Small Business Toolbox

Small businesses encounter some of the biggest challenges despite their miniature scope. They go through the same hoops as larger companies – daily operations, marketing, accounting, human resources, and online transactions. If you own a small business, you probably feel this kind of pressure, don’t you?

However, maintaining and growing your business doesn’t have to be laborious. In fact, a lot of tools and apps may be able to help you achieve your business goals without being too overwhelmed by the seemingly monumental tasks.

Check out these tools, apps and websites that can help small businesses brave the market. You may call this list of resources your “small business toolbox”, which allows you to use specific tools to help you face any challenge.

WordPress

text wordpress with gears over businessman hand

The number one CMS platform is being used by millions of individuals and businesses to carve their places in the online market. If you don’t have a website for your small business yet, you should choose WordPress as your site framework. Every step that you need to create a website becomes ultra-convenient when you use WordPress, from creating pages and adding content to customizing the site design and increasing functionality. In addition, WordPress is SEO-friendly by default, so expect your website to be indexed easily by search engines and discovered by online users via search.

FreshBooks

Cloud-based accounting software FreshBooks provides businesses with the ability to perform basic accounting procedures such as online invoicing, expense management, time tracking, reports generation, and online payment processes. FreshBooks uses a simple and intuitive interface that makes accounting less overwhelming and intimidating, and may be accessed from any kind of screen or device. The software was designed for any kind of business size, but its benefits are best experienced in small businesses. It allows small business owners to organize better, save time in processing financial paperwork, and receive payments quicker.

Evernote

Evernote logo

No matter how small your business is, you’re bound to forget some important items if you’re not organized. Let Evernote help you take notes, organize and archive your most precious business-related documents.

This cross-platform app allows you to create a note in the form of text, a webpage capture, an image, a voice recording, or a handwritten note. Evernote organize all notes through folders, tags, annotations, or comments. The app has a free (limited) version, and you have the option to pay for its online service.

Capsule

This online-hosted customer relationship management (CRM) tool streamlines a business owner’s everyday life. Some of the best features of Capsule include management of customers and contacts, tracking of sales pipeline, email organization, efficient archiving of documents and conversations, and task management. The default app is already powerful by itself, but users may enhance its functionality by using add-ons and integrate it with other business tools. In short, small business owners can conveniently organize business-related activities through Capsule. The tool is available on desktop and mobile, so you can check your progress anywhere.

Google Apps

different google apps icons

Google’s signature business suite comes with a bevy of powerful tools that can definitely boost productivity and collaboration in any business. Google Apps is a cloud-based business toolbox composed of powerful tools for communication (Gmail, Hangouts, and Calendar), collaboration (Docs, Sheets, Forms, and Slides), storage (Drive), and management. Apart from being backed by the number one search engine in the world. Google Apps offers practically every basic tool that small businesses need to run their regular operations, and everything is available online and on mobile. You can even try Google Apps absolutely free for 30 days, in case you’re skeptical.

Logo Tournament

When it comes to branding, some business owners choose to create their logos to save on expenses, while others hire a professional logo designer who may charge them with stratospheric prices. This is where Logo Tournament effectively comes into play, as it gives business owners the opportunity to have their logo designed within the price range that they have set themselves. To use the logo creation tool, you only need to fill up a logo questionnaire and your desired payment price. Logo Tournament will launch your design project to designers who will “compete” by submitting their logo ideas, from which you will pick the winner. It’s a hassle-free and exciting way of getting a logo for your small business.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp logo

Despite the rise of social media and other updated forms of communication, email continues to dominate online marketing as one of the best methods to reach out to customers. Mailchimp is one of the most recognized email marketing service providers, boasting of over 9 million users who send more than 15 billion emails altogether every month. This email marketing tool is packed with amazing features: subscriber profiles management, customization and personalization tools, automated sending of emails, advanced analytics, and cross-platform compatibility. Mailchimp also comes with a send time optimization feature, which tells you the best time of the day to send your marketing emails for optimum customer engagement.

Yesware

Yesware is a email productivity application built to boost your marketing strategies. This plug-in tool provides marketing services that most small businesses need: email tracking and analytics, automated scheduled email sending, phone call integration in your mail inbox, slides and presentation management, team tracking, activity reports generation, and more. Yesware may be integrated with popular CRM systems like Salesforce. This plug-in tool is also compatible with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, and is viewable in desktop and Apple mobiles.

Yanado

Yanado screenshot

If you’re looking for business tools to enhance your Gmail experience, Yanado might provide for your needs. This Gmail extension allows you to perform task and project management right within the online email interface.

Yanado lets you plan your projects and tasks without the need to open another application or switch to another window. Its seamless integration in Gmail makes it easier for you to manage your business activities in one window. All you need to do is install the Chrome extension, and you’re good to go.

Passpack

When you’re so many online business tools, you’re bound to forget some login details. Let Passpack come to the rescue! This powerful password manager organizes your login information by letting you put tags, enable sorting, and perform a quick search. Passpack also allows collaboration within a family or team, so that team passwords are securely saved and distributed between members. Don’t worry about having your passwords compromised, because Passpack uses fortified encryption. The app is available in all browsers, and comes in Free or Enterprise versions.

Image credits: Yeamake via Shutterstock

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