Small businesses are constantly looking for ways to grow, and the right tools can make a difference in helping them reach their goals. There will be an even greater selection of powerful software to help small business owners manage and run their operations at a lower cost.
So, here they are – 30 must-have small business tools for entrepreneurs and small businesses that want to succeed.
30 Essential Tools for Small Business
Recruitment
Workable
Workable is the world’s most famous recruiting software for small businesses and startups. It allows you to create job postings, review the applications, and establish a recruitment process in one place.
Workable helps you source, track, and manage candidates. It also allows small businesses to easily search for the right candidate and send automated emails according to their actions on the platform. It also offers an AI-powered search engine to quickly identify top talent and advanced analytics to track the performance of recruitment campaigns.
BambooHR
BambooHR is HR software ideal for freelancers, sole proprietors, and small businesses. The tool manages the most important HR tasks: hiring, onboarding, employee data, payrolls, and company culture.
BambooHR collects and organizes data throughout the life cycle of an employee, enabling small businesses to make better decisions. It also helps drive employee engagement, increase well-being, and boost performance by creating individualized onboarding plans and providing personalized career development paths.
Homerun
If you’re sick of multiple docs, spreadsheets, and manual processes to manage your small business’ recruitment pipeline, here is Homerun. This software helps businesses build their recruitment system from scratch.
Homerun’s dashboard structures all your job openings depending on the created categories and has a drag-and-drop feature to move candidates between the stages of their recruitment process. It also has a great star-based system to review coming resumes, assign roles, and tag recently liked applications.
Project Management
Asana
Asana is an online collaboration and communication platform designed to help teams plan projects and organize their work. It offers Gantt charts to allow users to visualize the timeline, Kanban boards to organize and prioritize tasks and decrease workload, and an inbox feature to keep your team members in the loop and notify them of upcoming tasks.
Asana has a massive library of templates categorized by team type and goals. The tool also has 200+ integrations with other great tools like Slack, Dropbox, Zoom, and Google Calendar, so small businesses can quickly sync their tasks in one place.
Basecamp
Basecamp is tailored specifically to remote teams. It guides team members through every project stage with to-do lists, group chats, file sharing, and real-time messaging.
Basecamp’s simple design makes it easy to get started with the tool and see results quickly. All the projects are organized on the home page, and you can pin the most important ones. The tool also has a calendar to set deadlines, reminders for team members, and various integrations to improve collaboration and delivery.
Trello
Trello is one of the best small business tools to organize and prioritize tasks enjoyably. It allows you to create cards for tasks, assign them to team members, set deadlines, and move cards between lists. You can color code the cards and attach documents to them as well.
Trello also helps boost collaboration by allowing users to leave comments, upload files and photos, receive notifications on deadlines, and track real-time progress with the Dashboard. Like Asana and Basecamp, it’s also integrated with other popular tools like Jira, Miro, Slack, etc.
Time Tracking
Toggle
Toggl’s tracking system helps accurately optimize team members’ productivity. It simplifies recording and analyzing time spent on tasks and projects by allowing users to start, stop, and switch between different activities with a single click.
Toggl also offers detailed reporting and insights to help teams track their performance and assess the ROI of their projects. This allows them to quickly identify any problem areas and take corrective actions much earlier.
Clockify
Clockify is a free time tracking and productivity software for small businesses that allows teams of any size to accurately measure their work hours, tasks, and projects. It offers features such as weekly timesheets, project reports, billable hours tracking, and custom dashboards for users to get an overview of their performance in real-time.
Additionally, you can synchronize Clockify with the app version to track your work from anywhere and GPS feature to monitor employee time on job sites. The tool also offers unlimited users and projects, so businesses don’t have to worry about upgrading their plans as the team grows.
Harvest
With Harvest, businesses can understand how their team members spend their time. It provides an intuitive dashboard to track hours, manage projects, and analyze team performance.
This small business software offers project budgeting to help teams stay on top of the finances and keep the budget under control. Harvest also has an invoicing feature to send smart invoices to clients and billable rates for each project and client.
Website Building
WordPress
Looking for reliable small business software to create a website? WordPress is the best choice. It’s the most popular website builder with millions of users and is suitable even for beginners. You can use it to create stunning ecommerce stores or business blogs with one of the thousands of available themes.
You can manage content with its easy-to-use Dashboard and use thousands of plugins to add features to your website, like widgets, contact forms, etc. Moreover, WordPress is SEO-friendly, so your website will climb the search engine rankings much faster.
Wix
If you don’t want to waste time building a website, Wix is there to help. The platform provides an innovative experience and great design options without any coding required. You can quickly create all sorts of sites from scratch, and the result will be incredible.
Wix ADI creates websites for you based on the information you give it. You can adjust themes and customize your website with colors, fonts, and media to make it look unique. You can also use Wix’s SEO Wiz to improve your website’s visibility and ranking in search results.
Weebly
On Weebly, you can build a website or an online store. Select a template to start quickly and customize it with drag-and-drop tools. Weebly also offers powerful features such as integrated e-commerce, membership, contact forms, and blog posts.
The platform’s built-in analytics will help you keep track of your website performance and monitor traffic. Weebly also provides access to a library of free images to add a single one or create a slideshow.
Cloud Storage
Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage tool that allows users to store, access, and share files safely in the cloud. It offers secure file sharing, remote access, and collaboration between team members to easily access files anytime and anywhere.
Dropbox helps businesses save time and energy by allowing users to store all their documents in one place. It also has advanced features such as version history, password protection, and activity logging for enhanced security.
Google Drive
Google Drive helps businesses manage, store, and collaborate on documents and other files. With Google Drive, you can send docs, spreadsheets, images, videos, and other content to teams and partners with simple clicks.
It also provides secure access to files from any device, meaning you can work remotely and securely from anywhere. Additionally, Google Drive offers administrative controls like shared drive access and reporting tools to help managers monitor usage and control data.
Box
Box has an unlimited storage capacity and offers various features to boost productivity and collaboration. With simple automation for HR onboarding and contract management, you can save time and money by streamlining your processes.
Box also offers several levels of security and encryption to protect your data and analytics to measure user engagement and content performance. E-signatures make it easy to sign contracts and documents remotely. Best, the tool is compatible with 1500+ popular 3rd party applications and integrates with existing content management systems.
Social Media Management
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management software for small businesses that helps manage their presence across several channels simultaneously. It offers an intuitive dashboard to schedule posts, track conversations, and monitor key performance metrics such as website visits, sales conversions, and more.
With Hootsuite, you can quickly engage with customers on social media channels, monitor posts for brand sentiment, identify trends, and measure the ROI of your campaigns. It also provides detailed reports to analyze team performance and help managers make data-driven decisions.
Buffer
Buffer comes with built-in templates, A/B testing, and analytics to help you measure the success of your social media. It offers the ability to create and schedule posts in advance, track conversations, monitor brand mentions, and more.
Buffer also provides tailored recommendations for each platform and real-time monitoring of key metrics such as engagement rate, audience growth, reach, and impressions. Furthermore, it has an easy-to-use analytics dashboard that you can use to understand your audience and get insights into what’s working and what isn’t.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social software for small business activities enables them to control their social media presence and build customer relationships. Users can quickly schedule messages, monitor keywords and hashtags, and analyze each post’s performance on any platform.
The software includes popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. A unique feature is its ability to integrate custom audiences from each platform to create targeted campaigns.
Email Marketing
Flodesk
A powerful email marketing platform like Flodesk provides you with an intuitive email builder, powerful automation tools, and eye-catching email templates that both small and medium-sized businesses can use.
Flodesk helps you turn leads into customers quickly. Some of their lead nurturing email examples show you what a well-crafted, personalized, call-to-action email should include. They will also help you build trust with your email subscribers and potential customers and encourage and motivate them to purchase.
MailChimp
MailChimp provides tools to create email campaigns, manage mailing lists, segment subscribers, and automate email delivery. It’s one of the great solutions for businesses looking to engage their customers and grow their presence in the email space.
Mailchimp offers plenty of templates to create and send beautiful emails. The drag-and-drop editor allows you to customize your emails, add images and other content, and see how it will look before sending. You can also create automated campaigns that trigger a series of emails based on specific events or customer behavior.
Omnisend
Omnisend is a multi-channel marketing automation tool that empowers ecommerce brands to create meaningful customer experiences and drive business growth. With Omnisend, you can easily create and execute automated campaigns across email, SMS, web push notifications, Facebook Messenger, and more.
Omnisend offers a wide range of features and tools designed to help you maximize customer engagement. These include a drag-and-drop email builder, customizable product recommendations, and advanced segmentation capabilities.
SendPulse
SendPulse is an advanced marketing automation platform that provides the most effective and efficient methods of communication with customers. It integrates with many popular services and platforms, including WooCommerce, Facebook, Shopify, and Zapier.
This platform allows you to quickly create and schedule email campaigns, manage multiple mailing lists, personalize messages with subscription forms, and monitor statistics. Other features include AMP emails, A/B testing, and automated workflows.
Content Creation
Canva
Designing beautiful graphics and visuals is so simple with Canva. Millions of professionals and creatives use this platform to create stunning social media posts, flyers, banners, logos, and more.
You can customize your visuals according to your needs as there are thousands of templates, fonts and illustrations, and powerful image editing tools. Plus, you can collaborate with other team members in real time and manage projects efficiently.
Movavi Video Editor
Video making is an essential part of any business marketing strategy. You can quickly create outstanding video content with Movavi Video Editor. The software includes tools to enhance videos, apply special effects, make transitions, add music and titles, and more.
Apart from basic features, the tool has advanced options for giving your video a professional look: color correction, audio editing, AI-driven background removal, denoizer, upscaling, etc. You can also export videos in different formats and share them directly on social media or Google Drive.
Hemingway Editor
Want to improve your writing and ensure it’s clear and error-free? Hemingway Editor is the best tool for that. This app highlights complex sentences, passive voice, and other common writing issues.
Hemingway has a readability score to fix your writing and make it easier to understand. You can make adjustments instantly to improve your content or copy it elsewhere. The tool suits all writing projects, from website content to emails and social media posts.
Communication
Slack
Slack has everything you need to build internal communication within your team. It’s one of the greatest small business tools for effective teamwork and collaboration. You can create channels to organize conversations, use the search feature to find what you need quickly, share files, create polls, and more.
You can also set up real-time video calls and integrate Slack with over 1000 other tools. With Slack, your team can stay in sync and make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Zendesk
Quickly answering customer comments, queries, and complaints is essential for any business. Zendesk helps you manage your customer service more effectively with its ticketing system.
You can use Zendesk to automate routine tasks, prioritize tickets, respond faster, and measure customer satisfaction. This allows you to provide better customer service, which can improve your brand reputation.
Zoom
Video conferencing is one of the most efficient ways to stay connected with team members and customers. Zoom is perfect for arranging remote meetings, webinars, online courses, and customer support.
Zoom is not only easy to use with its simple interface but also comes with advanced features. You can record conversations, share screens and create chatrooms, use whiteboard tools, and breakout rooms. The platform also provides password protection and end-to-end encryption for extra safety.
Payment Processing
Stripe
Stripe allows you to accept payments directly on your website. It supports debit and credit cards Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other payment options.
You can create customizable checkout pages with Stripe; its APIs let you integrate it into any existing website. You can also set up subscriptions, recurring payments, and automatic refunds.
Square
Square provides businesses with quick and secure payment processing services. The company also offers countertop POS systems and mobile payment processing apps.
Square’s services are available online and offline. You can use the app to accept payments everywhere – in stores, restaurants, markets, etc. You can use it to track sales performance and customer analytics.
Melio
Melio is designed to simplify the process of paying bills. Small businesses and freelancers can pay vendors and contractors securely and quickly.
The platform offers full visibility into your expenses and payments with its intuitive Dashboard. You can set up automated payment schedules and track payments in real time. Moreover, Melio is integrated with QuickBooks and Xero, allowing you to sync data and save time.
5 Tips for Running an Online Business
1. Have a clear plan
Outlining your short-term and long-term goals will help you stay focused and make more informed decisions. Overhaul your marketing campaigns: Include in your plan the mission and objectives. Research your target audience and think of ways to reach them. Use marketing channels like SEO, email marketing, or social media to promote your products and services.
2. Build partnerships
Partnerships are a great way to expand your reach and increase sales. Search for companies in the same industry whose customers might be interested in your products. You can also partner with influencers and offer them free products or discounts for business promotion.
3. Focus on customer experience
Ensure customers are satisfied with their purchases by providing quality products and services. Respond quickly to inquiries and issues, and be sure to offer excellent customer service by being friendly and helpful.
4. Stay mobile-friendly
More than 60% of online searches are done on mobile devices. Optimize your website to reach as many people as possible. Check if your pages load quickly, and if the design looks good on any device.
5. Take advantage of automation
Automation is no longer an innovation – it’s a necessity. Automating your processes will help you save time and money, allowing you to focus on more important tasks. You can use automation programs for support, marketing, customer service, accounting, and more.
You may be interested to read: Customizing Your Adobe Commerce Cloud Store: Development Best Practices
Wrap Up
Starting an online business doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The right tools and strategies can get you off to a good start. Building a successful online business takes time, effort, and dedication. Ask for help from experienced professionals if you get stuck, and always check for some tips for running a successful business.