facilitates the sending of more than 600 million emails within a space of 48 hours

To understand the options available for organization and project management tools, the following are worth considering:

Organization and project management are paramount to small businesses and this makes it possible for the business to deliver on its goals and meet set time lines.

ProofHub

Source: PCMag

The program has received many accolades for its performance,  now over 85,000 teams use ProofHub as their tool that helps in team collaboration in project management. Its centralized include the important tool of Task, Time Tracking, Chats, Forum, File, and Project Scheduling Calendar. It is cheaper than the Project Management software with clearly marked pricing plans and rather friendly interface which makes it perfect for small focused teams.

Asana

Source: Zapier

Asana Inc is an American software company operating from San Francisco, with Asana being their iconic web and mobile based work management tool aiming to assist teams in organizing and tracking workflow. As for the organizational information on Asana, Inc, the company was started in 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz together with Justin Rosenstein. The product was then made available to the public in the market starting April of 2012. At the time in September 2020, the company was estimated to be worth $5. 5 billion after the company went through its direct listing.

This web-based and mobile application is designed for sharing tasks, discussing and communication. On Asana, it is easy to see your tasks, projects, and progress and you are also able to assign yourself or delegate tasks. The communication feature helps you share notes, upload files and communicate with other members without using email. It also supports cooperation with third-party applications such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Slack when sharing documents and tracking the latest changes.

Xtensio

Source: Xtensio

Xtensio is a strategy and communications tool which unites the possibility to build, edit, discuss, and present within teams and in a short time. Today, over 350,000 consultants, agencies, entrepreneurs, teachers, and trainers use Xtensio to create better documents and save their time.

Using Xtensio, everyone can share what they want for business to achieve its objectives in one place. From people who set up a business, to the marketing people selling a global product and everything in between this tool helps users express themselves with intelligence and style through documents, our web presence and presentations. Specifically, it has narrowed its mission down to offering a mix between a website builder and a content editor, so that we can change the very way that businesses communicate in a world where constant creation is the new paradigm.

Finance and Accounting Tools

One area that is essential in any business is the management of financial and accounting, and with the right instruments available, it will make quite a difference. Consider the following options:

QuickBooks

Source: PCMag

The most straightforward aspect of financial management is the health check; this is an important tool that assists in decision making. QuickBooks is the all-in-one solution for sales and expense tracking, generating financial statements, issuance of employee and vendor checks, creating invoices, and paying taxes. It connects to different banking accounts and payment systems, makes calculations simpler when it comes to taxes, and lets you upload receipts in the form of photos from your smartphone. QuickBooks can be used on iPhone and iPad, as well as all Android devices.

Gusto

Source: PCMag

Gusto, Inc. is a SaaS company specializing in Payne and benefits administration software for employers located in the United States. Employees, and contractors’ pay is processed through Gusto then the necessary documentation to assist client companies to meet tax, labor, and immigration regulations is done through the electronic platform. Currently, gusto is serving all 50 states in the United States of America.

Gusto was bootstrap for a while and then joined Y Combinator Winter 2012 batch. It officially began operating on the 11th of December, 2012 in California by Joshua Reeves, Tomer London and Edward Kim.

On June 12, 2013, Gusto formally said it would support paying contractors, as well as ensuring tax compliance for them and the required Form 1099 and other paperwork. Some technology writers heralded the said development as a competitive weapon against other companies like ADP and Paychex since the later’s payroll software was said not to be able to integrate freelance workers. It also unveiled its plans of expanding operations to Florida, Texas and New York state.

Communication Tools

Communication is the core of any successful enterprise as the importance of operations cannot be overemphasized.

Slack

Source: Microsoft Store

Slack is an application for team communication in the workplace that is based on the cloud and is currently owned by Salesforce after buying out Slack Technologies. Like many other technologies that have grown in popularity in recent years, Slack employs a freemium strategy. Slack’s initially targeted audience is organizations and possesses features majorly for corporate use.

Slack was initially developed as an intracompany tool to help Tiny Speck – the company founded by Stewart Butterfield – to communicate within the framework of creating an online video game, Glitch. The original forms of these communication tools were developed based on the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and they used scripts which were aimed to automate and coordinate specific file transfer among the members of its development team.

First of all, by October 2012, Stewart Butterfield came to the conclusion that Glitch will not generate the amount of profits which is necessary. Consequently, the primary decided to change the course and turn the communication tools that had been created into a new product.

Traackr

If you are using influencers for marketing, it’s important that all the members in the marketing team need to get information concerning the best performing influencer in your marketing and those who are underperforming. Traackr also enables everyone to follow this data, allowing them to bear the responsibility of handling influencers. It also has an advantage where the managers of a particular show are able to access it at any given time and monitor the performers.

They also have the possibility of using this tool to identify influencers and compare what they have to propose in terms of budget, outcome, and factors that are beneficial for everyone as a team.

Nextiva

Source: Software Horsepower

This is a cloud-based phone system that is intended to save much time and money for the small business organizations. People can make clear and crisp communication with their in-house and remotely working teams with the help of the Nextiva on their computer or mobile phone. Includes features like free audio and video conferences, screen and document sharing, and calls recording to help you do business while on the move, all with assured clear High Definition sound quality.

CallHippo

Source: CallHippo

Among other VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems, there is CallHippo that lets you reduce the costs of calls and always stay in touch with customers. Through it, you may establish a remote support and sales team, purchase local virtual phone numbers from over 50 countries, as well as integrate with 85+ third-party applications such as Zapier, HubSpot, salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics. Features like power dialer and real-time reporting enhance CallHippo, making your team stronger and more efficient.

Payment Tools

Square

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Ability to accept payment through something as simple as a small card reader that can be connected to your phone or any other mobile device — Square. It also has a terminal named Square Register for physical traders, which is compatible with both the Android and the iOS.

Conclusion

In conclusion, managing a small business can be demanding due to the lack of hierarchy and organizational structure, but the right tools can significantly enhance productivity and efficiency. With the advent of various technological solutions, entrepreneurs and small business owners have access to a plethora of applications designed to streamline their operations.