39 best apps to help you streamline your business

1. Pocket

Image via Pocket

You are busy. When you find something interesting online, you do not always have time to check it out right then and there. Rather than making a mental note (which is bound to fall out of your brain!) or cluttering your camera with unhelpful screenshots, use Pocket to quickly save articles, videos, and more from any publication, page, or app. Keep that content in one spot, and return to it when you have some downtime.

2. Google Drive

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No more emailing yourself a document so you can access it on your laptop or setting reminders to back up your files to an external hard drive. Google Drive is a file storage service that allows you to organise all of your files into folders and access them from whatever device you are on -whether it is your phone, tablet, or computer. The best part? It is all stored in the cloud, so you know it is secure. Even if your device crashes, you will be able to get all of those documents back.

3. Focus Booster

Image via FocusBooster

You might think that lengthy work sessions are the secret to productivity, but plenty of research has indicated that brief breaks are good for you. That is why the Pomodoro Technique (which requires you to work in 25-minute chunks with five-minute breaks in between) has become so popular. Focus Booster is a Pomodoro timer that helps you track your work sessions, take a break when you are supposed to, and review past work sessions.

4. Forest

Image via Forest

Constantly reaching for your phone is a sure-fire way to sidetrack your productivity, but that ever-present distraction can be hard to resist. Use Forest to make it fun. Whenever you want to stay away from your phone and focus, use the Forest app to plant a tree. The longer you stay away from your phone, the bigger the tree will grow. But, if you close out of the Forest app to do something else on your device, the tree will be killed. Soon you will be competing with yourself to see just how big your trees can get!

5. Zapier

Image via Zapier

Automating your routine tasks can save you a lot of time, but the process can also seem daunting. Using Zapier, you can connect tons of the apps you are using to automatically handle rote tasks that take up your time. Whether you want to automatically save email attachments to Google Drive or want to add Mailchimp subscribers from a Google Sheets spreadsheet, you will shave precious moments off of your workday.

1. Slack

Image via Slack

Email is necessary for running your business. But, if you are aiming to thin your inbox – especially when it comes to communicating with your employees – Slack is a great instant messaging option. You can categorise conversations in different channels, share files, tag team members, and send direct messages.

2. Boomerang

Image via Boomerang

The middle of the night might seem like the perfect time to draft that email (hey, it is fresh in your brain!), but it is probably not the best time to send it. With Boomerang, you can write that email now and schedule it to send later. You can also maintain a cleaner inbox by sending emails out of your inbox and scheduling a better time for them to return and be dealt with.

3. Unroll.Me

Image via Unroll.Me

Your inbox is full to the brim. But how many of those emails do you actually need? Many of them are junk than you would like to admit, yet unsubscribing is tedious and time-consuming. Unroll.Me gives you a neat list of all of your subscription emails, so you can easily unsubscribe from whatever you do not want with just a single click. Have some favourite subscriptions you want to keep? Combine them into a single email that will be delivered to you.

4. Sortd

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In a lot of ways, your inbox acts as your to-do list. Sortd helps you make those messages even more actionable by transforming your inbox into your workspace. You can drag and drop messages into different categories that you set yourself.

5. FollowUpThen

Image via FollowUpThen

You want to keep up with your prospective clients and customers, but remembering when to follow up is tough to manage with your busy schedule. FollowUpThen makes it simple to send yourself a follow-up reminder by simply typing your desired time in the address field (i.e. 4days@followupthen.com). When that time rolls around, you will get a friendly nudge that it is time to check in again.

6. SaneBox

Image via Sanebox

If you are looking for a more comprehensive email solution, SaneBox fits the bill. This tool is all about removing the stress from your inbox by identifying important messages, hiding distractions, blocking obnoxious senders, and reminding you to follow-up.

7. Inbox Pause

Image via Inbox Pause

If you are somebody who cannot resist the siren song of your inbox and lets new messages throw you off track all day, Inbox Pause from Boomerang will eliminate that distraction. You will select times when your inbox should be paused, which means new email will not arrive until you are ready for it. You also have the option to turn on an auto-responder that lets people know when you are checking your messages again, and you can make exceptions for certain senders or messages.

8. Zoom

Image via Zoom

If you need to correspond with customers, vendors, or employees who are not located near you, a video chat is a great alternative to a face-to-face conversation. However, you want a reliable platform that will not frustrate you with glitches and freezing. Zoom is a video conferencing solution that allows you to connect with whoever you need to -without any headaches and hassles.

1. QuickBooks

Whether you love or hate accounting, it is an important part of running your business. Fortunately, QuickBooks is your one-stop shop to create estimates, send invoices, track mileage and expenses, generate business reports, and more. Not a numbers person? Do not worry; QuickBooks is straightforward to use.

2. QuickBooks Time

Image via QuickBooks Time

If you dread running payroll each month, QuickBooks Time is here to remove a little pain from the process. With employee time tracking (and a time clock!), project tracking, and scheduling tools, you can say goodbye to manual processes that eat up your time and ensure accurate payroll every single time.

1. Mailchimp

Image via Mailchimp

Consider Mailchimp an all-in-one marketing platform for your business. You can send email campaigns to promote your products and current offers, of course. But, you can also create landing pages, postcards, and so much more. The best news? It is surprisingly simple to do so. Marketing your business does not need to be overwhelming.

2. Canva

Image via Canva

Sure, you are a business owner. But, you do not pride yourself on your design chops. Whether you want to create a social media post, a poster, a t-shirt, a flyer, or something else, Canva’s drag and drop interface and helpful tools allow you to create top-notch graphics and materials that look like they were done by a professional.

3. Buffer

Image via Buffer

You know you need to be posting to your business’ social media accounts, but you do not have the time to do so consistently. Buffer is a scheduling tool you can use to queue up social media posts (including images and links) for all of your different channels. You will also have access to analytics to see how your social media content is performing.

4. Bitly

Image via Bitly

Bitly will help you shorten your URLs, generate QR codes, and create Link-in-bios. This will help you share your links with millions across all your social media platforms. It will help you make a point of connection between your content and your audience.

5. Pablo

Image via Pablo

If you are still feeling intimidated by the design needs of your business, Pablo by Buffer is even more straightforward than Canva. It offers easy-to-use templates and images, so you can quickly create graphics for your social media accounts.

6. Google Business Profile

Image via Google Business Profile

You know how important Google is for your business. With Google Business Profile, you can respond to reviews and messages, update your business profile, upload photos, create offers, and get real-time notifications when a customer connects with your business. It is a must-have for any business owner.

7. SurveyMonkey

Image via SurveyMonkey

The best way to know what your customers are thinking? Ask them. SurveyMonkey will help you create customised and branded surveys to pick the brains of your customers and use those insights to improve your business.

1. HubSpot CRM

Image via HubSpot

It is tough to think of a CRM without thinking of HubSpot. But, if you think this tool is only meant for sales leaders, think again. Their free CRM is a great, easy-to-use solution for business owners who want to track their contacts and customers, and even send bulk emails directly from the platform.

2. Salesforce Essentials

Image via Salesforce

Salesforce Essentials is built specifically with small businesses in mind. You can pull your customer data from email, calendar, spreadsheet, phone, chat, social channels, and more and automatically track your emails, calls, and meetings -without a ton of manual data entry.

3. Streak

Image via Streak

If you are not sold on using an entirely different CRM platform, you will be relieved to discover that Streak operates directly inside your inbox. You can track views of your emails, schedule emails to be sent later, personalise mass emails, and more.

4. Google Sheets

Image via Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a great way to create a spreadsheet and share with your team members that has most of the features included in other spreadsheet software. You can collaborate online in real-time from your desktop, laptop, or mobile app. Google Sheets features Smart Fill and formula suggestions that can help you analyse your data quicker.

5. Zendesk Sell

Image via Zendesk

For larger teams or businesses with a dedicated sales staff, Zendesk Sell offers SalesForce automation software to enhance your productivity and close more sales. Automated scoring rules will help your team identify the highest value leads, and the platform will also automatically track over half a million data points for every single one of your customers.

6. DocuSign

Image via DocuSign

While it is not actually a CRM, DocuSign is an important tool for streamlining your customer or client experience. Avoid tracking down scanners or printing lengthy contracts and use DocuSign to easily collect electronic signatures on important documents.