Best Small Business Apps 2021 – MihuhJoe Silverman, the owner of New York Computer Help, understands what it’s like to run a small business without the help of mobile apps. He founded his company in New York City in 2000, seven years before the first iPhone was released.

“I remember when it was all sticky notes and scraps of paper,” he recalls. His employees had to fax notes in when they went to companies to provide on-site services. On the other hand, New York Computer Help’s 25 workers no longer have to use fax machines. “At this stage, nothing is on paper,” Silverman says. “It’s fantastic.”

According to Ashvin Prakash, business applications director of product development at small business savings solutions company Ubiquity Retirement + Savings, they are suitable for small businesses with limited capital. Apps can help with accounting, time management, expense monitoring, and other tasks by lowering costs and making them more available.

So, if you want to increase the competitiveness of your company, download these small business apps.

Business Apps for Cash Flow

Any small business requires a method for creating a budget and keeping track of its cash flow. The following are some of the most influential business apps for such services:

• QuickBooks
• Freshbooks
• Budget
• Concur Invoice
• Square

QuickBooks

Silverman uses QuickBooks to control his cash flow. Though he was concerned that the robust app might be inconvenient to use on a mobile device, he has found it to be a valuable tool for handling money on the go. The tool’s best system: a payment feature that allows his employees to submit electronic invoices and receive payment at the operation time. Silverman says, “The return on that is clear.” “We are immediately compensated. We are not required to pursue (clients) for payment.”

For the Simple Start package, QuickBooks starts at $12.50 per month.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is another helpful tool for managing its cash flow, with features like invoicing, payroll, and payments. Expenses, time monitoring, and project forecasts will all be handled by the service. Meanwhile, the company’s mobile app makes it easy to manage finances through various devices and remotely.

FreshBooks’ Lite edition, which includes five billable customers, costs $13.50 a month. The Plus plan, which is more general, costs $22.50 per month and helps up to 50 billable clients. Both projects are available for a free trial.

Budget

Budget, an SAP Concur service, brings Expense, Invoice, and travel data together in one location. Budget, unlike some other applications, combines its functionality with other SAP Concur products.

One of the advantages of making a budget is the opportunity to schedule ahead of time how much money you can spend. “With the widespread adoption of e-commerce and digital payments, (company owners) need a budget solution that can supplement existing business tools and digitally monitor spending at the moment,” says Val Blatt, business head and general manager of SAP Concur’s global SMB.

Budget pricing varies depending on the company’s size and needs, but a free trial is available.

Concur Invoice

Concur Invoice could be the right option for small business owners who want Budget to combine and automate paper and electronic invoice management. Machine learning is used to obtain and pay invoices in this app, which SAP Concur also provides. “It not only helps businesses track their spending in near real-time, but it also helps create supplier relationships by allowing all parties to obtain, accept, and pay invoices within payment terms,” says Blatt.

Concur Invoice is available in two editions for small companies, with prices varying. Business owners, on the other hand, may order a free trial before making a purchase.

Square

Via its Point of Sale app, Square is best known for pioneering the ability to accept credit card payments using a mobile device since the company has expanded its offerings of including a payroll app and other business-related services.

“They’re not only accepting payments anymore,” Prakash says. Square for Retail includes managing inventory, tracking profits, setting up employee timesheets, and sending invoices. Square charges a processing fee for accepting orders, as well as fees for its other facilities. For example, to manage employee and contractor payments, the Square Payroll app costs $29 per month plus $5 per individual.

Business Apps for Finances

Although cash flow and budgeting apps may assist businesses in keeping track of their finances, they may not be equipped to process paperwork, store receipts, or perform other human resources tasks. Prakash explains, “Traditionally, you had to do these expense reports and submit (everything) to a PDF document.” Staff can now easily store and submit information electronically using the following small business apps:

• Concur Expense
• Expensify
• Zoho Expense
• Gusto
• Xero

Concur Expense

As part of the SAP Concur suite of business tools, Concur Cost can be used in combination with the Budget and Invoice apps. “Small businesses are embracing hybrid models that allow remote work and provide flexibility to employees,” says Blatt. Concur Expense is designed to function in this manner. It can extract information from receipts that have been uploaded, import numbers into expense reports, and enable managers to approve reports remotely.

Instead of waiting before returning to the workplace, Concur Expense helps employees and managers complete expense reports from anywhere. Concur Expense has a range of prices, but companies may request a free trial.

Expensify

Expensify automatically reads and transcribes receipts into expense reports after they are scanned. It can also be set up to request information for approval automatically. Expensify will pull transactions from synced credit cards if a worker loses a receipt.

Expensify is free up to 25 scans each month for personal users, but team pricing starts at $5 per active user per month.

Zoho Expense

Staff can check receipts in multiple languages with Zoho Cost, and managers can authorize expenses in real-time. Employers can quickly audit spending and control compliance with company policies thanks to the comprehensive software. On the other hand, employees profit from electronic reimbursements, which can be issued as soon as the next business day after an expense has been authorized.

Zoho Expense provides a free version for monitoring expenditures and mileage claims, but its more common paid service costs $5 per month per active user.

Gusto

Consider Gusto for payroll, time monitoring, onboarding, and more if you’re looking for a finance app that does more than just track expenses. Although Gusto does not have a mobile app for these services, it does have a mobile-friendly website that you can access from your phone, tablet, or other mobile devices. However, a Gusto Wallet app that employers can offer to employees for free will help them invest and save wisely.

Gusto’s base price is $39 per month, plus $6 per individual per month. Payroll direct deposit, employee onboarding software, workers’ compensation, and health care management are all included in these policies. At a higher cost, more detailed plans are available.

Xero

Xero is a robust platform that can accommodate a variety of financial needs for businesses. Bills are tracked, employee expense claims are simplified, data is recorded, and reports are generated. It can be used as an online file system, as well as for inventory control and invoicing.

The Early package, which is perfect for freelancers and new companies, begins at $11 per month. Businesses would need the Established package, which costs $62 a month, to get all of the features. For the first two months, all plans are 50% off, and a 30-day free trial is open.

Business Apps for Time Management

Small business applications can help with various time management problems, such as employee scheduling and workflow collaboration. The apps listed below are among the best for small business management:

• When I Work
• Trello
• KanbanFlow
• Todoist
• Zapier

When I Work

When I Work is Silverman’s go-to app for employee scheduling. “What’s cool,” he says, “is that everybody sees everyone else’s change.”

Employees may use the app to request time off or trade hours with another employee. As a result, Silverman won’t have to deal with these demands directly, giving him more time to focus on other projects. Additionally, the app can alert users of their work schedule and will use GPS to check whether or not anyone arrived on time for their shift.

When I Work costs $2 per consumer per month for companies with up to 100 workers. For larger businesses, custom pricing is available. For those who want to test the app before committing to the program, there is also a 14-day free trial.

Trello

Trello is a popular app for teams working on projects together. Businesses may use it to build work boards and checklists and delegate team members to unique tasks. When those jobs are completed, the rest of the project’s team will be told that it’s time to move on to the next stage or mission.

Trello has a free version, but its more robust plans, the Business Class plan (which costs $10 per month when billed annually) and the Enterprise plan (which is custom priced), provide more protection and attach larger files, and dedicated customer support.

KanbanFlow

1. KanbanFlow allows teams to see the status and progress of joint tasks in real-time. Staff may be given tasks, which can then be transferred from boards to signify pending or ongoing products. The app includes a Pomodoro timer, which encourages staff to take short breaks every 25 minutes of work time to increase productivity.

Read also: How Safe Are Budget Tracking Apps?

KanbanFlow is available for free in its most simple form. You’ll need the premium plan, which costs $5 per account per month, to access features including a calendar, reports, and integration with other apps.

Todoist

Todoist is Silverman’s go-to app for keeping track of his to-do list. He can color-code tasks to organize them, and the app tracks his progress and sends reminders. Todoist is available in two versions: a free version and a premium version (for $3 per month) with features such as automatic data backups and personalized tags.

Zapier

Another app that Silverman uses for his company is this one. It enables users to configure activities to be carried out automatically when such events occur. “For example, if you want your CRM system or Outlook calendar to send contacts to an Excel sheet automatically, Zapier can bind (them) together,” Silverman explains. As a result, activities are streamlined, allowing company owners to concentrate on more critical issues.

Zapier has a free plan that allows you to complete 100 tasks per month. Paid plans begin at $19.99 per month when paid monthly, with the starter plan completing up to 750 assignments per month.

Business Apps for Organization

To keep everything organized, business owners may find the following apps helpful:

• Google One
• Scanner Pro
• Acrobat Pro DC with advanced e-sign
• Evernote
• Shortly

Google One

Google Drive, according to Silverman, is crucial to his market. Documents are stored and organized into files in the cloud storage facility. Employees can access files remotely via an app after they’ve been shared with them.

Google One accounts have access to Google Drive storage and are relatively cheap, with 15 gigabytes of free space. One hundred gigabytes of storage costs $1.99 per month, while 200 gigabytes cost $2.99 per month.

Scanner Pro

Though numerous business applications can scan receipts and documents, Silverman chose Scanner Pro to replace his fax machine. He says, “What I love about it is that it stores everything.”

The app can scan documents and convert them to PDF files, which can then be organized in the app or sent to a cloud storage service like Dropbox or Google Drive using optical character recognition technology. On iOS computers, Scanner Pro can be downloaded and used for free. Scanner Pro Plus, which costs $19.99 a year and includes advanced features, including auto-uploads to the cloud, is required.

Acrobat Pro DC with advanced e-sign

Acrobat Pro DC with advanced e-sign could be a good fit for businesses that need to capture and store electronic signatures. The app allows users to develop, convert, edit, and exchange PDF documents and provide e-signing tools.

“Our research found that more than half of small business owners still struggle with physical documents daily,” says Todd Gerber, vice president of Adobe Document Cloud. “This means days of wasted time shuffling paper.” “We want to provide small businesses with everything they need to stop using pen, paper, and postage.”

With a one-year commitment, Acrobat Pro DC with advanced e-sign costs $19.99 per month. There is a free seven-day trial available. There is a free seven-day trial available. There is also a $12.99 per month Acrobat Standard DC option for Windows.

Evernote

Evernote is one of the best software for small business owners who want to organize and capture their ideas and thoughts. Users can scan documents, clip web content, and add their own ideas, audio, and photographs to their notes using the app. The data can then be shared with other apps, including Gmail, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.

Evernote has a free basic edition, but those who want more features like offline access and team management will have to opt for a Premium ($7.99 per month) or Business ($14.99 per month) plan.

Shortly

Shortly makes it easy to log products and keep track of stock levels in your inventory. It will create custom bar codes and QR codes, allowing business owners to access inventory data from any computer.

The app’s most common plan is the Advanced one. When paid monthly, it costs $39 a month. A free edition with restricted functionality is also available.

Business Apps for Communication

A productive workplace necessitates effective communication. The apps below make it simple to keep everyone informed:

• Slack
• Voxer
• Google Workspace
• Microsoft Teams
• Discord

Slack

Slack is a standard option that allows teams to build channels for text, speech, and video conversations. Participants can exchange files, browse channel conversations, and incorporate other tools like Zendesk for customer support.

Slack has a free basic version, but the premium version, when paid annually, costs $8 per month per active user. External connections to channels and additional storage are included in the regular and models.

Voxer

Voxer is a group walkie-talkie app that allows you to exchange messages and files. It makes it easy for the team members to connect. Voxer is a free app, but the pro edition ($3.99 per month per user) adds voice-to-text transcription, Dropbox integration, and improved security. A company may build a private communications network with the business plan ($6 per month per user).

Google Workspace

Google Workspace provides collaboration resources for companies that use Google applications such as Drive, Docs, and Sheets. Google Chat is great for one-on-one or group messaging, and Google Meet is great for getting remote employees together for face-to-face meetings.

Google Workspace’s Business Starter package includes custom email, video meetings with up to 100 people, and 30 GB of cloud storage per user. The plan is $6 a month per user. The Basic package costs $12 per user per month and provides the opportunity to record video meetings with up to 150 people.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams, if Microsoft is your chosen application provider, allows employees to chat, engage in video calls, and exchange documents in real-time. There is no expense or requirement to use the basic service after you sign up. On the other hand, calls are limited to 60 minutes and 100 participants, and they are not registered. Make a one-year pledge to Microsoft 365 Business Basic for $5 per month per user for advanced features.

Discord

Discord began as a way for gamers to communicate, and it is still a popular place for people to meet and talk about common interests. Although this free service was not designed with businesses in mind, it does offer a cost-effective way for business owners to set up private servers where team members can chat, speak, video conference, and share screens while working on projects.