Whether you’ve just started your business or you’ve been operating for a few years, you’re likely always thinking about ways to improve and streamline your day-to-day processes. Luckily, in this digital age, there are more tools than ever to help business owners—including everything from desktop-based accounting software to mobile small business management apps. And while there’s nothing wrong with relying on a desktop computer for your business tools, many entrepreneurs can benefit from more flexible small business apps that allow them to manage tasks on the go, regardless of time or location.
In this
hyperconnected age, online tools are vital to any business’s success. Once you
consider the impact COVID-19 has on ways of work and the widespread adoption of
technological tools to enable remote work1,
we can double down on this assertion.
Whether you’re a workplace
veteran interested in starting a business, a small business entrepreneur keen
to reshape the way you work and grow your business or a fresh-faced
entrepreneur with a flourishing side gig, your business will have to cover
several bases.
Are you looking to automate some of your core business
processes—and save yourself time and money in the process? If so, this guide is
here to help.
We’ve compiled a list of the top small business apps and broken
them down by category, as you’ll see below. Use this guide to learn more about
what these tools can offer and find the best apps for your small business.
BEST APP SOFTWARE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
- Best for
accounting and finance: QuickBooks, FreshBooks,
Wave, Expensify
- Best for inventory management: SOS
Inventory, Delivrd, Sortly
- Best for POS and payments: Square,
PayPal Here, QuickBooks GoPayment
- Best for time tracking and team management: TSheets,
Gusto, Teamdeck, HotSchedules
- Best for communication: Slack,
GoToMeeting, Skype/Microsoft Teams
- Best for customer relationship management: Belly,
Spendgo, Salesforce, Nimble
Best Small Business Apps for Accounting and Finance
Managing your business’s accounting is probably one of the most
important—and also most complex—responsibilities associated with running a
business. These four small business accounting apps, however, can
help you organize and perform your basic bookkeeping tasks, including
everything from invoicing, expenses, payroll, and more.
1.
QuickBooks Online
One of the biggest names
in the accounting world, QuickBooks
Online is simple, powerful,
and everywhere. (In fact, many of the apps on this list
integrate with the QuickBooks software in some way.) Resources abound on how to
get started with it if you’re not familiar.
From tax accounting to
payroll, profit analysis, and inventory management, QuickBooks can do it
all—depending on which version you’re paying for. Whether you’re a one-person business or a growing startup, QuickBooks Online has a version and a
price point that will fit your needs. Plus, with whatever version you choose,
you’ll have access to the mobile QuickBooks app, which is one of the top-rated
small business apps on the Apple App Store.
With the QuickBooks mobile accounting app, you can create invoices,
track miles, manage expenses, and more—and all on the go.
2.
FreshBooks
For an accounting application with a focus on invoicing, lower
prices, and one of the best mobile accounting apps on the market, you might use FreshBooks. With the FreshBooks online
software and mobile app, you can oversee
your cash flow, expenses, invoices, and more—plus, receive top-notch customer service with all plans,
at no additional cost.
3.
Wave
Wave is one of the only truly free accounting software
systems—allowing you to use their online-based platform, mobile invoicing app,
and mobile receipts app without paying anything for a subscription.
The Wave accounting app is great for small
business owners just starting out—and, they offer payments and payroll paid
add-ons to give you the opportunity to extend your functionality within a
single application.
4.
Expensify
Although Expensify serves a more specific purpose than any of
the other three small business management apps above, it can play a
particularly useful role in organizing your finances.
With Expensify,
you can scan receipts and process employee expenses easily and on the go,
whether you have an iPhone or Android smartphone. Plus, Expensify can integrate
with QuickBooks, Xero, and a variety of other small business apps.
Best Small Business Apps
for Managing Inventory
If you’re a product-based business, an inventory management app
can help you track your stock, make purchase orders, and ensure your sales
process runs smoothly from beginning to end. Here are three top options to
consider:
5.
SOS Inventory
SOS Inventory is designed to make inventory tracking,
order management, and manufacturing easier. SOS
Inventory integrates with both QuickBooks and Shopify and can be used on
desktop, tablet, or mobile. With this app, you can manage inventory in more
than one business location, track your items according to a number of different
attributes (like serial number and cost history), and create tickets and
packing slips, among other features.
Although the mobile app is included for free with a software
subscription, you will have to pay a monthly fee to access this inventory
software. Plans for SOS Inventory start at $39.95 per month.
6.
Delivrd
With Delivrd, you can access an online-based inventory
management application for free. Using Delivrd, you can create a product catalogue;
count, receive, and issue stock; enable stock level alerts, and access your
inventory transaction history.
Plus, if you’re looking for additional features, you can choose
from either of Delivrd’s paid plans, starting at $49.99 per month per user.
It’s important to note, however, that Delivrd is a web-only service and does
not offer a separate mobile app.
7.
Sortly
The Sortly inventory management app gives you the best of both
worlds. Sortly can be used through the web platform, as well as using their
mobile small business app on your smartphone or tablet.
With Sortly, you
can maintain your catalog with custom notes and tags, look up barcodes, and use
the built-in scanner—all as part of the free version of the software. For
greater capabilities, you can elect to purchase either of Sortly’s paid plans,
which start at $39 per month.
Best Small Business Apps
for POS and Payments
Whether you’re a fast-casual restaurant or a contracted
photographer, a payment app is essential to ensure that
you get paid promptly and that your customers can pay you in the way that works
best for them. Plus, if you want to manage your payments within the same
application as other processes—such as orders, inventory, loyalty programs, and
more—a full POS system will allow you to do so. Check out these three flexible
payment platforms and what they can offer your business:
8.
Square
You’ve likely heard of Square, as this POS provider largely changed the world
of small business apps—and has improved how businesses process credit card
transactions.
This being said, whether
you need a full POS system or a simple mobile POS and card swiper, Square is
going to be one of your top options. Square offers multiple software and
hardware solutions—but for the most basic version, you’ll only pay 2.6% + $0.10
for every in-person payment you accept.
9.
PayPal Here
Another point of sale
business app, PayPal Here can process credit cards, checks, and
invoices on your phone. Unlike the Square POS app, which offers more expansive
features like inventory and order management, PayPal Here provides
the simplest and easiest way to accept payments on your phone—and only charges
2.7% per U.S. card swipe.
An important point to
note, however, PayPal Here works through your PayPal account, as opposed to
your bank account, so you’ll need to make sure you’re synced up properly to use
this payments app.
10.
QuickBooks GoPayment
Intuit’s version of
Square and PayPal Here, QuickBooks
GoPayment lets you
swipe a card, scan it with your phone camera, or key-in details to accept
payments from customers. With this app, you can also review your analytics
data, monitor your best-selling items, and even connect with your Apple Watch.
QuickBooks GoPayment
directly integrates with QuickBooks, TurboTax, or Mint—and you only have to pay
for payment processing (2.4% + $0.25 for in-person payments
and 3.4% + $0.25 for keyed-in payments).
Best Small Business Apps
for Time Tracking and Team Management
Managing a team can be difficult when you have multiple
employees, different schedules, and other responsibilities on your plate.
Therefore, you might benefit from one of these scheduling, HR, or time tracking apps—any
of which can help your team run much more smoothly.
11.
TSheets
For a time tracking app from QuickBooks, you might look into TSheets. TSheets allows you to track time on
any device, streamline payroll and invoicing, manage time-off requests, and
receive real-time reports.
Plus, TSheets can integrate with other small business apps in
addition to QuickBooks—including Sage, Xero, Square, and more. This being said,
however, TSheets will require a paid subscription, but plans start at only $20
per month, plus $8 per user per month.
12.
Gusto
For a more full-service payroll and HR app, you might consider Gusto. Gusto’s
platform allows you to manage payroll,
benefits, and compliance—plus, you can calculate and file payroll taxes (at
state and federal levels), track sick days and vacation time, and more.
Gusto is available via monthly subscription (which includes their
free mobile app) and pricing starts at $39 per month, plus $6 per month per
person.
13.
Teamdeck
This resource management software allows you to check team
availability, schedule resources, and track working time and days off within
one application. Customizable reports can also be generated within Teamdeck to help you oversee your team’s
performance and track the KPIs of your choosing.
With online software and a corresponding mobile app, Teamdeck is a
pay-per-user platform with pricing as low as $3.99 per team member per month.
14. HotSchedules
For a strictly mobile-based employee scheduling app, you might
look into HotSchedules. HotSchedules is available for both Android and iOS
devices and can be used to assign and manage employee shifts, time-off
requests, and calendars. HotSchedules is particularly useful for restaurants
and other food-service businesses.
This scheduling app is one of the top business applications on
the Apple App Store and can be downloaded (with a corresponding account) for
$2.99.
Best Small Business Apps
for Communication
Whether you need to talk within your team or with clients, one
of these communication apps can facilitate that process for your business.
Plus, with productivity tools like these, you’ll
find added features—like group organization options, video meeting
capabilities, and more—that you don’t get from just texting or sending an
email.
15.
Slack
This productivity app makes
instant messaging work-friendly. Instead of holding unnecessary meetings or
typing twice as many emails, you can just shoot a message over to one of your employees—and get an answer
just as fast—whether you’re using your computer or mobile device.
With a free option and
premium versions with additional features, Slack is well worth trying, especially
since they claim to increase productivity by 32%.
16.
GoToMeeting
If you’re managing a remote team or simply use video
conferencing frequently, GoToMeeting may just offer the best
solution for your needs.
You can host unlimited
meetings with HD video, use screen sharing, add a dial-in conference line,
integrate with Office 365 or Google Calendar, and more—just with the basic
version of GoToMeeting. You can use GoToMeeting on your computer or mobile
device and the basic plan costs only $12 per month.
17.
Skype
Among video and chatting
small business apps, Skype is still one of the most well-known
options. With Skype, you can send texts,
share files, display your screen to others, include up to 25 other
participants, and more.
Plus, Microsoft now
offers Microsoft Teams (which replaced Skype for Business), the
business-specific version of this app, which allows access to basic features
within the free version and greater capabilities with either of the paid plans.
Best Small Business Apps
for Customer Relationship Management
It can be tricky to manage your customer relationships,
especially as a smaller business with limited resources and funding. Therefore,
if you’re looking to facilitate a loyalty program or maintain customer
profiles, one of these small business apps may be able to help.
18.
Belly
You can use Belly to create a customized customer loyalty
program.
You can design your
points program based on what customers prefer, plus gain the added capabilities
of email, social media marketing, and analytics software. You can manage your
Belly account online or using their mobile app—pricing, however, starts on the
expensive side, at $129 per month.
19.
Spendgo
With Spendgo, you
can create customer loyalty and marketing programs whether your customers visit
your store, shop online, or use their smartphones. Spendgo allows you to develop
a points-based rewards program, push promotions, and even reach customers via
text or email.
Spendgo can integrate with top POS, ecommerce, and marketing
platforms and is available in three different plan levels. You will, however,
have to contact Spendgo directly for a pricing quote.
20. Salesforce
Salesforce is perhaps one of the biggest names in CRM
platforms—used by small and big businesses alike, all over the world. The Salesforce
platform allows you to track and manage customer profiles across departments,
develop personalized marketing plans, respond to customer issues, and more.
You can use Salesforce online and the mobile app with plans for small businesses starting at
$25 per user per month.
