Running a small business means managing a whole array of tasks, from finance to scheduling. In order to accomplish all that you need done, you must adhere to the old adage of working smarter, not harder. Whether you know it or not, your best and most reliable business assistant is that same portable gadget you can’t leave home (or office) without. Your smart phone should be equipped with these five apps:
Office Time. This app is an all-in-one solution of sorts that could help any small business owner with everything from budgeting to advertising campaign organization. From the Office Time interface, you can access time sheets, project timelines, financial spreadsheets, and more.
Expensify. Many small business owners report that the finance aspect of running a business is the most cumbersome for them. Expensify helps ease the burden by providing a simple and easy way for you to itemize your business expenses throughout the year. Use this app to snap photos of receipts and invoices, store and organize them, and even upload them to your tax software for your accountant.
When I Work. Employee scheduling is no small task, even for small businesses. When I Work enables you to completely streamline the scheduling process. From the easy to use interface, simply input your employee information, click on the date and times you want them to work, and drag and drop to edit the schedule. The great thing about When I Work employee scheduling software is that it utilizes a cloud based system for storing your schedules, so you and employees can access them from anywhere.
Webex. Now you can hold meetings with everyone from your team of employees to foreign vendors, no matter where you are at. Webex is a virtual meeting place that allows you to schedule, host, and attend collaboration sessions from your smart phone. Also, you can share documents through the Webex interface, which can dramatically improve communication when you can’t meet with someone face to face.
Evernote. This is the digital answer to the post-it note (and what business owner isn’t a fan of post-it notes?), only with many more features. Evernote is an app that enables you to save screen snapshots, web pages, images, text snippets, and whatever else you may feel that you need to hang onto until later. You can then access the information from your smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop.
As a small business owner, you are responsible for juggling many different roles. Fortunately, there are many resources for helping you do that, and do it efficiently, and many of them are right at your fingertips.