A little over a year ago, Statista revealed that the two major app stores (Google Play and Apple App Store) were offering more than three million apps between them. With an abundance of apps for almost every aspect of your personal and business life, it can be incredibly difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff and pick the apps which will actually make your life more efficient.
And whilst we can’t help you pick the apps which will improve your personal life, or suggest games which will distract you from the irritatingly addictive Clash of Clans, we can suggest the following 10 brilliant apps which could streamline your business operations.
Expensify
Ever come to the end of the month, ask the team for their expense reports and receipts, only to be greeted with a mixture of blank faces and hurried pocket-searching? Well, Expensify could be the tool that you’re looking for, making it possible for the team to scan all receipts for business claims and upload them to a clever UI, and straight to the accounts department.
Get the app here.
Evernote
A clean, clever and organised platform for the entire team to store notes, research and thought farts; Evernote can make sure that no important information or inspired piece of thinking gets lost.
Get the app here.
CloudMagic
Do you find that you are constantly switching between email addresses, from personal to business to accounts and beyond? Well CloudMagic can simplify this process, supporting up to five email accounts and allowing you to effortlessly switch between. The app supports email accounts from Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and a whole host of others.
Get the app here.
Slack
Constantly keep up to date with the entire workforce with Slack, the professional instant messaging system. Like MSN Messenger for adults or Skype for those who need extra functionality and features, the whole team will be connected 24/7 – so there’s no hiding from the boss.
Get the app here.
Basecamp
Another communications tool, Basecamp is great for listing and tracking all outstanding tasks and responsibilities. With unique profiles for each user within the business (or any relevant partner businesses), it is possible to attach each task to the relevant party. At times of super activity, Basecamp ensures no task gets bumped to the bottom of the pile and forgotten.
Get the app here.
Apple Pay
Link the business account up to Apple Pay, and you’ll instantly streamline all payment processes. With more vendors than ever supporting the technology, it is incredibly simple to utilise the one-touch payment system supported by NFC technology.
Get the app here.
Whilst the LinkedIn App had historically been something of a running joke amongst the business leaders who used the browser version on a daily basis, it has been vastly improved over the last 18 months. Gone is the awful interface and labyrinthine menu, replaced with a slick system which makes it easier to quickly research your new contact on the way to meet them for the first time.
Get the app here.
Toggl
For businesses which need to log billable hours, Toggl can make sure this is recorded accurately and efficiently. The app makes it possible to log the hours spent on multiple projects and clients – even supporting a function to turn them into colourful and digestible graphs. And it can be used by everyone in your workforce, giving an accurate representation of the work completed on each project, and for each client.
Get the app here.
FreshBooks
For smaller, service-oriented businesses; FreshBooks is a great accounting solution. Easy-to-use and intuitive, the app integrates with a range of services including Basecamp, PayPal and ZenPayroll, so all aspects of accounting and bookkeeping are simplified. No longer should the end of the month accounts report be a reason for panic and sleepless nights.
Get the app here.
Compliance Centre
Whilst health & safety, risk assessment and staff training may not be the most glamorous aspects of your business venture – they are ultimately important. And the Compliance Centre, a range of apps put together by the Shieldyourself team, can be your glamorous assistant as you complete all these unglamorous tasks.
Get the apps here.
For more help developing bespoke business software to improve services and efficiency, visit the SoNQ homepage or call our dedicated team on 020 3740 3748.
