10 Small Business Apps for 2019
By Audrey Sellers
When you’re running a small business, mobile app technology can help make your job a little bit easier. For example, you can connect QuickBooks with many of your favorite apps to cut down on data entry and synchronize different systems.
Whether you want to free up more of your time, streamline tasks or simplify your business’ finances, the right apps can ultimately save you time and money.
However, with thousands of business apps available now and more debuting in the New Year, it can be difficult to know which ones deserve a spot on your home screen.
We investigated a host of helpful small business apps to see which ones stand to make a significant difference in your workflow. Here are 10 worth checking out now.
1. Best for CRM: Nimble
Small businesses are built on relationships. Nimble makes it easy to get to know your customers in a more personal way.
This smart-contacts app links social profile information for all your contacts. When you log into this CRM, you get all the pertinent information (company name, title, location) plus helpful extras such as shared relationships, mutual interests and more. Nimble starts at $12 per user/per month.
2. Best for Communication: Fireflies
When your day is packed with customer calls and vendor meetings, it can be difficult to keep track of all the important details. You don’t want to forget something critical or misremember a customer’s request.
When you use the Fireflies app, you can capture every detail of those conversations. The app automatically transcribes calls and makes them searchable. You can try a free call before buying. Pricing starts at $2 per user, per month.
3. Best for Password Management: LastPass
Chances are you’re keeping up with multiple passwords for the apps and systems you use to run your small business. LastPass, a password management solution, gives you a smart way to stash those passwords in one secure vault.
Your passwords and logins automatically sync across devices, and you can allow trusted users access to your vault. You can also give your team members their own vault to store their app and web logins. Pricing starts at $2.42 per user, per month.
4. Best for Customer Support: FreshDesk
You don’t have to be in your store to make your customers happy. FreshDesk allows you to answer customer questions and provide around-the-clock support.
With this cloud-based software, you can prioritize, categorize and assign tickets for support requests, whether they come in via email, chat, phone or social media. You can also automate routine actions and create self-service portals for customers. It’s free for 21 days and pricing starts at $19 per agent, per month.
5. Best for Contact Management: Addappt
As your customer list grows, keeping updated information becomes more tedious. People move, change companies and update contact information all the time.
With the Addappt app, your phone updates when your contacts change their information. You can eliminate duplicates and organize contacts into different groups to tailor your communications via the app. Best of all, it’s free.
6. Best for Productivity: RescueTime
If there are a million things on your to-do list and you don’t know how to fit them all into your day, RescueTime can help. While this app has existed for a few years, it still deserves a download in 2019. This award-winning time-management app reveals how you spend your time and gives you the tools to be more productive.
RescueTime data reveals that more than half of people are interrupted frequently throughout the workday. If you struggle with daily distractions and find it difficult to accomplish what you need to do in a day, this app will help steer you toward a more productive workday. RescueTime Lite is free, or you can opt for the premium version starting at $9 per user, per month.
7. Best for Recruiting: Workable
If you have plans to expand your small business team in 2019, the Workable app makes it much easier and faster to find qualified employees.
Through Workable, you can create a branded career page to showcase your small business, research candidate profiles, send candidates pre-screen questions and schedule interviews. Everything integrates with your email and calendar, making the recruiting and hiring process that much easier. Pay as You Go and Starter packages start at $50 per month.
8. Best for Customer Interaction: Podium
If you want to create more meaningful interactions with customers or potential customers, Podium is a feature-packed choice.
This customer interaction platform allows small businesses to communicate with customers via text, enabling them to efficiently respond to questions and comments. You can also use Podium to collect reviews and gain insight on customer experiences. For a quote, just plug in some details about your small business.
9. Best for Task Management: OmniFocus
This productivity app has been around for a few years, but a fresh design and new features make it worth checking out in 2019.
When you have a lot on your plate with customers, vendors and employees, you can use this app to get a quick snapshot of what’s due and when. It syncs between your phone and desktop and allows you to add tags and actions so you don’t miss a thing. Pricing starts at $39.99 per month.
10. Best for Notetaking: Bear
Whenever an idea for your small business strikes, you can open the Bear app and jot it down before the thought escapes you.
This writing app allow you to compose, sync and store your thoughts, whether you’re writing notes after a client meeting or you have a new product idea. You can also use the app to write drafts for your small business blog. Hashtags make it easy to organize and search your notes wherever you are. The standard version is free or you can upgrade for $1.49 per month.
Get More Done on Any Device
Apps make it simple to turn any device into a toolbox for running your small business.
Mobile apps allow you to obtain the big picture of your small business without having to sift through multiple systems on a desktop.
Many businesses are even transitioning to a fully mobile workplace, trading in PCs for mobile devices.
However, you don’t need to completely overhaul the way you do business to reap the benefits of mobile app technology.
Consider which apps could help you better run, manage and grow your small business in 2019. No matter what challenges you face in your small business, the apps above are worth the download.
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Originally published at QuickBooks Resource Center.
