In today’s business world, numerous tools can be used for small businesses. With the explosion of online digital marketing in the noughties came the plethora of effective small business tools to help manage a variety of day-to-day tasks, easing the pressure on small and large businesses alike.
Whether you need online schedulers for appointments/meetings or virtual assistant apps like Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or Gremlin to name a few to help with the management of your online content across various social media platforms, we have compiled a list of the top 25 small business tools for online entrepreneurs.
Read on to see how these small business tools can benefit your business.
#1. Profit Margin Calculator:
One of the most important aspects when starting a company is knowing how to calculate the profit margin. Designfier’s Gross Profit Margin Calculator is used to calculate your gross profit and gross profit margin based on your sales and cost of sales.
With Designfier’s free profit margin calculator, you can calculate exactly how much margin you need in order to guarantee a position that you would like to open. This small business tool helps you find out revenue and gross margin percentage. The calculator gives you a clear idea of the profitability of your business.
#2. ACCOUNTING – QUICKBOOKS:
QuickBooks is an excellent tool for small business accounting/bookkeeping, it can keep track of your billable hours with ease, run your company payroll/invoicing and manage cash flow. You can get paid anywhere at any time. With its cloud-based feature, QuickBooks is not just a digital spreadsheet; it is your accounts department on the go wherever you are. There are international versions of this software available for users. Prices start at $39 per month.
#3. BASECAMP – FOR MANAGING WEB DESIGN:
Base camp is an exceptionally gifted small business tool for web designers. Its remote capabilities reach far and wide and can connect your team all around the world at once. This software can be accessed from any Android or iPhone or tablet. As far as online business tools go, this is up there with the best of them. The ease of use with this management tool is far-reaching and a contender for web design projects of all sizes anywhere around the world and specifically on the go. Prices are fixed at $99 per month or $999.00 per year.
#4. MICROSOFT – POWER BI:
Power bi is an analytical software designed for businesses. It has the ability to prep data for analysis through various applications such as Sybase and oracle. A serious time-saver, allowing the fast generation of reports in quick-time. Prices initially a free 60-day trial and after that will cost users $9.99 per month.
#5. ASANA CALENDAR APP: (Not just a calendar)
Asana is one of the best online small business tools for entrepreneurs and businesses. This is not just a calendar; it helps to track projects in real-time. You can track changes, watch the project being pieced together by multiple users. If that wasn’t enough, it also features task management and excellent reporting tools. It also boasts a mobile app for those always on the go; a must feature in this digital age. Prices, you get a 30-day free trial and costs after that start from £9.49.
#6: GREMLN – SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR BUSINESS:
Gremln is a social media marketing tool for small and large businesses. It is one of the best timesavers when it comes to promoting your brand/product. Particularly favored by authors, this tool is a virtual assistant that delivers.
It has a user-friendly dashboard for ease of use. The capabilities of this virtual assistant are far-reaching, with the ability to schedule posts/content/tweets up to a year in advance if you so wish. Freeing your time up for more critical issues. Social media marketing is a must in any successful business today. Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have a far reach.
Marketing and promoting with Gremln’s scheduling calendar can add £££s to your business, saving you time and a lot of money in staffing costs. It also has the ability to customize your content for your brands’ demographics. Prices start from a free trial, and monthly packages vary.
#7. Small Business Loan Calculator
Designfier’s small business loan calculator will give you an idea of how much it will cost you to get a loan. Adjust the term and add additional monthly payments to see how much impact you can have on the loan payment.
Using Designfier’s small business loan calculator, you can calculate any variable of your loan: interest rate, monthly payment, loan duration or loan amount. We made it so fast and easy to use that you can perform calculations in a matter of seconds.
#8. SCRIVENER – WORD PROCESSOR FOR WRITERS/AUTHORS:
Scrivener is a much-loved tool favored by authors/writers/screenwriters/academics/journalists/translators, to name a few.
Specifically designed for long and more complex projects. This writing software is not just a word processor; it is an organizer. To minimize distractions, you can also use this software offline, and that is a big plus for dead-line pressured writers. With its digital corkboard for notes and autosave functions, Scrivener is hailed by writers everywhere and considered one of the best writing tools. Prices start from $40
#9. GOOGLE DRIVE/DOCS – FILE SHARING/STORAGE:
Google is the king when it comes to file sharing and storage. Up to 15 GB of free storage is offered. A Google doc is a magnificent tool for small businesses and entrepreneurs when it comes to invoicing and multiple file use/storage. It offers various templates for you to design and customize your invoice with your own brand logo and directly email from the cloud-based tool. It also integrates with your Gmail account. Multiple people can work on the same file at once remotely anywhere in the world. Prices are free up to 15GB.
#10. SLACK – COMMUNICATIONS APP:
Slack is a communications app that allows a business to send files to a group of employees. The video calling feature is another crucial addition to this already popular app. For small online businesses and entrepreneurship, it has everything to communicate on the go. This is available on mobile and desktop that makes it even more attractive. With its supreme ability to organize conversations and projects, Slack is favored by millions the world over. Prices offer a free version.
#11. GSUIT – FOR BUSINESS:
Gsuit has an extensive range of options for business. Entrepreneurship in this digital age is increasing by the day. So it is vital to stay ahead of the game where online business tools are concerned for the success of your business. With its analytics tracker for websites and the ability to manage ad campaigns, what’s not to like? On top of this, you can purchase your domain. And all of this is centred on your brand. Prices range from, £6 to £20 monthly depending on your plan selection.
#12. PayPal Fee Calculator
The PayPal fee-calculator by Designfier is quick and easy to use. It quickly calculates deductions while sending or receiving money through PayPal. Using PayPal fees calculator is very simple. All you need to do is to enter your desired amount in the text box depending on whether you want to know the calculation to send or receive money.
“Enter an amount” box can only be filled with numbers. If you want to add a decimal (for example 30.90) you must do it by placing a “dot” in this way: 30.90
By default, we put the standard values of PayPal commissions that are 2.90% + a fixed of USD 0.30 per transaction (*).
#13. SALESFORCE – SALES SOLUTIONS:
Salesforce without a doubt will improve your CRM and sales channels to sync correctly. For telephone and email sales, Salesforce this is an all-round platform designed to enhance the pressure of online transactions. Salesforce connects sales and customers efficiently. A proven solution for the sales team and their success. It is not all about entering ticket/sales numbers it is a one-stop solution for small businesses. Prices start from $25 depending on your plan selection.
#14. Skype – calls/video calls
Skype needs no introduction. When it comes to business, anything that can make the working day easier is a blessing, especially when it is free. Skype is a universal free tool for businesses and entrepreneurs all over the world. Skype is a leader in this market and makes communicating with employees/clients a breeze. Prices are free.
#15. ADOBE PREMIER PRO:
Whether you are in TV/FILM/WEB DESIGN industry, Adobe is up there with the best video editing tools available for business. This tool beautifully merges and integrates with several other apps making direction/creation and editing innovation a dream. The ability to use this tool on any device makes this a top contender in the editing world for business. Prices start from $20.99 monthly.
#16. UPWORK – (Freelance hiring tool for small businesses.)
Upwork is a fantastic and useful online hiring tool for small businesses or require a talent/experience for a one-time project or occasional work. With the real-time chat option and reducing the time it takes to hire someone, the flexibility offers freedom for both the freelancer advertising their experience in various fields to companies wanting short-term staff. With its long list of varying degrees of talent an offer and the apparent availability of the freelancer, UPWORK offers a great alternative to employing staff. Prices range from a free basic package monthly to $499 monthly package.
#17. SENDIBLE – (For social media management):
Sendible has a user-friendly dashboard for ease of use. It’s CRM and analytics make it an attractive alternative to Hootsuite. Sendible has an impressive record for tracking your analytics letting you know in real-time who is engaging with your streams across social media. With RSS publishing, the queue and schedule features make light of your business’s social media world. Prices start from £25 to £245 monthly billed yearly.
#18. Sproutsocial (Advanced social media scheduling tool for small businesses):
One of the highlights of Sroutsocial is the ability to track trends and offer the user a regular trend report. It can be used on various devices for those on the go. Spoutsocial has a plethora of features that include, post queuing, message scheduling, statistics summary and more. As well as incorporating all the distinct features that come with any good social media management platform. Prices start at $59 per month.
#19. FIVERR – (Outsourcing for small business):
Fiverr is another universal online tool for small businesses that need no introduction. And it all starts with $5! Everything most small businesses need can be found on this platform. Whether you need, editors, web designers, digital marketers, graphic designers, proofreaders, video content, company intro/promo videos, bookkeepers and so many more, then Fiverr is the place to go. Whether your project is long term or short term, Fiverr is abundant with eager freelancers waiting for your business. Prices start at $5 to hundreds depending on your requirements and the length of your project.
#20. LINKEDIN – (A business networking gold mine):
LinkedIn cannot be ignored as a viable and beneficial tool for all businesses, big and small. LinkedIn is an oasis of talent. Whether you want to network with similar companies to share and gain knowledge or use it as a hiring tool for staff, LinkedIn is up there with the best of them. Entrepreneurs can learn a great deal off knowledge from this business networking platform. Prices start at $24 per month.
#21. BLINK – (For deskless employees):
Blink is an innovative small business tool for employees on the go or who work remotely. It has everything from cloud storage, analytic tracking, messaging, and more; it also includes staff to employer communication via the company feed. The easy to use interface makes this an excellent choice for even the less techy employers/employees. Prices start from $3.40 a month with a 14-day free trial.
#22. FLOCK COMMUNICATION APP – (For syncing files/tasks/messages):
Flock is being hailed as a holy grail in-app communication for small businesses. With its ability to pool tasks/communications/messages/files above and beyond the average communications app, Flock is a serious choice for small businesses in 2020. Prices begin at $4.50 per month.
#23. FACEBOOK ADS – (For small businesses):
Facebook is another universal tool that is often overlooked as an excellent business tool. Facebook ads can reach your targeted demographic in your chosen countries. Depending on your budget, your reach is infinite. It is worth including this viable social media platform in your marketing budget. With over 2.45 billion monthly users across the globe, the potential for any business is enormous. Facebook is free. However, Facebook ads vary depending on your budget.
#24. QR Code Generator
One of the most attractive features of Designfier’s QR code generator tool is that it is 100% free, no matter how many codes you want to generate. Designfier’s QR code generator helps you to create dynamic or static QR codes that you can download for immediate use. You can generate high-resolution QR codes by entering any alphanumeric data.
#25. Bar Code Generator
Using Designfier’s Bar Code Generator, you can generate free barcodes online. Barcode generator is a simple tool for small business owners that helps to create EAN-8, QR, UPC-A, code 128, code39, EAN- 13, and ITF barcodes. Designfier’s free barcode generator makes it easy for you to generate customized barcodes.
IN SUMMARY:
In 2020 the digital tools on offer for small businesses are vast. These are just a selection of the best ones on offer. We researched so you don’t have to. If you are a small business looking to overhaul the digital aspect of your company, this list of 25 tools for small businesses is certainly worth considering.
