If you’re setting up a new business, you’ll need business software that’s easy to use, effective and flexible. The best place to start is by looking at what other successful businesses are using. You can also ask your local Small Business Development Center for advice.
What software is required for a new business? There is a number of business software that can be used to manage your business. Which business software you should use depends mainly on the type of business you are running, the time your company needs to save, etc.
Slack
Slack was originally built as an internal communication tool for a game development company started by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield in 2009. Launched publicly in 2013, it currently has over 12 million users in over 150 countries. We chose it as the best team communication software because it offers real-time messaging, feedback, and collaboration in a free, online platform.
Slack was developed to eliminate the inefficiencies and delays of email communication. The software lets users create channels that can be organized around a topic, team, project, or even a client. Channels can be public and open to all users of a Slack account or private and accessed by invitation only.
Besides communicating in real-time, Slack offers tons of integrations letting teams share files, create polls, schedule meetings, and connect to third-party project management, cloud storage, and productivity tools. The platform offers free, one-click voice and video calls and even lets users spin off discussion threads to keep larger conversations focused and uncluttered.
One of Slack’s most useful features is its search function. No more sorting through emails or written notes hoping to find that one valuable piece of information. Slack lets users search for a conversation, mention, or user and share or bookmark it no matter how long ago it took place.
Businesses that only need a single workspace, one-on-one video calls, and only a few app integrations can get by with a free Slack account. The free account also limits searches to 10,000 messages:
Free Plan
- FREE
- Search up to 10,000 messages
- Up to 10 third-party app integrations
- One-to-one video and voice calls
- 5GB storage per workspace
Pro Plan
- About $7 per user per month
- Unlimited message search
- Unlimited third-party app integrations
- One-to-one video and voice calls
- Group video calls up to 15 people
- Screen sharing
- 10GB storage per user
- Guest accounts and shared channels
- 24/7 support
Business+ Plan
- About $12 per user per month
- All Pro Plan features
- 20GB storage per user
- User management
- 24/7 support with four-hour first response time
Xero
Xero is the best in our review for micro-businesses that are looking for very simple accounting software. This software has a clean interface and also fully integrates with a third-party payroll service. Businesses can collect payment online from customers through Xero’s integration with Stripe and GoCardless.Pros
- Cloud-based
- Mobile app
- Payroll integration with Gusto
- Third-party app marketplace
- Simple inventory management
Cons
- Limited reporting
- Fees charged for ACH payments
- Limited customer service
Xero was founded in 2006 in New Zealand and now has over 2.7 million users worldwide. This accounting software is popular in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Xero has over 3,500 employees and is growing rapidly in the U.S., as well.1
Xero offers three monthly subscription options and a full-service payroll add-on: Early at $11 per month, Growing at $32 per month, and Established at $62 per month. The full-service payroll option is offered through Gusto and is an additional $39 per month, plus $6 per employee. The company offers a 30-day free trial and a promotion for 50% off for two months.
The Early plan limits usage and only allows entry for five invoices or quotes, five bills, and reconciliation of 20 bank transactions per month. This limited plan may be suitable for a micro-business with high-ticket transactions, but only a few per month, such as a consulting or small service provider. Both the Growing and Established plans offer unlimited invoices, bills, and transactions. The only difference between the two is that the Established plan has additional features like multi-currency, expense management, and project costing. All three plans offer Hubdoc, a bill and receipt capture solution.
Wix
Wix was founded in 2006 by three entrepreneurs frustrated with the difficulty and expense of creating a website. Today, the company has a staff of 5,000 employees worldwide and 200 million users in 190 countries. We chose it for the best website builder since it lets users create professional-looking websites with no coding knowledge for an affordable price.
Wix comes with hundreds of professional templates and a drag-and-drop editor, making it easy to create a professional business site in just minutes. Every website is designed to look great on mobile devices and features engaging effects including animation, video backgrounds, and scrolling.
Businesses that want to sell online can take advantage of Wix’s advanced e-commerce features. Users can set up an online store, manage inventory and orders, and get revenue and conversion rate reports using a simple, intuitive dashboard. Wix also lets store owners accept payments via Wix Payments, PayPal, and Stripe and integrates with Instagram and Facebook.
Although creating a basic website is free, upgrading to a paid plan is the only way to unlock Wix’s business and e-commerce features. All of Wix’s paid plans include a 14-day free trial, free hosting, Google Analytics, and the ability to link a custom domain.
Business Basic Plan
- $23 per month
- Accept online payments
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 20GB storage
- Connect your domain
- Remove Wix ads
- Five video hours
- Google Analytics
- Free domain for one year
- $300 ad vouchers
- Site Booster app
- Visitor Analytics app
Business Unlimited Plan
- $27 per month
- 35GB storage
- All Business Basic Plan features
- 10 video hours
- Professional logo
- Social media logo files
Business VIP Plan
- $49 per month
- Accept online payments
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 500GB storage
- All Business Unlimited Plan features
- Unlimited video hours
- Priority Response
- VIP Support
Freshteam
Freshteam was developed in 2017 by Freshworks, a developer of communication, sales, and marketing tools since 2010. The software allows businesses to manage hiring, onboarding, time-off, and employee information. We chose it as the best hiring software because it helps small businesses hire new employees in an easy-to-use and affordable online platform.
Freshteam’s applicant tracking system (ATS) makes it easy for small businesses to post jobs, screen resumes, track applicants, and even send offer letters. Users get access to job description templates and can post positions on free job boards, including LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, and Adzuna.
Freshteam helps users create custom workflows so they can track candidates from the application, to interview, to hire. The software can also automatically convert emails into applications and add senders as applicants. Finally, Freshteam lets users create a mobile-friendly career page and share job postings on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Once an employee is hired, Freshteam sends her all the paperwork she needs to sign electronically as well as employee handbooks, other internal documents, and a welcome letter. The software adds new employees to the business’s org chart, securely stores employee data, and can even manage employee time off.
Freshteam’s basic plan, called Sprout, is free for companies with fewer than 50 employees and lets users post up to three jobs. Every plan also comes with a 21-day free trial and 24/7 email and 24/5 phone support:
Sprout Plan
- FREE
- Three job postings
- Basic career site
- Recruitment team inbox
- Candidate application via email
- Employee directory
- Employee org chart
- Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
- Basic time-off management
Blossom Plan
- $50 per month per 50 users
- 10 job postings
- Customizable career site
- All Sprout Plan features
- Recruiting automations
- Custom interview scorecards and kits
- Custom hiring pipelines
- Interview scheduling with Google and Outlook Calendar
- Job board Integrations
- Time-off approval workflows
- Up to two holiday calendars
- Up to two time-off policies
Garden Plan
- $100 per month per 50 users
- Unlimited job postings
- Advanced career site
- All Blossom Plan features
- Social recruiting
- Offer management
- New hire onboarding
- Unlimited holiday calendars
- Sponsored job postings on Indeed
Flodesk
Flodesk is a fast-growing email marketing service for small businesses. Their focus is on design, enabling small business owners to create beautiful emails and showcase their brand. Flodesk offers workflows that allow users to automate lead magnet delivery, welcome sequences, and more with an easy-to-use visual builder.
Key features:
- Fixed price of $38 per month, regardless of list size
- Unlimited subscribers & unlimited email sends
- Drag-and-drop email builder with layout blocks
- Create email signup forms, even without a website
- Create automated email sequences
StudioCloud
StudioCloud has made a name for itself as a reliable business management platform and company management system in much less time. It is a one-stop solution for your business needs that contains all the features you need to manage your business anytime, anywhere. Go check this business tool to organize and simplify your life.
Top features:
- Manage clients, partners, and vendors at one place
- Create and send professional invoices
- Send automated, personalized, text and email reminders
- Have clients review and sign contracts online
- Easily customize the look and feel of your software
ProfitBooks
ProfitBooks is a fast-growing and amazingly simple to use free accounting software. It lets you create beautiful invoices, track expenses, and manage inventory without any accounting knowledge.
With ProfitBooks accounting software, you can create professional estimates or invoices and track outstanding payments due with few clicks.
Whether you are manufacturing, distributing, selling, servicing, or just managing the inventory, ProfitBooks can handle all your business processes with ease. You can easily share the transaction data with your accountant and know what’s going on with your business with just a few clicks and take better decisions. Some of the key features of Profitbooks:
- Create beautiful invoices
- Receive online payments using payment gateway
- Record advance payments
- Track accounts receivables with sales reports
- Simplify purchase workflow with POs
- Track manufacturing processes
- Maintain product batches
- Track inventory flow at multiple warehouses
- Easily find low stock using powerful reports
- Generate detailed tax reports
- Collaborate with your accountant online
- Record manual journals
- Track business expenses
FreeAgent
FreeAgent is a small business accounting software that is perfect for early-stage businesses, contractors, and freelancers. Through FreeAgent, you can manage your business accounts, track time, log expenses and forecast your tax bills. You can also file your self-assessment tax and VAT returns directly to HMRC.
Benefits
- Efficient customer support
- Variety of pricing plans
- HMRC integration
- Focus on early-stage small businesses
Key features
- Invoicing
- Time-tracking
- In-app self-assessment tax return
- Forecast corporation tax bill
- Project management
- Integrates with bank accounts (including Tide)
Pricing
Free trial: Yes
Sole-trader: £19/month (50% off for the first 6 months)
Partnership/LLP: £24/month (50% off for the first 6 months)
Limited company: £14.50/month (50% off for the first 6 months)
Zoho Books
Zoho is another option for small businesses looking for easy-to-use, online accounting software. It’s especially helpful for managing cash flow and finances and offers exceptional support. Users will also love the minimalist dashboard.
Benefits:
- Affordable accounting solution
- Integrates with other Zoho products
- Email and phone customer support
Key features:
- Cloud-based accounts management
- Accounting reports
- Invoicing and online payments
- Expense tracking
- Real-time inventory tracking
- Bank and credit card connections
- Customer engagement with the Client Portal feature
Pricing
Free Trial: Yes
Basic: £6/month per organisation
Standard: £12/month per organisation
Professional: £18/month per organisation
Conclusion
Every business needs some kind of software to use, whether it is for processing payments, keeping track of inventory, or communicating with customers. Software is the backbone of every business and you need to make sure you pick the right tools.
There isn’t one specific software to run a business, as the needs vary from company to company. We have to consider what you actually do in order to determine what software you need. This article is going to help you make an easy decision on which software packages are required for your startup.