Managing a business is easier said than done. When you run your own business, you need to give it all your time and attention. It’s a job that is both demanding and fulfilling.
Eventually, you'll want to turn it into a business that can run without you. This, unfortunately, is the harder part.
The first obstacle you need to anticipate is manpower. For small businesses and start-up companies, it is usually the owner that does most of the work. To help you out, here are the top business productivity apps you can rely on for help.
1. TMetric
This is a time tracking app that can help you manage projects and your team at the same time. It can track your team’s work activities which you can view in a simple timeline mode.
If you have remote employees or you’re not in the office most of the time, you can use this app to check on your team’s productivity. As the project leader, you'll be able to view what sites your members visited or what apps they've used in a specific period of time.
Tmetric is completely free and can be integrated with other tools like Trello, Basecamp, Jira, Asana, and RedMine. Compared with other time tracking apps, this one is very user-friendly and does not require training to understand.
It’s a simple click-and-go app with powerful features at no cost.
See Also: Top 7 Ways to Improve Your Productivity
2. MailChimp
For a business to grow, its mailing list should grow as well. It's a great way to continuously generate leads and sales.
MailChimp is an easy and professional way to send emails to your subscribers. Its intuitive interface allows even the most non-techy users to make it work.
For small businesses, the free version is a good starting point. You can send up to 12,000 emails a month to a mailing list of up to 2,000 contacts.
MailChimp has a huge directory of integration. Popular platforms include WordPress, Shopify, and Magento.
3. Wave
This app is pretty straightforward. It’s a free accounting software that covers invoicing, payroll, bills, and other factors that involve money. It's specifically tailored for small businesses.
Wave gives business owners an easy and efficient way to manage books. If you want to handle accounting work yourself but don’t want to spend money for more advanced apps, this is a great solution.
You can securely link your banking accounts, send unlimited invoices, and pay as many bills as you want. It is a Canadian-based company with over 2.5 million users.
You can securely link your banking accounts, send unlimited invoices, and pay as many bills as you want. It is a Canadian-based company with over 2.5 million users.
4. Tasytt
Welcoming a new team member can take a lot of work, particularly when it comes to orientation and training. This is a common experience and issue for most small businesses.
As a solution, you can try a tiny but powerful app called Tasytt. It streamlines your company's training process so you know who’s reading what and for how long.
See Also: 8 Top Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
In addition to onboarding new team members, it’s a great tool for training existing team members without having to set up individual meetings, too. By creating ‘flows’, which are basically tasks made into a smaller set of activities, you can easily track your team’s progress and productivity.
BONUS: You can also consider this free automated timesheet template as an additional resource to help you track time across your teams and stay more productive.