Did you know that you can significantly improve your productivity through the right app? With thousands of apps to choose from, it can be challenging to identify the right ones for your business. That’s why I’ve compiled a list of free software programs that are useful for startups.
Here you’ll find information about quality apps for project management, collaboration, accounting, customer support, email marketing, and more.
GoCo
For many small businesses, HR can be a mysterious thing. It’s complex, tricky to navigate, and often filled with paperwork. If you’re in a startup environment, it can be difficult to dedicate the headspace (and personnel) that are necessary to do a great job. The good news is that there are all-in-one platforms to help you meet your company’s needs.
GoCo.io is a platform that moves human resources and benefits to the cloud, streamlining employee onboarding and offboarding, time-tracking, performance management, benefits administration, document management, and compliance. It also works with some of the payroll and management software and productivity apps – we’ll get into later in this article, giving you the HR capabilities you need without all the paperwork.
Goodhire
When it comes to growing your startup, one of the biggest pieces of advice you’ll get over and over again is to hire the right people. The problem is that there’s a lot that can go into that process: from reference and employment checks to pre-hire skill tests, there’s a lot that you probably want to know about someone before you decide to bring them onto your team. GoodHire helps you figure it all out with just a few clicks on your device, and gets everything back to you in less than 24 hours.
Gusto
Formerly known as ZenPayroll, Gusto makes your small business’s tax, benefits, and payroll process easier than ever before. It helps take care of all of the onboarding paperwork and also handles all of the reporting you need to do when you make a new hire. It takes care of federal, state, and local tax filings; emails paystubs to your employees; and automatically makes deductions for benefits and workers’ comp.
Freshbooks
And while we’re on the topic of payments, depending on your business model, there can be a lot of paperwork between when you get the job done and when you actually get paid for it. Managing and tracking invoices can be a tall order, but fortunately, Freshbooks is here to help. You can effortlessly create simple and professional invoices, set up recurring invoices for your clients, and accept credit cards on your mobile device with this productivity app. It also features expense-tracking, business report generation, and profit and loss statements to help you stay on top of everything you need to keep your business running smoothly.
Intercom
The truth about customer service is that whenever and wherever your customers have a good experience, that experience becomes their new baseline expectation for how they’ll be treated elsewhere. Positive and surprisingly delightful communication with customers is increasingly becoming a differentiator for businesses.
Intercom uses a combination of education, live chat, and more to make it easier for your startup to engage and interact with your consumers. That way, you can focus on solving problems before they start and make sure that your business is converting customers into fans.
Upwork
Sometimes when you’re running your small business you’ll come across a situation where you need a certain set of skills your team simply doesn’t possess. Since it’s a one-off project, you don’t necessarily want to hire someone full-time and deal with all of the paperwork (although we’ve looked at some tools and apps that can help).
Instead, consider turning to Upwork to find an independent contractor who can help you get your project done without all of the messiness. Whether it’s graphic design, web development, or copywriting, you can find someone who will jump in and handle whatever project you throw their way with aplomb. The review, bidding, and reference system help you make sure that you’re working with quality people, whatever the project may be.
Accounting
With careful bookkeeping and good accounting software, you can access information about your business’s revenue, profit margins and overall financial health. It can also help you answer important questions, like, “How much can I afford to spend on marketing this month?”
QuickBooks Online
Cost: $25 and up (50% off for first three months).
Why we like it: Because QuickBooks is the industry leader for small-business accounting software, it’s easy to find an accountant or bookkeeper who will support it. Its multiple tiers of service can easily scale with your company, too. QuickBooks Online, the cloud-based version, can also be accessed anywhere.
Xero
Cost: $11 and up per month (50% off for first two months).
Why we like it: Xero is easy to use, rich with features and also widely supported by bookkeepers and accountants. Unlike some competitors, it doesn’t place any limit on the number of users you can add. Read the full review.
FreshBooks
Cost: $4.50 per month and up (billed annually).
Why we like it: With FreshBooks’ mobile app, you can complete basic accounting functions and send messages to clients to remind them about invoices or late payments. It’s a helpful feature for entrepreneurs on the go. Read the full review.
Wave
Cost: Free (Wave makes money through payment processing).
Why we like it: Unlike its competitors, Wave’s accounting software is completely free. With it, you can add unlimited users and unlimited bank and credit card connections. It’s also possible to run multiple businesses from the same account. Read the full review.
Zoho Books
Cost: $10 per month and up (with discounts for annual billing).
Why we like it: Zoho Books offers plenty of useful features at an affordable price. It also gives you the option to set up automated workflows, for example, if you want to send email notifications to yourself when a bill the business receives exceeds a certain amount. Read the full review. Back to top
Project management
For projects and campaigns, it helps to have software to keep track of the status of proposals, drafts, edits, approvals and finished products. These apps can help you plan ahead and budget resources.
Asana
Cost: Free and up.
Why we like it: Asana allows you to assign and track unlimited projects on a dashboard. You can add assignees, due dates and comments to cards. There’s also unlimited file storage for files up to 100MB each, even on the free version.
Jira
Cost: Free and up.
Why we like it: Jira is designed for managing software development workflows and product roadmaps. It also comes with agile reporting capabilities and can easily scale with growing businesses.
Trello
Cost: Free and up.
Why we like it: In addition to useful project management features, Trello allows you to automate certain tasks to save you time. For example, you can automatically add a certain person as a collaborator when a card is moved to a given column or set up a board to add recurring tasks on a weekly or monthly basis.
Monday.com
Cost: $8 per seat per month (billed annually) and up.
Why we like it: Monday.com gives you access to over 200 templates for managing various workflows, including ones for software development, construction and sales. The more expensive subscriptions also allow you to add formulas, dependencies and time-tracking to tasks.
Point-of-sale
Point-of-sale software allows you to ring up customers and complete sales and can be customized to fit your business needs. Restaurants, for example, need POS systems that allow for table management and coordination. Retail shops, meanwhile, require robust inventory management features.
Square
Software cost: Free and up. (Additional hardware and payment processing are additional costs.)
Why we like it: Square features transparent pricing, live support and easy-to-use flows. It’s also mobile-friendly and works on iPhones, iPads and Androids. For small businesses that don’t need advanced functionality, there’s also a free plan. Read the full review.
Toast
Software cost: Free and up. (Additional hardware and payment processing are additional costs.)
Why we like it: Toast’s restaurant-specific design prioritizes features that make the back-of-house and front-of-house operate smoothly. You can manage menus and tables easily, get useful reporting and analytics and accept orders from multiple platforms. Read the full review.
Lightspeed
Software cost: $69 per month (billed annually) and up. (Hardware and payment processing are additional costs.)
Why we like it: Lightspeed’s inventory management system sets it apart from the competition. That makes it an ideal choice for large businesses with complicated inventory management needs — for example, businesses with inventory in multiple locations, with various discount rules or tax classes. Read the full review.
Shopify
Software cost: $29 per month and up. (Hardware and payment processing are additional costs.)
Why we like it: Shopify makes it possible to almost instantly set up and run an e-commerce store. It also offers helpful features, such as a way to email shoppers who abandon their virtual shopping carts. It also offers software and hardware for accepting payments in store.
Vend
Software cost: $99 per month (billed annually) and up. (Hardware and payment processing are additional costs.)
Why we like it: Vend is a retail-specific POS that allows you to set sales targets for your team, manage inventory easily and forecast purchasing trends. It also doesn’t come bundled with hardware and payment processing services; you can select these separately from a variety of compatible options. Back to top
Payroll
Paying your employees is a must, and good payroll software can make it easier to manage and track wages, withholdings and tax filings. Many programs also give employees access to a portal so they can view their pay history.
Gusto
Cost: $39 per month plus $6 per person for the basic package, which includes tax filings and payments.
Why we like it: Gusto gives employees access to self-service portals for payroll- and benefit-related information that’s accessible even after they leave a company, unlike most competitors. It also administers full-service payroll across 50 states and offers phone support. Read the full review.
Conclusion
There are thousands of apps that can help you. If you’re looking for the best business apps, you’ve landed on the right page. We’ll show you how to make your life much easier with hundreds of up-to-date tools. These apps are free for both Android and iOS owners.