As business owners, we know how time consuming managing a business can be. Fortunately, technology has come a long way in the last few years and we’ve found some amazing new gadgets to help us manage our time and our business tasks. Here’s our list of the top mobile apps every small business owner could use.
1. Dropbox – This handy service lets you take documents, photos, and videos anywhere. It’s especially handy for those of us with multiple devices because it lets you store and share things via a folder. What’s also great about this app is that it automatically syncs every time someone changes or adds a document in the folder. No more emailing huge files back and forth to team members or yourself. Best of all, it’s FREE.
2. Yelp – If you’re a small business owner and you haven’t claimed your Yelp account yet, do it now. Yelp is one of the most popular social reviewing sites out there and the mobile app version of this site only continues to grow. It’s important for business owners to know what their customers are saying about them, in real time. Download this free app and you’ll always be plugged into your customer’s conversations about you.
3. Time Master – A top-ranked time-keeping app, Time Master seems to do it all. For anyone that needs to keep track of time and expenses, this $9.99 app is for you. Organize tasks by client, track meals and mileage, track time by start, stop or duration, and so much more. The most popular users of this app are consultants, attorneys, and contractors. However, it’s only available on iOS. If you’re an Android user, we suggest you check out Timesheet. This free Android app isn’t as comprehensive as Time Master, but it still provides an easy-to-use interface for timekeeping.
4. Square – For anyone that needs to accept payment on the go, we can’t say enough good things about this app. It’s free to sign-up, and the company will send you a free Square card reader that you can attach to any iPhone or iPad (also works with Android-based devices). The reader accepts all major credit cards and deposits the amount directly into your bank account for a small 2.75% fee – a fee much smaller than most merchant services.
5. Freshbooks Minibooks – Need to send invoices on the go? This app makes it easy. You can manage your clients, send estimates, track time, send invoices, track payments, and sync it all back to your Freshbooks account.
6. Foursquare – This free app has more than tripled its user base since this time last year, and trends are indicating that it will only continue to climb in popularity. Just like Yelp, business owners need to claim their location. But taking it one step further and offering specials and tips will only help increase your customer loyalty. For more about how to use Foursquare for small business, read our article on it over at STLSmallBusiness.com: How Foursquare Can Help Small Business.
7. Hootsuite – For the social media savvy small business owners, Hootsuite can help you manage all of your social media accounts in just one app. Yes, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare and more can all be managed inside one simple and free app. And unlike its desktop counterparts, this app is internet-based, meaning you can log into your account from anywhere.
8. Pulse – It’s important for small business owners to keep up on the news and trends within the industry. Pulse is a new, visual way to do all of that. Available for free on Android and iOS devices, Pulse takes all of your favorite websites and converts them into a colorful mosaic of articles that are much easier to browse than a standard RSS reader.
9. Wordpress – If you have a site built on the Wordpress platform, the latest update of the app from Wordpress makes it easier to manage your site on the go. Especially useful for bloggers, this app syncs with your Wordpress account, allowing you to access drafts and post photos directly to your site.
10. Google Docs – What CAN’T this app do? Google Docs lets you access and edit your documents and spreadsheets, print on the go, upload and share files, and so much more. It’s a fantastic app for those of us that are already familiar with the web-based version of Google Docs.
So that’s our round-up of the best apps for small business owners for 2011. If you have a favorite app that we didn’t include, please tell us about it in the comments.
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