There are hundreds of tools for entrepreneurs. All the tools are very similar but only about 3% of them are truly great. Below is one of “Cheat Sheets” I have created for Best Tools for My Entrepreneurial Journey.
Fiskl – startup tools for finance management
Overview
Fiskl is a set of start tools that lets you scan receipts, create and manage invoices, quotes and expense reports. Small or large businesses can automate and manage all expenses and billing activities they need. Keeping a close eye on all of your expenses will help you get a grip of what parts of your business should be improved, and how you should model your prices.
Key features
- Customized invoices
- Over 150 supported currencies with automated, live exchange rates
- Recurring invoices
- Invoices and estimates with status tracking
- Payment integrations
- Send invoices via email, WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage
- Intelligent expense management
- Banking integration
- Built-in, easy-to-use timer
Pricing
Free plan – free for one user
Create invoices for up to 7 clients, log up to 250 items, no recurring invoices, banking integrations, no white labeling possible.
Solo plan – €10/m for one user
Unlimited invoices, log unlimited items, create recurring invoices, integrate with one bank account, remove Fiskl branding from your account.
Pro – €15/m for two users
Unlimited invoices, log unlimited items, create recurring invoices, integrate with three bank accounts, etc.
Prime – €25/m for five users
Unlimited invoices, log unlimited items, create recurring invoices, integrate with unlimited bank accounts, etc.
LogoDesign.Net
Overview
Logodesign.net is an online logo design tool that lets you create a unique brand identity with premade logo templates. Each template is created by expert graphic designers who have worked in the industry for years. You’ll see some top-notch quality, tons of editing options, and a hassle-free process. Even if you don’t know much about graphic design, the tool is super easy to understand and get a hang of. In no time, you’ll see browsing through the pages and short-listing your favorite pieces.
Plus, the interface is also quite user-friendly.
The customization studio is a promising feature of this tool. It lets you modify the design details such as icons, colors, and fonts. You can also add effects, flip the design, play with alignment, or even do a bit of kerning (letter spacing).
If you are serious about your business, you need to build it as a brand. A logo is a visual element that helps you with that. It lets people visualize the brand and even connect with what it has to say.
So, try logodesign.net and see what it can do for you.
Key Features
- Online logo maker – No need to download anything. Everything is browser-based.
- Search option – You can search designs by industry or by specific keywords.
- Professional design – Each design is created by a professional artist.
- Custom logos – Original logo designs for exclusive branding.
- A step-by-step process – Perfect for design novices. All it takes is simple clicks.
- Customization – Editing panel that lets you modify colors, fonts, and other design features
- Complete branding – Branding elements such as envelopes, business cards, and t-shirt designs available.
Pricing
There are three packages to help you choose according to your budget and branding needs:
Basic Plan: Current discounted price: $39; Original price: $78
- Includes only the logo design
- High-res files in JPG and PNG formats
- The vector file in PDF
Standard Plan: Current discounted price: $57; Original price: $114
IdeaBuddy – a perfect tool for planning your startup
Overview
IdeaBuddy is an innovative business planning software that helps aspiring entrepreneurs and teams to develop their ideas, create a business model, validate a business concept, and get a modern business plan.
If you just came up with the idea for your business, with IdeaBuddy you can sketch it out in Idea Plan.
You can develop your idea further with Business Guide, which will take you step-by-step through the entire business planning process and provide relevant examples along the way. Also, the Financial Plan will help you make your financial projections in a simple way (no hard maths needed).
Key features
- Business canvas – quickly sketch out your business idea
- Step-by-step business planning guide – develop your business idea
- Automatic financial projections – easily forecast for performance
- Business plan builder – get a modern business plan
Pricing
Dreamer plan – $15 per month/$45 per year
This plan allows you to work on 1 idea (project). It includes a business canvas, a step-by-step business planning guide, and a financial plan, which you can export and share.
Founder plan – $25 per month/$85 per year
You are getting 3 ideas (projects). It has everything included in the Dreamer plan, plus you are getting a business plan builder.
Team plan – $55 per month/$245 per year
Up to 30 ideas (projects), and it has all the features included in the Founder plan, plus you are getting a business plan builder.
***Lifetime plan***
This is a time-limited offer and it includes a lifetime subscription to a Founder plan with 3 ideas for only $155.
Engati – chatbot tool for your startup
Engati is the world’s leading multi-lingual Digital CX platform, and it is a one-stop platform for powerful customer engagement. With the intelligent bots, they help you create the smoothest of customer experiences, with minimal coding. And now, they are even helping you answer your customers’ most complicated questions in real-time with Engati Live Chat.
Key features
- Omnichannel Conversations
- One-view Inbox
- Advanced Routing
- Real-time administration
- Extensible Integrations
- Rich Analytics
- e.Sense Proprierty NLP
- Conversation Flow Builder
- Deployment Models
- Mobile SDKs
- Exhaustive UI customization
- Multilingual
- Bot Building & Solutions
- Human Takeover
- Voice Bots
Pricing
If you want to check their price plans and special offers, you can check out their pricing page
Apploye – Time tracking and scheduling app
Overview
Apploye is a smart solution for time tracking, monitoring, and scheduling. It supports the startup mostly, but other medium and large organizations can equally use the software for better improvement. The software is very friendly and easy for the user with a sorted dashboard and features.
Key Features
- Online time tracking, billable and non-billable hours tracking, manual time entry,
- Customizable timesheet, offline tracking, daily, weekly, monthly review,
- Keyboard and mouse movement tracking, screenshots, apps and URLs tracking, GPS location tracker,
- Attendance, scheduling, shifting duties, leave and vacation tracking,
- Productivity level monitoring, project, and task tracking,
- Comprehensive reports, payroll and invoices,
- Available in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, Web.
Pricing
- TimeTrack: $6 per user per month
- FieldTrack: $7 per user per month
- RemoteTrack: $8 per user per month
Buffer
Seeing that you now have some sweet looking social media graphics, you’ll want to use a tool like Buffer to schedule them across your various accounts. When running a business, you don’t have time to actually sit down and post to your social media accounts (or to sit down at all), which is why it’s a good idea to automate those tasks with Buffer.
On the free plan, Buffer will allow you to schedule up to 10 posts to 3 different social media accounts. You’ll be able to schedule all your social media posts for the week in just a few minutes! Some notable Buffer alternatives with free plans include Hootsuite, Later, and Publer.
Bit.ly
Not to length shame, but long URLs are ugly. Yeah, I said it. Increase clickability by using personalized, shortened links from Bit.ly. These conversion-inducing links will also give you stats on your link, like, the number of clicks. It takes the guesswork out of marketing.
Wave
Ready to send out your first invoice and want to look like a true professional? Then head on over to Wave, an online invoicing software program. Wave lets you create and send professional-looking invoices to your clients’ inbox. You can even keep track of who’s paid and who hasn’t so you can send “reminders” if you need to.
UberConference
If you run an online business, you’re going to need to set up virtual meetings with your clients (unless you have the cash to fly around the country for coffee dates). UberConference allows you to set up online meetings anytime. Their free plan allows you to set up 45-minute calls with up to 10 people at a time. During that meeting, you can share your screen and record with HD quality sound and video.
Sidekick
Sidekick is a brilliant email add-on tells developed to tell you whether someone has opened an email you sent. It shows you when, how many times, and from where the recipient has opened your email.
This can be very useful when you’re doing a round of cold emailing, trying out a new marketing campaign, or starting a newsletter. Observe people’s behavior and learn from it!
Related: Top 10 Best Chatbot Platform Tools to Build Chatbots for Your Business
Clarity.FM
Want to get advice from an expert? Stop wasting your time browsing blogs. Clarity.FM connects you with a community of experts. You can look for professionals by name or by expertise, depending on the type of advice you’re looking for.
Have a personal conversation with an experienced entrepreneur is the ultimate way to get the answers you need. Want to know what Brian Wong or Chris Brogan would do in your situation? Just ask them!
Related: Looking for a New Payment Company? You’re ‘Due’ for Some Good News.
Typeform
Typeform is free service you can use to create awesome looking surveys. We all use online forms to get feedback from our readers, listeners, and customers. Unfortunately, boring surveys are likely to be ignored, which makes it harder for you to know if you’re going in the right direction.
Typeform’s beautiful, clear, and mobile-friendly surveys can help you get the valuable feedback you need, without extra effort.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurs typically want to do everything themselves and be in charge of their business. But sometimes that’s easier said than done. In reality, we don’t have enough time to take care of every single aspect of our business on our own. Let these tools and services help you organize your day, on a professional and personal level.
Stop wasting time on futile tasks and take control with these simple tools. Allow yourself to see the forest for the trees and do work that really matters.
If you’re not sure what startup tools you might need, try planning out your business with IdeaBuddy. With the intuitive business planning guide, you’ll learn more about each part of your future business and get a better idea of what startup tools you might need to lift it off the ground.
So, no more postponing, start with turning your dreams into reality.