A recent survey found that the average entrepreneur spends 68% of their time on day-to-day tasks and only 32% on long-term goals, strategic planning, and other tasks that can help their business grow. Small businesses typically cannot afford the tools and systems that will assist them in streamlining their daily operations due to their limited operating budgets and small workforces.
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Top 7 Small Business Software For 2022
We analyzed dozens of software platforms designed specifically to assist small businesses with the tasks that will facilitate their growth. We chose the best based on common business requirements, platform quality, usability, and cost. Here are our top recommendations.
Wave Accounting
Kirk Simpson and James Lochrie, frustrated by the lack of free and user-friendly financial software for small businesses, founded Wave Accounting in 2010. Today, Wave has over 250 employees serving small businesses worldwide. We chose it as the best accounting software because it allows small businesses to track income and expenses, send invoices, scan receipts, and track sales taxes for free.
Wave facilitates the linking of multiple bank accounts and credit cards, as well as the creation of profiles for multiple businesses, in order to keep track of income and expenses. The software organizes accounts, payments, and invoices to facilitate tax preparation and provides comprehensive reports for identifying cash flow patterns.
From Wave's dashboard or mobile app, users can create and send branded, professional invoices. The software can set up recurring invoices and automatic credit card payments for repeat customers, as well as automatically synchronize invoice and payment data with its accounting software.
Wave's mobile app enables users to scan receipts from any location and synchronize them with their Wave account to keep track of business expenses. Additionally, users can scan receipts offline to be synced when the device is next online.
Wave is completely free to use, but it also offers paid services, such as accepting credit cards and bank payments and managing payroll for employees and independent contractors.
Wix
Wix was founded in 2006 by three entrepreneurs who were frustrated by the complexity and expense of website creation. Currently, the company has 5,000 employees across the globe and 200 million users in 190 countries. We chose it as the best website builder because it allows users to create affordable, professional-looking websites without coding knowledge.
With hundreds of professional templates and a drag-and-drop editor, Wix makes it simple to create a professional business website in minutes. Every website is optimized for mobile devices and includes engaging effects such as animation, video background, and scrolling.
Businesses that wish to sell online can utilize Wix's advanced e-commerce capabilities. Using an intuitive dashboard, users can set up an online store, manage inventory and orders, and obtain reports on revenue and conversion rate. Wix also enables merchants to accept payments via Wix Payments, PayPal, and Stripe, and integrates with Instagram and Facebook.
The only way to unlock Wix's business and e-commerce features is to upgrade to a paid plan, even though creating a basic website is free. Wix's paid plans all include a 14-day free trial, free hosting, Google Analytics, and the ability to connect a custom domain.
Freshteam
Freshteam, a developer of communication, sales, and marketing tools since 2010, created Freshteam in 2017. The software enables organizations to manage hiring, onboarding, time off, and employee information. We chose it as the best hiring software because it enables small businesses to hire new employees via an online platform that is user-friendly and inexpensive.
The applicant tracking system (ATS) from Freshteam makes it simple for small businesses to post jobs, screen resumes, track applicants, and send out job offers. Users have access to job description templates and are able to post positions on free job boards such as LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, and Adzuna.
Freshteam facilitates the creation of bespoke workflows, allowing users to track candidates from application to interview to hiring. Additionally, the software can convert emails into applications and add senders as applicants. Freshteam allows users to create a mobile-friendly career page and share job postings on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Once an employee is hired, Freshteam will send them all required paperwork, employee handbooks, and other internal documents, as well as a letter of introduction. The software adds new employees to an organization's organizational chart, stores employee information securely, and can even manage employee time off.
Mailchimp
Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzweil, owners of a web design agency, wanted to create an affordable email marketing service for small businesses when they founded Mailchimp in 2001. It has evolved into a full-fledged marketing platform that provides landing pages, websites, and more. We chose it as the best email marketing software because it provides small businesses with both free and affordable paid email marketing plans.
The free email software provided by Mailchimp makes it simple for business owners new to email marketing to get started. The platform provides premade email templates, opt-in popups and registration forms, audience segmentation, and basic personalization. In addition, users receive a mobile application that allows them to view campaign performance and send emails with a few clicks.
Mailchimp's drag-and-drop templates enable users without design expertise to create professional, branded emails. A built-in analytics tool also monitors open rates and clicks and segments data to demonstrate what is and is not effective. Users can automatically send targeted emails based on user behavior, such as a welcome message to new signups or a product suggestion to a recent buyer.
Trello
In 2011, Fog Creek Software debuted a prototype of a project management application designed to address complex planning issues. The software, which was later renamed Trello, gained over 500,000 users in just one year and 4.75 million by 2014. We chose it as the best project management software because it provides a cost-free, adaptable, and graphical method of project management.
Trello uses Kanban-style boards to track tasks and projects and makes it easy to manage ongoing workflows and individual projects. Its user-friendly interface enables users to create customized boards and lists with cards that can include images, files, links, checklists, due dates, and more.
Users can begin in seconds with a blank board or choose from hundreds of user-created templates that can be modified as needed. Trello offers mobile apps and integrations with Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, and dozens of other third-party platforms to streamline collaboration and workflows.
Trello's free plan includes an unlimited number of personal boards, lists, and cards. The free plan is restricted to 10MB per file attachment, 10 team boards, and one third-party integration per board (Power-up).
Google Workspace
Google Workplace is a collection of online office tools, such as email, document creation and management, cloud storage, calendars, chat, and video meetings. We chose it as the best document management software because it offers cloud-based, secure document creation, storage, collaboration, and sharing.
Google Workspace is an excellent option for small businesses that want to create an effective, collaborative, cloud-based work environment without having to pay for expensive software or worry about ensuring that everyone has the same computer. Because every tool on the Google Workspace platform is a Google product, users can switch between applications without difficulty.
Start by creating a branded email address with Gmail, one of the most popular email clients on the market. Additional tools include Google Calendars for team scheduling, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with real-time collaboration, Google Drive for cloud storage, Google Chat for team messaging, and Google Meet for video conferences.
Google Workspace allows users to connect to hundreds of third-party platforms, such as Zoom, DocuSign, Salesforce, Trello, and Asana, among others. To ensure that each business's data remains secure, Google Workspace add-ons only access the bare minimum of data required to complete a given task.
By signing up for a free Gmail account, anyone can gain access to all Google Workspace applications. However, Google Workspace paid plans enable businesses to create business email addresses, obtain more cloud storage, and enhance security.
Slack
Slack was initially developed as an internal communication tool for Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield's 2009 game development company. It was introduced to the public in 2013 and currently has more than 12 million users in over 150 countries. We chose it as the best team communication software because its free online platform supports real-time messaging, feedback, and collaboration.
Slack was created to eliminate the inefficiencies and delays associated with email. The software enables users to create channels that can be organized by subject, team, project, or client. Channels can be public and accessible to all Slack users, or they can be private and invite-only.
Slack offers numerous integrations that allow teams to share files, create polls, schedule meetings, and connect to third-party project management, cloud storage, and productivity tools in addition to real-time communication. The platform provides free voice and video calls with a single click and allows users to spin off discussion threads to keep larger conversations focused and organized.
Search is one of the most useful features of Slack. No longer is it necessary to sift through emails and handwritten notes in search of a specific piece of information. Slack allows users to search for a conversation, mention, or user from the past and share or bookmark it.
Small Business Software Applications?
Software programs for small businesses are designed to increase efficiency by streamlining work, automating processes, and assisting with routine tasks that may distract business owners from their more important responsibilities. Small business owners can use this software to link their bank accounts and credit cards, create business profiles, manage accounting and payroll functions, and store files.
The functions, capabilities, and features of software programs for small businesses vary. The prices vary as well. There are some free software programs for small businesses. For paid programs, expect to pay between $5 per user per month and $150 per user per month. Transaction fees for credit cards are billed separately.
Small-business software is cost-effective if it increases productivity and enables owners and managers to devote more time to revenue-generating activities, business growth, and achieving long-term revenue goals. Automation-aiding software is typically cost-effective so that the owner can spend less time on mundane tasks and more time serving customers and managing employees.
Before deciding on the best software programs for small businesses, we conducted extensive research and analysis. We whittled down the options based on cost, features, functions, integrations, compatibility, and other criteria.
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