25 Best Tools for Small Businesses in 2020 (Free and Inexpensive) – part 1
Technology has spawned amazing software for your use. Here is a complete guide, consisting of 25 best tools for small business in 2020!
It is an exciting thing to start your small business or to work for one. However, working without modern tools at your disposal can render your performance to a slow halt. This post will highlight the best tools for small businesses that are free and not so costly.
In other words: automation is the key to efficiency.
The ultimate goal of any startup must be to work smarter rather than working hard. This can only be achieved by using advanced tools for small businesses bestowed upon us by technology.
To that end, it is very important to have the right tools for small businesses as it makes a huge difference, and often provides a competitive edge over competitors.
Yet, it is not an easy task. There are hundreds of options out there. I am not exaggerating. Look it up yourself.
Filtering out the top tools for small businesses should be your utmost priority.
Why Do You Need Small Business Tools and Software?
Small businesses find it helpful, and their operations run efficiently using modern small business software and tools. The immediate, reliable, and secure access to the company data and information is provided with the help of modern technology, which enables real-time delivery and flow of information.
It is also very important for small businesses to prioritize and optimize teamwork as it is essential for them to grow and compete.
What Are The Benefits of Software and Tools for Small Businesses?
A team effort is required and essential to run a small business effectively. Therefore, it is important to prioritize your short-term and long-term needs before you make any decision.
In one line: your team goals must be aligned with your business goal. Always.
In the modern era, the concept of virtual workplaces and remote work is evolving. Small business programs make sure that your entire organization is synchronized and work well.
Modern software are very powerful and fun to work with. They streamline the operations of a firm, and the difference can be seen across the entire structure.
Some of the areas which are greatly affected include:
Productivity
Productivity software and tools pave the way for teams to work smartly but not harder. It helps gain momentum and get rid of laziness and procrastination, which has a vital impact on total performance.
Communication
Teamwork is strengthened, and productivity is boosted with the help of communication software and tools.
Also, teams who stay connected have much better collaboration and produce great synergies.
Marketing
Marketing software works wonders that can make an ordinary marketer look great with the help of powerful tools that provide powerful insights into customers’ data, which ultimately leads to the production of qualified sales leads.
Accounting
If you need to keep track of transactions and the movement of money coming in and going out, the modern accounting software and tools help you to do so for your business. For such purposes, you do not require to be a financial expert to get ongoing.
The foremost objective of project management tools is to keep an eye on teamwork and get the optimum level of productivity.
Project management software and tools provide small businesses with the services of ensuring a balanced workload for teams and allowing tasks assigned to be completed on designated time.
Now that you know all about them, it’s time to look at what options you have. Select from these 51 small business tools and software to help run your business like a pro:
The 51 Best Tools For Small Businesses 2020:
- nTask
- Asana
- Trello
- Flock
- Slack
- AngelList
- Flock Video Conferencing
- Zoom
- Join.me
- Thunderbird
- Gmail for G-Suite
- Titan
- MixMax
- Loyverse
- KeyHut
- Google Drive
- Dropbox
- Todoist
- Evernote
- Shift
- Station
- TimeDoctor
- RescueTime
- Zapier
- Automate.io
- IFTTT
- Calendly
- Doodle
- HubSpot
- Zoho
- xTuple
- Help Scout
- Sellsy
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- Mailchimp
- ConvertKit
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Canva
- WordPress
- Wix
- GoDaddy
- Intuit Quickbooks
- Wave
- Stripe
- TurboTax
- HelloSign
- 15Five
- General Assembly
- Connecteam
- Proofhub
1. nTask
Let’s start this incredible list with a tool that is worth being at the top – nTask. It is the best small business tool to help them manage their tasks and projects with efficiency. It is most suitable for startups and small businesses as it offers a Forever FREE account. This is the reason for nTask’s top rank in tools for small businesses roundup.
As far as software for small businesses goes, nTask is a must-have. Due to its low-cost and amazing features that give other apps a run for their money, nTask is a very handy program to have.
The tool works excellently well for small and medium-sized businesses. nTask gives you Kanban board, calendar management, Gantt charts, issues, and risk management with friendly user-interface.
Key Features
Low price, great functionality
Built-in features like Gantt chart
Native module for bus tracking
Workspace management for teams
More features in the free version as compared to competitors
Pricing:
Basic – Forever Free account
Premium Plan: $2.99 per user/month
Business Plan: $7.99 per user/month
Enterprise Plan – on-demand
2. Asana
Another PM software for small businesses, Asana is a complete business solution.
This program is among the important tools for small businesses that are used by their teams to stay focused on the set goals, projects, and operational tasks of a business, which is in the growing stage.
It is one of the major and most popular projects management tools in the market.
Key Features:
Interactive interface
Easy to use
Popularity in the business world
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Premium: $11 per user/month
Business: $25 per user/month
3. Trello
Trello, along with nTask and Asana, completes the Trinity of the PM software for small businesses. I say that because these are the best of the best, in every possible way. Trello ranks 3rd on our list of best tools for small businesses.
This software, just like Arena, allows us to work collaboratively with teams and helps to organize visually and prioritize team projects just like a professional expert or a project manager.
Its impressive interface and the use of ‘cards’ are a hit with the organizations. The majority of the small teams prefer using Trello than any other tool in the market.
Key Features:
Engaging interface
No downloads required
Cards records archive
Kanban-style workflow
Ability to add automated 3rd party extensions
Trello Gold free membership incentive!
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Business: $10 per user/month
4. Flock
Moving on from PM software, let’s have a look at a couple of team messaging tools for small businesses.
You might be wondering why these tools are important since everyone has a cell phone in the office. Team messaging software offers real-time chats and makes communication seamless.
We strongly believe that Flock is the best small business software in terms of team communication, as it is not just a messenger but more than that.
It acts as a business collaboration hub, which helps in communicating faster.
Flock allows you to connect and communicate with your team through direct and group messaging, video conferencing, file sharing (secure), company directories, and custom team mailing.
Key Features:
Admin controls
Integrated search
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Pro: $4.50 per user/month
5. Slack
Another super app is Slack. On popularity grounds, it is one of the most popular tools in the corporate sector and among the much-used tools for small businesses.
Slack is like Flock, but it is a tad bit expensive as compared to Flock. However, Slack does have a more fun approach to team messaging.
Its USP is its interface; any employee, whether he is using Slack first time or has been using it for a year, can utilize the app to its full potential.
For both the apps the Basic plan is for free, but Flock charges $4.50 per user per month for its pro version while Slack is expensive with $6.67 per user per month for Standard version and $12.50 per user per month for the Plus version.
Key Features:
Advanced search modifiers
Lightning-quick navigation
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Standard: $6.67 per user/month
Plus: $12.50 per user/month
6. AngelList
The next vital software for startups or small businesses is a recruitment tool. Since it is quite a costly task to hire people, small companies cannot afford to do it the traditional way.
But thanks to technology, we have apps for everything! For recruitment, here’s something other than LinkedIn; AngelList.
AngelList is more than just an angel investment platform; it’s a powerful recruiting tool for startups and small businesses—and a goldmine for top talent.
From seed-stage to post-IPO, 36,000+ of the world’s top startups have built their teams using AngelList.
Key Features:
Easy to navigate
Amazing interface
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Source: $200 per month
A-List: 20% per hire
7. Flock Video Conferencing
Another tools for small businesses nowadays is a video conferencing app. The lockdown is not going away anytime soon. We better get used to it.
Video conferencing software help make remote working easy and quite frankly, fun too. Keeping that statement in view, this listicle aims at giving you new options in addition to the market leaders.
Apart from its extraordinary messaging app services, Flock is also equally good at proving video conferencing services.
Flock provides the small businesses with the capability and facility to host online meetings and webinars with its video conferencing software built right into the core messenger.
Why have two different apps for two different tasks?
Key Features:
File sharing
High quality
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Pro: $4.50 per user/month
8. Zoom
It would be wrong to talk about video conferencing and not mention Zoom. If you think it’s just an over-hyped app, let me tell you that it’s not. It’s as good as they come.
There’s a reason why Zoom is considered to be one of the most popular tools for small businesses for video conferencing needs.
Zoom’s free plan allows us to host unlimited meetings either to one or group meetings where up to 100 individuals can participate with a limit of 40 minutes.
Key Features:
HD audio and video
App marketplace
Pricing:
Basic: Free
Pro: $15 per host/month
Business: $20 per host/month
9. Join.me by LogMeIn 
Video conferencing tools are the talk of the town. So, the more, the merrier, right?
Moving on, here’s a cool-named app with the interface to go with it. Thunderbird is the ‘more fun’ alternative to Google email services.
Its free, efficient, and loaded with features. As popular as Gmail is, Thunderbird not everyone’s cup of tea. The best thing about these tools for small businesses is its simple look. Many people find it a bit too simple.
However, once you have tried it, you will realize that the program has a lot to offer beyond that seemingly “simple” interface.
Try Thunderbird to restore your faith in emailing!
Key Features:
Multiple emails
Newsgroup
Active collaboration with team members
Improved workflow over conventional rival products
Pricing:
Starts at $39 per user
10. Thunderbird
Honestly, how can we not mention Gmail? It’s right there at the top of the line in tools for small businesses! Let’s see why:
Gmail provides small businesses with a customized email address and provides access to Google’s full suite of business products and admin tools, helping businesses optimize their communication.
Need I say more?
Key Features:
Confidential mode
Google Apps Sidebar
Pricing:
Free 14-day trial, then $6 per month
Source: https://dzone.com/articles/51-best-tools-for-small-businesses-in-2020-free-an
