Business as usual is no longer business as usual. Things have changed and a lot of it has to do with the smartphone. According to mobiThinking, there are over one billion smartphones in use around the world. This means there are even more apps in the Play Store and the App Store and on these one billion devices. For entrepreneurs and business owners, business has become more mobile and more fast. Entrepreneurs use apps to accept payments, scan business cards and more.
Rescue a CEO asked some entrepreneurs what phone apps they use that are best for their business.
#1- Expensify
When you run a business the hardest part has nothing to do with your actual job—It's always the accounting, bookkeeping, and backend management that takes the biggest toll on your time management and productivity. I've come to love and rely on Expensify for expense recording, reporting, and reimbursement. All you have to do is open the app and scan a photo of a receipt or mileage. The app records the expense for you. Plus, its smart scanning also fills in merchant and expense information so you don't even have to do that manually. Expensify has been a huge time-saver and helps me maximize and track my expenses for maximum tax write-offs. The app also syncs with our payroll, invoicing, and bookkeeping software, Xero. Expensify couldn't be better or make my life as a business owner easier.
Thanks to Caroline Maurer, Witty Kitty!
#2-Slack
One of my favorite business apps would be Slack. it allows me to constantly be connected to my team across 7 different time zones. it's not just a communication app for us, but also file sharing, audio/video calls, customer support through slack bot integration, task management through their robust reminder system. I absolutely love it. Now, the critical part is to be smart with the notification system, as it can easily derail you just like it can help you.
Thanks to Artem Volos, ClutchPrep!
#3-Turboscan
We are constantly asked to fill out forms and sign contracts not all of which are sent to us using docu-scan, so when we are on the go TurboScan makes our jobs much easier. I turn to this app regularly in my professional and personal life as well. If you’re traveling and have access to a business center you can easily print your files, fill them out and return signed documents easily using the Turboscan app on your phone. The app gives you the option to send documents as PDFs or JPGs making it look like you sent the document from your office scanner. The app eliminates having to have access to a scanner and just makes business transactions quicker and easier.
Thanks to JoJo Gutfarb Wetterau, JJ Media!
#4- Planoly
Unlike other scheduling apps, it’s got beginners in mind: It’s completely visual (drag-and-drop is the key maneuver), and it’s an amazing way to develop a consistent aesthetic for your Instagram feed. But it gets better. Planoly allows you to schedule automatically posts as far in advance as you'd like. Planoly even includes analytics, so you can track your engagement, AND their customer service is extremely responsive and helpful when it comes to troubleshooting or answering your questions. Halleluja!
Thanks to Kimberly Cruickshanks, Fuze Branding!
#5- Camera app
My favourite business app is probably the camera app on my phone. As a marketer I sketch most of my plans on a whiteboard, this can be right from content to go to market plans, I think best sketching them. When these conversations happens along with a team it is best to capture the essence of the conversation in one shot. Note taking, minutes of the meeting and to-dos solve it for sure, but I love to capture it pictorially with my camera. A quick scroll on my phone's gallery will open up loads of images with plans. Nothing has replaced my love for whiteboard and camera yet.
Thanks to Abishek Murthy, Freshchat!
#6-Instagram
My favorite business app might be considered a social media app but it really depends what you use it for and most importantly what you get out of it. Instagram: We use that for getting new clients and brand awareness and we do receiver over 300 leads per month from Instagram alone and we turn 10-30% of those leads into high ticket sales. On top of that it is the best way to communicate with our clients.
Thanks to Daniel Nyiri, 4U Fitness!
#7- Two apps
The app that has changed most for me recently is SuperHuman. It’s a mail client that does everything through short-cuts and gets you to inbox zero lightning fast. Once it gets into your muscle memory, you never want to go back. Another exciting app we use is Station. It enables you to access all your favourate apps in one place, and works faster then a browser. In our case these are apps such as Github, Slack, Airtable, Medium, WordPress, Drift and Google Drive.
Thanks to Kristjan Kristjansson, 50skills!
#8-To lounge or not to lounge: Priority Pass App
As a traveling executive, I love the Priority Pass App. It tells me every lounge in every airport and what they offer. It makes down time before flights or for layovers way more productive, and you can get a free meal or a place to relax that can change you attitude before heading on to a next meeting or conference. You can join priority pass direct or it comes a perk with certain cards like Amex Platinum and above. Many execs never sign up, but trust me, on a 1 hour layover that runs in to 6, you will wish you had!
Thanks to Ben Smith, BioXcellerator!
#9- Shapr
I work as a freelancer doing SEM and SEO, and I've landed several jobs aka clients on the app Shapr. It's a great business networking app, and the best part is, almost everyone who swipes right reaches out to engage and is looking to network and hire.
Thanks to Stacy Caprio, Accelerated Growth Marketing!
#10- Quickbooks
This accounting software helps me run my business and helps me provide a sense of my company’s overall financial health. We use QuickBooks to track our business’ sales and expenses; view financial statements, such as profit and loss reports; pay our employees and vendors; track unpaid invoices; and more.
Thanks to Zondra Wilson, Blu Skin Care, LLC!
#11-Evernote
As a busy digital marketer and SEO specialist I am constantly collecting and reviewing new information that is valuable to myself and my clients. Thats where Evernote comes in. This platform lets you collect and save any bits and pieces of information from the web you may need. You can tag them for easy searching, alter them or embed pictures, audio, video you name it. You can also use Evernote to create your own written journal entries, and to do lists. By having everything all in one place you save loads of time and as an entrepreneur every second counts!
Thanks to Natalie Athanasiadis, Ormi Media!
#12-Trello
Trello is awesome in keeping everything in line in one place. As a law firm, we are handling multiple clients and multiple times in all with different durations. Trello is great for showing us where we are in every client's journey. We add information there for the team to see easily and we can move each client through the process they're in seamlessly so the whole team can see it. It’s great that we can integrate it with a lot of the systems we use already, it just makes the whole process of handling multiple different clients, all with different case much easier.
Thanks to Yuriy Moshes, Moshes Law!
#13- Headspace
One of my favorite productivity apps isn't a typical business app. Headspace is a meditation app that boosts focus, reduces distractions, and helps put you on track for the day's tasks. Headspace has a simple learning curve, using awareness and breathing exercises to convert external focus to internal. It also offers optional packs with health-related objectives such as stress and anxiety reduction. I find that one of the most significant challenges as an entrepreneur is blocking out distractions in order to prioritize necessary tasks. Headspace does a great job of preparing you mentally and physically to tackle whatever the day presents, without feeling like a chore.
Thanks to Rob Webber, MoneySavingPro!
#14-Google Suite
Nowadays, my favorite business app is Google Suite, which is technically a collection of apps comprising of Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Keep, Drive and so on. In my opinion, it has replaced Microsoft Office, and we can use it to easily collaborate or share files with colleague. Also, it is technically free and even the premium versions are very affordable, making this a very cost-efficient and yet feature-rich app.
Thanks to Steve Kurniawan, Nine Peaks media!
#15- Slack
Slack has become my personal assistant. Our company uses Slack for all communication, including a daily check-in, social media content ideas, and meeting agendas. I love that Slack eliminates the need for calls or emails in many cases, and it tracks the discussions. I also use the reminders feature in Slack constantly – especially for items to research, quick phone calls and anything else I might forget. Slack is the reason I can be more productive as an entrepreneur.
Thanks to Jennifer Stewart, Gateway Productivity!