Five business growth-boosting apps for entrepreneurs
In today’s connected world, we use apps to help manage our music playlists, measure our heartbeat and translate menus in a foreign language when we go on holidays
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that many of us also rely on apps to help increase productivity and make operations more efficient.
With about 2 million apps out there, testing each one out is a challenging task (and in fact nearly impossible). This is why most of us tend to download apps that are recommended by friends and colleagues which are tried and tested by them so to speak. For the purposes of this article, our business growth specialists decided to check out quite a few business apps on the market today that can help boost your productivity and make the lives of entrepreneurs across London easier. Here are our top five recommendations.
The ability to manage a multitude of projects proficiently is essential in any growing business. A simple, easy-to-use project management tool, Trello allows you to create a board for each project, which is then further broken down into individual tasks through the creation of lists, cards, checklists and labels, allowing you to organise and prioritise your workload in a proficient but fun way.
How can it help you?
Trello makes project management more efficient by empowering teams to collaborate to achieve a set goal. It also integrates well with Google Drive, Slack and Dropbox, making it easier to manage projects that have data stored on different platforms.
How much does it cost?
The free version is generally enough for small business owners, but you can also shell out £12.50 per team member per month for Trello Business Class.
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” A wise quote by William Penn who founded the Province of Pennsylvania in 1680.
Many entrepreneurs can relate to this quote as they juggle multiple tasks and often find themselves distracted by a myriad of little things which may not earn them any revenues. Even the seemingly necessarily things like reading, answering and deleting emails are taking a significant chunk of our time but may not contribute to our bottom line.
How can it help you?
RescueTime gives you an accurate picture of how you spend your time and thereby you can be more productive.
How much does it cost?
The free version only tracks how much time you have spent on websites and apps, whereas the Premium version (US$9 a month or US$72 a year) has more features to help you manage your time efficiently.
Don’t let the name fool you – Slack improves employee activity and speed with an instant messaging app that values collaboration and connection. Everything from project discussions to social outings can live within Slack. The app offers personalised communication channels, searchable conversations and other necessary features for quick and easy contact.
How can it help you?
Slack makes collaboration between people and teams easier. One cool function is everyone can submit ideas and vote on them, then whichever idea gets the most votes can be shared to one of the integrated social media platforms instantly.
How much does it cost?
The free version is akin to using a limited trial version. If you want to upgrade it will cost either £5.25 a month for the Standard tier and £117 a year for their Plus tier.
In 2018, Xero changed its tagline from ‘Beautiful accounting software’ to ‘Beautiful business’ to reflect its positive impact on small businesses across the world. Don’t roll your eyes and think it’s too cliché because Xero has indeed successfully helped thousands of business owners who have no prior accounting knowledge to grasp vital concepts like cash-flow and let them have the confidence to perform a series of accounting tasks.
How can it help you?
The app allows you to manage your account while on the move. From invoicing your clients instantly to approving expenses, Xero makes time-consuming tasks easier and faster to accomplish.
How much does it cost?
From £10 to £27.50 a month but heavily discounted for the first few months.
One of the best feelings in the world is coming out of a conversation feeling engaged and motivated, but one of the worst things in the world is when you finally return to your desk, you can’t recall every bit.
Forget about note taking, instead focus on the substance of the conversation and let the artificial intelligence-powered assistant Otter help you with note taking. Boasting many influential app awards, Otter transcribes voice conversations into rich notes with text, audio, images and key phrases that are easy to search and share. One of the most interesting features is Otter’s ability to recognise voices and terminology over time, becoming more personalised to you and your business.
How can it help you?
Otter turns your voice conversations, recordings or podcasts into smart notes that you can easily search and share. You can use it to capture your thoughts and ideas while you’re driving. In addition, if you take photos during a recording, they will be inserted inline with your transcripts.
How much does it cost?
Like most apps, Otter’s basic tier is free, but the paid services offer 6,000 transcription minutes a month and other features.
If you’d like more information concerning business growth, you can check out:
- External growth of a business
- Organic growth strategies for small businesses
- Business growth in 2019: Expert advice for small businesses
- Challenges of business growth and how to tackle them
This post is intended to provide information of general interest about current business/ accounting issues. It should not replace professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances.