It is an exciting thing to start your small business or to work for one. However, working without modern tools at your disposal can render your performance to a slow halt. This post will highlight the best tools for small businesses that are free and not so costly.
In other words: automation is the key to efficiency.
The ultimate goal of any startup must be to work smarter rather than work hard. This can only be achieved by using advanced tools for small businesses bestowed upon us by technology.
To that end, it is very important to have the right tools for small businesses as it makes a huge difference and often provides a competitive edge over competitors.
Yet, it is not an easy task. There are hundreds of options out there. I am not exaggerating. Look it up yourself.
Filtering out the top tools for small businesses should be your utmost priority.
Why Do You Need Small Business Tools and Software?
Small businesses find it helpful, and their operations run efficiently using modern small business software and tools. Immediate, reliable, and secure access to the company data and information is provided with the help of modern technology, which enables real-time delivery and flow of information.
It is also very important for small businesses to prioritize and optimize teamwork as it is essential for them to grow and compete.
What Are The Benefits of Software and Tools for Small Businesses?
A team effort is required and essential to run a small business effectively. Therefore, it is important to prioritize your short-term and long-term needs before you make any decision.
In one line: your team goals must be aligned with your business goal. Always.
In the modern era, the concept of virtual workplaces and remote work is evolving. Small business programs make sure that your entire organization is synchronized and works well.
Modern software is very powerful and fun to work with. They streamline the operations of a firm, and the difference can be seen across the entire structure.
Some of the areas which are greatly affected include:
Productivity
Productivity software and tools pave the way for teams to work smartly but not harder. It helps gain momentum and get rid of laziness and procrastination, which have a vital impact on total performance.
Communication
Teamwork is strengthened, and productivity is boosted with the help of communication software and tools.
Also, teams that stay connected have much better collaboration and produce great synergies.
Marketing
Marketing software works wonders that can make an ordinary marketer look great with the help of powerful tools that provide powerful insights into customers’ data, which ultimately leads to the production of qualified sales leads.
Accounting
If you need to keep track of transactions and the movement of money coming in and going out, modern accounting software and tools help you to do so for your business. For such purposes, you do not require to be a financial expert to get ongoing.
Project Management
The foremost objective of project management tools is to keep an eye on teamwork and get the optimum level of productivity.
Project management software and tools provide small businesses with the services of ensuring a balanced workload for teams and allowing tasks assigned to be completed at a designated time.
Now that you know all about them, it’s time to look at what options you have. Select from these 71 small business tools and software to help run your business like a pro:
1. nTask
Let’s start this incredible list with a tool that is worth being at the top – nTask. It is the best small business tool to help them manage their tasks and projects with efficiency. It is most suitable for startups and small businesses as it offers a Forever FREE account. This is the reason for nTask’s top rank in tools for small businesses roundup.
As far as software for small businesses goes, nTask is a must-have. Due to its low-cost and amazing features that give other apps a run for their money, nTask is a very handy program to have.
The tool works excellently well for small and medium-sized businesses. nTask gives you a Kanban board, calendar management, Gantt charts, issues, and risk management with a friendly user interface.
Key Features
- Low price, great functionality
- Built-in features like the Gantt chart
- Native module for bus tracking
- Workspace management for teams
- More features in the free version as compared to competitors
Pricing:
- Basic – Forever Free account
- Premium Plan: $3 per user/month
- Business Plan: $8 per user/month
- Enterprise Plan – on-demand
Manage Your Startups &
Businesses With nTask!
2. Asana
Another PM software for small businesses, Asana is a complete business solution.
This program is among the important tools for small businesses that are used by their teams to stay focused on the set goals, projects, and operational tasks of a business, which is in the growing stage.
It is one of the major and most popular project management tools in the market.
Key Features:
- Interactive interface
- Easy to use
- Popularity in the business world
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $11 per user/month
- Business: $25 per user/month
3. Trello
Trello, along with nTask and Asana, completes the Trinity of the PM software for small businesses. I say that because these are the best of the best, in every possible way. Trello ranks 3rd on our list of best tools for small businesses.
This software, just like Arena, allows us to work collaboratively with teams and helps to organize visually and prioritize team projects just like a professional expert or a project manager.
Its impressive interface and the use of ‘cards’ are a hit with the organizations. The majority of the small teams prefer using Trello over any other tool in the market.
Key Features:
- Engaging interface
- No downloads required
- Cards records archive
- Kanban-style workflow
- Ability to add automated 3rd party extensions
- Trello Gold free membership incentive!
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Business: $10 per user/month
4. Flock
Moving on from PM software, let’s have a look at a couple of team messaging tools for small businesses.
You might be wondering why these tools are important since everyone has a cell phone in the office. Team messaging software offers real-time chats and makes communication seamless.
We strongly believe that Flock is the best small business software in terms of team communication, as it is not just a messenger but more than that.
It acts as a business collaboration hub, which helps in communicating faster.
Flock allows you to connect and communicate with your team through direct and group messaging, video conferencing, file sharing (secure), company directories, and custom team mailing.
Key Features:
- Admin controls
- Integrated search
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: $4.50 per user/month
5. Slack
Another super app is Slack. On popularity grounds, it is one of the most popular tools in the corporate sector and among the much-used tools for small businesses.
Slack is like Flock, but it is a tad bit expensive as compared to Flock. However, Slack does have a more fun approach to team messaging.
Its USP is its interface; any employee, whether he is using Slack the first time or has been using it for a year, can utilize the app to its full potential.
For both the apps the Basic plan is for free, but Flock charges $4.50 per user per month for its pro version while Slack is expensive with $6.67 per user per month for the Standard version and $12.50 per user per month for the Plus version.
Key Features:
- Advanced search modifiers
- Lightning-quick navigation
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Standard: $6.67 per user/month
- Plus: $12.50 per user/month
6. AngelList
The next vital software for startups or small businesses is a recruitment tool. Since it is quite a costly task to hire people, small companies cannot afford to do it the traditional way.
But thanks to technology, we have apps for everything! For recruitment, here’s something other than LinkedIn; AngelList.
AngelList is more than just an angel investment platform; it’s a powerful recruiting tool for startups and small businesses—and a goldmine for top talent.
From seed-stage to post-IPO, 36,000+ of the world’s top startups have built their teams using AngelList.
Key Features:
- Easy to navigate
- Amazing interface
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Source: $200 per month
- A-List: 20% per hire
7. Flock Video Conferencing
Another tools for small businesses nowadays is a video conferencing app. The lockdown is not going away anytime soon. We better get used to it.
Video conferencing software help make remote working easy and quite frankly, fun too. Keeping that statement in view, this listicle aims at giving you new options in addition to the market leaders.
Apart from its extraordinary messaging app services, Flock is also equally good at proving video conferencing services.
Flock provides the small businesses with the capability and facility to host online meetings and webinars with its video conferencing software built right into the core messenger.
Why have two different apps for two different tasks?
Key Features:
- File sharing
- High quality
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: $4.50 per user/month
8. Zoom
It would be wrong to talk about video conferencing and not mention Zoom. If you think it’s just an over-hyped app, let me tell you that it’s not. It’s as good as they come.
There’s a reason why Zoom is considered to be one of the most popular tools for small businesses for video conferencing needs.
Zoom’s free plan allows us to host unlimited meetings either to one or group meetings where up to 100 individuals can participate with a limit of 40 minutes.
Key Features:
- HD audio and video
- App marketplace
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: $15 per host/month
- Business: $20 per host/month
9. Join.me by LogMeIn
Video conferencing tools are the talk of the town. So, the more, the merrier, right?
The third option that you can go to for your tools for small businesses is Join.me.
It’s a simple yet powerful app with amazing features. You can experience HD video and audio quality to give you the feel of sitting in a conference room during the virtual meetings.
Plus, the name is pretty straightforward too.
Key Features:
- Share mouse control
- Multiple screen sharing
Pricing:
- $10 per user/month
10. Thunderbird
Moving on, here’s a cool-named app with the interface to go with it. Thunderbird is the ‘more fun’ alternative to Google email services.
Its free, efficient, and loaded with features. As popular as Gmail is, Thunderbird not everyone’s cup of tea. The best thing about these tools for small businesses is its simple look. Many people find it a bit too simple.
However, once you have tried it, you will realize that the program has a lot to offer beyond that seemingly “simple” interface.
Try Thunderbird to restore your faith in emailing!
Key Features:
- Multiple emails
- Newsgroup
- Active collaboration with team members
- Improved workflow over conventional rival products
Pricing:
- Starts at $39 per user
11. Gmail for G Suite
Honestly, how can we not mention Gmail? It’s right there at the top of the line in tools for small businesses! Let’s see why:
Gmail provides small businesses with a customized email address and provides access to Google’s full suite of business products and admin tools, helping businesses optimize their communication.
Need I say more?
Key Features:
- Confidential mode
- Google Apps Sidebar
Pricing:
- Free 14-day trial, then $6 per month
12. Titan Email
Three options are better than two. Wouldn’t you agree?
If you are still not impressed by Thunderbird and Gmail, then Titan might be the right one for you. It is less costly, offers all the vital features, and it’s super easy to use.
Titan is a modern-day tool for small businesses email that is dedicated to startups. It allows businesses to get a professional email address that best suits their website’s domain name and has amazing customization options.
Key Features:
- CMS blocks
- Commenting and rating
Pricing:
- Free 30-day trial, then $1.50 per user/month
13. MixMax
Next up on our list of tools for small businesses is MixMax. This one is a bonus! Apart from a catchy name, this app is excellent for small-sized organizations.
Keeping track of emails is time-consuming and often annoying. MixMax is a browser plugin that helps you track correspondence, schedule emails, and use sequences and reminders.
Unfortunately, the free version is limited to 100 tracked emails and 10 scheduled emails per month, so if you communicate a lot over email, it’s better to go for the paid version. It’s worth it.
Key Features:
- Mail tracking and analytics
- Custom templates
Pricing:
- Free trial available
- The full version starts at $9 per user/month
14. Loyverse
Next, we have a POS tool for small businesses which is, another core operation of small firms.
Its free version offers customer analytics and inventory management. It’s a super handy product to have.
The tool is designed to streamline customer loyalty programs by recording and tracking customer data and offering advice on how to manage clients.
What’s more important for small businesses than to retain their customers? These tools for small businesses are much supportive for early-stage startups.
Key Features:
- Sales analytics
- Inventory and employee management
Pricing:
- Lightspeed package: $99/month
- Shopkeep package: $69/month
15. Sender
Next on our list is Sender, a tool that helps you combine the power of email and the efficiency of SMS to create an omnichannel experience for your customers.
Sender helps you run your email and SMS campaigns from one dashboard. That means you don’t have to rely on third-party tools to send and automate your emails and text messages.
Add real-time reporting & analytics, segmentation, stunning newsletters, popups, and forms to the mix, and you have a powerful yet affordable tool to scale your business.
Key Features:
- Omnichannel marketing with email & SMS automation
- Stunning premade email templates library
- Popups & forms
- Reporting & analytics
Pricing:
- Free Forever plan
- Standard: from $8 per month
- Professional: from $35 per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
16. KeyHut
On the contrary, if you are not looking for modern, fun apps, then here is an old-school software for you.
Some people like doing things the old way. KeyHut’s POS and Educational software are powerful tools for small businesses developed by Dale Harris. It is a 90s-style software with a touch of humor.
Even if you don’t choose it for the long run, it’s a must-try-once app!
Key Features:
- Easy navigation
- Customer and table management
Pricing:
- Free
17. Google Drive
Businesses run on documents. Ever since the boom of technology, companies document each and every activity.
This makes document sharing and storing an integral part of tools for small businesses as well. It’s not an easy task. But, fret not! Google Drive is here for the rescue!
This amazing tool is free of cost, and even a person who is new to the internet can use it. Google Drive allows the files to be shared in real-time and makes collaboration easier.
Key Features:
- 15 GB space
- Work best with other Google apps
Pricing:
- Basic: Free, 15GB
- G Suite: $6 per month, 30 GB
- Google One: $2 per month, 100 GB; $3 per month, 200GB; $10 per month, 2 TB
18. Dropbox
Next up on our tools for small businesses list is Dropbox. As good as Google Drive is, cloud-based apps are not everyone’s cup of tea. Dropbox is a perfect alternative to that.
It is an outstanding tool for sharing large and complex files that are used by designers or developers.
Key Features:
- Efficient syncing
- Automatic back-up
Pricing:
- Individual Plus: $10 per month, 2TB
- Individual Pro: $17 per month, 3TB
- Teams Standard: $12.50 user/month 5TB
- Teams Advanced: $20 user/month, Unlimited
19. Todoist
If you prefer automation over manual work, you better go for these tools for small businesses.
Todoist is a simple yet extremely useful task manager. If you want to keep your work organized, this app is your best partner.
It helps you provide an overview of the workday and schedule and prioritize projects for you, allowing you to know what work is due next.
Also, Todoist makes sure you do not leave important tasks unattended. Quite handy!
Key Features:
- Easy navigation
- Integration with Gmail
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $3 per user/month
20. Evernote
You can also try Evernote for managing daily tasks. It is one of the pioneers in this category and still offers amazing features.
It helps you in saving web pages, bookmarking articles, and also clipping PDFs to the app. It uses a premade template to develop a plan for a business or a complete research report.
Key Features:
- Offline notes
- PDF annotation
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $8 per user/month
- Business: $15 per user/month
21. Shift
Workstations are undoubtedly the need of the hour for small companies. Since their size already puts them at a disadvantage against other firms, efficient operations will help them survive in the market.
Talking about the modern workstation for the teams who are looking for optimum productivity and for the entrepreneurs who are looking for efficiency, Shift is the best option available for them.
Shift helps in managing all the apps running along with managing extensions, accounts on social media platforms, and email accounts on a single desktop application.
Key Features:
- Easy integration
- Very good mobile app
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Advanced: $99 per year
22. Station
Another option that small companies can go for is Station. It is referred to as a next-generation dashboard, which helps you rule all the apps.
The program groups all the available and used apps in a smart way along with different tabs. It also opens web pages in one single place, allowing you to multitask across various accounts, more quicker.
Key Features:
- Smart Doc
- Easy Bookmark
Pricing:
- Individual: Free
- Teams plan also available
23. TimeDoctor
Well, you know how they say, time is money. It could not be truer for small businesses and startups.
This is one of those cool-named tools we often see around. TimeDoctor is the one that provides you with insights into time spent on each task or project along with keeping track of the total amount of time spent on various activities.
TimeDoctor is highly accurate, which makes it helpful in the easy billing of clients or paying employees based on tracked time.
Key Features:
- Online timesheets
- Distraction alerts
Pricing:
- Basic: 14-day trial, then $10 per user/month
24. RescueTime
You may start to see a trend here. Makes us wonder if all time management apps are named brilliantly.
RescueTime helps in the identification of how you spend time, on what tasks time is spent, and what is the best time to perform the tasks.
Focusing on a single activity or task for a long time is a difficult task, but it can provide a competitive edge if done.
Key Features:
- Automatic recording
- Capture time spent in meetings
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Premium: 14-day trial, then $6 per month
25. Zapier
Thanks to the good people over at the IT industry, every single operation of your business can be automated with just an app.
Zapier helps in connecting 1,500 of the most popular business applications and tools, which makes it helpful in focusing on the most crucial tasks.
The information is automatically moved between applications with a central command with the help of Zapier.
Moreover, the wasting of time on repetitive tasks is saved and thus, more time can be spent on tasks that are loved more.
Key Features:
- Fastest integration
- Can connect more than 2 apps
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Starter: $20 per month
- Pro: $50 per month
26. IFTTT
What’s better than a cool name for your app? A cool acronym, of course!
“If this then that” or IFTTT is a simple automation system that performs ridiculously well! IFTTT integrates all your main apps and services to create an amazing experience for the users.
For instance, it can turn your leads into contacts by moving data from one app to another. How convenient is that!
Key Features:
- Easy integration with other apps
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Upgrade: $5-15
27. Calendly
If you are a small business and you want to schedule meetings without the hustle of emails, Calendly is your best companion.
Calendly automates tasks with Zapier and Salesforce by working with existing Outlook, iCloud, Google, and Office 365 calendars.
Key Features:
- Customization options
- Integration with popular apps
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $8 per user/month
- Pro: $12 per user/month
28. Doodle
You might recognize the name from that Viber feature. Sadly, it’s not related to it.
Use Doodle for booking business meetings faster and quicker. It helps you to schedule meetings on the go with outside parties without inquiring about availability.
You do not need to update your guests as Doodle does it for you constantly by updating the meetings’ different statuses and availability.
Key Features:
- Custom design and branding
- Glance view
Pricing:
- Starter: $4 per month
- Pro: $6 per month
- Team: $30 per month
39. HubSpot
As discussed earlier, small businesses must retain customers for survival.
CRM tools for small business and marketing tools for small businesses are exigent to achieve this.
Tools of marketing, customer service, and sales are brought together with the help of HubSpot’s CRM software under one roof.
With major features that include analytics, lead generation, and automation, it connects everything you need to know into the central hub for stakeholders to access.
Key Features:
- Meeting scheduling
- Canned snippets
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
30. Zoho
Another famous and popular CRM software is Zoho which provides a solution for small businesses. It brings businesses and their customers together through an integrated platform giving all the departments of marketing, sales, customer service, and commerce an insight into every customer.
Your business can manage customer relations is a better and faster way by using Zoho.
Key Features:
- SalesIQ
- Email marketing campaigns
Pricing:
- Basic: 15-day trial, then $12 per user/month
31. xTuple
For a change, here’s an app with a not-so-cool name.
Beyond a tongue-twisting name, this application has a lot to offer. For instance, xTuple streamlines the entire value chain by providing excellent integration options.
It is an open-source ERP solution made specifically for companies involved in the manufacturing a d sale of products, not services.
It has a super-efficient CRM and it’s free.
Key Features:
- Management of extensive data
Pricing:
- Free
32. Help Scout
Help Scout is pretty much like a Boy Scout version of a modern-day application. It helps you to do tons of things associated with running a business from a ground-up approach.
Help Scout is an all-in-one platform customer support tool designed for small businesses to convert and support your customers.
The application offers multi-channel support with email and chat, and additional self-service tools that compile customer data and activity to ensure a great customer lifecycle experience.
Key Features:
- Customer satisfaction ratings
- 40+ integrations
Pricing:
- Standard: $20 per user/month
- Plus: $35 per user/month
33. Sellsy
And we are back to the tools with amazing names! Sellsy is a powerful tool for customer data management.
The major hurdle in managing customer data to make valuable decisions is combining data from various platforms and apps.
Sellsy makes this task easier. With its variety of features like time tracking, inventory management, and analytics tools, it is a nice app to have around.
Key Features:
- Convert quotes into invoices
- Connect bank accounts
Pricing:
- Free trial available
- The full version starts at $50
34. Buffer
Social media; you might have heard these words more than any other words in the last decade. For companies, regardless of their size, social media presence is a must.
Increasing social following and growing the brand of a small business is best done by using Buffer.
It is involved in planning, scheduling, and publishing content on social media that engages users across all popular social media sites which includes Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Key Features:
- Analytics and insights
- RSS feeds connectivity
Pricing:
- Pro: 7-day trial, then $15 per month
- Premium: 14-day trial, then $65 per month
- Business: 14-day trial, then $99 per month
35. Hootsuite
Or you can go for Hootsuite which is another impressive social media marketing tool for small businesses.
Hootsuite is a leading tool that offers all-in-one social media management and helps strengthen the presence of small businesses on social media.
It makes sure that customers are engaged deeply by automated scheduling and sending social media posts round-the-clock along with comments and replies.
Key Features:
- Easy integrations
- Efficient monitoring
Pricing:
- Pro: 30-day trial, then $29 per month
- Team: 30-day trial, then $129 per month
36. Mailchimp
Email marketing remains one of the most used avenues of promotion, even today.
Mailchimp is the industry-leading tool for email marketing campaigns and is part of the all-in-one platform designed to help the business grow faster.
Mailchimp is customizable and can integrate with many marketing tools to manage customer relations as well.
Key Features:
- Automotive workflows
- Built-in photo editing
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Essentials: $10 per month
- Standard: $15 per month
37. ConvertKit
Next, we have an app that offers just a bit more customizable options than other tools.
ConvertKit is used to send emails that pop with its fully customizable templates and embeddable forms allowing you to collect email addresses from the website directly and convert readers into subscribers.
It also tags the subscribers based on their interests and helps in the segmentation of the audience and communicates the right message at the right time.
Key Features:
- Automation
- Email designer
Pricing:
- 0-1k subscribers: $29 per month
- 1-3k subscribers: $49 per month
- 3-5k subscribers: $79 per month
- You can also contact ConverKit’s official customer care center for pricing on enterprise solution packages.
38. Adobe Creative Cloud
Let’s talk about specifics now. Digital marketing is the thing today. And to come up with interesting designs, you need to have the proper tools.
Adobe Creative Cloud is a premium digital design software with a collection of mobile and desktop apps and services providing photography, design, web, and much more.
It is considered a standard for digital design by many professional designers.
Key Features:
- Market-leading editing options
- Wide range of in-built tools
Pricing:
- Individuals: Starts at $10 per month
- Business: Starts at $34 per month
- Students &Teachers: $20 per month
- Schools & Universities: $15 per month
39. Canva
Apart from Adobe, Canva is another favorite design platform for DIY creatives.
Beginner-level designers and marketers can utilize stunning, premade templates that make it easy to turn content ideas into professional designs using Canva’s drag-and-drop features.
Whether you need a photo collage or a social media mockup, Canva makes it possible for anyone to create amazing designs.
Key Features:
- Social media graphics
- Customizable branding
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: 30-day trial then $10 per month
- Enterprise: 30-day trial then $30 per month
Learn about more design tools:
12 Best Tools for Web and Graphic Designer
40. WordPress
Websites are great touchpoints. Having an incredible web page for your business can bring in customers.
According to WordPress, 35% of all websites on the internet use its platform. And with good reason! It offers outstanding templates for all sorts of businesses. It is among the tools for small businesses for getting started with an online presence.
Choose from more than 54,000 plugin tools—from online stores, image galleries, search and analytics tools, payment platforms, and more—that help showcase your products, services, content, and more.
If you are a beginner and need WordPress tips and tricks then you should refer to the following resource.
Key Features:
- Full standards compliance
- Easy theme system
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: 30-day trial then $10 per month
- Enterprise: 30-day trial then $30 per month
41. Wix
You may remember this app from YouTube ads.
Wix is a website builder that gives you the freedom to create, design, manage, and develop your web presence the way you want.
On a personal note, a couple of close family members have been using Wix for their high school web development projects. So far, their response has been good.
Likewise, if you are looking to promote your business, showcase a project portfolio, or are interested in opening an e-commerce store, Wix is equipped to fulfill those requirements.
Key Features:
- Intuitive website builder
- 100+ designer-made templates
Pricing:
- Personal: $13 per month
- Unlimited: $17 per month
- Pro: $22 per month
- VIP: $39 per month
42. GoDaddy
Alright, no comments on the name here. But this tool is pretty useful.
GoDaddy offers more than just a platform to build your website; it offers everything you need to create and run an effective, memorable online business.
The app offers a wide range of affordable hosting plans that include powerful online marketing tools with personalized support.
Key Features:
- Unlimited data transfer
- Easy use
- Buy domains and hosting
Pricing:
- Web Hosting: Starts at $6 per month
- WordPress Hosting: $7 per month
- Business: Starting at $20 per month
43. Intuit QuickBooks
Small businesses go a long way if the bookkeeping is fantastic. The best kind of data is the one that is readily available. Good bookkeeping ensures fast access to reliable data.
QuickBooks has been the holy grail of accounting software for some time and we don’t think that’s changed.
Developed by Intuit, QuickBooks is built for small and medium-sized businesses and billed as an all-in-one cloud-based accounting platform for everything from money management, to bill pay, and payroll functions.
Key Features:
- Online banking and reconciliation
- Integration with google maps
Pricing:
- Simple Start: $12 per month
- Essentials: $20 per month
- Plus: $35 per month
- Advanced: $75 per month
- Premium: $50 per month
Check this out:
5 Best Invoicing Software to Use
44. Wave
Next up in our list of tools for small businesses is Wave App. It is award-winning accounting software. Let’s see why.
It is designed for entrepreneurs and the majority of its tools — like invoicing, payments, payroll, receipts – are absolutely free.
Wave’s best feature is the ability to fully brand, customize, and personalize invoices with advanced features like recurring billing and automatic payments.
However, collecting payments via credit card or running payroll comes with a price tag.
Key Features:
- Payment tracking
- Payroll management
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
45. Stripe
You all know about PayPal. Here’s one of the best accounting tools for small businesses.
Stripe helps power millions of small businesses in more than 100 countries and across nearly every industry.
Start collecting payments via card, ACH, or other popular payment methods instantly. Stripe provides billing software for everything from per-seat pricing to metered billing out of the box.
It also gives you the ability to set custom pricing, automate the collection process, and sync billing and payment data with your other accounting software and tools.
Key Features:
- Funds reclamation
- Consumer wallets
Pricing:
- Payments: $0 per month; 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
46. TurboTax
You can’t escape the authorities. Paying tax on time adds to the goodwill of your business.
TurboTax saves you time by transferring last year’s information into your TurboTax return. It’ll automatically import your QuickBooks income and expense accounts and classify them for you.
It will also guide you through your deductible business expenses—from vehicle and supplies to advertising and travel.
Key Features:
- Electronic tax filing
Pricing:
- Federal: $160
- State: $50 per state
47. HelloSign
To be honest, contract management does not come under the primary operations of a firm. Yet, automating the procedure does make life easier.
HelloSign makes it easy for small businesses to sign documents or request signatures from up to 20 different people in any order or all at once.
When the document is completed, everyone gets a copy delivered to their inbox. Check your document’s progress with status notifications that keep you in the loop throughout the entire process.
Key Features:
- Amazing templates
- Flexible workflows
Pricing:
- Standard: $13 per user/month
- Enterprise: $23 per user/month
48. 15Five
Number 48th on our list of tools for small businesses is 15Five. Performance management is not to be taken lightly. Employees need a push. And does not happen on its own very often.
15Five is a performance management software that brings the best out of your employees.
Al thanks to a holistic platform, 15Five helps to connect people at an individual level. Think about manager critically appraising an employee or communicating with a fellow member from another department.
All sort of collaboration is done privately.
Key Features:
- 360-degree feedback
- Customizable dashboard
Pricing:
- Basic: $7 per user/month
- Plus: $14 per user/month
49. Nuclino
Nuclino is one of the most user-friendly collaboration tools for small businesses. Its intuitive, clutter-free interface and easy setup make it a great solution for any team, including those with limited technical expertise.
Nuclino is a versatile software that can be used to manage team projects, create a company knowledge base, collaborate on documents, organize data, and more. It’s a great option for small businesses that like the idea of bringing all their work together in one central place, replacing multiple other collaboration platforms, and keeping their toolset lean and simple.
Key Features:
- Flexible data visualization options, including the Board, List, Table, and Graph view
- Real-time document collaboration
- Task lists and assignments
- Custom fields for tracking due dates, tags, categories, and more
- Integrations with 40+ apps, including Slack, Google Drive, and Figma
Pricing:
- Nuclino offers a Free plan
- Standard plan starts at $5/user/month
- Premium plan starts at $10/user/month
50. General Assembly
General Assembly overlooks a wide array of career development options. For instance, staffing, hiring, grooming, and such other variables can be attended by managers.
In addition, this platform also specializes in today’s most in-demand skills from web development, data, design, digital marketing, business, and more.
As a result of the General Assembly’s continued efforts, over 40,000+ businesses have profited so far. The overall user response has been nothing short of positive via this app.
Key Features:
- Alumni collaboration opportunities
- HR skills development
- Career counseling
- Collaboration opportunities
- Multi-solution platform for stakeholders and team members alike
51. Connecteam
It does what it says best; the tool connects teams across different platforms.
Connecteam is a special tool as it was designed for one specific target market i.e., people who love technology.
Everything about this tool makes you fall in love with the tech. Whether it’s the live chat and group conversations, work directory, updates, feedback surveys, or suggestion box, Connecteam doesn’t disappoint you.
Plus, everything is stored in its cloud database, which is secure to the core.
Key Features:
- Automated scheduling
- Biometric recognition
Pricing:
- Free trial
- Growth package: $35/month
- Max package: $59/month
52. Proofhub
Some of the tools for small businesses aim to cater to all business needs. However, there are still that are designs for specific business types.
Proofhub is equipped with all the necessary project management features that are required for a small firm.
It assists in the execution of projects by offering a range of collaborating tools. Moreover, its time tracking, file sharing, and reporting features are second to none.
Key Features:
- Time tracking
- Easy integrations
- Project management
- Task management
- Collaboration
- 3rd party app integrations for improved work process
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Starts at $50 per month
53. Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger is a team chat application that keeps both communication and collaboration within the teams at the same pace whether they work inside the office or outside i.e. work from home.
Productivity is no more an issue in the case of this office chat application that offers exceptional features for remote teams’ collaboration.
Using Troop Messenger, you can send or receive text, files, images, media, and other important data seamlessly. Without hassles, this tool lets you assign the work to the remote teams, track the progress, and monitor and manage all your teams wherever you are.
Besides, this remote working tool is accessible over the web and mobile apps (both Android and iOS) which eases any task on the fly. Also, this tool uses a high-end security pin and fingerprint access to ensure privacy and data confidentiality.
Key Features:
- Troop Messenger allows guest collaboration that lets your clients and vendors communicate for the short term. You can add/remove anybody as and when required.
- It has a myriad of features such as Burnout (incognito chat), Advanced filters, fork out (sending a message to multiple people at a time), Recall, Mute conversations, Audio messaging, Flag (marking important messages), etc.
- It lets you track and share the live location.
- This tool is easy to integrate, implement, and understand.
- It lets you make both audio and video calls and share your screen in real time. Cattle call is a video call feature that lets you create video conferencing, meetings, webinars, webcasting, give training, etc.
- It lets you integrate tools such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and LDAP.
Price:
- Free Trial for 7 days
- Premium starting at $1 per user
- Enterprise starting at $5 per user
54. Placeit
If you’re looking for a platform where you can create all your branding designs, Placeit is a great tool! With more than 50K templates and a growing library of designs made by professionals each day, you can create eye-catching images. Make everything from logos and videos to your social campaign with branded images in minutes.
Just select your favorite video template, customize your text, change the color of backgrounds and shapes, and add your images or video clips. You can also customize the playback speed and quantity of slides to make a short or long Instagram Story video.
All their videos are made by a professional team, so you can rely on them being eye-catching templates for your campaigns. Once you have customized your template, simply click the download button.
Key Features:
- Unlimited downloads
- Fonts and audio selection
- New templates every day
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Unlimited: $12.7 per user/month, $76.23 per user/year
55. Signaturely
Signaturely is a free electronic signature software to get documents signed online.
Work smarter & faster by moving into the digital age with e-signatures. Signing documents by hand, scanning them, and emailing them is a headache, wouldn’t you agree? Signaturely eliminates the headache and moves you into the digital age.
What’s cool is it’s 100% free and you can get up to 3 documents signed each month.
Key Features:
- Legally binding electronic signatures.
- Save 5x the time vs signing by hand.
- Integrated with Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, and Dropbox.
Pricing:
- Free – Sign up to 3 documents per month. Free forever.
- Personal – Unlimited Signatures. $10/month
- Business – Unlimited Signatures & Templates. Business branding. $15/month per user.
56. BionicWP
BionicWP is a truly managed WordPress hosting and management solution that takes the burden of website management off its users. It provides many splendid website management features that no other hosting solution is offering at the moment. These include unlimited website edits, guaranteed page performance scores, complete website monitoring, and reporting, malware scanning, core WordPress updates, hack-promise, and website staging environment.
BionicWP is completely free to try for all users. Anyone can sign-up for a trial account and see how their website gets a boost in performance. They can try all the features of the managed WordPress hosting platform and see what works for them.
BionicWP offers a single website hosting for $27.5 per month but this price decreases with each new website added to the hosting solution. For users who host more than 20 websites on the BionicWP hosting solution, the price per site is only $15. It is a perfect solution for agencies that are looking for a truly managed hosting solution for their clients.
Key Features
- Unlimited site edits
- Constant monitoring and reporting
- Hack proof promise
- 90-Day offsite backup
- White-label hosting solution
- Core, theme, and plugin updates
- Daily malware scanning
Pricing:
- Basic plan: Single website for $27.5 per month only
- Multi website price is $22.5 per month only
- For more than 20 websites, the price is $15/month per site only
- Unlimited edits Addon price $25.
57. Jobsoid
Jobsoid is an Online Applicant Tracking System that offers you a complete recruitment solution for all kinds of your recruitment needs across all industries. It comes with a host of features – each designed to simplify every step of your hiring process.
From posting jobs on various job boards to managing the candidate applications you receive, from communicating with your candidates to collaborating with your team – Jobsoid provides you with a one-stop solution. Automate your hiring process with Jobsoid and switch to hassle-free recruiting.
Key Features:
- Advertising jobs on various job boards and social media
- Website and Facebook page integration
- Customizable candidate application form
- Sourcing candidates using the Chrome Plugin and manual imports
- Campaign marketing (email) to your talent pool
- Job-specific email address for automatic candidate assignment
- Shortlisting candidates faster with AI-based Smart Filter
- Customizable recruitment pipeline
- Scheduling interviews
- Single, batch with time slots and video screening
- Generating reports
- Mobile Apps to recruit on the go
Pricing:
- Jobsoid has a free version.
- Other plan starts at $49.00 per month.
- Jobsoid also offers a free trial.
58. Turis
Turis is a digital wholesale and insights platform for B2B companies. While a web shop or online store is an important aspect of establishing a digital B2B setup, the shop itself I merely a shell. For your webshops to be successful they need to be accommodated with advanced features that you know from regular wholesale ordering and B2B. These features include custom pricing, restricted access, contracts, payment terms, and much more.
Turis is for ambitious brands who want to remain in control of how they do wholesale business. It is not just another wholesale marketplace where most brand and retailer relationships end after the first order. Turis believe in long-term (and even long-distance!) relationships. It comes with a wide range of features that will help you build and nurture your retailer/buyer connections. The first step on that journey is a simple order process for your customers, and with Turis that is exactly what you get!
Key Features:
- Your very own B2B shop where you are in full control
- Implement your own visual identity
- Custom pricing
- Invite your retailers to shop wholesale in a password-protected space
- Integrates with Shopify, HubSpot, WooCommerce +2.000 other integrations
Pricing:
- Turis has a free version for new and smaller brands
- Other plan starts at $120 per month.
- You can get a free demo of the tool
59. Test Candidates
Make better hiring decisions with TestCandidates – an easy and cost-effective way for startups and SMEs to introduce talent assessment into their recruitment process.
Turn 100 candidates into a shortlist of 5 with 7 tests across both foundation and advanced levels so they are suitable for everyone. Including aptitude, behavioral, and personality tests, you’ll have a full range of tests to help you find the candidates you’re seeking.
Key Features:
- Full test suite built by chartered occupational psychologists
- Hire based on skills, not experience
- Eliminate bias
- Improve your hiring experience
- Reduce recruitment costs with automation
Pricing:
- Basic: 5 Free tests
- Business: $110 per month
60. Omnisend
Omnisend is an email & SMS marketing platform that’s dedicated to small and medium-sized eCommerce businesses. It offers its customers powerful features that help businesses get higher conversions and sales without spending more time.
These features include automation workflows, such as cart abandonment and order confirmation, that can include multiple channels like SMS and web push. This goes above and beyond the standard email marketing fare (although to be fair, its email editor is pretty easy to use and its default templates allow you to build beautiful, professional-looking emails).
Even better, it offers in-depth customer analytics, so that not only can you build beautiful emails and effective SMS messages, but you can also identify what message to send to the right person at the right time.
Key Features:
- Drag-and-drop email editor and library of pre-built templates
- Various signup forms, including exit-intent, landing pages, the interactive Wheel of Fortune, and more
- Flexible automation and powerful segmentation
- Sales dashboard, campaign & automation reports, and advanced reporting
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Standard: starts from $16/month
- Pro: starts from $59/month
61. Social Champ
It is pretty challenging to manage your social presence, toggling different tabs and monitoring engagement with a hectic routine. But what if one tool is doing all? Here Social Champ steps in.
An all-in-one social media automation tool that shares your struggle while staying on a budget. From creating, scheduling, and publishing content to analytics, reporting, and much more, Social Champ can help with it all.
Social Champ is a loyal friend to all the small businesses out there, enabling entrepreneurs to quickly schedule, publish and promote their small businesses on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.
Key Features
- Supports all major social media platforms, including Google My Business
- Easy and Simple integration for all social media networks
- Robust features including Auto RSS and bulk scheduling
- Pocket friendly with plans starting from $10/month
Pricing
- Professional plan ($9/month)
- Champion plan ($26/month)
- Business ($89/month)
- Agency ($179/month)
62. Rebrandly
Rebrandly is a link management tool that helps improve brand visibility and link trust by shortening and branding links that are created and shared online. Using branded links can increase your click-through rate by up to 39% – something worth considering for your links shared on social media, compared to using generic links.
This tool also provides a detailed analytics feature, so you are able to track your links and see what kind of content your audience prefers on any channel.
Key Features:
- Link analytics
- UTM builder
- QR codes
- Editable destination URLs
- Link Retargeting
Pricing:
- Free
- Starter $29 /month
- Pro $69 /month
- Premium $499 /month
- Enterprise custom plan
63. Colorinch
Colorcinch is an intuitive web-based photo editing software for entrepreneurs, photographers, graphic designers, hobbyists, and others alike!
Colorcinch is ideal for creating stunning graphics with just a few clicks! Thanks to the tool’s simple and clean UI, you don’t have to spend time on tutorials to learn how it works. It’s instant and no sign up required.
Whether your photos need a bit of fine-tuning or advanced edits, you can rely on Colorcinch. On top of its specialty AI-powered effects, you can apply hundreds of other unique filters, masks, and overlays. Plus, you can access its robust collection of premium vectors and icons to design your artwork – perfect for your social media marketing!
Key features
- A wide array of one-click artistic effects, filters, masks, and overlays
- Access to a library of 50,000+ premium vector icons and graphics
- Intuitive UI built for everyone
Pricing
- Free basic plan
- Plus plan at $5.99/month (or $3.99/month if billed annually)
64. Beaconstac’s QR Code Generator
If you’re looking for a QR code generator, look no other than Beaconstac’s QR code generator.
This tool helps to generate a dynamic QR code that can easily be customized according to your requirements. Like adding a logo or even changing its color.
These codes are trackable so you can add them to the packaging, posters, flyers, business cards, and even in your menus. So it helps to optimize the marketing campaign effectively.
Key Features:
- Transaction Tracking
- Optimizing Marketing Campaign
Pricing:
- Basic: Free 14 days trial
- Starter: $5
- Lite: $12.50
- Pro: $40.83
- Plus: $99
65. PDF Reader Pro
PDF Reader Pro, an all-in-one PDF editor, is ideal for large and small businesses. With digital transformation, companies have to deal with a large number of files every day, which are saved as digital PDF documents for better management and storage, such as electronic contracts, marketing strategy files, staff information documents, etc.
A powerful PDF tool can definitely help enterprises combine, sort, compress or sign these electronic documents. PDF Reader Pro has rich advanced features that allow big and small businesses to fast process documents and simplify workflow. The clean interface is another advantage, which makes this software easy to use.
Key Features
- Electronic signature
- Batch compress and covert PDFs (to Word, Excel, Image, PPT, etc.).
- OCR scanned PDFs or images.
- Encrypt confidential files.
- Create and fill out the form.
- Lower price for enterprise and team.
Pricing
- Basic: Free
- Premium: 59.99 (permanent license)
- Premium + PDF to Office Pack:79.99 (permanent license)
- Team or Company: Contact Support Team
66. Planable
Planable is a social media collaboration tool that enables social media and marketing teams to work together seamlessly. What differentiates Planable from other social media management tools is its collaboration-centric approach.
With Planable you can establish your own feedback and approval process, regardless of the size of your team. With 4 different types of approval levels: none, optional, required, and multi-level, you can prevent unfinished posts from being published.
Key Features:
- What-you-see-is-what-you-get content creation for 7 platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google My Business, Linkedin, and Youtube.
- Multiple ways to view and plan posts: list, feed, grid, and calendar view.
- Collaboration happens in context, right next to the posts, via comments and replies.
- Low learning curve and an intuitive design that mimics the feel and flow of social media.
Pricing:
Planable has 4 pricing options:
- Free plan: 50 total posts.
- Basic: $11/user/month.
- Pro: $22/user/month.
- Enterprise: custom pricing for large social media teams wanting to scale.
67. Fyle
As your startup grows, you’ll find yourself reimbursing your employees sooner than later for business expenses.
Fyle is an expense reimbursement software that can enable you to gain visibility into future spending, automate your spend management, create an efficient expense reporting system that can scale as your company grows, and save you a ton of time and money.
Key Features:
- Seamless expense submission and tracking for employees
- Automated compliance for approvers
- Integrations with various accounting tools
Pricing:
- Standard: $4.99 per active user/month
- Business: $8.99 per active user/month
68. Clipchamp
Videos are an integral part of small businesses, whether for creating employee training materials or for promotional content.
Clipchamp is a free online video editing tool that you can use to create and edit videos for your startup. You can conveniently do that in your Chrome browser without downloading anything. Although it’s web-based, it has advanced features and tools that you will find helpful, whether you have experience with videos or not.
Key Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Drag and drop support
- Free unlimited exports without a watermark
- Integrations with digital video, storage, and social media platforms
- Customizable templates
- Royalty-free stock media
- Text-to-speech AI voiceovers in 70 languages
- Screen and webcam recording
- Green screen backgrounds
- Cloud sync backup
Pricing:
- Basic plan – free
- Creator plan – $9/month
- Business plan – $19/month
- Business platinum plan – $39/month
69. Community Phone
Community Phone’s business phone service is a valuable solution for small businesses today, offering a dedicated phone number, voicemail, and call-forwarding options that empower workers to manage business calls effortlessly. Its advanced call management features foster seamless connectivity with clients and colleagues from any location.
The service boasts easy setup and installation, making it a prime choice for businesses seeking a swift transition to a remote work model. By utilizing Community Phone’s business phone system, businesses can enhance communication and collaboration among their teams, resulting in heightened productivity and improved customer service.
Key Features
- Rollover ringing
- IVR and call routing
- Simultaneous ring
- Call forwarding
- 3-way calling
- Voicemail
- Caller ID
Pricing
- Plans start at $39/per month.
70. Plann
In the realm of essential tools for businesses, especially startups and small enterprises, efficient social media management is paramount. Enter Plann, a game-changer in the world of social media schedulers.
It’s an all-in-one Instagram and social media content planner, scheduler + strategist with post ideas, free templates – plus a free link-in-bio tool.
Tailored for startups and businesses of all sizes, Plann simplifies the process of scheduling and managing posts across popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
With an intuitive interface and powerful features, Plann offers a seamless experience for individuals and businesses looking to enhance their online presence. From content planning to insightful analytics, Plann is your go-to solution.
While the free version provides fundamental functionalities, the premium subscription offers advanced features, making Plann the ultimate choice for those who seek simplicity and effectiveness in their social media strategy.
Elevate your social media game effortlessly with Plann – where management meets mastery.
Key Features
- Visual Planner + Scheduler
- Done-For-You Content + Strategy
- All-in-One Social Media Manager
- EasyLink
- Link-in-bio
- AI Caption Generator
- Companion App
- Visual Planner + Scheduler
- Done-For-You Content + Strategy
- All-in-One Social Media Manager
- EasyLink
- Link-in-bio
- AI Caption Generator
- Companion App
Pricing Plans
- Power user – $12.5
- Build – $25
- Grow – $ 62.5
Over to you!
Over the last couple of years, business solutions have exponentially grown in number. However, not all of those solutions meet quality standards these days. Some of them are also not a perfect fit for various companies due to variances in requirements.
On that note, gathering these software, researching their features, and summing them up on this list was not an easy task. But then again, we wanted to offer insight into programs that are worth mentioning to project managers and aspiring agile framework teams.
The aforementioned programs cover almost all the functions of a firm. Sit down with your team and discuss every option before finalizing a product.
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