7 Apps that Make Running a Business Easier

As a small business owner and operator, you’re probably one of the busiest people in the entire world. You’re pretty much a one-man band, from handling logistics, customer complaints and payroll to monitoring marketing, paying bills and always trying to stay one step ahead of the competition. We know as well as you do that organization is key to being productive, staying sane and keeping up with your business plan. Thankfully, there are a range of smartphone apps out there designed to help you do just that. Whether you need help with scheduling or a digital accountant keeping track of payroll, we guarantee there’s an app for that. We rounded up some of the best apps for business owners here:

1.  Skype: despite efforts by competitors, Skype remains the most used videoconferencing app. Even if you have a small, centralized office, the time will come when you need to speak with an employee or coworker who’s not in front of you. And if you have a large business, you travel often for work or many of your employees telecommute, we don’t need to tell you the value of good videoconference software. Skype also lets you send messages, share photos, share your computer screen and much more. It’s extremely affordable, especially if you need to communicate with employees, customers or vendors who are in a different country.
2. Rescue Time: if time management is what you need to work on, download this right now. Rescue Time tracks how much time you spend with different website and apps and then shows you how much time you spend doing what online each day. It also suggests ways you could be more productive—like not always having Facebook open or checking your email first thing, not after all your social media accounts. If you upgrade to premium, the app will track your offline activity and block certain website if requested (in case you can’t kick that Facebook during work habit).
3. TripIt: this app is great for anyone who has to travel often for their business. TripIt (which works on just about any mobile device or operating system) gathers all your travel plans from different booking websites and puts them into one itinerary. The app will keep track of your hotel confirmation numbers and flight departure times as well as giving you directions and weather updates for your destination so you know how to pack.
4. PayPal: you can link credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts to your company PayPal account, making it easy to automatically send and receive money. Whether paying bills or receiving payments from customers, PayPal makes monetary transactions simple for businesses of all sizes. And they have added new features specifically for small business owners to compete with competitors (like Square) including apps with card reader functions.
5. ZenPayroll: payroll so easy you don’t even have to think about it. How does that sound? ZenPayroll is completely paperless and automatically calculates and deducts any relevant taxes from employee paychecks. The app not only lets you pay your employees and access payroll information anywhere, anytime, but it also lets them access paystubs and tax documents at any time as well. Payroll and taxes made easy. What could be better than that?
6. Evernote: when you’re always on the go, you don’t always have the same device with you. And the last thing you want to be doing is looking though five different devices to find the notes you took at that important client meeting. Take all your notes in Evernote and it will automatically sync between your desktop and all your mobile devices. The service is free, but upgrading to Pro or Premium gives you more storage capacity and the ability to save voice memos, emails and more, and access your info offline.
7. Dropbox: one of the most popular cloud storage platforms in the world, Dropbox provides reliable cloud storage accessible anywhere in the world. This is especially helpful if you travel for business or if you have employees who work remotely who need a secure way to share documents and data with the rest of the office. Dropbox works on any device and operating system and offers free trials for businesses.

In the meantime, you can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for all of your social media, marketing and graphic design needs. When you’re worrying about everything else, the last thing you need to be thinking about is your social media strategy. We can take care of that for you. We also have a talented development team who can build you anything from a basic website to custom software. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. To get in touch with us, you can fill out the online contact form on our website. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.