6 Small Business Tools We Use Everyday

Running a small business requires dependable tools that help you leverage your time and meeting your customer’s needs. We use several tools that help us with maximizing both of these goals. Of all the tools we use, six of them standout as must haves. This list has tools that took our business to new heights and that we use everyday.

1. Google Drive — We’ve been using google drive for sometime now. I think we signed up as an invite and haven’t looked back since. We use it for organizing client files, sharing videos, quick forms, you name it. We even have a script that stores all email attachments sent to a project google drive folder. We use the mobile version to take quick notes or document things. Its been a life savers, when I’m away from my desk and need to access a file or image. I’ve combined it with Zapier, to do some cool automated scripts. For example, we grab, all amazon orders and download them to a folder for taxes. The possibilities with Google Drive are endless.
2. Ultimate Client Manager — CRM — This is our CRM, we use it for invoicing primarily but it has several other features. We used Freshbooks for several years, but after reading “Profit First” and we decided to scale back on things we could do ourselves. So we searched around and found a PHP script on code canyon, called UCM, and everything was changed. First thing we weren’t paying the month fee of Freshbook, but more importantly we had more flexibility with developing custom functions that we needed. The feature list of UMC is pretty extensive, the bottom line is that is works.
3. Flipboard — I try to read a technical article or business article everyday. I find reading is one of the best ways to expand your business and your mind. I use Flipboard everyday as my source to reading business articles or catching on the latest tech news. The magazine style makes it enjoyable and easy to read.
4. Buffer — Its really difficult for me to manage all our social media account, at least was until I started using buffer. Buffer allows us to schedule several post for Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. It has allowed our social present to expand rather effortlessly. You can use the free plan to get started, but you will quickly find that you need to move up the ladder with a paid plan.
5. Screen-O-Matic — We do a lot of training and demonstration for clients on WordPress or Drupal. We use Screen-O-Matic to record these segments. I know their is a pleura of tools for recording but Screen-O-Matic is the simplest by far. You can use the web version or download the application. Its quick and gets the job down. I’ve been using it for a couple of years now and it just gets better with every update.
6. Glip — Glip changed our business and this is not an overstatement. If you are not familiar with Glip think Slack, but better. It has replaced email for our team. We use it everyday for communication and completing projects. It helps us complete work faster and avoid delays. We use to have trails of email, huge attachments and a ton of forwarding. No more. We have one central location for everyone to find files and communicate.

Do you have any tools you can’t live without?

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