Small Business Tools: 5 Must-Haves to Help You Thrive

As a small business owner, you can use all the help you can get. Here are a few tools to make running your new business a little easier.
small business tools

Starting your own business is a big endeavor, but definitely worth the time and risk. There are many things to consider when starting a small business. Here are 5 small business tools and tips to help make your some aspects of running your new business a little easier.

1. Design Needs

Depending on the type of business you are starting, you will want to consider the creation of digital designs to customize your brand. As far as small business tools go, an easy-to-use design app can save you a lot of money.

Whether you want to create your own logo, make business cards or create a marketing strategy, Canva is the place to go for all of your design needs. Canva is a free program that is accessible online. You can purchase the premium version if you know you will be using it a lot, which gives you access to a larger selection of pictures and options.

You will still have access to these pictures without the premium version however you will either have to use them with a watermark or pay to have the watermark removed. Canva is a great online tool, especially if you are not very familiar with InDesign, but still want quality designs you can create yourself.

2. Communication Needs

Communication is a huge aspect of business and many tools such as email, texting and social media are already well-known to many new business owners. But one tool that can be overlooked in a modern business environment is faxing. Sometimes thought to be an outdated technology, faxing is actually still a very common method of sending important documents.

The difference now is that many business owners are switching from the traditional fax machine to an online fax service. Online fax services such as MyFax are a great alternative to the old-fashioned office fax, because you get the benefits of secure transfer of confidential information with the convenience of the online format. Not only that, online faxing provides storage for all of your digital faxing, saving you time in filing and costs in paper and machine maintenance.

3. Money Management

Depending on the business, you may or may not need a money management program. However, if you do, PayPal is a great option as the go-to choice for small business tools. It’s often preferred by consumers because it is known worldwide. Using a well-known system gives your consumers confidence in sharing their payment information, rather than having them fill out potentially non-secure forms online.

Paypal also offers a way to track where your finances are going, has user-friendly applications and customer support for any issues that may arise. 

4. Storage and File Sharing

Starting a new business means a lot of documentations, including PDFs, reports, financial statements, pictures and more. A great tool for storing and sharing all of your information securely DropBox.

This is a very popular program that allows you to store data onto a cloud storage system, so you can then clear the data from your physical device. You then have access to this data from anywhere you can log into your DropBox account. This makes it very convenient for you and anyone else who may need access to that information as well. 

5. Productivity

When it comes to writing or creating Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or even PowerPoints presentations, you may need multiple people to look at them or make edits to them. Using Google Drive is a great tool for this because once you grant access to those who need it, they can work on the file remotely, while changes are saved in real-time for others who may view it. This collaboration is key to increasing productivity. Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s GSuite are the small business tools most companies choose for their ease of use and online accessibility.

We hope you find these tools useful. Taking advantage of programs or applications like the ones mentioned above is a great way to push you and your business to success.

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