10 Must-Have Apps to Help You Run Your Small Business

Running a small business without leveraging technological tools is akin to trying to win a race with your feet tied. Applications, or apps, have become indispensable tools in managing various aspects of a business efficiently. From project management and communication to accounting and inventory management, there’s an app for almost everything.

A must-have app for small businesses simplifies tasks, saves time, reduces costs, and ultimately boosts productivity. Some key pointers to decide whether your business needs a particular app are:

• Does it automate repetitive tasks?
• Does it streamline workflow and improve efficiency?
• Does it help in decision-making with data analysis?
• Does this app solve a business need?
• Is the app cost-effective?
• Is the app easy to use?
• Can the app integrate with existing tools?
• Does the app have good customer support?

Project Management App

A Project Management App is a software tool that assists teams and individuals in organizing work and managing projects and tasks effectively. These applications provide a structured approach for planning, organizing, and managing resources to guide projects from inception to completion.

Trello

Trello is a visual collaboration tool that creates a shared perspective for your team on any project in a fun and flexible way. It lets you organize tasks into boards, which is a clear way of seeing what’s being worked on, who’s working on it, and where something is in the process. Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable teams to organize and prioritize projects in a fun, flexible, and rewarding way.

Key Features:

• Task Assignment: Assign tasks to individuals or teams. You can add details to each task, including checklists, attachments, due dates, and labels.
• Progress Tracking: Trello uses a system of boards, lists, and cards for progress tracking. You can move a card from one list to another to represent where it stands in your workflow.
• Collaboration Tools: Trello allows for real-time collaboration. Team members can comment on cards, attach files, and even integrate with other apps like Google Drive and Slack.
• Notifications: Trello keeps everyone informed via task assignments, email notifications, and activity log updates.

Communication App

A communication app is a software tool that facilitates instant and effective communication between team members, regardless of their geographical location. It enables real-time collaboration, file sharing, and decision-making, thereby improving productivity and efficiency.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform that combines persistent workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration. It’s designed to enable groups of all types to work together and share information in a shared workspace.

Key Features:

• Instant Messaging: Microsoft Teams allows for real-time messaging, both for one-on-one conversations and group discussions. You can create channels for different projects, departments, or topics for organized and focused discussions.
• File Sharing: With Microsoft Teams, you can easily share files with your team. The shared files are stored in SharePoint and can be accessed directly from Teams, making collaboration easier.
• Voice/Video Calls: Microsoft Teams offers voice and video calls, which are great for quick questions, detailed discussions, or virtual meetings. You can also share your screen during the call for better collaboration.
• Integration: Microsoft Teams can integrate with many other tools like Office 365 apps, making it a central hub for all your work.

Accounting and Budgeting App

An Accounting and Budgeting App is a software tool that helps businesses manage, track, and report on their financial data. It simplifies the process of recording transactions, tracking expenses and revenues, invoicing customers, and generating financial reports.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a comprehensive accounting solution designed to cater to the needs of small to mid-size businesses. It offers robust functionalities for all aspects of business finances, from creating invoices to tracking expenses.

Key Features:

• Invoicing: QuickBooks allows users to create professional invoices, manage sales receipts, and keep track of payments. It also supports recurring billing and invoice automation.
• Expense Tracking: With QuickBooks, businesses can easily record expenses for tax time, sort business from personal spending, categorize expenses, and more.
• Financial Reporting: QuickBooks offers a variety of financial reporting tools. Users can generate profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and more with just a few clicks.
• Integration: QuickBooks’ integration with many other tools like PayPal, Shopify, and Square, making it easier to synchronize and categorize transactions.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) App

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) app is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal of a CRM app is simple: Improve business relationships to grow business.

Salesforce 

Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM app that provides a comprehensive suite of services including marketing automation, customer service, and sales force automation. It’s designed to bring companies closer to their customers in the digital age.

Key Features:

• Contact Management: Salesforce allows users to store customer and prospect contact information, accounts, leads, and sales opportunities in one central location.
• Sales Forecasting: Using Salesforce, businesses can get a real-time view of their entire sales pipeline. A reliable sales forecast enables businesses to make informed decisions and predict short-term and long-term performance.
• Customer Segmentation: With Salesforce, businesses can segment customers into different categories based on various factors like demographics, interactions, behaviors, etc. This helps in targeted marketing and personalized communication.
• Integration: Salesforce integrates with a wide array of other apps and platforms, including email providers, social media platforms, Microsoft 365 platform, and more.

Inventory Management App

An Inventory Management App is a tool that helps businesses manage their inventory levels, sales, orders, and deliveries. It’s used to avoid product overstock and outages and ensure smooth order fulfillment.

Zoho Inventory

Zoho Inventory is an online application that enables you to manage orders and inventory. With multichannel selling, shipping integrations, and powerful inventory control, you can now optimize your inventory and order management, right from purchase to packaging, to payments.

Key Features:

• Order Management: Zoho Inventory simplifies order management processes, providing real-time updates about order statuses and stock levels.
• Inventory Control: Zoho Inventory provides tools for tracking inventory levels, and avoiding overstocking or understocking situations.
• Multichannel Selling: Zoho Inventory supports selling on multiple channels, integrating all sales channels, and managing orders from a single platform.

E-commerce App

An E-commerce App is a platform that allows businesses to sell products online. It provides tools for setting up an online store, managing inventory, processing payments, and marketing products.

Shopify

Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that allows anyone to set up an online store and sell their products. It’s used by businesses of all sizes, from small startups to big enterprises.

Key Features:

• Online Store Builder: Shopify provides an easy-to-use platform for creating a professional online store.
• Payment Gateway: Shopify supports a wide range of payment gateways, making it easy for customers to make purchases.
• Marketing Tools: Shopify offers a range of marketing tools, including SEO features, email marketing, and integration with social media platforms.

Social Media Management App

A Social Media Management App is a tool that enables businesses to manage and optimize their social media presence. It provides features for scheduling posts, analyzing performance, and engaging with the audience.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that supports social network integrations for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Key Features:

• Social Media Scheduling: Hootsuite allows users to schedule and post updates to any page or profile for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, WordPress, and other platforms from one place.
• Analytics: Hootsuite offers comprehensive analytics that give an overview of how your social media content is performing.
• Content Curation: Hootsuite provides tools for finding and managing content, making it easy to share valuable content with your audience.

Employee Scheduling App

An Employee Scheduling App is a tool that simplifies workforce management. It provides features for creating shift schedules, tracking work hours, and communicating with employees.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a cloud-based productivity platform that provides a suite of tools designed to help teams manage tasks, schedules, and workflows. It’s used by businesses of all sizes to organize work, track progress, and communicate with team members.

Key Features:

• Shift Scheduling: ClickUp allows for easy creation and management of shift schedules, with features like calendar view, timelines, and scheduling automation.
• Time Tracking: With ClickUp, employers can track work hours, manage time-off requests, and monitor attendance. It also integrates with time-tracking tools like Toggl and Harvest.
• Employee Communication: ClickUp provides a built-in chat function and comment threads on tasks for communicating with employees about schedule changes, shift swaps, and other updates.

Analytics and Reporting App

An Analytics and Reporting App is a tool that provides insights into website performance and user behavior. It helps businesses understand how users interact with their website, which pages they visit, where they come from, and more.

Google Analytics 

Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It’s the most widely used web analytics service on the web.

Key Features:

• Traffic Analysis: Google Analytics provides detailed statistics about a website’s traffic and traffic sources.
• Behavior Tracking: With Google Analytics, businesses can understand how users interact with their website, including what pages they visit, how long they stay, what they click on, and more.
• Conversion Tracking: Google Analytics tracks conversions, providing insights into how many visitors complete desired actions on the website.

File Sharing and Storage App

A File Sharing and Storage App is a tool that provides cloud storage for files. It allows users to store files online, so they can be accessed from any device, at any time. It also provides features for sharing files with others and collaborating on documents.

SharePoint

SharePoint is a versatile file-sharing and storage app designed to enhance collaboration and productivity in both personal and professional settings. It’s a digital hub that integrates with Microsoft Office Suite, allowing users to create, store, share, and manage documents all in one place.

Key Features:

• Collaborative Workspace: SharePoint provides a shared workspace for teams to collaborate, communicate, and share resources. It integrates with Microsoft Teams and other Office 365 apps, making it a centralized hub for project management.
• Document Management: SharePoint excels in document storage, organization, and version control. It allows users to create, upload, and edit documents simultaneously in real-time, ensuring that everyone is working on the most up-to-date version of a document.
• Customization and Scalability: SharePoint offers extensive customization options to meet specific business needs. From custom site designs to workflow automation, users can tailor their SharePoint environment as required. Furthermore, SharePoint is highly scalable, making it suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.

Custom App for Small Businesses

A custom business app is specifically designed to cater to the unique needs of a business. Small businesses need custom apps when off-the-shelf apps fail to meet their specific requirements or when they need to automate unique business processes.

How Microsoft Power Apps Can Help with Custom App & Mobile App Development

Microsoft Power Apps is a platform that allows businesses to build custom apps quickly without extensive coding. For instance, a small bakery could use Power Apps to create a custom app for tracking daily baking schedules, ingredient inventory, and sales. Tech Efficiency Solutions, a trusted Microsoft Partner, can help small businesses leverage Power Apps to develop custom apps tailored to their needs.

Already have the Microsoft 365 platform? One of the powerful tools within Microsoft 365 is Microsoft Power Apps. With our help, you can turn Power Apps into a powerful tool for your business, enhancing efficiency and driving growth.

So, if you have Microsoft 365 but feel you’re not making the most out of it, reach out to Tech Efficiency Solutions. Let us help you maximize your investment and transform the way you do business. Contact us today!

Read more: What is CRM Integration and Do I Need One for My Business?